level Level 1: Nar shaddaa

[Tempust85]

Things I've fixed since the last screen:

 

- door sizing is now larger and is consistent size throughout the level

- fixed a few texture alignment issues

- landing platform is now larger

- fixed the landing platform floor texture to match the video

- removed one of the air ducts in the room near the start area (one with the broken lift) to open the area up a bit more

 

Once I'm happy with the landing platform, I'll post some pics.

[minilogoguy18]

Rad, once I get back into town I'm shooting the lambda model over to Psyk0Sith for texturing so that will get this level a little extra polishing rather than having the base lambda there.

[Tempust85]

Awesome.  Did you make a landed version with the ramp?

[minilogoguy18]

Just gotta add the ramp, forgot about that.

[Tempust85]

Still tweaking the landing platform, but I've also added area portals to the doors and cleaned up some portals where stairs are. In short, the entire level runs smoother.

 

 

The next time you play this level (again), it will be much better (than last time) and more true to the original DF2 level. 

[MagSul]

I'm going to climb out of my hole briefly here to say this looks absolutely fantastic. Well done, DT85!

[Tempust85]

I've done some minor fixes, and added in the level transition to 02nar. Need to convert that 01nar end video....

[minilogoguy18]

Ok, I finally got around to playing through the level completely, everything seems good so far BUT, the mech boss at the end is too dumb to be a real boss. It was way too easy to stand around the corner and throw thermals at him without even alerting him to come after me. The only other real things are just things that you are probably already aware of like the lack of sky and that the landing pad at the end could probably be made to be a little more round. The new lambda model will also be more to scale than JA's base one so might even have to scale up the pad some but I think overall that would look better in game to have a true to scale lambda that is way more accurate.

[Tempust85]

The landing pad is shaped that way because it's like that in the video. Do you think I should remove the mech boss or just try to tweak its stats?

[minilogoguy18]

That's a tough one, there was no boss in the original game, we'd have to really sit and think if the bosses of the original game (dark jedi) are enough. Perhaps remove it and keep only the original level boss line up but make them much more challenging than the original game. I'm thinking like say Sariss=JK2 Tavion, Jerec=JK2 Desann, Boc=Alora 2nd fight, Yun=Hard Reborn, Gorc, Pic and Maw may need to be totally unique though.

 

Too bad 8t88 couldn't be the boss, it wouldn't match up with the cutscenes.

[minilogoguy18]

After playing through the most recent I'm gonna say maybe some of the melee Gran that you took out should be put back, those guys are a challenge since they do a lot of damage and I wouldn't want to make the game too easy.

 

As far as the other thing that was mentioned in another thread, how do the ammo pickups compare with the original game? Maybe I'm just good at conserving ammo by jumping out from around a corner and landing charged head shots but it would be nice to make the game so that ammo must be conserved. Maybe as far as the shields go we could do like the original game and have more small shield boosters rather than having big ones, I don't remember the original DF2 having any large shield boosters, maybe 1 or 2 as hidden items in every other level.

 

I think the map also really needs a sky as well as some sort of tricked perception of depth like when you look down over a ledge, make the fall seem like miles. The sky shouldn't really be just black, I think we should look at KotOR 2 some as far as the sky, have a skybox with buildings and give the skyline a 'glow' similar to when you look out over an urban area and see the glow on the horizon from all the lights.

[Circa]

If only the melee animations and function looked better.

[minilogoguy18]

^That can easily be fixed, you forgot about my awesome character rig for Softimage? Makes making new animations easy.

[Circa]

^That can easily be fixed, you forgot about my awesome character rig for Softimage? Makes making new animations easy.

I have definitely not forgotten. I was hinting that it should be done if melee is going to be used so heavily in this mod.

 

[minilogoguy18]

Well don't know if you've played the original DF2 but it just had melee, it's not really heavily used, just last resort and there were NPC's that used it.

[Circa]

I refer to the NPC's. I suppose heavily was the wrong term. 

 

Or maybe I'm butthurt over how awful the melee looks in JA and hasn't really been touched yet.

 

And yes, I've played it, but it's been years. I plan on getting back to it here soon, now that I have the whole JK series on Steam.

[Tempust85]

Problem is though with Melee, is that the animation lengths are coded (at least for first person) & the game seems to only like animating tags which is why it looks so shit. I need to either port eez's viewmodel GLM code which will take some heavy copy pasting or find a way to allow MD3 animation that animates the entire model and not just tags.

 

About the sky, if someone can make me a sky with distant buildings that would be awesome.

[Tempust85]

How would people receive this map & level 2 if it were redesigned to look like Nar Shaddaa in KotOR II? Obviously the route and what you need to do in the levels will remain the same as the original DF2 game, I'm just talking the look of the levels like door frames, etc.

[minilogoguy18]

Hmm, that's very tough, I really like the Nar Shaddaa we see in KotOR 2 but it seems like it could be a big redesign as well as the time from KotOR 2 and DF 2 were very far apart, the city wouldn't look the same.

 

I still really liked the way this version looked

 

http://forums.massassi.net/vb3/showthread.php?53704-side-project

 

Just something about the lighting, the color choices, like there is algae or something coating a lot of surfaces with A LOT of rust on everything. It just looks so dirty but so right, similar in a way to KotOR 2.

 

I would say keep the layout the same but try to add the atmosphere of what this person was trying to achieve as well as the atmosphere of KotOR 2. Make everything seem grimey, damp with a haze in the air.

 

If you scroll through that thread you'll also find there are videos of the level being played, the fans in the beginning in the ceiling are not all moving at the same speed as well as there being destructible elements.

[Tempust85]

I have the level on file to look at, but I can't use it though. I'll have another look at it and see what I can replicate.

[minilogoguy18]

Oh you actually have that map file?

 

I think yours just mainly needs some lighting and texture changes, the layout is right, the only thing that could possibly be changed brushwork wise is just some improvising on detail of the level.

 

Main things

• more green
• rust
• dirt
• grime
• scum
• maybe a faint greenish haze in the air like KotOR 2

I also feel like every light in the level should emit yellow light, no white lights at all. Kinda like when plastic light lenses say on cars headlights for example oxidize and turn yellow, I feel like every light on Nar Shaddaa would be like that. Fun fact, the yellowing of plastic headlight lenses is due to pollutants in the air,  not the sun, you may notice that some cars only 1 side will do it and that's because most cars that it'll be behind in traffic will have only 1 tailpipe to 1 side.

[Tempust85]

I have the ambient lighting giving everything a blue-ish tinge, and the majority of the lights are a very light blue. There's one or two areas which are yellow though like the warehouse for example (where you take that lift and have to get the warehouse key to proceed). Swapping the blue out for yellow I feel would look horrible.

 

Interesting fact, I'll keep that in mind for outside areas.

[Barricade24]

How would people receive this map & level 2 if it were redesigned to look like Nar Shaddaa in KotOR II? Obviously the route and what you need to do in the levels will remain the same as the original DF2 game, I'm just talking the look of the levels like door frames, etc.

I'd personally prefer it to remain as it was in the game. But that's just me.

[Ramikad]

I prefer to keep it DF2-styled. You'd say things change after 4000 years.

[IrocJeff]

Is there a demo or this Nar Shaddaa map available?