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Level Design New Version of Maslova 1943

jeffduquette

Grizzled Veteran
Feb 19, 2008
339
1
I have been fiddeling with SDK again. I put togeather what I hope is a more server efficient version of my Maslova_1943 tank map. Version D.

In addition, I have added entrenchments at two of the objective areas. This had been my intent originally as the scenario was supposed to be based loosely upon German counter attacks to eliminate the Mius Bridgehead. The Soviets had dug in on a series of heights around their bridgehead and estabilshed strong antitank gun positions on each of the hills backed by armored reserves. These fortified hills proved to be a major headach to the Germans.

Unfortunately I couldn't think of a way to do the entrenched hills efficiently when I first started tinkering with the SDK Editor. I think the current version is a good comprimise -- although it would have been nice to have the Soviet 57mm ATG and towed 76mm gun to work with in establishing the pak fronts. But what can yah do. I hope the current version proves to be more attractive to folks that want to play infantry on what is mainly a tank map.

Anyway, for anyone interested here is my latest update to Maslova 1943.



Best regards
Jeff
 
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just an aside -- but I am working on a 1945 version of the map that includes all of the uber tanks that some folks seem to require on every tank map. It is being play tested on at least one server to check map balance.

My approach to putting uber tanks on the 1945 version of the map was perhaps unorthodox. The force balance will likely require some tweaking dependent upon play test results. Moreover there are a bunch of Tigers, Panthers, IS2s and T34/85 available at each spawn point. But 90% of the 'ubers' will not respawn. So you can grab what you want at the start, but once you get yourself blow'd up your uber tank doesn't respawn. Non-uber tanks -- T34/76s, PzKwIIIs and PzkwIV etc. still have unlimited respawn. So if you loose your tiger you get demoted to a PzKwIV or PzKwIII. :D In addition, if your team advances the spawn location, than there is a new batch of single spawn uber-tanks at the new spawn location.

For anyone interested, here is a rapidshare link to the first draft of Maslova 1945. Any comments on play balance would be appreciated.
http://rapidshare.com/files/169356823/RO-Maslova_1945.zip
 
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:p on uber tanks. Light tanks take real skill. Any schmuck can kill something with the IS2 or Panther. Otherwise look forward to the new beta!

Thanks for your coments Moe and Axel. To Axel -- I agree. I didnt want there to be much in the way of ubers on the map. Historically speaking the SS Panzer Divisions around the bridgehead still had a very llimited number of operational Tigers. So I included a couple of Tiger-1 but with respawn set to only 1. But folks were already creating their own Heavy Tank versions of the map and putting them up on various servers. I figured I might just as well put togeather my own uber tank version of the map and have it out there as an option.

I am hoping this will be about it for Maslova. I had been working on another big tank map called Glowaczow. mid 1944 Poland. It's about 90% done. Couple of snags are weather and water surfaces. I put it on the shelf to do my -- hopefully -- final tweaks to Maslova.

There are several streams and a river on the Glowaczow map. I am having a hard time finding a water surface that goes well with the level lighting and such. I have looked at a lot of photos of Polish streams and rivers in the vicinity of the battlefield and they alll seem to be very slow moving and very very dark green -- like blackish green. I guess I need to figure out how to make water surfaces.

On weather -- the map was gonna be a rainer. And I got it all looking pretty cool on my desk top. I spent hours upon hours futzing with the map lighting. But the rain on such a large map really seems to slow down my test machine. I have an powerful desk top gaming computer that I do SDK stuff on, and I also have a pretty good lap top which actually runs Battlefield 2 prettty well, but is slower than than the desk top. So I use the lap top to test map performance. The lap top has a real tough time with the rain. It really slows the frame rates down.
 
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These are various photos of the Radomka River – very close to the village of Glowaczow. Pretty slow moving. Depicting current isn’t something I am concerned with. Besides there are a large number of meanders in the stream and river on my map so I think current would be very difficult to portray in a believable manner. The surface coloration is my main interest.

Anyone know of a good tutorial for puuting togeather water surfaces?





 
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Damn, that would be cool if there was a water surface that made vision poor or impossible when tank passengers submerge. Rather than being able to look at the clear blue sky when you're 5' under. & the tanks being hidden as well.
If I recall, the river water in "Road to Orel" wasn't so bad.

thx for the new ver jeff!
 
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Damn, that would be cool if there was a water surface that made vision poor or impossible when tank passengers submerge. Rather than being able to look at the clear blue sky when you're 5' under. & the tanks being hidden as well.
If I recall, the river water in "Road to Orel" wasn't so bad.

thx for the new ver jeff!

Hi 2fisted. Yes Orel looks nice. However it is too transparent for what I am sort of envisioning for Glowaczow. And yes the idea is darker water that is unfordable by vehicles at most areas.

Jeff
 
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Jeff, I can do killer water surfaces and volumes. Drop me a PM when you're ready to go.

Thanks for the kind offer Shurek. I'd love to have some help with the water surface. I was thinking sort of Danzig'ish, but darker than the Danzig water surface. Danzig looks too emerald with the lighting on my map. Maybe very very low velocity -- or no velocity current. Really really low velocity might work -- but the various creek meanders may not be condusive to trying to replicate movement. Hopefully that makes sense.

Jeff​
 
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On AT guns: take a look at RO-Berezina and see how we implemented AT guns which spawn depending on the current objective. You can use that to simulate the guns being brought forward and even randomize their location from round to round. You can use the 76mm gun instead of the 45mm. This can make your map much more dynamic and change up the play each time it loads up.
 
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On AT guns: take a look at RO-Berezina and see how we implemented AT guns which spawn depending on the current objective. You can use that to simulate the guns being brought forward and even randomize their location from round to round. You can use the 76mm gun instead of the 45mm. This can make your map much more dynamic and change up the play each time it loads up.

Great idea! Thanks Slyk.

I do hate how the AT gun positions appear on the overhead map. I wish there were a simple way to turn this bit of intell off. But if I can figure out the random gun placement aspect of Berezina I will certainly try to implement something similar on Maslova.

Just an aside but I was actually looking closely at Berezina in the SDK just a week ago and I do love the lighting on that map. There is a very subtle hint of green in the distant sky. For whatever reason it sort of brings to my mind a warm and humid summer day. Very effective bit of immersion -- at least for me.

I didn't know there was a 76mm field gun option with the standard SDK stuff. I'll have to check that out.

Thanks
Jeff
 
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Thanks again Shurek and Slyk. I will look into inserting the 76mm gun.

One thing I would like to do is have the guns available regardless of the current spawn situation on the map. Can this be done? Moreover in the properties settings -- events -- the AT guns are set to appear for the first spawn condition. But if the germans or russians take certain objectives than the spawn condition changes and the AT guns disappear. I would prefer that the AT guns remain on the map regardless of the objective situation and spawn situation. Can this be done? Or, do I have to have multiple AT Gun factories at each AT Gun location with the event setting corresponding to each of the potential spawn change events?

Perhaps I just leave the events setting blank?
 
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