Earth: Pioneer Trails (build 0329/02) [OPEN BETA!]

[Marth8880]

Oh hey look, it's a bunch of future changes/additions. I plan on:

• fixing the balance issue in the CW era,
• completely getting rid of the whole Clone shields, added health, ammo types, etc. crap in the CW era,
• updating the version of the XCW era to be up-to-date with AQT's new version in the new Death Watch Bunker,
• adding the original Galactic Civil War era,
• implementing the Mass Effect Mod,
• adding random weather,
• creating an optional patch that removes the map's water,
• further enhancing the map's visuals, e.g., creating HD (or at least more higher res) skins for the trees, etc., and
• making the size of the map and sides more efficient.

-------build 20111020.2126 change log-------
-Successfully implemented Mass Effect era.
-Successfully implemented updated Extended Civil War era, credit going to AQT.
-Successfully implemented original Galactic Civil War era.

>>RELEASED: 5/22/11<<


BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:

First off, expect the map to be released within the upcoming week! Also, there are a few things you should know about this map:

-The water will appear transparent if your water settings are set to "low". Setting your water settings to "medium" or "high" will fix this. This is and always has been the same for any stock map.
-This map's water fountain has effects that are not able to be seen unless you are very close to it or if your weapon is zoomed in. I am working on fixing this.
-Foliage will not appear to be "commonly seen" unless your view distance settings are set to over ~50.
-Locals have been removed due to a balancing issue.

Things left to do:

-Fix the Death Watch's command post icon.
-Fix the sounds for electric ordnance/explosions.
-Possibly add (more) vehicles to the Extended Civil War era.

BETA TESTERS:

Alright guys, this is the final run. We enter the building from the roof and then we will storm into and secure...wait, wrong game. Anyways, this is the final run, guys!

-What do you like about the map so far?
-Are there any aspects you dislike or think need to be fixed/adjusted?
-How well does this map run on your computer, and at which settings?
-What are your thoughts on the map?

OPINIONS:

Give me your guys' opinions on the map!

-Is there anything more you guys would like to see in this map?
-Does Pioneer Trails seem "complete" to you?
-How excited are you all about the near-release?

Click HERE to watch the new trailer!
Mirror link for those of you who reside in Germany.


BETA TESTING IS NOW CLOSED: 13/15 slots are currently filled (please see below for current participants)

Update! Here's another sneak peak at the new map's mode!

Hidden/Spoiler:

Ah, finally. The map that Redwiz and I have been working on since February 2010 is finally ready to be announced. This map would probably be done by now if my graphics card didn't decide to burn out in April 2010. Luckily, that problem is fixed as of June of last year.

The Story:
Based on a real park in my neighborhood, Pioneer Trails is a beautiful place that makes for an excellent battlefield with its abundance of trees, grassy hills, large pond and open battlefronts. I actually happen to live in the same neighborhood as this park which is a 5-10 minute bike ride on trails.

This map currently features:
- a variety of objects such as trees, shrubs, turrets, barriers and grass,
- custom sides and heroes,
- vehicles (AAT, IFT-T, IFT-X, AT-ST and more),
- many different terrains and textures, and
- hintnodes for AI snipers, mines, etc.

Later versions of this map will include:
- custom objects such as logs and cabins,
- other battle modes such as Duck Hunt (see log: 9/1/10, 13:36 (GMT-8:00) ), and
- different map versions with different seasons, weather, buildings, etc.

Map/Real Park Differences:
There are not very many differences between this map and the real park. For example, this map is in a completely tree enclosed area whereas the real park is viewed from a sidewalk in my neighborhood. In the real park, there are even some houses which you can clearly see the park from the backyard! Another difference is the trails. The trails in the real park are concrete, have bended turns and some have park exits. Trails in this map are dirt, lack smooth bending turns and have no park exits. One more difference is the objects. The real park has a small playground, tennis court and baseball diamond/soccer goals while the map has Kashyyyk/Mygeeto barriers and turrets.

OLD Map/Real Park Pictures:

Hidden/Spoiler:

UPDATED pictures:

Hidden/Spoiler:

Confederacy of Independent Systems/Galactic Empire main command post:

Galactic Republic/Rebel Alliance main command post:

Central command post:

Forest command post:

Lakeside command post:

North Field command post:

South Field command post:

Confederacy of Independent Systems vehicles:

Galactic Republic vehicles:

Galactic Empire vehicles:


Rebel Alliance vehicles:

















"This STAP is functioning at an optimal level."

