Schism

KotH Schism A26

VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
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Schism - A KotH map split across two dimensions

This map is based on the light/dark world mechanic from Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, my favorite chapter from my collectively favorite game of all time, the Metroid Prime Trilogy. The idea is that the level has been split into two parallel dimensions - a light one and a dark one - hence the title. It's a KotH map where a team must own the point in both dimensions for their timer to start ticking down; ownership being split across dimensions will just pause the timer entirely.

To navigate between the dimensions, there are one-way vortexes throughout the map. While the map is rather small in 3D space, hopping back and forth between two worlds essentially turns the gameplay four-dimensional.

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Urban

aa
Jul 27, 2009
212
352
You might want to upload your .bsp instead of your .vmf, as it stands anyone who wants to have a play around in it has to load up hammer and compile it themselves. If you want to include both you can compress them into a .zip file and upload that.
 

VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
25
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Ah whoops, did I put in the VMF? I was kind of in a rush to get out the door; won't actually be back in front of my computer for several hours yet...
 

VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
25
2
Actually included the BSP this time. Again, still just a proof of concept. No changes since last time to the map itself. I kept the VMF in the ZIP if you wanna poke around to see how I did things.

I guess I should actually say what this is now. One of the big concepts I did with this was create a two-point KotH map where either team's timer only ticks down while they own both points (if you play Splatoon, you'd be familiar with the concept from maps with two Splat Zones).

The other concept I did was... well, let's see if you can figure out what one of my favorite games of all time is~

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Zed

Certified Most Crunk™
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Aug 7, 2014
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I know the pieces fit.
 

VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
25
2
Finally got the trigger_teleports working, so now we have functioning portals throughout the map, rudimentary as they are audiovisually. Along with some slight divergences in layout between the light and dark worlds; this is still very preliminary, but otherwise the first truly functioning version of the map.

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Crash

func_nerd
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Mar 1, 2010
3,315
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Cool concept putting an objective in each area. I did a similar thing (sans objective) with Stoneyridge Event, where you can escape to an "alternate dimension" version of the map for various benefits, primarily new flanking options.

One issue to keep in mind is that this will definitely split up combat a ton, and keeping a check on engineers camping exits is another concern.

I don't know specifics since I had FissionMetroid do the particles, but we actually included pictures of the opposite side of each portal in the portal itself to imply as close to a linked portal as we could figure out. Lot of tedious work getting it all set up, but I think the effect turned out pretty neat.
 

VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
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2
Fair enough, those concerns were already in the front of my mind. Since both sides here are meant to be equally significant and hopped between frequently, the intention was to make the map rather small in 3D space and make up for it in "4D space" so as not to spread the players out too thin. Exit camping is also something I've been thinking about (and not just in the context of Engineers) and I'm not quite sure about how to mitigate it just yet, but it's true that Engineers have the potential to be very powerful on this map. But that's something that I don't entirely want to discourage, what with the potential of using their own Teleporters for additional routes between the two worlds as well as Dispensers providing support in the dark world, which is intended to be less populated with pickups and overall more hazardous than the light world.

Speaking of which, one concept I've been thinking about implementing from this map's inspiration is the hazardous atmosphere of Dark Aether. The idea is that outside of a few "bubbles of light", players will take slow but constant damage (I'm thinking just a slight 1HP/s or so) in the dark world and the bubbles instead providing a slight heal at about the same rate. It would create designated hotspots that would be fought over - sort of like a more tangible version of how people fight over health pack locations - but would also discourage players from venturing out too far away from them and make the dark world feel more actually threatening in gameplay rather than just a dark-skinned version of the light world with slight differences. The hope would be that the damage is slow enough that it's not so much of a threat as to become annoying or discourage players from the dark world entirely, but just enough for them to feel a bit more pressure.

It's true though; I really wish TF2 had linked_portal_door support. Oh, the fun that could be had with that...
 
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VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
25
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Major overhaul of the map's layout into something actually viable for gameplay rather than merely a proof-of-concept. A good chunk of this was resurrected from my old koth_clearbridge prototype from the beginning of this year.

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No pickups yet, however. I'm quite sure where to put any; I'm rather new at mapping.

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VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
25
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Improved lighting on the dark world and added pickups throughout the map. Light world pickups restore more health and dark world pickups restore more ammo.

The changes are minor enough that I'm not bothering to update the images from revision A02.

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VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
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After a playtest in which the concept was deemed good but the layout a complete write-off, I spent the better part of two days completely remaking the map from scratch. This new version is less dev-texture-y, has a (hopefully) improved layout, twice as many portals, better lighting, and is slightly larger overall.

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VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
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  • Control points now cap in 10 seconds at 1x rate, rather than 24 seconds
  • Teams' round timers are now set to 2:00, rather than 3:00
  • Players now have a 50/50 chance of spawning in either world, rather than always spawning in the light world
  • The dark world's lighting has been brightened significantly so as to improve team recognition
  • The outer edges of the main combat area have been pulled inward
  • Portal platforms have been sunk lower into the ground to keep players from getting caught on their edges
  • The ramp rooms have been enlarged so that players won't get caught on the catwalks when warping
  • Spawn rooms have been elevated to help spawning players push out against campers

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VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
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  • Added icons for the points in the HUD
  • Further brightened the lighting in the dark world to assist team recognition
  • Swapped out the bridges to the side buildings for ramps in the dark world
  • Shortened the spires and lowered the central bridge in the light world
  • Adjusted the walls around the point; made taller in the light world and shorter in the dark world
  • Minor texture changes

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VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
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  • Added an additional set of portals to the map (two light, one central dark) bringing the count from 8 to 11
  • Added a tunnel below the point that houses the new dark portal
  • The pickup areas below the buildings have been expanded to accommodate the new light portals
These are all placed in spots where players will hopefully notice and use them much more often and get them accommodated to the world-swapping mechanic. In addition:
  • Further reduced point capture time from 10 seconds to 6 in an effort to reduce stalemates
  • Swapped the floor and wall textures in the dark world to make the world seem darker without affecting the lighting
  • Added additional cover around the map

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VinLAURiA

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Jan 10, 2011
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  • Removed paths behind buildings, replacing them directly with the dark portal chambers they would lead to
  • Said chambers now connect directly to the buildings
  • Buildings no longer have climbable roofs
  • Replaced floor texture of dark world with a darker texture
  • Replaced teleporters in spawn rooms with actual portals
  • Portals cause a brief flash on players' screens when entering them
  • Modified geometry around mid to add more complexity and cover and differentiate the worlds
  • [Missed last update] Updated HUD icons for points

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