Should I even try?

[Insid]

I want to make a single player/multi player map (best yet a co-op map) about the end of the world. It would entail mass panic in the streets with literally hundreds of people looting and setting fire to buildings and fighting with police. Cars would line the streets and some would be drivable, since this would be a war too big for one person to fight. Also there would be at some point sky scrapers falling to the ground and airplanes crashing down streets, not to mention the earth tearing apart and then slowly flooding until an ocean is created (I would want this process so slow that it happens in the background and isnt noticed until its almost too late). At which point small gunmounted motorboats would be found so you could jet around the waterfilled urban canyons (while the buildings still fall around you). Eventually the entire city would be destroyed or underwater, then you and the survivors would either be dog fighting (many buildings would have helicopters atop them) in the air above the islands of flaming rubble or in boats fighting it out on the water. Which would eventually again disapate leaving you basically alone umong this large city full of dead bodies.

Is this kind of map just too much right now? Can this even be handled by todays computers?

 

[IchI]

urrrrr well since the hl2 engine can have multi trigger thingys they it could work but would take a lot of work. Dunno about a hole falling building. But u can bring down a building with animation in hl1. So u obviasly can in hl2. The biggest question is "can u map?" that would be a good start LOL.

 

[Murray_H]

That sounds pretty cool!

It would be a big undertaking and could get laggy tho

 

[Hudson]

are you talking about creating one huge seameless world?

 

[Insid]

Thats the problem, I have a great idea for visual asthetics but when I try mapping its like a retarded monkey trying to type with boxing gloves.

The entire map would be pretty self contained, so that while everything is massive in size it would all take place within a few mile radius.

It would have a lot of hieght to it too, massive sky scrapers you could fly inbetween with helicopters. I would want them ultradetailed when they crashed down.

This is a bit risky but at some point in this war there would be a massive terrorist invasion, literally dozens of 747 planes being flown into buildings and crashing down crowded streets.

Plus there would definatly be chain reactions, so that when a building falls it crashes into another building tearing that one down to into a big parking lot exploding cars high in the air.

But the big part I think would be a problem is the shear number of people I would want running around. Of course I would break them into hordes, so that there would be sparse areas but they would be taken over and later abandoned depending on when the mobs go. I would need at least 200 npcs moving around and interacting in complex ways all at once. Eh, maybe someday things like this would be possible but I doubt anytime soon.

Besides I have no map skills, this is just me talking out of my ass hoping that someone with actual skill would care enough to take on a project like this and have me as the artistic director. Thats not going to happen but it feels good anyway to hear others say that my map idea sounds cool.

 

[Echelon]

that sounds like enough work for a whole modding team to do. at least the choppers and stuff.

 

[IchI]

hmmm, tbh just try it. who cares if it actually works on someones computer. You will get credit for what u have created anyway.

 

[Pathogen]

I say go ahead and try to make it. Even if it cant run on todays machines (maybe a super cray?) it will run on machines 5 years from now and with graphics like hl2, it will definatly be playable/enjoyable

 

[SidewinderX]

Always good for portfolio work

 

[alco]

go for it.

hell, even try to find some people for mapping and programming. I mean, might as well at least try to make it.

 

[Dan]

the hl2 map size limit is something around 0.5 miles by 0.5 mils so you aren't going to get several square miles of city in

 

[dawdler]

Originally posted by Dan
the hl2 map size limit is something around 0.5 miles by 0.5 mils so you aren't going to get several square miles of city in

Scaling scaling and more scaling. You could make it 10 times as large. The loss is decreased position accuracy and lower terrain smoothness. Should work perfectly well for a city that doesnt need much detailing.

 

[Hudson]

It would have a lot of hieght to it too, massive sky scrapers you could fly inbetween with helicopters. I would want them ultradetailed when they crashed down.

you could just have multiple versions of the helis, with different detail levels, so it wouldnt lag when its flying around in the air, but when it crashes, a different more detailed model replaces it


DUDE I SAY YOU GET A TEAM TOGETHER AND MAKE THIS THING HAPPEN MAN! :bounce:

 

[Dan]

scaling would require work on the actual game code making this a mod rather than just a regular map. Terrain smoothness really wouldn't be affected by scaling up unless your terrain was extremely detailed. At normal scale 1 inch is the smallest unit u can go to. So if u make the scale 10x larger. You can still make terrain as small as 10 inches. That's a bit under 1 foot. You don't really need terrain any smoother than that.

 

[Insid]

Realistically this could all take place within a few block radius?

I rember them saying that the map size would be comparable to BF1942, and that would be plenty of room. I dont need a city streching on for days, just something that gives that alusion of being a big bustleing city. I really think this map would be most fun as a driving map, skirting around the tanks and falling buildings as the war between civilians, terrorists, police and military grows.

It would escalate from the looting and rioting and then the police actions which grows into military action. In the middle of all this terrorist attack too, some of those 747's would crash down the street screeching to a stop at which point the terrorist spill out with weapons. By the time the earthquake happens the Military is just destroying the **** out of anything in sight. Once the water comes in and people start getting onto the tops of buildings they can form teams and factions to attack the other islands and expand home turf.

There is just so much here, I havent even begun to start. But like I said I would first need to talk to people to teach me how to use a map maker, or someone who would want to map it themself. Although this sounds like such a large understaking it would need a team of map makers or something.

Eh, right now I am about to move so if I do decided to pursue this it would have to be later, but when I can I guess Ill start looking at Hammer and start asking the mappers and modders out there for help cause I got a shit load of cool ideas but no way to make them real.

Thanks for all the comments, feel free to take any idea from this page to make your own map, just toss me a thank you if its overly blatant.

 

[Insid]

I just got a good idea for the map, about how to convey what is really going on to the player inside the game so it doesnt just seem like a bunch of random crap going on.

Since this is a city I want to make here I would have one of the buildings be a News station that through scripted events would have NPCs delivering a news broadcast on what is going on. This would include out in the field reporters and even a helicopter crew. This way blow by blow commentary on some of the scripted events to take place in the map could not only be reported to the player(s) but could also allow for muliple camera angles of really cool events. (Since its all scripted anyways the reporters could always be in the right place at the right time)

The news broadcast (complete with a written script that explains the entire backstory) would be shown on televisions throughout the city. In store windows, on one or two large screens on buildings like in Times Square.

At one point the station would be over run by the mob and even that too would happen on the big screen, with the camera being knocked over and kicked around as the screams ensue.

Damn I wish it didnt take YEARS of hard work to get good at mapping, modeling and all that.

 

[SilentKilla]

sounds awesome to me

 

[Jhahn2k4]

... holy shit.

 

[Aumn]

Ummm...that is such a great idea. After I fool around with the SDK a bit and get use to Hammer i'd love to get involved with a project like this.

And after the tech demo of the camera's...and your news broadcasting idea........

Yeah this is getting me all excited :\

 

[Squilly]

if it can be pulled off then wow!