*cue epic music*

"I will crush you with my AT-ST dwarf!"

"Shut up, you stupid trashcan! I'm trying to focus! Inhale while aiming, and exhale while firing..."

"Why did they have to take my real EMP rockets away?"

"Firing main cannon." -RVB

"Take out the AAT!"

"Determining required grenade velocity for critical hit."

"I may be holding a pistol, but I just walked out of an explosion."

Current beta participants include:

Hidden/Spoiler:

1) Noobasaurus
2) MrCrayon
3) CressAlbane
4) commander501stappo
5) inky
6) LO65
7) THEWULFMAN
8) ShadowWing
9) modmaster13
10) naru1305
11) commandoCC-9811
12) ACEwithSPADES
13) CalvaryCptMike

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LOG:

8/17/10, 18:12 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Problem with terrain grass high detail texture
Correct texture:

Incorrect texture:

8/17/10, 18:52 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Corrected sun placement, fixed lighting and supposedly added shadows

8/29/10, 23:58 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Fixed terrain texture

and added fountain (thanks to General_Nate)

8/31/10, 21:29 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Added small boulder, stump and small Kashyyyk barrier to central command post

Added small battlefield

Cover hintnodes for AI to fight behind logs (seven hintnodes per log)


Ambushing area in log

Three cover hintnodes for AI to (hopefully) ambush enemy AI/players in ambush area

9/1/10, 13:36 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Duck Hunt Mode IDEA


Objective/Setup:
-Same style as hunt mode
-32 ducks against 6 clones


Teams:

Team 1: "Hunters":
-Hunter Pursuer
[list]
[*]Birdshot Ammo Shotgun
[*]Camouflage[/list]
-Hunter Rifleman
[list]
[*]M1903 Springfield
[*]Revolver or Pistol (maybe)
[*]Camouflage[/list]
-Elmer Fudd (hero)
[list]
[*]Double-Barreled Shotgun
[*]Mines
[*]Camouflage
[*]I need more weapon ideas for Elmer Fudd[/list]

Team 2: "Ducks":
-Duck
[list]
[*]Beak Attack
[*]Flight (can attack in-flight)[/list]
-Duck Elite
[list]
[*]Beak Attack
[*]Supersonic Quack
[*]Flight (can attack in-flight)[/list]
-Daffy Duck (hero)
[list]
[*]Punch
[*]Detpacks
[*]Mines
[*]Shotgun Invincibility[/list]

9/1/10, 15:19 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Added correct minimap

9/3/10, 00:42 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Created custom unit: Droid Jet Trooper

Jet Pack (thanks to Sky_216)
Machine Rifle (modified)
Mortar Launcher (modified)
Plasma Grenades (thanks to computergeek)
Rage (Damage Increase)

The Machine Rifle is a modified droid laser rifle with a high rate of fire but decreased strength (so the rifle isn't overpowered). Really, the only things modified in the Mortar Launcher is slightly increased strength and a higher blast radius. The Plasma Grenades are pretty much just Thermal Detonators with a higher blast radius and a different explosion. Rage is the same Rage found in the shipped officers and special units and such.




Plasma Grenade

11/28/10, 17:39 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Fixed medium vehicle planning near the command post located close to the fountain
-Fixed floating tree and rock in central command post
-Added a few mine and sniper hintnodes
-Added updated pictures of map

11/30/10, 22:46 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Added loading screen:

12/29/10, 19:33 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Fixed a bunch of floating objects.

2/21/11, 13:46 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Re-skinned Galactic Republic units to camouflage/forest. (I forgot who I downloaded these skins from, so if they were created by you, please tell me)

Clone Trooper:

Heavy Trooper:

Clone Sharpshooter:

Clone Engineer:

Clone Commander:

Clone Jet Trooper:

Modified Clone Sharpshooter's sniper rifle to Anti-Material Rifle.

Anti-Material Rifle features include:
-increased strength against droids,
-overheating system instead of ammo,
-high recoil,
-different colored ordnance, and
-different weapon model (thanks to CodaRez)


Changed Super Battle Droid to regular battle droid; changed Magnaguard to Super Battle Droid.

