[Preface] Chapter I: Part I - Naboo: Diversion

[PvtParts]

Naboo: Diversion -

The map will depict the Battle of Grassy Plains, and make up the 1st of 5 maps in the Preface Chapter of my works. The other 4 being Naboo:(Recapture of theed), Naboo:(Space Battle), DEV-Training: ST-Cln, and DEV-Training: Adv. RCmd. I just started work on this map a few days ago, and have basically only gotten the basic concepts of layout formed, though I have pretty much finished the big hill the Trade Feds come stormin down.

Now, this means I am less than 50 percent done specifically in the mapping department, but I still am going to throw this up here, because my revamped sides are 90-100% finished, and, trust me, they make up over 50% of the work for these maps.

Also, I want to give a brief thanks to all those who have helped me out, whether or not it was specific to this map. The biggest help(er?) that directly affected this map was MajinRevan. He not only patiently answered my questions, shared many files with me, but has also helped me immensly with the Gungan Side (Majin I word it like this to make sure your inbox isnt spammed, but if you want me to be specific..).

Now that all the technical stuff is said and done, I give screenshots:
(Be a little slack, remember I said I havent really worked on mapping, this is simply to satisfy the rules for WIP)

http://s65.photobucket.com/albums/h229/ ... 0Part%20I/


Hilltop View:




Fambaa Breeding Grounds:






Trade Federation Droids on their way into battle (note that I haven't messed with MTT's yet, so they aren't in the map yet, though it will only take me a couple seconds to get ingame, for now I'm focusing on the map)

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h229/ ... -45-98.jpg


AAT Main Cannon destroys gungan opposition:

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h229/ ... -35-53.jpg




Droidekas deploy on battlefield:




Gungan blasted mid-air by droid commander:



Alright, that sums up screenies (be sure to check out the album for the rest). Here is v2 of the Beta;

http://files.filefront.com/NAC_v2zip/;6 ... einfo.html

Anyhow, I'll be updating this probably daily (unless by some miracle we finally get waves - its been flat everryyy day for a week or so, so I spend a few hours doin this instead of surfing..........arggggghhhh).

Hope you all like it,

Parts

[valiant]

wow. nice skins. you sharpen them?

[Dohnutt]

Very nice. It sounds and looks promising!

[PvtParts]

Yes I did sharpen them. All the skins are going to look a lot better. One thing I will say (this was pointed out to me by one of my beta testers) is that they have spots on them that may appear unsightly. These aren't so apparent ingame. So take that into account when you look at them in the spawn screen.

I myself dont even notice it, on the contrary when I play a map with skins that aren't sharpened like that, it bugs me (not as an issue with the map, but im just trying to say how I've gotten used to it and almost expect to see it everytime I play another map), and is the first thing I notice.

And thanks for the good comments.

PS. I got Fambaas/Their Shields working, many thanks to Big-Rich.

[RevanSithLord]

I think Majin might attack you for those shields lol But nice work PvtParts. Lookin forward to it.

[t551]

Nice explosion effects!

[PvtParts]

Hahaha thanks.

And just to give you all a brief update, tomorrow, as I said, expect a little map to show you all the sides, along with the main vehicles for those sides (so you'll have a full CIS side with droidfighters, aats, etc, then a gungan side to oppose you).

As for this map, I'll be posting up more screenshots that are less for looking 'pretty' and more to give you an idea of what this map looks like (in retrospect I could've done a better job - the terrain pretty much looks flat in those screenshots..). So once I get the woods started, with the swamp and Fambaa breeding grounds (a lake thing), ill start posting up some decent screenies.


Any thoughts/comments/ideas welcome..but do remember im trying to recreate the Battle of Naboo...though on the next map, the Recapture of Theed, I will have a lot more freedom as far as design and gameplay, because that map is going to be more in the city streets, than inside buildings like the movies were (I plan to make assasin droids play a big role).

[Rekubot]

LOL! Love the loading screen!

(so you'll have a full CIS side with droidfighters, aats, etc, then a gungan side to oppose you).

There were no droid starfighters in the battle on the grassy plains. Or at least, I never saw any. I thought they were all up in space. Also, you always tend to get a ton of new bugs with flyers in maps. (AI crashing, map boundaries can be seen etc.) Just thought I'd point it out.

(I plan to make assasin droids play a big role).

Not really relevant to this topic, but were assassin droids even around back in those days? I believe that the 'extra' droids were created around the time of the Clone Wars to counter the anti-tank and sharpshooter troops.

