Doom3world

Hey all,

I thought I'd gauge the interest in a little Quake 4 level that I've been working on. Whether or not anyone plays it isn't really too much of a concern, as it's a portfolio piece more than anything, but I'm still curious to see if anyone is still around, let alone still has Q4!

I won't be showing anything of it too soon as it's very much been a on again off again process and is still going to be a massive undertaking, but I do hope to have it out this year. However, when I do have some worthy visuals, I'll definitely share them.

post pics regardless of interest level.

I just reinstalled Quake4 some days ago and I am always eager to play some new good custom levels.

This the one you have shown me bits and pieces of?

I still have it installed, I'll play it.

Hey! It's good to hear a bit of interest!

Firstly, chuckdood, what I have planned should be worth the wait, so I want to hold off on showing anything until have something more final. The levels overall design is complete and I am currently blocking out all of the areas before I put in first pass gameplay. Then I'll make it pretty. So it will be a while before I have some shots to show, but like I said, it'll be worth the wait.

Now, tron, it's the one and the same. I figured that I best do something productive while being unemployed and that something may as well be this map.

I'll keep bumping this thread as anything happens. Which I hope to be soon!

Evacuation Protocol for Doom3 was a fantastic map, so I'm sure your Q4 map will be of the same quality. Are you creating any custom content for it or just the q4 assets?

on a side note: sucks to hear that you're unemployed hope you find something new very soon...

Ah yes, I knew I played some quality stuff from bkt, but I forgot which level it was exactly... Evacuation Protocol was really atmospheric and fun. Really looking forward to your Q4 level, bkt.

Thanks for those positive words guys!

As far as the quality of the level is concerned though, I'm not trying to match Evac, I'm planning on blowing it out of the water. Though I'm very proud of how that level turned out, the way I made it wasn't efficient at all, plus I will be incorporating many things I've learned as a professional to this new one. And as I said earlier, this Q4 level is going to be a major portfolio piece and one of the areas I want to practice is 3D. So I've worked a lot of modelled terrain and assets into the design. This side of things will take a lot of time, but I think it'll all be very much worth it! Expect to see much larger scaled areas and even some exteriors (such a bullet point feature, I know).

It does suck being unemployed at the moment, but hey, these things happen and I'm viewing it as an opportunity. I've started university, partly to help get me a US work Visa so I can work at the top studios in the states, in a couple years

Evacuation Protocol is a great map. I haven't played Quake 4 in a while but I'm definitely reinstalling it for this.

Things are coming along slowly, slowly. I've been re-adjusting to the life of a student, but work continues nonetheless!

Now I know I said I wouldn't show anything for a while, but I just realized that I've had a couple of new shots online for a while now. These were taken for my portfolio, so I figured I might as well share the love!

Awesome Screenshot
Awesome Screenshot 2

And just as a little treat, about a week and a half ago I uploaded an overhead radiant screenshot here. Don't let the basic brushwork of some areas fool you, these are the blocked out sections which will be full of life soon enough! Rest assured that there will most certainly be a lot of 'static model blue' added in the coming months. The layout is currently about 2/3 complete, with only 3 major areas left to lay down. Once that's done, basic gameplay and scripting will be added, then the pretty stuff!

I'll keep updates coming as soon as there's stuff to show

Nice! Great verticality in that first shot.

Yeah, first shot looks really nice! though I have to admit that I'm a bit tired of the brown/orange color theme that most Q4 maps are using.
On a side not, just realized that it's been ages since I've last seen the editor

Thanks again, but I'm sorry to say BJA, there will be some more brown to come! I'm basing the whole level within the Q4 universe, so I won't be straying too far from the original game aesthetically. However, I do have a multiple areas that I want to give very distinct themes, so you can at least expect a few different shades of brown, maybe even some blue and red

I thought I'd give a bit of an update on how the levels going and let you know that it is in fact still going. Once again I won't be showing any screenshots as the majority of the level still looks like this. As is always the case, work has been slow due to Uni, but this level is going to be my main portfolio piece, so I am 100% dedicated to finishing it... sooner or later

Anyway, as I've said previously, I've got the design pretty much knuckled down for the level, however after playing through Quake4 again recently I realized just how many design choices Raven made didn't sit well with me, so I'm changing some of them. There are some aspects of the game that to me feel out of place in a world with games like Gears of War and Crysis. So my current plan is to overhaul the entire health system.

