cs_metroplex

[m8nkey]

A playable version is now available. I have media and a download link on my site:
http://www.binaryspace.info/level-design/cs_metroplex/

If you're in the Oceania region and interested in a game, it's running 24/7 on my server:
203.46.105.34:2121

This is the single public test version I'm releasing. I don't intend to spend much more time on it. I'd still appreciate feedback, particularly about gameplay bugs or exploits.

[Unreal_Me]

.____.

Holy Shit

[Saxon]

Looks pretty epic

Please make a ZM version of it (the only difference is that the CTs and Ts all spawn together).

I hope the BSP size isn't too big, may put some players off.

[antie]

I love the pool/snooker hall, very genuine. The signs and custom textures also really help make the map, they're really well done.

[m8nkey]

thanks for the comments

Looks pretty epic

Please make a ZM version of it (the only difference is that the CTs and Ts all spawn together).

I hope the BSP size isn't too big, may put some players off.

I'll take a look into ZM when I have some spare time (I've never played it).

Download is 51mb (126mb uncompressed). I didn't include normal maps for most materials to cut down on filesize but it's unavoidable with a lot of custom content.

[The Giblets of Jesus]

Top notch stuff

[source-maps]

great stuff, ever considered working on a mod?

[Blink]

Have made it the current spotlight. The image sizes don't work very well, but I'll fix it up shortly.

[Saxon]

Woah, this is the guy who made cs_duke2k all those years ago ;O

great stuff, ever considered working on a mod?

I know I'd like him to work on my mod. Seriously M8nkey, I'd love to have you make an urban map for the mod I'm working on

[mookie]

Looks good. A few thoughts:

The strips of light along the stairs and at the bases of some walls might look better if you made them emit some light. Also, inside the theatre is the one place where you'd most expect to find these (especially on the stairs), but they're not there.

When you go through the Cinema 1 door, taking a left turn can only take you up to the projector room. Since that's not really a public area, it seems like it should be more distinctly separate; as it is it looks like it should be leading moviegoers up to an upper entrance. You could make the stairs steeper, narrower, lose the handrail and marble edging, and maybe even move the doorway out to be in front of the stairs. The extra space would probably be enough to add a second entrance to the hallway behind, so players have two ways to go here.

The overview definitely needs some improvement. It's hard to see by looking at it which areas are playable parts of the maps and which aren't. Alpha should make a big difference, and I think (not sure) that if it's pretty sharp everywhere won't add much to the BZ2. Cinema 2 is on the overview, but unplayable, and the various short stairways outside are playable but not on the overview. The interior walls that divide adjacent rooms should really be marked the same as the edges of the map, or weaker (but still marked). You could also make Cinema 2 seem less like a place you can go by switching off all the wall and ceiling lights in there. The rope is not very visible until you're right on top of it.

I'm not sure what the intention is for where you can and can't go in the bathroom. The two ladders (especially the grate) seem to do more harm than good. You can jump on top of everything: the plumbing for the urinals, the hand dryer, the condom dispenser, the mirrors, even the locks on the stall doors.

The wood along the base of the movie screen and the little blue signs for the bathrooms should be clipped so you can't get under them. If you walk up against the wall under the signs and try to jump, you hit your head even though they're only an inch thick. The posters along the walls should be clipped so you don't get snagged as you run by them.

The wall fixture model that's used throughout should be replaced (if possible) or adjusted in how it's used. It does not really look like it's lit (because the white part is not very bright), and definitely does not belong anywhere near player height (due to clipping). It could go up above the moulding where the walls go that high, and be made much brighter there. In other places, some kind of ceiling fixture or texture light would probably be better.

The pool balls, cues, shipping boxes, popcorn boxes, and empty drinks fly around when you walk over them; they should probably get the same flags as the traffic cones. The traffic cones themselves should probably be pushed slightly behind the clip so that it's not so obvious that you walk through them without them reacting. The lights over the pool tables should definitely have some kind of clipping on; if it's not available on the model, a player clip to stop you walking through them would be better than nothing.

The first wastebasket in the box office will get in the way, it should go underneath the desk. The other one probably should too, but it's not as bad since it's tucked into the corner.

The tables (by the couches) in the main lobby are very annoying since you bounce off them and can get stuck behind. I know you can just shoot them, but it's dark and they won't be very obvious to new players. It would probably be better to make these, the cash registers, and the trash cans static.

Most of the fluorescent lights in the drop ceilings are missing the pane of glass, and don't look very good without it.

Having moulding on the sloped half-walls at the sides of the theatre doesn't look good.

It looks like the texture scale on the breakable glass windows is wrong.

The ceiling over the stairs up to the arcade is unnaturally low, because it slopes the whole way even though the stairs don't.

The entrance to the arcade doesn't seem like a very good area from a gameplay perspective. It's a narrow, straight hallway that you have to run down somewhat feet-first, and with the lights below the stairs it's probably also the easiest place in the room to be spotted. If you took off a bigger corner of the room here, and pushed the stairs back to the threshold at the top, there would probably be enough space to make a tiny lobby at the bottom of the stairs to block visibility (maybe a small room with a wall separating the front and back).