It's good to see the Gungan weapons in this level. It wouldn't be the Battle of Naboo without them .

I think Majin might attack you for those shields lol But nice work PvtParts. Lookin forward to it.

Majin was the one who gave him the shields, LoL.

Can't wait for the mini-beta!

[PvtParts]

Oh hell sorry Rekubot.

I totally misworded what I was saying, let me rephrase:


I will be releasing a small map (you know that default square map that you get when you munge for the first time?), and on that map I will put the regular cis side (Naboo: Diversion will be using the _td.odf, which is part of the side specifically made for prior to the clone wars), and in it I will put all the CIS vehicles. This map is not Naboo Diversion. Its point is to quickly show you all how the CIS side plays, and give you an idea of what your going to see in Naboo: Diversion.

So yes, Naboo: Diversion (The Battle of Grassy Plains), will not have any droidfighters. It will have AAT's, MTT's, STAP's, and possibly Kaduu's. As for the units, You will have a gungan with a force pike, a gungan with a sheild, and I may make a gungan with both, acting as a captain (though I am unsure how this would work with the combo files..), and then you will have the standard battledroid, a pilot droid, a command droid, and a droideka (these are the classes present at the battle of grassy plains)


As for the assassin droids, once again I misspoke. In the next map after this one, which will be based around the recapture of theed, I wanted to make Assasin droids have a big influence. Basically, I plan to recreate the Theed city area, you know the whole place leading up to the palace? As theres no way I can accurately make the interior or Theed Palace without a major amount of new models. So the next map will pit droids against Royal Naboo Security Forces, and assasin droids will play a major role. As for whether or not Assassin droids existed at this time, I have no evidence against it, and Battlefront I is frequently referenced for canon things in reliable websites such as Wookieepedia, thus I assume that so long as no evidence is against it, I can give the CIS assassin droids

The only droids I know weren't created until the clone wars are the Anti-Armour droids, and they were made due to the fact that Republic/Hostile forces easily mopped up the infantry-based droid's on the battlefield, who prior to the Assault Droids creation relied soley on armour for their defense.


So, today I will probably throw together that mini-beta type thing to show you all the sides.

[Hebes24]

I think Majin might attack you for those shields lol But nice work PvtParts. Lookin forward to it.

I want those shields too, actually. (please? )

[PvtParts]

If your talking about how I got the fambaa shields working, look here:

http://www.gametoast.com/index.php?name ... pic&t=7160

And if your talking about the droideka shield, just pm me and I'll give it to you. I made it a while ago and released it somewhere, but I dont recall...


EDIT - Updated first post with new screenshot.

[PvtParts]

Double post to spread out, and not confuse everyone...



Okay, I am having trouble getting the sound in the small demo map I was going to release working, so instead, what I'll do, is when I get the trees and basic layout set up for Naboo: Diversion, I'll release a public beta. Expect that sometime this upcoming week, depending on how much time I devote to it, which is dependant on whether or not we get good waves..

PS.

If someone could pm me the unmodified version's of the following files, it would help me immensly:

BF2_ModTools\data\_BUILD\Sound\munge.bat

BF2_ModTools\data\soundmunge.bat
\soundmungedir.bat

[Rekubot]

[Preface] Chapter 1: Part 1
Naboo: Diversion

The Gungan Grand Army has risen from the swamps in an attempt to threaten Trade Federation control of Naboo, possibly aiming to recapture the capital city of Theed. Crush them, immediately.

-----------------------

Okay... so I'm gonna bump this topic up a little to give my review.

First off... what a great map. Even from a beta I can tell that these series of maps will have the kind of quality that makes MajinRevan's maps so great. That of course, is probably because both are focused on realism.

Unlike a lot of large maps I've played on, this isn't just an add a few hills and a bunch of vehicles kind of thing. Everything I can think of has been modified, right down to effects and sounds (both of which are amazing by the way; where do you get those sounds from? LoL.)

http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/987/explosionvl0.jpg
(One of the numerous explosion effects)

As well as standard-issue vehicles such as the AAT and STAP, a couple of new (or old, depending on whether you had BF1/downloaded Hidden Surprise) vehicles are on the battlefield.

http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/6869/kaadugc6.jpg
("The Kaadu, She Lives!")