Battle Droid features include:
-normal Blaster Rifle,
-three Thermal Detonators, and
-two Health/Ammo Dispensers (like in Dark Times)

Super Battle Droid features include:
-Wrist Blaster with overheating system,
-Wrist Flamethrower which has more ammo than Jango or Boba and only fires when fire button is held,
-four Wrist Rockets, and
-personal shields

CIS selection screen:


Added shields to all vehicles excluding AT-ST and AT-RT.

2/22/11, 17:52 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Changed background audio streams to different Star Wars music to fit the Clone War era and the map's environment.

3/13/11, 03:28 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Made grass smaller looking
-Added super-special-awesome super-duper-secret era
-Fixed various problems with regions, hintnodes, etc.
-Edited Thermal & Plasma Detonators' and Rocket Launchers' ordnance explosions to have increased shaking, damage radius and push radius
-Reskinned AAT all by myself!; edited its weapons to be similar to that of BF1
-Added effects for WorldShadow, Blur, MotionBlur and ScopeBlur
-Reskinned IFT-X

Pic be make available when all your base are belong to us.

3/16/11, 23:01 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

Changed audio stream to Kashyyyk for both eras

4/10/11, 17:34 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Changed audio stream to Felucia for Clone Wars
-Droids are now encased in a super-reinforced palladium hull, doubling their health, and have now been installed with on-board repair protocols allowing for automated system repair
-Clones' suits are now equipped with kinetic shield barriers equal to that of the respective soldier's health, doubling their defenses as well
-CIS weaponry laser bolt ammo now tears through soft, organic materials such as skin or Clone flesh (Shredder Ammo)
-Republic forces' weaponry laser bolt ammo now shreds through kinetic barriers and disrupts the electrical systems in synthetics, thus dealing more damage to droids (Disruptor Ammo)

4/10/11, 21:04 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Changed Galactic Republic's hero from Obi-Wan to Aalya Secura (fits theme more)
-Fixed floating ferns
-Fixed spawn directions
-Fixed barrier issues with lakeside ferns
-Placed several more sniper hintnodes
-Increased AI aggressiveness by a ton for both sides
-Added a ton of EnemyTeamDifficulty

4/17/11, 17:02 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Fixed almost all missing weapon icons
-Adjusted machine rifle's damage and heat properties

4/24/11, 21:38 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Fixed all of the cover hintnodes
-Fixed some planning
-CP message text added e.g. "The CIS has captured The Lakeside"
-Gave several droids radiation grenades
-Gave several Clones haywire detonators
-Replaced Clone Engineer's shotgun with arc caster
-Gave Clone Commander E-Web Turret
-Added locals: weak B1 Battle Droids

4/25/11, 20:24 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Gave droids HD skins
-Added beautiful forest ambiance sound stream
-Added sound stream for fountain
-Changed EMP Launcher's explosion from fire to electricity

5/7/11, 17:59 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Fixed Death Watch VOs
-Fixed "Galactic Civil War" to say "Extended Civil War" with the proper icon
-Removed locals due to a balance issue
-Fixed balance issue in ECW era

5/21/11, 03:04 (GMT-8:00)

Hidden/Spoiler:

-Improved planning heavily
-Added custom VOs for Super Battle Droid
-Fixed EMP Launcher/Grenade explosion sounds
-Created English and German readme (German version taken from Google Translate; feel free to offer to improve upon it if you want)
-Fixed IFT-X skin
-Fixed Clone Commander model
-Fixed AT-RT stomp sounds
-Fixed Bulldog RLR firing sounds
-Fixed Orbital Strike explosion
-Changed Clone rifle model to rifle model from DEV'S Weapon Pack 1
-Changed Arccaster model to another rifle model from same pack

LOG END
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Localizing: 100%
Map: 100%
Planning: 100%
Sides: 100%
Sound: 100%

PROGRESS: 100%
Please note that this is a first map and there is still (not) much to be done.

[lucasfart]

While this looks pretty good so far, it looks like it could do with a bit of foliage and props around the maps. It looks a little bit bland with just tree's and mygeeto props around, and i wouldn't focus on making it an exact replica, as it won't make for particularly good gameplay.

I'm not saying this is bad, but it could definitely do with a few more props.

[Marth8880]

While this looks pretty good so far, it looks like it could do with a bit of foliage and props around the maps. It looks a little bit bland with just tree's and mygeeto props around...

I'm not saying this is bad, but it could definitely do with a few more props.

The hard part is figuring out what props to place where. I think some more props on top of the hill would be nice, especially for cover. But as I said above, it's tough to figure out what props I want to place there. I guess some trees/bushes would work. Probably barrels and crates for protection and yeah, the foliage isn't all placed.

