Outpost 16

Show off your finished maps, models and other creations. Screen shots are a must!

Re: Outpost 16

Postby m.anderson on Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:31 pm

I explained it as best I could without coming off as a smartass so I didn't compare it to their cutscenes. I basically explained how it sets up multiple things, a future gameplay mechanic, story, the mood, the tension, the ultimate goal, characters, etc. We talked a while about it. I think the bottom line is that I was colored from the first moment because I only had one map. Maybe if I had more I would have been given more leeway and more of a chance. The very last thing she said to me was, "You definitely know what you're doing, but we tend to hire people with experience, so come back to us in a year."

I was mostly frustrated because I feel there was a lot that was unsaid - I can't imagine the cutscene was the thing that broke the deal, I'd say it was also my inexperience. I've been burned hard by big companies before, so its something you just get used to and learn from.

Also, I'm super friggin excited about one other studio that's interested in me and it's definitely one I wouldn't think twice about going to. I'll update you guys when I make my final decision.
User avatar
m.anderson
Regular
Regular
 
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Outpost 16

Postby jgoodroad on Mon Mar 15, 2010 5:52 pm

seems the answer to this problem is simple...MAKE MOAR MAPS!
===[]"

Image
current projects: nmo_boardwalk, nmo_asylum
User avatar
jgoodroad
Senior Member
Senior Member
 
Joined: Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:44 am
Location: on a boat... unless it's a farm.

Re: Outpost 16

Postby [JFG]Propaganda on Mon Mar 15, 2010 6:05 pm

jgoodroad wrote:seems the answer to this problem is simple...MAKE MOAR MAPS!


+1 to this and also make more diverse maps, spread yourself around, try some TF2, or DOD source or even another engine. Maybe dabble in modeling and textures a bit.
Image
[JFG]Propaganda
Been Here A While
Been Here A While
 
Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:25 pm

Re: Outpost 16

Postby joe_rogers_11155 on Tue Mar 16, 2010 2:45 am

[JFG]Propaganda wrote:
jgoodroad wrote:seems the answer to this problem is simple...MAKE MOAR MAPS!


+1 to this and also make more diverse maps, spread yourself around, try some TF2, or DOD source or even another engine. Maybe dabble in modeling and textures a bit.


you make it sound so easy
"Day breaks, but decay soon follows." - Ava Winona
Currently developing in radio silence... 99 Bolts
Here's another project of mine... Assault on Overwatch
Are you new to Source SDK? VDC
joe_rogers_11155
Veteran
Veteran
 
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:11 pm
Location: United States

Re: Outpost 16

Postby m.anderson on Tue Mar 16, 2010 3:32 am

haha. Maybe one day guys, maybe one day. First things first though
User avatar
m.anderson
Regular
Regular
 
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Outpost 16

Postby krainert on Tue Mar 16, 2010 1:45 pm

Since people have already spread the love (only read through page 1 and 5, though) I think I can point out some issues... Always room for improvement and all that ;)
First of all, I'm not a very observant player, and I therefore always get rather frustrating when the level hinting is insufficient. At a few points I found myself lacking direction while playing through Outpost 16; the first was at the ledge where I didn't realize that I was supposed to catch the rubble before it could fall down. Second, being stuck on a ledge trying to save your friends while being constantly talked to by Alyx and warned of patrols below, I didn't even realize what exactly was hanging above me - so when the sidekick spontaneously told me to find was to enable the magnet, my first through was "oh, so THAT's what the power outlets are for!". Finally, for the ledge part that is, at the first gap Alyx can't jump across before you put a wooden board across (great element, by the way) - but later she happily follows you through the air over the hanging trailer thingy - while boards are still available. At first that made me think I was supposed to do something funky with the boards there as well which kind of screwed the pace over.
That being said I think the whole concept of that scene was awesome, and if I hadn't been frustrated by the, to me, sparse hinting, it might have been one of the most enjoyable single-player sequences in any Source game. Yes, I really like jumping puzzles and scripted sequences.
Another issue is optimization; the mod generally works amazingly well technically, but my system (i7 920/HD 5770) was brought down to 40 and sometimes even 20 fps which seemed a bit low comparing the maps to other ones found in various Source games. If you wish to keep on working with Source, getting better at optimization might help you get the most out of your skills and maps.
By the way, it was nice to actually hear decent voice actors, scrips, and "statement placement" (term?). Especially the cast for Alyx was impressive; at first I though you'd put together pieces of Merle's (the original voice actor) stuff. It seems rather rare to find such a voice actor capable of acting so similar to the original.
Anyway, overall an extremely impressive job done for a single level designer - especially the innovative and aesthetic aspects.

EDIT: And yes, I know it's portfolio work, but aesthetics don't do much good alone.
User avatar
krainert
Sir Post-a-lot
Sir Post-a-lot
 
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:57 pm
Location: Denmark

Re: Outpost 16

Postby Jike on Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:55 pm

I agree to all the posts that have been posted up to now. The maps are of very high quality, good job.

But yes, I have to agree to the optimization thing: Use func_details more and try to get your visleaves cubic. The first map was good, but the wave ceiling room had this issue. Uncheck displacements, func_details, props and brush entities in the vis groups in hammer to get a basic idea of how the visleaves will be created...

