[MAP] Stalingradkessel

[fmc'Attila]

Hello guys, for my first map i choose to remake one of my favourite map on RO1, Stalingradkessel. For those who don't know the map, it's an urban map, Axis defend and Allies attack.The gameplay of the map lies heavily on the russians engineers who must destroy doors and walls in order to greatly improve their acces to the objectives. Like on RO1, there is a random arty, and glass in the assembly hall is breakable.

Game Type: Territory

Type: Infantry Only

Objectives:

The warehouses
The assembly hall
The north railyard
The south railyard

Update V4 : 11/11/12

- changed the first russian spawn to be more centered.
- added the interior of the "arch building" near the first russian spawn in order to counter-balance the german position in the building between cap zone C & D.
- added details to the cap-zone B.
- CD (countdown) version of the map available.

Update V4 : 24/11/12

- improved the balance of the map : german second spawn moved back to help the russian on the B cap, second russian spawn also recentered. Added a corridor near the D cap to help the germans.

- improved the graphics of the map : by replacing some of the buildings that were made with BSP by (customs)static meshes.

- added some cover-nodes.

Update v6 :

- Added a second spawn area for the germans, this spawn replace the first one after 10s in order to delay the next germans spawn wave. (Was asked for the classic).
-improved bots pathfinding.
-improved/added cover-nodes. The server and client .rar have both TE and CD version of the map.

Stalingradkessel update (04/01/2013):

- Added a lot more details to correct the "empty" feeling of some part of the map.
- Added cover nodes.
- Added positions in the "arch offices" to help russians (gives a good position to shoot the german middle building).
- Added HMG : 1 maxim (between A and B), 2 MG-34 (on the last cap D).
- Added more time (+2min)
- Move the second russians spawn closer.
- Improved bots pathfinding.
- New FF version of the map.

Update Stalingradkessel (06/02/2013) :


- added a way to get into the C cap without blowing the wall (it’s simply a great with a mantle cover node, no more dolphin jump like on R01 )
- adjusted respawn time and tickets for both team
- reworked lighting
- improved graphics (new static meshes instead of the old BSP building)
- added cover nodes

here some new sreenshoot :























See this thread for the developpement of the map :

http://forums.tripwireinteractive.co...ad.php?t=83936

Download the files here (client/server) :

http://www.french-marine-corps.fr/index.php/telechargements/item/update-stalingrad-kessel-05-03-2013

On this link you'll also find a small tutorial on how to put the map on your server

[peumobil]

Salut,

Merci! pour la map

[Mike_Nomad]

Wow!! Like stepping back in time.... what a nice treat. This map is very well done and faithful to the original.

A few suggestions;

1. the map's daylight lighting is off. Its much too bright - the sky is both heavily overcast and smokey. Tone down the brightness.
   
2. the building interiors... are far too clean. The floors have little or no rubble or cover. These buildings are virtually destroyed, they need rubble and cover on the floors. Perhaps some dust in the air and busted up furnishings, machinery etc..
   
3. no engineer for the Germans?
   
4. holes blown in buildings are too neat
   
5. time limit too short

Of course, these items described above are far from showstoppers but their inclusion would certainly add to the immersion factor of an otherwise wonderful map. Its in our rotation to stay.

Many thanks!

[kathmandu]

Thanks for this !

[G_Sajer]

Originally Posted by peumobil

Salut,

Merci! pour la map

Yes indeed! We've been looking forward to this one.

[Comrade Kaizer]

Just ran around the map a bit. I also played while it was up on the server you posted the other day.

Still need to test out some initial things but I'll share some feedback on what you have out so far.

The lighting in the map and the skybox seems to conflict. It looks like a bright frosty winter morning but the overcast is dark and cloudy. I would prefer the dark and cloudy if you are ever to correct that in the future and make a choice.

The static blown out edges of walls (and roof tops like the A cap Warehouses) are far too sharp and clean.

Spoiler!

Spoiler!

If you can mold them accordingly and add some debris and bricks (depending on wall material) protruding from the walls and on the ground around it, it will lend some believable emphasis to these portions of the map.

Pavlov's House is a good example:

Spoiler!

Spoiler!

In general I think the map itself could use more debris, rubble and detail. In some areas it is too surgically clean, especially around outdoors and inside the Assembly Hall.

