River Styx (map idea)

[Zero Angel]

When a unit is sent directly to a point where it thinks its impossible to go to (ie: a high cliff, or the middle of water). It will simply take the most direct route there. So when the AIP says: "claim more pools" and the only ones left are the lava pools, then the scavs will go directly for them.

My question is: What is the point of putting pools in the middle of lava?

[Nielk1]

I've seen a map like that. It was in the middle of water, required you to use TUGs.

[CivBase]

Sorry, no chance to get on till now.

Grey = Bridges

Basicaly, the islands are a trick.  You start with the islands already having extractors on them (owned by respected sides).  I was thinking about maybe adding a turret on them too or something like that.  They would provide quick initial income, but getting them back durring battle would prove very hard.

Can scavs not cross bridges?  If so, then I suppose tugs would work for the middle island as well.

Scrap will also be scattered throughout the land area.

As for the name, it can change.

I'd prefer the lighting and whatnot to be something like that on Titan.

As you can probably see, I'm not usualy for conventional gameplay... I find it very... simplistic.  This one isn't overly complex, but I don't want to go too far just yet.

[Zero Angel]

Scavs can use bridges. You'll know this if you ever played a map called "Bridges", I just assumed that the islands were unconnected since they didnt have bridges on the illustration.

Though you know what would be cool, is an underground tunnel which leads out to the islands.

[AHadley]

I'd prefer the lighting and whatnot to be something like that on Titan.

That's good - when I make a lava-style map, I almost always use a Titan sky... Rend looks too... rendy.

Though you know what would be cool, is an underground tunnel which leads out to the islands.

The one I'm making at the moment is using bridges, tunnels don't like going underwater, do they?

[Zero Angel]

Ah right, now that I recall tunnels cause ships to drop into the tunnel. I wonder what would happen if one put them below water, below land. Hmmmm!

*tests*

[Zero Angel]

Below-ground, below-water tunnels work fine. The problem is if there is water damage, the crafts will still be susceptable to it.

Time to test below-ground below-water, booster (AKA: expressway) tunnels.

EDIT: Expressway tunnels work fine under lava! Your unit might sustain a little bit of collision damage because the expressway boosts you through the tunnel at an insane speed (several hundreds of meters a second), but the damage is far, far less than having it drive under the lava.

For the record on shieldtowers (as I researched quite a bit on them) - the effect has a forward and back, is a box, but not a cube. It does not have to be over the model generating it, or even centered on it, it can in fact project quite a ways AWAY from the model.

At one point I made a model I could put off of the map that projected a shield straight across the map through which no ordnance could travel, but ships were able to pass through at will.

Effects, on the other hand, I had issues getting to work. But I suck with effects.

My favorite trick with them, however, were my expressway tunnels.

I think Greenheart was going to use them on a couple of maps that were going to go into PB4, so that there would be examples of how shieldtowers could be used.

Here, have a couple of odfs. I would put the expressway then the brakes. Coming out of the expressway tunnel without the brakes......lets just not do that, ok?

Just be careful aligning them (it takes trial and error to use these properly). If you align it the wrong way or fail to put the braking segment (mmtun02) in, it will boost you thousands of meters into the air.

[AHadley]

Interesting. Didn't know there was a braking system... I just thought you had to stop yourself, lol

I did that as a pilot once, got smashed into a wall and died almost instantly.

EDIT: I found the entrances and exits (pbetun and pbetun1), but I can't find the tunnel itself. Can anybody dig out the ODF names for me?

[CivBase]

I kinda like the tunnel idea... can you guys make it work?

[AHadley]

With the right ODF names, sure I could.

[CivBase]

What is ODF?  I hear you guys talk about it all the time, but have no clue what it is...

[bigbadbogie]

Oh dear...

[AHadley]

ODF = Object Definition File

An ODF is a file that determines all the attributes of an object - model, physics controls, construction tree (if any), build requirements / restrictions, almost everything about the unit. When you go into the editor and type something into the config box, that is the ODF name - ivrecy.odf for the ISDF recycler vehicle, etc. ODFs can be made/edited really easily, through notepad or the ODF editor shane released not long ago.

I made my first few successful objects just last weekend, and they work really well (apart from the fact that the recycler and factory confuse Nadir and Drone, that is). If you look back at when somebody (darkplanet i think) asked about making a guntower with a minigun... thats all in the ODF.

For an example, go into your root directory and open patch13.pak with pak explorer. Have a look in the objects folder and open any ODF you find. Most of them are vehicles and buildings, but there are some weapons in there and some effects, too. A hell of a lot is done with these handy little things - they're part of what makes BZ2 so moddable. Them, BS-er's Scriptor, and the in-built editor.

Oh dear...

He should know that, I grant you, but I only learned about them a while after coming into yon BZ2 community.

[TheJamsh]

ODF files are basically like notepad files with lines of english text in them.

easy to understand and decipher, but without that knowledge, you would never make a mod. ODF files define nearly everything that isnt hard-coded

[CivBase]

Okay, that makes sence.