KEEP IT ON!! :D
-Jike
Image
Image
Jike
1337 p0st3r
1337 p0st3r
 
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:58 pm

Re: Outpost 16

Postby Dr. Delta on Fri Mar 19, 2010 7:48 am

m.anderson wrote:I was mostly frustrated because I feel there was a lot that was unsaid - I can't imagine the cutscene was the thing that broke the deal, I'd say it was also my inexperience.



If I remember correctly (and I'm quite sure actually :P) in an interview/docu about valve/hl1 there was quite a bit attention to the 'no cutscenes' in the game, making the player part of everything. You might be interested in finding that video(youtube). (I can't so far, will post it when I find it :) )
User avatar
Dr. Delta
Veteran
Veteran
 
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:18 pm
Location: People's Republic of Porygon

Re: Outpost 16

Postby dewkl on Tue Mar 23, 2010 11:26 am

If she [the valve employee] took this as a gameplay demonstration, then all her complaints are valid. The main problem is the fact that you're giving player control, but at the same time you're limiting it for such a long period. It's creating dissonance and is almost teasing the player. Most of the interesting content in the mod are the visuals, the gameplay takes a back seat to the cinematic experience.

I basically explained how it sets up multiple things, a future gameplay mechanic, story, the mood, the tension, the ultimate goal, characters, etc.
Future gameplay mechanic? I agree with everything else and I think you achieved this successfully. I don't think the valve employee was aware of what you were trying to showcase with the mod.
Last edited by dewkl on Sun May 30, 2010 5:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
dewkl
Been Here A While
Been Here A While
 
Joined: Fri Dec 18, 2009 10:25 pm

Re: Outpost 16

Postby Valar on Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:06 pm

great job tho unfortunately i couldn't get past the heli sequence. no combines appeared. and my xbow didn't do any damage to the APC (doh).
i've installed using the installer on the first page on this thread. assuming this is the updated one.
Image
User avatar
Valar
Been Here A While
Been Here A While
 
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:59 pm

Re: Outpost 16

Postby krainert on Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:09 pm

I just played HL2 again.
Highlight to read:
During the entire scene at Breen's office (not to mention the transportation sequences), you're trapped in that human storage/transport thingy. How is that maintaining player control? Actually, I find that part quite frustrating - because it doesn't just take away player interaction, it does so for a rather long time and several times in a row.
User avatar
krainert
Sir Post-a-lot
Sir Post-a-lot
 
Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:57 pm
Location: Denmark

Re: Outpost 16

Postby Major Banter on Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:30 pm

Anderson, believe you me; when you go back next year with a new map and say "no cutscenes" you'll probably get a handshake and an invite to look around the office.
ImageImageImage
Major Banter
Veteran
Veteran
 
Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:52 pm
Location: UK

Re: Outpost 16

Postby m.anderson on Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:30 pm

valar - apparently there's a glitch I couldn't get around to fixing, because it's a code-based problem with havok physics. I tried to minimize the amount it would happen with V2.0, but some people have described it still occuring. If you see the APC roll out and get blown up, everything's fine. Otherwise, you need to just reload to an earlier point and everything should unfold as planned. It happens because the APC gets stuck in the ground when it should continue to keep moving, keeping all the other events from occuring. That's the only game-stopping glitch/bug I know of.
User avatar
m.anderson
Regular
Regular
 
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Outpost 16

Postby m.anderson on Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:34 pm

Major Banter wrote:Anderson, believe you me; when you go back next year with a new map and say "no cutscenes" you'll probably get a handshake and an invite to look around the office.


Thanks for the vote of confidence Banter! I gotta say though that I'm pretty stoked about one particular company I'm in talks with right now though. I should be updating you guys soon on where I'm going.
User avatar
m.anderson
Regular
Regular
 
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2009 2:08 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Outpost 16

Postby Unstoppable Florence on Wed Apr 21, 2010 9:43 pm

krainert wrote:I just played HL2 again.
Highlight to read:
During the entire scene at Breen's office (not to mention the transportation sequences), you're trapped in that human storage/transport thingy. How is that maintaining player control? Actually, I find that part quite frustrating - because it doesn't just take away player interaction, it does so for a rather long time and several times in a row.


I think that was the idea. Gordon Freeman is captive and the player is supposed to appreciate that: including the frustration that goes with it. The helplessness felt in that scene struck an emotional chord with me, and got me very fired up for the final confrontation.

Put in a context relevant for this discussion: that scene and many others in Half Life 2 did not 'interact' with the player, but they reached out and made the player feel involved with it. Anderson's opening scene did not involve the player at all, it simply dangled pretty lights in front of the player's face in the manner of 'look, you could be having this much fun, but you aren't!'. A better introduction would probably have been to have the player move with the squad down below or to have the player moving through a series of navigational puzzles while getting updates on the team's progress either through spoken word or through occasional vantage points that the player can just skip.

This is said with no intention of belittling what Anderson has achieved. Goddamn it man your map is good looking and your gameplay is very well thought out! I mean, damn you! You got an interview with a Valve employee and you made a good impression... that's my fevered dream. :D
Dives wrote:Source is kinda like that really old guy in your family that keeps getting older and older and just won't die, but he tells really great stories. And craps the bed on occasion.
User avatar
Unstoppable Florence
Been Here A While
Been Here A While
 
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 11:59 pm
PreviousNext

Return to Showcase

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users