Also textures for floors and walls (inside and outside) seem too repetitive which due to the method utilized I'm sure that is something you are already well aware of. Some of the older more acceptable aspects of Ostfront didn't age well and it degrades several portions of the map quality when brought over to Heroes. Some textures are far too flat and don't seam together well like they used to anymore and it's really noticeable in areas of the map. Like this example here, where there is this aluminum sheet metal and it seamlessly connects to concrete walling on the other side and underneath in the doorway hedge.

Spoiler!

If you decide to reapply any custom textures and adjust these areas around the map it would up the quality considerably and give the map a more believable feel.

There is some graphical anomalies I get with the random artillery you have on the map. At first I was scared that my graphics card might be crapping out but everything else in vanilla and other custom maps is just fine. It has this black flickering effect that ruins the environmental experience. Another thing with the random arty is that it goes through buildings and can kill players unfairly. I'm all for dangerous arty but it hits players in areas that should be considered unfair like inside the 1st and 2nd floors of the building by the North Rail yard where there is no opening above the player's head.

I'm sure you already know about the destructible object markers missing on the map for the wall to North Rail yard. The HUD message text when destroying one of these destructible objectives is far too large and overlays on top of any other HUD information the player might have on their screen at that particular moment.

There is a spot (C6) where Germans can camp out and shoot right into the initial Soviet spawn as soon as they appear. This is outside the Warehouses on the Soviet side. The edges inside the Warehouses looking into the Soviet approach is fair game, but outside beyond the walls with clear line of sight on appearing players is a no-no.

Spoiler!

At the same time, the Soviets have no boundaries in any portion of the map at all and can set up right behind the German spawn and shoot them in the back as they spawn in as well. People can and will exploit these areas in custom maps, I highly implore you adjust these areas accordingly.

Some small but noticeable things on the map:

These beams seem to be one way only as trying to go down them stops the player dead is his tracks unless they are to sprint well ahead and jump over them. Perhaps you can adjust these to work fluidly both ways.

Spoiler!

The static tank out by the approach by the Soviet spawn is floating in the air. There are a couple of trees back in the Soviet spawn that are culprits of floating as well.

Spoiler!

This bush compared to the rest of the landscape looks seriously out of place.

Spoiler!

That is what I got so far, looking forward to playing it again with a larger amount of players. Hopefully you can address some of the issues and I have no doubt that once fully completed and the environment/texture quality is polished that this map should be considered to be added to the vanilla rotation.

Good luck.

[Yoshiro]

OPTIMIZE! Otherwise a great faithful recreation. Up on the redirect.

(also in the spirit of not optimized, I am sad that the easter egg is not there )

[fmc'Attila]

The Bush is the reason for this battle !

Well thx for the feedback (some really good observation from Kaizer) I'll look into the ligthning first, and I agree with all the observation on the building destructions. But there is one problem, those building are BSP, which explain why the destructions are so sharp and clean ( I can't use the vertex painting with BSP). So yeah one of the main difficulty to come is the conception of the static mesh with the SDK or some 3D modeling software

Also, an easter egg ! where is it !

[Major_Day]

Thanks for making this map one of my fav's, and an even bigger thanks for having the forethought to include the map.ini config file, most mappers don't bother.

[Yoshiro]

Originally Posted by fmc'Attila

Also, an easter egg ! where is it !

In the RO mod it was in the basement of the station.

[R22]

Thank you very much !

i didn't know there was an easter egg in stalingrad kessel : / where is it ?

[[40-1]MORD]

Thanks for a great map!
First impression was very good but map needs some polish to shine
I would consider turning off all the street lamps (still containing not broken bulbs). I found it unrealistic that in this ruined area there is still electricity.
Another thing is broken glass sound effect. I almost got a heart attack first time when i hit a window . This sound is too loud comparing to others sounds.
Enough writing. Time to play Stalingradkessel !

[Yoshiro]

Not the greatest video of it, but it is what I could find on short notice: The Red Orchestra 3.2 Easter Egg Hunt - YouTube

There was a set of double doors in the basement that would only open when you shot the lock. The kicker is they would close a few seconds later.

Behind that door was another set of doors that had to be blown up. The trick was to throw a satchel down, time it so you shoot the lock on the first door right before the explosion, have the first door open, have the second door blown up, and rush in before the first doors closed.

Inside was a secret warehouse with portraits of most of the devs (who would whisper their names as you walked past) and the Hanibu. Shooting a picture would cause us to laugh and you to blow up.

The players in the video above exploit the door, but it is possible to do without that Its funny because many of the guys in the portrait are now just down the hall from me (at the time I had never met them).