...i wouldn't focus on making it an exact replica, as it won't make for particularly good gameplay.

I agree. Just wait until you see what I have planned for newer versions of this map...

[lucasfart]

I would definitely not put crates in the middle of a forest randomly . You should try and make the environment feel realistic while still maintaining cover. Forget the tree's, it looks like you have plenty already. I'd probably just place a tonne of foliage, and maybe some rocks for cover?

I'm not saying you can't put crates in there, i think it would just look a little weird and out of place.

[Marth8880]

I would definitely not put crates in the middle of a forest randomly . You should try and make the environment feel realistic while still maintaining cover. Forget the tree's, it looks like you have plenty already. I'd probably just place a tonne of foliage, and maybe some rocks for cover?

I'm not saying you can't put crates in there, i think it would just look a little weird and out of place.

Remember Endor? They have crates and such. Rocks and logs are a good idea too. Thanks.

[theultimat]

Looks great for a first map. Only thing I would say is that to me the grass looks too green, almost over saturated (could just be my monitor though ). Also, tree stumps make good cover.

[General_Nate]

I agree with everyone here, but especially the crates part.

I suggest maybe making the paths more distinctive, too.


Looks good, especially for a first map.

[Ping]

I'm going to make an educated guess and say that you're making a map based on where you live.

For a first map, you seem to making some good progress.

[Marth8880]

Only thing I would say is that to me the grass looks too green, almost over saturated (could just be my monitor though ). Also, tree stumps make good cover.

Which picture shows too much green?

I suggest maybe making the paths more distinctive, too.

I have been trying to do that, but they just don't want to do so. The paths only seem to stand out more when the grass doesn't have high detail.

Here's the topic: viewtopic.php?f=27&t=23584

I'm going to make an educated guess and say that you're making a map based on where you live.

That is correct.

Thanks for all of the helpful and wonderful comments!

[Nova Hawk]

Great looking map, Marth. I've always loved Earth-based maps.

[Marth8880]

Great looking map, Marth. I've always loved Earth-based maps.

Thanks! Me too

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Love the current map, but the texture of the grass is a bit dark. Just a suggestion, you don't HAVE to do it.

[AgentSmith_#27]

I'm picky about what maps I will be downloading and what won't, I really don't like waiting for something to download and then finding out it's just a play-through and delete. Having said that, I'm planning on trying this out, and if this is your first ever map, I am totally jealous of what you've accomplished so far!

[Marth8880]

Love the current map, but the texture of the grass is a bit dark. Just a suggestion, you don't HAVE to do it.

Thanks! I fixed the lighting as I said in my log. However, the high detail terrain is still being dumb. I haven't been able to get around to fixing it because I've been at band camp.

I'm picky about what maps I will be downloading and what won't, I really don't like waiting for something to download and then finding out it's just a play-through and delete. Having said that, I'm planning on trying this out, and if this is your first ever map, I am totally jealous of what you've accomplished so far!

I can totally agree with you on the play-through maps.

[myers73]

i really like the idea of drawing your inspiration from your surroundings and not Lucas' imagination.

[SAMofBIA]

Some of those pics were so realistic (mostly the ones around the lake) that i thought that they were the rela photos XD, epic job

[Noobasaurus]

Nice job on the Earth map! If you need testers for it, I can be one!

[Marth8880]

Some of those pics were so realistic (mostly the ones around the lake) that i thought that they were the rela photos XD, epic job

Thanks! When I get the high detail terrain fixed, it will look even more realistic because of the fixed lighting!

Nice job on the Earth map! If you need testers for it, I can be one!

I'll be sure to put you in my list when the map is in Alpha 3. And thanks!

[MrCrayon]

Looks good! How did you make the water look like that? I want to make water like that! And the high quality texture! Wow. Nice work! Why don't you add bikes as vehicles? You know, peddle bikes! DanBoeing did it in that trippy map Psychedelia. Maybe he released the asset!

Problems:

1. WHERE are the ducks??? I demand ducks!
2. Needs a fountain (use a mustafar explosion and make it look like water)
3. Where are the freakin DUCKS!!!???

Yeah, I like ducks.

Good job!

p.s. dibs on testing!

[CressAlbane]

It looks very well-constructed for a first map. I think this will be a download for me.
Also, I'd like to test when it comes out if you still need help.