Placidity (Frame rate lag free version done!) ***Please load this map in a custom lobby before you load it in a forge lobby. There is extreme lag when playing the map in forge mode due to the amount of hill markers, flag stands, capture plates, and safe/kill zones that have to be rendered when editing the map.*** *Updated 4/14/11 - After an astounding 4 month delay, the lag-free version of Placidity has been released! An incredible 6 pieces were changed/added that produced this lag free version, and it took every second of all 4 months to get those 6 pieces right! Enjoy!* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "If war is ever lawful, then peace is sometimes sinful." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Weapons on map* DMR x 4 Needle Rifle x 4 Magnum x 2 Plasma Grenades x 5 Frag Grenade x 1 Shotgun x 1 Focus Rifle x 1 Rocket Launcher x 1 Health Station x 3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Placidity is my second competitive map published on Forge Hub and is by far the best map I have made. My original concept for the map was to create a symetrical arena focused around a central courtyard. I wanted players to feel as if they were fighting in an outdoor area, so I included some natural elements (moar treez, I know) and kept the majority of the map unenclosed. I feel that I have, to an extent, achieved my goals, and that as a result this has turned out to be a pretty great map. Special thanks to A SILENT EMU and JaCoNDoRR Without further ado, pictures! *The staircases are fully functional with no bumping or sticking* --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overview: View of base, from middle: Jump ups: Front base room: Back base room: Back base room, top off: Middle rock structure: Yellow side base (same side as yellow tree): Top view: Bottom view: Orange side base (same side as orange tree): Top view: View from middle: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some *old* action shots: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well thats it for this post, if you want to read the about the stages this map went through, check out my map preview thread here. There are some more pictures tucked in there as well.
im impressed! this looks really smooth and well forged. i love the idea of the stairs, it must been very hard to make them, wasnt it? anyways i hope this map comes in the reach featured maps one day and im gonna DL this map right away!
Really like the look of this map, particularly the central area with the main staircase. Seems like the map would play very well too. Only down side is the frame rate drops like you said but it wasn't too bad for me, good luck reducing it!
DAAANG, this is really nice looking. Dig these elevation changes and it looks like it would be a really cool map to play on, fingers crossed. Looking forward to some customs on here, props on the design and layout so far =)
This map is EXTREMELY well done, IMO this should get featured. It looks like you put alot of time into it, and considerable thought. The layout and stairs are very nicely done and creative, I love this map! Downloading, 5/5
Overall the map looks really nice, I can tell there was definitely a focus on aesthetics. I like the use of the stair idea, I don't remember the first map I saw that in but it was never used this effectively. The layout is decent (center = death trap, lack of elevation) but the good weapon layout keeps fluid movement and I like the choice and placement of the power weapons. Unfortunately, Reach can't quite seem to handle the most aesthetically pleasing maps such as this as there is some frame rate lag. I really only got it as I stood in one spawn and looked all the way across to the other but this made it fairly difficult to cross map dmr/fr. Overall good work though.
Wow! bravo my friend. I really like your stairs lol. Their flawless and look like you spent some time on em. Back to your map.....Looks very smooth and well balanced. Good choice of elevation levels and cover. Overall, Great map!
I LOVE this map, but I have 1 issue. The Frame Rate is awful when you are in the 2 bases. Think you can find a way to fix that because This is a GREAT map and I love playing it now, but with the frame rate being bad it makes it hard to play it.
This map has a gorgeous layout and it really succeeds in giving it that courtyard type of feel. The drop in elevation towards the middle definitely opens up more sight lines while increasing the risk in grabbing the rocket launcher but you balanced them out nicely. Lots of great and unique structures so once again, bravo! Send me a PM if you wanna run some customs on this.
Alright so we all know that middle rock structure is by far the best part of the map. That must have taken hours... =D Anyways, the map looks awesome and it plays great for team games. The rocket launcher in the middle is nice because it is a high risk, high reward type of area. The only frame rate issues I had were when looking all the way across the map towards blue base. Other than that it was fine. Good job on the map.
I played this with the tester's guild guys quite a while back... I think it was in its initial stages back then, not too sure... The first thing I heard from my headset was "Hey, this map is mighty purty" (Purty = Pretty) and you know... I had to agree, I didn't really have a bad word to say about it, though some of the more experienced testers did. The stairs are expertly done, and I have my suspicions as to how, but I'll keep them private This played really well, although I didn't venture down into the middle area an awful lot for fear of being picked off by several DMRs But yeah, this is really good, and I'd encourage anyone to download it ^^
I downloaded and walk around in it a bit. Its definitely nice to look at, and its laid out well. The entire time looking at the stairs I was thinking "There is no way these are gonna work there is no way these are gonna work holy crap they work". However, while outside of the bases, the framerate is ok, but the moment you go into one or look out form one, it nosedives to the point where it definitely will impact gameplay, particularly in an online setting where lag may aggravate issues. I'm not sure how you could reduce it, but there is probably something that I'm not thinking of.
So, i downloaded it and ran around for awhile. I didn't play any games, so I cannot comment on the gameplay factor, but this map is a lagfest. Why? Because it's busy as hell. Aesthetics everywhere you turn, aesthetics. No breathing room for natural architecture to exist. I like the stairs. They look neat... but that's like 359832905 objects because you have staircases everywhere. You have pieces everywhere that just don't need to be. The floor doesn't have a flowing look at all because you used like 45 different types of pieces that don't mix well together. This could be a sweet map, but right now, its just overdone to the max.
I just downloaded your map and have some buddies coming over in about 30 minutes. Your map looks great! Hopefully it plays as good as it looks. We'll give it a test run and let you know! Nice work! Dweight
I'm telling ya man. Just replace your stairs with objects that don't light up and you could get rid of that framerate lag.
I agree, the lights on the steps are probably a much bigger problem than just the number of objects. If you have a lot of blocks or platforms lefts, just turn those upside down for steps and I'm sure they'll be just as aesthetically pleasing. Also I know a lot of the background scenery is blocked but a few trees are rendered beyond the colosseum windows so those could easily be replaced by walls. You have a great layout here but I think you'll just have to cut down the aesthetics to please the frame rate police here (myself included).
On your comment about the floor, which part of it are you talking about? The center part, the bases, one of the base rooms? If you could describe which part of it you don't think flows well, I coud try and fix it. Keep in mind that I am pretty limited on pieces at the moment though. Actually, the only lag on the map takes place around the center of the red base, when looking towards the other side of the map. This is caused because much of forge world's natural geometry is viewable in the background from that angle. I am currently working on putting up a blinder there, but I have not yet created a structure that flows well with the rest of the map. If worse comes to worse this will most likely be the next step I take in fixing the lag, but I really hoping it doesn't have to come to that.
overall i think this looks AMAZING. though it does seem a little too open with not that much cover. i'll try to write some more "in depth" feedback after i get a quick test of this done.
Ok so we've tested your map. The layout is awesome! It plays really, really, really well. There is only one concern that I can see. You should probably change the safe boundary to a "soft safe" boundary. If your concerned with people going over the wall, put a hard kill zone a few meters out from your safe zone. Other than that the map plays really well. I've got 2 people per box / screen and am noticing no frame rate problems at all. I'm sure that the people that are having frame rate issues are loading your map in forge mode and not custom game mode. Nice work! We'll keep playing this map and will look forward to your future creations!