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/4757/mttuw1.jpg
(Seen in more than just Majin's map)

All vehicles are being (mostly) attuned to their movie-counterparts. While this is good (at least in my opinion), I guess those who prefer gameplay over accuracy won't be amused by vehicles like the MTT, which can't fire if you're driving. Ah well.

So... onto the map. You may well just be expecting the Naboo Plains; I for one was. However, PvtParts has gone even further into the depths of Naboo (*cough* Wookiepedia *cough*), and added a couple of extra areas that some of you may very well be familiar with.

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/1502/g ... acekd6.jpg
(The secret place of the Gungans. [Can't remember what to call it, ] There's something very pretty inside that tree, though I won't say what, LoL.)

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/8274/fambaapv6.jpg
(And the Fambaa breeding grounds. If anyone wants eye candy in this map then go there, it's beautiful. )

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/8462/plainsnb0.jpg
(And the plains itself, looking from over the Naboo forest.)

Here I'm going to make my first suggestion; compact the battle slightly. At the moment the battle on the plains is far too spread out; it takes so long to get around if you're walking and us humanoids don't have the patience of droids . Besides, I don't think it was that spread out in the movie anyway.

By the way people, you'll notice that MajinRevan lent him the Gungan weapons he used in Hidden Surprise. Without them, the Gungan side would be super boring. I'm planning on modelling a few extra Gungan weapons, and I believe that a working Gungan catapault has been found in the assets, so expect that as well .

Okay, I think I'll now move onto suggestions/bugs:

1) An annoying little localization bug in that the Gungans are called the CIS and the Trade Federation are called the Republic. Should be easy to fix.

2) I don't know if this can even be fixed, as I've had the same problem before, but if you do a running or jumping attack with a Gungan they can't attack again until they roll.

3) This is so insignificant that I don't know why I'm posting it, but it bothered me immensley. Gungans can't breath underwater. It bothers me because I love to wait at the Fambaa breeding grounds and jump into the lake when the droids attack, as they would follow me in and take damage under the water. My nifty little plan backfired on me of course, because I started taking damage as well .

4) The Fambaas should be made neutral. Half of the Trade Federation will stand there trying to kill something that they cannot kill.

5) There are far too many commander droids on the battlefield. Now I know that there were more commanders than OOM-9, but fifty? Somehow I don't think so. Also, since droidekas have been given a boost I think you should make them an unlockable character again, though it would probably take longer to reach the Gungan shield without it.

6) The AAT's missile effect disappears super quick. It's kind of annoying but I don't think there's anything you can do to fix it. Also, the Heavy Laser Blaster overheats in three shots and takes forever to cool down. That's probably intentional, but it's really annoying.

7) The Gungans sound like the CIS and the Trade Federation sounds like the Republic. Gungans don't need sounds, but I would think that the Federation could have CIS sounds .

8.) Could we maybe have some wild Kaadus running around? By that I mean with the PilotType = "self" function. It would really add a lot of depth to the map in my opinion.

9) There is an area in between the Gungan hiding place and the Fambaa breeding ground that should be forest, but is completely devoid of trees. It's just for the sake of map detail really.

http://img49.imageshack.us/img49/1834/blankplaindm1.jpg

And uh... I think that's it! Can't wait for the final version! LoL.

[PvtParts]

Thanks for the job well done, Rekubot.

I'll get on the fixes right away. I had (dont even ask me why..) switch the gungans to cis and droids to rep, I think it had something to do with locals..but I dont know. I will fix this asap.

I dont know how to fix the gungan roll issue. I'll talk to MajinRevan about it, as I have a feeling its something to do with the combo...if there are any combo experts around lemme know and I'll send you a copy..

Gungans breathing underwater..I really, really am unsure of whether this is possible. I can try though. In the droideka odf their is a line about water damage height. If I set this to a very negative number, one far below the max depth of my lake, then it might fix this.

Fambaas will be made neutral - the only reason they weren't prior to this is because the gungans had a local side, and the fambaas belonged to that side.

I will fix the command droid stuff. I have been debating for the longest time whether or not to give the Commands a name, or leave it with a general name, but simply through the skin imply to the player who it really is. For instance, should I say Command Droid, or 00M-9? Or maybe I should Have Command Droid, and then make 00M-9 the hero? Im really unsure about this - some maps dont even have commanders listed. Perhaps, if the map does have known commander present, then that commander's name will be used. If not, then I will just say "Command Droid"..

ahh I dunno..