The basic idea is that instead of having two numbers out of 100 (health and armor) that are replenished with medkits or armor pickups, the player will be given a stroyent supply (as the player is Stroggified) which after a short delay, automatically refills either armor or health when damaged. The player replenishes their stroyent at health stations as per Quake4, however there will be no med kits or armor pickups. So this system doesn't come off as a simple halo style regenerating shield mechanic, I plan on changing the way each weapon type causes damage. For example, machineguns/shotguns will take practically no health if armor is plentiful, however hyperblaster rounds burn and will do damage through armor. The idea is for this to apply to both the weapons enemies fire as well as yours, so in essence, using a machinegun/shotgun against a Gladiator will have little to no effect, unless you hit him in his fleshy head.

The extent to which I'll be able to do this is purely based on how well I manage with the SDK once I delve into it. But with a bit of luck, it will really add some value to different types of weapons and make players reconsider the way they face certain enemies, therefor making the gameplay that bit more involved and modernized.

Save for some details, the story is also done and a strong story is something I'm taking very seriously in this level. The level as a whole is very story driven with just about every aspect of what happens in the level being relevant to pushing that storyline forward. I won't go into great detail, but to give you a quick idea, the level takes place a few years after Quake 4 and after realizing how effective a Stroggified Kane was, the Human Military rescued many more, eventually creating a Special Forces unit made solely out of Stroggified Soldiers. You play as a member of this unit on a mission to infiltrate a far reaching Strogg facility and discover a deadly new weapon that is reportedly within. It may sound like the usual fair, but this is only the premise, it expands outwards from there.

That should do for now I think, I'm currently on holidays from Uni and the goal is to get as much done as I can during my down time. I'll try to keep any updates I have a bit more frequent and I hope to be able to actually show you guys something soon enough!

keep at it man

This sounds really interesting, but also quite ambitious and time-consuming with all the testing and tweaking it would require. I would finish the maps first and release them, then maybe make the mod a seperate download later.

Anyways, looking forward to it.

One of my overall goals for this level is to create an experience using Quake4 as a base that feels modern and upto date. As I mentioned earlier, during my latest playthrough of Q4 there were a fair few design choices that felt well out of date. As I've given more thought to the health system I've realized that it will be a pretty massive undertaking, but so will a fair few other ideas I have for the level, but the regenerating health/stroyent system is something I want 100%. Different damage types for different weapons is what would take up the bulk of the time and in the end would be a subtle addition, so will be the first thing to get cut if it comes to that.

As far as releasing the level first and any updates later, that won't be happening. As I mentioned earlier this level will be my main portfolio piece, so I'll be aiming for as low a barrier to entry as possible and multiple versions will only serve to confuse non-community people who might otherwise play the level. With the exception of a possible 'demo' version that would be used more as an open beta to test the balance of dynamic features that I'll be using such as the health system and dynamically spawning ammo, the plan is to put out the map as a single release.

Also, as an update of sorts, I'm now also planning to optimize the level for sikkpins HDR mod. It's amazing how much of a difference it makes to the overall atmosphere of the game. Save for sikkpin going MIA prior to releasing a fully supported Q4 version of the mod, you can expect this level to look and play like a current generation game.

Miniature update time!

Firstly this level is well and truly alive, always has been!

As for some news, there has been a major change in the levels development recently. I realized the scope of the project was going to be too much work for me, but I am so convinced that everything will be worth it I've put together a team of ~6 people to help out. I've been lucky enough to get nothing but seriously talented guys in their respective fields and am really excited to see just how much better their contributions will make the whole package!

More (substantial) news to come sooner rather than later!

Good to know. I'll be waiting for more information, and, ultimately, the release.