The bathroom also seems like it could use some work, especially because of the long hallway leading to it. This seems like more of a problem for the CTs getting out than for getting in, because someone could use either side of the snack bar as cover while you try to run out a fairly long hallway with no cover. If the hallway were shortened (moving the doorway toward the urinals and probably pushing the urinals further down as well) it would probably make a big difference, and the room could be made a little more interesting by wrapping it around the back to the left. There should probably be a half-wall between the urinals and the door, to give a little cover, and because when I'm taking a piss I don't expect someone to walk into the room at my 2 o'clock. Reversing the direction of the hallway leading into the bathroom (to run parallel to the wall) is another thought.

The recessed areas for the windows on the sides of the hotel should probably be clipped off, since they make it harder to walk along the ledge, and when you press against the wall here your view goes into the wall at some angles.

The exit signs don't fit visually with the rest; they look like they should be more of a lime or neon green, and more glowey.

[Armageddon]

Been waiting on this for a long time, I'll play it in a little bit.

[no00dylan]

One of the coolest maps I've played.

[mookie]

Demo: http://mookie.mksvx.com/metroplex-20110101.7z

It seemed very T-sided on a first playthrough, due mainly I think to the severe darkness in the main lobby. The only strategy that seemed to work for the CTs was to rush the lobby, and even that depends on being able to get back out with the hostages. NVGs don't help much since the dark areas are textured in dark red.

[Groxkiller585]

"GROX"?

This a refrence to the most powerful aliens in the galaxy, a random sign model you found/made, or a refrence to another Grox I do not know?

[m8nkey]

Thanks a ton for the spotlight . Also thanks to Mookie for the thorough critique.

The map is currently running on http://www.viaclan.com/ 58 player server. Members of VIA have contacted me and mentioned the map is T biased which I'll be working with them to address. Unfortunately I was unable to get enough players to thoroughly test the map with larger amounts of players myself.

The strips of light along the stairs and at the bases of some walls might look better if you made them emit some light. Also, inside the theatre is the one place where you'd most expect to find these (especially on the stairs), but they're not there.

I experimented with texture and entity based lighting along the stair lighting but wasn't happy with either. I also had the stair lighting in the cinema but it looked terrible so I removed it.

When you go through the Cinema 1 door, taking a left turn can only take you up to the projector room. Since that's not really a public area, it seems like it should be more distinctly separate; as it is it looks like it should be leading moviegoers up to an upper entrance. You could make the stairs steeper, narrower, lose the handrail and marble edging, and maybe even move the doorway out to be in front of the stairs. The extra space would probably be enough to add a second entrance to the hallway behind, so players have two ways to go here.

The layout is based of the first Duke Nukem map, Hollywood Holocaust. I've made changes for aesthetic and gameplay reasons but tried to stick loosely to the original layout so people could quickly learn their way around.

The overview definitely needs some improvement.

I'll correct this in the next version

I'm not sure what the intention is for where you can and can't go in the bathroom. The two ladders (especially the grate) seem to do more harm than good. You can jump on top of everything: the plumbing for the urinals, the hand dryer, the condom dispenser, the mirrors, even the locks on the stall doors.

It looked odd only having one toilet, the same with only having one cinema in a cinema complex. Once players are aware of the map boundries they shouldn't affect gameplay whatsoever. I also don't see any problems with jumping on stuff.

The wood along the base of the movie screen and the little blue signs for the bathrooms should be clipped so you can't get under them. If you walk up against the wall under the signs and try to jump, you hit your head even though they're only an inch thick. The posters along the walls should be clipped so you don't get snagged as you run by them.

I tossed up between this myself. Think I'll do it since you think the same.

The first wastebasket in the box office will get in the way, it should go underneath the desk. The other one probably should too, but it's not as bad since it's tucked into the corner.

Will fix

The tables (by the couches) in the main lobby are very annoying since you bounce off them and can get stuck behind.

These stock models are compiled as prop_physics and don't work as static props to my knowledge

Most of the fluorescent lights in the drop ceilings are missing the pane of glass, and don't look very good without it.

Will fix

It looks like the texture scale on the breakable glass windows is wrong.

nice pickup, fixed.

The ceiling over the stairs up to the arcade is unnaturally low, because it slopes the whole way even though the stairs don't.

The entrance to the arcade doesn't seem like a very good area from a gameplay perspective. It's a narrow, straight hallway that you have to run down somewhat feet-first, and with the lights below the stairs it's probably also the easiest place in the room to be spotted. If you took off a bigger corner of the room here, and pushed the stairs back to the threshold at the top, there would probably be enough space to make a tiny lobby at the bottom of the stairs to block visibility (maybe a small room with a wall separating the front and back).

I'm happy with it as is. There are 3 other ways out of the arcade if you feel it's a bad idea to descend them.

because when I'm taking a piss I don't expect someone to walk into the room at my 2 o'clock.

lol, I'll consider your bathroom suggestions.

The recessed areas for the windows on the sides of the hotel should probably be clipped off, since they make it harder to walk along the ledge, and when you press against the wall here your view goes into the wall at some angles.

Done

The exit signs don't fit visually with the rest; they look like they should be more of a lime or neon green, and more glowey.

The exit signs are rad.