- 8/11/11 Siberia Update - I have quite a bit to show today, and a lot of possible discussion about many things. I am going to start by saying that a lot of these shots are still changing (of course) and are always under construction. In fact, the last image on this page goes over the layout of the level and a possible way of doing weapon spawns, armor spawns, token spawns, and team spawns. Please go over it and chime in on any suggestions you might have to make it better. I know that it is difficult to understand how the level is put together just by looking at the image and not knowing the level, but try your best.
First of all, some changes have occurred since the last pictures I gave you guys.
This is the current look. At the moment their is moving clouds in the skybox to simulate a more "surfacy" look. Granted, the original weren't white like these are, but at least it provides for a little more atmosphere. Either way, skyboxes look stale by themselves, imo. I also worked on the helipad so that it looks much more presentable. Many trees/rocks have been placed strategically around the map to provide cover when needed. Especially around corners. This first image doesn't show a lot, but you will see more as we go.
As you can see in this picture, we now have a snowman model.
SNOWMAN!
You can all thank ES for making that model and the model snowballs that are round it. He is responsible for that work. Many thanks to him. The snowman you see in that picture breaks on collision with bullets when shot into about 4 pieces. Pretty fun to play with. All of these snowballs and snowman are prop_physics so you are able to move them around and play soccer, if you must.
Second, the only real other thing to note in this picture is some more displacement work, but overall similar to the previous image I showed you guys a while ago.
And WHAT IS THIS? AN EVEN BIGGER SNOWMAN!!! NO WAY!!!!!!!!!! ITS MARIO!
nah, this one is also made by ES. This snowman doesn't break into pieces and is non-movable, but I figured it would add a little bit of light heartedness to the map and provide some laughs. After all, the demand for snowman was just TOO MUCH that i couldn't resist.
Another thing to observe in this picture is that the dome is now at a slant and behind a hill (can't really see it that well in the picture). It is also slightly closer to the satellite. I figured, in concept, it might provide an opportunity for a sniping battle between opponents, should the opportunity present itself. However, the hill in front of it offers protection for the individual if they don't want to fight. There is also a body armor near the dome similar to how there is one near the satellite. Both have been placed slightly away to prevent camping.
Not much has changed in this picture. The only other addition that was added was a set of lights going from the base of the dish to the tip of the antenna (not in the picture). The lights proceed in an upward blinking fashion. These are viewable across the map with HDR enabled. They, in a way, provide a reference point for someone who might not know where the satellite is or their way around the level. Assuming you are in range to where the fog isn't obstructing your vision, you will be able to see these lights. It provides a reference point to determine where you are trying to go. I will try to get an image of the lights in a future update to help clear up any confusion.
This image takes place in the cabin area in the old map that was only accessible from one direction. That is not the case anymore. The mountain that separated the satellite from the dual cabins has now been modified. To the left of the image, their is now a canyon-like area in which you can trek through to get body armor, weapons, or just sneak your way to the satellite front door. It helps even out flow and provide many paths to and from the cabin location (see next picture and map below). Another new feature noting in this picture is a path going from the fenced cabins to the dome. You can't see the dome in the picture, but it provides a back country passage to the building without getting sniped to hell from the satellite.
This image above is the canyon-like passage way leading away from the cabins I just talked about. This path flows around and comes out to the front door of the satellite. Not much else to really say, except some of the displacements are going to get touched up soon.
And finally, I give you a picture from the bunker hatch. There are now two paths leading away from the bunker hatch. You are now free to take the route going right that leads to the satellite, or you may take the path going left leading to the helipad. Both options have cover from the hills and make it safer for you to go on your journey without being too exposed. This area will undergo more changes than the rest of the pictures as it hasn't gotten detailed with props and things. More on that in a different update.
And finally, I leave you with this final image. This map below is an overhead view (like i gave in a previous update) of the map in its current state. This proposal of weapon spawns, tokens, team spawns, and everything else was draw up by ES and discussed in game. The key idea behind it was balance and providing for a good variety of weapon spawns and armor locations, while trying not to make any one location "campable."
Key:
Numbers 1-8 represent power of weapon (in case anyone didn't know that already)
And "A" and "1/2 A" is Full armor and Half armor
Please take some time to look at this and give your opinions. If you feel so inclined to, I am going to paste a unmarked image of the overview in which you are more than welcome to edit to your liking if you think of a much better make up for the map.
I will post it if anyone expresses interest in making revisions on this tread, or i might post it anyways.
Well, thank you all for sticking with me up to this point. I am sure I will have more updates coming soon and I hope you guys keep coming back. Thank you for the support so far.
Saint