MVM Retribution Ep. 1 1.1

[gstv87]

gstv87 submitted a new resource:

Retribution Ep. 1 - MvM, meet L4D.

A revision and update of redmyclan's Machine Attacks series, over at Gamebanana.
This is not meant as an appropriation of the original work, but an improvement and personal interpretation of what I understand the vision behind the original idea to be, which is to bring Left4Dead style gameplay and storytelling to TF2's MVM mode.
I did approach the original author ages ago about this, but he basically told me he liked his product the way it was, and either saw no value on changing it, or was...

Read more about this resource...

 

[Mr. enderman 22]

you should upload this to potato.tf testing servers

 

[gstv87]

putting that on the to-do list.... but I want to have ep 2, 3 and 4 built, functional and packed first.
that's the whole of act 1, almost unchanged from the original, using stock TF2 maps, but those themselves were buggy and poorly optimized, so I had to patch them first (patch Valve's own work built by actual map builders and approved WITH bugs 15 years ago!)
as they stand today, they've been in the fridge for literally 5 years... they're a bunch of disconnected patches of tech and structure that need to be built first.
I've just got back to seriously working on this, with a broken keyboard, lousy internet and poor health. It's gonna take time.

 

[MercySewerPyro]

We've been playing this on the LazyPurple MvM servers, and I must say: I LOVE the visual changes. It really makes for a better read on what's happening in the map, and moving around where some stuff spawns or what way you go really adds to the effect. That second to last point where they're dropping through the side fence? PERFECT. There was also no mistakes about dropping into the water this time, though that may have been because we had a group of those who'd played MA before.

I also really like the new control points. They're clean, no wondering why there's a point in the middle of 2fort, and the capture point areas are easy to read.

I feel like some of the 'traps' could be added back in; right now it's just a straight shot out of your collapsing base, which doesn't feel as... Atmospheric? I want to say? That's probably not the right word. Also the end of the map seems to play out of order; you can trigger the end dialogue BEFORE you beat the boss (that and I'm not sure if the exit still exists) and it doesn't seem to properly end. We get stuck at the wave bar entirely run out.

What I do really like as another change from the original, is the story change. Acknowledging BLU is still around and textually working alongside them for once? That's a great idea! It was fun to see them there, and even have the soldier taunt as juuust the right moment in the dialogue. Interested to see how that develops going forward.

We've yet to play on a regular server of 6-10, so until that I can't give feedback on difficulty. All in all though, great work! It was a blast from the past to see Machine Attacks updated like this.

 

[gstv87]

thank you for the review... that's all I wanted when I made this: to make a fun map that made sense.

even have the soldier taunt as juuust the right moment in the dialogue

took me days to fine-tune that part, from the dropping through the hole, to the music and the taunting. :/
sadly, my client now takes MINUTES to load a map, as opposed to the 30 seconds it used to take, for some unknown reason.
perfecting sequences and flow is going to take time.

you can trigger the end dialogue BEFORE you beat the boss

not sure how that's possible.
the cap zone is enabled only after the boss dies, by pop logic.

it doesn't seem to properly end. We get stuck at the wave bar entirely run out.

someone must have used a bot_kill command, indirectly killing the dummy bot holding that checkpoint, which is invisible and out of the map.
again... that part is driven by pop logic, and plays on cue when the dummy is removed by that same logic.
no dummy? no trigger.
and I've triple-checked this before uploading this build. I wanted to be absolutely sure the boss would die, and the scene would play on cue.
there's no way the victory message won't show, unless the dummy bot is already dead, which nobody can possibly kill.

some of the 'traps' could be added back in

I don't remember any traps in the original, only the water and the fire in point 4.
maybe the MA author added traps in a more recent version? I never played those.

We've yet to play on a regular server of 6-10

the mission is meant for 6.
you may play with as little as 2, but more than 6 is not going to make a difference... the flow will still be the same because the cap times are fixed.
you can't possibly play this solo either, because the cap areas require 2 players.

 

[gstv87]

little update: I just went to the server to test it, turns out they rushed that part and didn't pay attention to the dialogue.
the sequence plays correctly, the boss one-shots people as expected, the cap logic works correctly, it's just they were able to keep the boss out of the room by blocking the hallway with engineer stuff.
gonna close that room from the other side and add _nobuild zones until the boss takes position.
the fight is meant to happen in those tight quarters, so RED is right on top of the cap when the boss dies, triggering the scene.
the whole level is designed to be winnable by using only the mercs on RED: sniper, scout, heavy, engi and spy.
that's why there is a constant rush of enemies, combo enemies like the pyros and scouts, and armor-piercing enemies like the deflector heavy.
a well-placed headshot from a sniper or a backstab should one-shot them regardless of stats... and likewise, their melee enemies should have a fair chance to fight you even when you're armored to the bone.

 

[gstv87]

gstv87 updated Retribution Ep. 1 with a new update entry:

updated to version 1.1

-Switched the NPC BLU spawn bots to spawn during their cutscene instead of map spawn. This should free the player's side to fit 6 players as intended.
-Reduced the spawn rate of some enemies at the bridge cap and BLU ramp to make it less chaotic.
-Added nobuild areas around the last checkpoint to prevent the boss from being cornered out of the capture room.
-Fixed BLU basement's glass door missing it's damage filter check. Now it should be damageable only by the boss bot coming through...

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[MercySewerPyro]

No rush on anything, health and real life come first! I'll upload this to our servers soon and I'll bother people into a six or ten person run.

You're probably right about the traps being from newer versions. In that case, disregard; my memory's a little muddy since I played them so long ago.

Edit: Might want to add a version difference in the file so we don't get a 'map differs from server' error.

 

[gstv87]

@MercySewerPyro I might join you shortly, for the lolz.
do try a 6 as intended, it should be manageable now with the reduced spawn.