Thursday, September 09, 2004

QuickPar benchmarks

Created a QuickPar parity set today on the new box. My AthlonXP 2600+ with PC2700 DDR usually manages around 450MB/s and the new Opteron 144 with PC2100 ECC REG DDR is running at 665MB/s. Around 48% faster, even though it has slower memory. Dunno if getting PC3200 RAM for the system would speed that up at all or not.

If I had gone with the Opteron 148 chip, that would probably be around 800MB/s (or 78% faster).

posted by Wuphon's Reach at 6:13 PM (0 comments)

Wednesday, September 08, 2004

CoD Mapping Links

Devmap mode - useful for exploring a multi-player level that you don't know, but you want to find out what textures were used.

1. Create a new link to the multi-player EXE file [ "C:\Program Files\Call of Duty\CoDMP.exe" +set thereisacow 1337 +set developer 1 +set sv_cheats 1 +set monkeytoy 0 + set com_introplayed 1 ]
2. Fire up the link, type \devmap mp_hurtgen and then \cg_drawshader 1.
3. Point your gun at a texture.

Bubba's Arena Mapping - level design, prefabs

MODsOnline tutorials - more short tutorials

IWNation forums (adding gametype models) - How to add in search and destroy locations, etc.


posted by Wuphon's Reach at 1:40 PM (0 comments)

Evil Genius Demo

Looks like Real Life Comics has also stumbled across the Evil Genius demo. I downloaded my copy from the GamersHell website (it's around 200MB, I think).

Sorta a cross between The Sims, Sim City and Rollercoaster Tycoon. Right now, it's on my "must buy" list, depending on the reviews when it comes out later in the year. There are still some things in the demo that don't make sense (like quickly finding intruders or the petty thief without querying everyone). Or why explosions keep happening in my secret lair.

Oh, and if you can capture the petty thief and get him into the interrogation chair, you'll get quite a show by the guard who does the questioning.

posted by Wuphon's Reach at 10:35 AM (0 comments)

Tuesday, September 07, 2004

Call of Duty - Underground Storage

More mucking about in the CoDRadiant editor (oh, and the new expansion pack coming out on the 14th supposedly includes the base game). This is the 5th redesign of this concept. The basic idea is for a 2-level, underground combination of a mine shaft and underground bunkers/storage. The upper level will be concrete and steel (standard bunker fare) while the lower level will be more like a mine with cave-ins and dark passages. There will be a vent system allowing you to bypass rooms (players have to move through vents in a crouched position) or attack from above. And a sewer system to allow attacks from below.

The first four attempts were either scaled wrong, or got too big too quick, or the layout got way too confusing for players. So I've gone back and re-examined how the mp_rocket map from the original game was done and am basing a lot of my scale off of that map (prior to play testing). The mp_rocket map seems to have been laid out on a 32 unit grid (1 foot is somewhere between 12 units and 16 units). The textures on the interior walls is a light gray with dark gray lines running horizontally. The vertical distance between the dark gray lines is 32 units. Most corridors and rooms in mp_rocket are then around 96u high, with a few 128u high ceilings. Doorways are around 48-64u wide and 96u tall.

The bunker portion of the map will have 128u ceilings, but with crossbeams that lower clearances to 96u. All "people" doors are 64u wide at the moment, but will probably be shrunk to 56u or 48u as I go back and do the detail work. (The initial design is done on a 32u grid, sometimes stepping down to a 16u grid.) Any brushes inside the main blocks are usually tagged as detail brushes (interior walls, the support columns, the crossbeams, ladders, the murder hole walls).

Top view of the layout so far. The wallpaper-textured shaft is the central lift shaft which I haven't fleshed out yet. Upper right is a single-story storage room with simple columns for support. Lower right is a two-level storage room with cross-bracing between the columns. (Haven't decided which style I'm going to use, it may depend on how many brushes I end up with.)




Upper-right corridor and storage area. The "wallpaper" texture is a placeholder, representing the location of the central lift shaft. You'll see that there is a guard room with murder holes right at the lift shaft (to control that section of corridor). Easy enough to sneak below the windows, which is as designed. The map is being designed for either HQ or Domination, so I want lots of defendable spots, but also allow the attackers to flank around.





This is the other corridor (with the two-level storage area). The first shot is lookup towards the central lift shaft (wallpaper texture) showing the storage area entrance on the left and the guard area on the right. Near the lift shaft is a pile of boxes that can be climbed to get into a vent (bypassing the murder holes).






This stack of boxes hides the ladder down into the sewers from people in the corridors. It should be enough cover that you can come up the ladder and make a break for the two side corridors. Or it could be used as a defensive position covering the main corridor. Looking at the screenshots, that main corridor is quite long and is going to be a major battleground (or no man's land). I'll need to provide for ways around it as well as adding enough boxes or other items to provide cover.



Inside the one guard area showing the murder holes in the wall as well as temporary textures showing where beds will be.



Ramp leading down to the lower level storage area.



Tops of two of the ladders leading down into the sewers. The left image is in the back of the one guard area (with the beds) and also shows access to the vent system. The right image is on the upper level of the two-level storage area (allowing the player to access both levels of the storage area as well as the sewer).



Underground sewer area. I'm not completely satisfied with this so it will probably get redesigned (at least the interior detail brushes). I may rip it out and just put a simple 96x128 box in until I decide. The current interior is 80x128 (if you don't count the detail brushes). Besides, I still need to route the sewers and figure out where all of the exits will be. And that depends on what the final main layout looks like and where I need to allow flanking routes.



posted by Wuphon's Reach at 10:06 AM (0 comments)

Monday, September 06, 2004

Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault Demo

The demo for MoH:PA is out... it's "okay", but not spectacular and I think it needs a good bit of work before release. (It's a 500+MB download, try GamersHell for a copy.)

The environment was pretty, and it was neat that you could shoot things and see them move (tires, the wooden awnings, boxes) or shoot things and destroy them (supplies in the medical tent, the wooden awnings). The demo level wasn't that large, so I'm not sure whether MoH:PA levels can be as big as what I'm used to in CoD or not.

The medic was cool, along with the death animation when you get killed (fade to gray). Combat was chaotic, but your teammates were pretty accurate with their shots and they'd constantly regroup, fall back, lay down suppressing fire.

OTOH, the character models and animations left a lot to be desired (or finessed).

Shoot an enemy, and they really don't react much other then stooping down to one knee and then standing back up. I wanted to see their body rock back when they got hit, or spin a bit when you wing one. Not much visual confirmation of landing a round unless you happen to see the teeny tiny blood spray.

Model movements were jerky and very cartoonish. Hopefully they spend a few weeks polishing all of that up before release. Worst was the animation if you managed to bash someone to death. They flew 20+ feet and then skidded across the ground like a rag doll.

If this was the "polished" version of the demo... I wonder what the unpolished version looked like?

posted by Wuphon's Reach at 3:30 AM (0 comments)