As for the AAT missle...yeah I really dont know what to do with that. Its not the effect, as in particle editor the effect works fine. I have a feeling its just a glitch with the game itself...I'll try again to fix it..but it may be beyond my control

The heavy laser blaster... I assume you're refering to the cannon.. Well, in the movie I see an AAT firing repeatedly, as if the cannon where semi-automatic. But, with the power I've given the cannon (changing this is not very likely), it became way to powerful allowing the player to fire like that. So, I gave it the heat.

Now, I'm willing to either A; lower the heat per shot, or B; increase the heat recover rate. So basically you either can fire more shots before overheating, or recover faster so theres less wait between the 3 shots (though if you dont fire 3 consecutivly it wont overheat..)

I will put wild kaadus..thats a great idea..And I'll look into the forest-less section between the breeding grounds and the sacred place.


Thanks again to Rekubot, and I'll be releasing a public beta in the next few days once I get these bugs touched up.

[Syth]

Wow! this looks good PvtParts!

In the pic of the droideka I see the laser its shooting is actually 2 lasers (acurate:)) - ive tried to do that same thing but it didnt work right...
How did you get it to do that?

[PvtParts]

You simply reskin the laser texture of the droidekas weapon to have two white cores.

Since its hard to explain without writing a novel, heres the tga I'm using:

[RevanSithLord]

Ok, my review, here. PvtParts told me I should, so here it goes-

This is absolutely a stunning map. As far as prequal maps go, this is by far the most accurate I've seen so far! It gives the very impression that YOU ARE THERE at the battle of Naboo!

The effects are just like the movies. So real. The Droideka as noticed as the dual-phase blaster bolts as shown. Rather impressive I might say!

As a tester, I haven't found anything that bugs me, besides some lag, but that's just my computer being a butthole. lol. But, yea, it is an absolutely awesome map! If anything you should do upon release of this map/mod, I'd download it. The skins are awesome, and the terrain and prop placement are accurate as far as the eye can see. It is just a beautiful map to play on! I NEVER got bored, and I'm surely guarenteed you wouldn't be bored either. This is an awesome map.

This was just absolutely stunning. Great work, PVTPARTS!

Looking forward to testing your next installment! =)

[Bac-Talan]

Hmph. Review.
That was advertisement!
But still, this looks like it's coming along nicely and will be fun to play.

(edit: I was just kidding above, it looks like PvtParts took it the wrong way, but I really didn't mean anything deragatory or inconsiderate at all. sorry)

[PvtParts]

Well, I've already told everyone that the version I sent them is a pre-public release. That means I needed more description than testing, as thats already been touched on.

Also, both you, me, and the gametoast public cant expect people to devote their life to beta testing. Working for no pay, and with no obligation other than your word, its nice that they are willing to even download my map with any intentions other than to play it.

Moreover, just so people dont think im gah, I dont like bribe people to write good reviews of my map. Now, saying that also implies that I agree 100% with what he said. Now, its not that I do..or that I dont. I keep my opinions of my own map to myself, as they are realistically useless.

Anyhow, thanks Revan, and Rekubot. Both you guys have helped me out before, and now again.

For the public, heres the beta. I may or may not release this in the Release thread - you guys tell me what you think, so I can make improvements. If there isn't anything you can think of, than that means all I have to do is tidy a few things up and get the campaign mode done.

http://files.filefront.com/NAC_v2zip/;6 ... einfo.html

Hope ya like it. Feel free to post any/all comments/hate mail/quesitons/bugs/suggestions in tha thread. The more feedback I get (even if your telling me to never mod battlefront again because this map sucked so bad you ate yourself) the better I can make my maps. And if, by the off chance, you all do tell me that it sucks so bad you ate yourself, well than I guess I'll know what to do..

[Bac-Talan]

PvtParts, Again, I didn't mean for you to take that comment that way.

Moreover, just so people dont think im gah, I dont like bribe people to write good reviews of my map. Now, saying that also implies that I agree 100% with what he said. Now, its not that I do..or that I dont. I keep my opinions of my own map to myself, as they are realistically useless.

I know, and I wasn't trying to imply anything to the contrary. (Except that I think your opinions about your map are totally worthwhile and important)
RevanSithLord obviously really liked the map, and I think that is just fine.
I haven't played it yet, but I look forward to doing just that and then I will post what I think of this map, but it looks really promising. (unless I eat myself, in which case I wouldn't want to appear rude or anything, talking with my mouth full )

I'll edit my post above.