[AR!ZONA]

Originally Posted by Comrade Kaizer

The lighting in the map and the skybox seems to conflict. It looks like a bright frosty winter morning but the overcast is dark and cloudy. I would prefer the dark and cloudy if you are ever to correct that in the future and make a choice.

There is no conflict on this point, it is a choice of concept
Initially the idea was to have a dark atmosphere, subtly blending the storm clouds and the smoke of battle at dusk of a winter morning, cold, icy and morbid as that by some miracle the sun's rays are piercing gates of hell!

This aspect is describe in a better way if the fog of war is increased ! Unfortunately, opinions are divided on the issue ...
Some people want maximum visibility (fewer fog) and others want the dark side (lots of fog) ... difficult to please everyone

B2 version will make the testing on a larger scale, so we hope a lot's of thought by many gamers
For me the original look is my favorite We continued our tests on our server to make a final choice
Attila will end up hating me ! !

Spoiler!

[r5cya]

thanks so much for the map! i can't wait to get off work and try it out!

[SQBsam]

Hey there, I really like the lighting, actually, however I find the extremely oblique angle of it quite frustrating, perhaps the direction of the light should be the opposite of what it is now, with the lightsource being closer to the 12:00 position (so the flat ground is lit better, at the moment too much of the map is dark) and coming from the lighter clouds.

[Comrade Kaizer]

Originally Posted by AR!ZONA

There is no conflict on this point, it is a choice of concept
Initially the idea was to have a dark atmosphere, subtly blending the storm clouds and the smoke of battle at dusk of a winter morning, cold, icy and morbid as that by some miracle the sun's rays are piercing gates of hell!

I initially could see that might have been the direction of conveyance for the atmosphere, as the cloud build up is mostly over the approach to the main portions of the map but it isn't exactly on the money. I just felt it was a bit odd in certain areas of the map. I'm sure with a little tweaking it'll come out to however the map author prefers. Just my two cents.

It is a great start though to a favored classic and with some time I'm sure this map will shine however dark the clouds may be. See what I did there.

Edit: SQBsam kind of nailed it on the lighting aspects I attempted to point out.

[Mike_Nomad]

Originally Posted by Comrade Kaizer

----- snip -----

That is what I got so far, looking forward to playing it again with a larger amount of players. Hopefully you can address some of the issues and I have no doubt that once fully completed and the environment/texture quality is polished that this map should be considered to be added to the vanilla rotation.

Good luck.

Hey!! We agree! I posted the same info without all the "spoilers". Good job on the pics.

[AR!ZONA]

Stalingrad Kessel version B3 is available in download on our FTP
Thanks to Attila who improves from day to day this mythical map for our most great pleasure

We want also to thank all the RO2 community for the information feedback on the technical or graphic felt of the map
We look forward to your impressions on this version B3 then do not hesitate to leave a comment after your test
You will find below the link for download of the Client and Server b3 versions :
http://www.french-marine-corps.fr/in...grad-kessel-b3

[bobsynergy]

Here is the change log for those interested

Decrease the fog of war.
Slight increase in the overall brightness
Increase in brightness in the central building for a better view of the shooters at the windows.
Increase the lighting effect lights and lamps
Increased resistance to bullets walls: Concrete walls crossed by all weapons
Reducing the number of lives side Russian and German
Addition of a passage in the roof of Building B
Added a spawn Russian capture A.
Addition of spawn protection level A (after B or C should be taken by the Russians)
Addition spawn protection level C for the Germans.
Addition spawn protection level D (first spawn D: the staircase must be practicable).
Increase the area of ​​spawn protect Russian at the B
Changing the angle of the roof passable in small B: Bug feat soldiers lying invisible
Addition of one more MG34 German side.
Addition of a wooden wagon after lying for crossing a bot (on the left side of the starting spawn German C)
Addition of soldiers "assault" from 32 players.
Addition of destructible glass windows on all of B: glass roof included.
Addition of the highlight destructible walls and doors.
Addition of an icon destructible objectives
Added a warning message to the destruction of the walls and doors
Addition destructible points on the map position
Optimization "covers" and "points to cross."
Optimization of assembly points and defense / attack bots.
Improving the look of buildings: the roofs and structures A and B, adding windows, and many other details of all buildings
Improved graphical ground textures: shards of concrete rubble increased, increased furniture

Looks good can't wait to try it out.