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"Does the distance one travels from center make one more free to move?"

"No. Freedom has two parts: potential and resolution; as metaphor has two parts: form and interpretation. Of course, the two are intertwined. Metaphor lines the road to freedom, as symbols and words are the bricks and mortar of meaning. Freedom is being the bricoleur, the mason."

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Marathon: Resurrection Forum

Dats de FAQ, Jack

Posted By: Wolfchild
Date: 2001.8.16.09.37

In Response To: Wolfchild I need you!! (WSTE-M5)

: Hi!
: Id like to help doing maps for MarathonResurrection, but
: I can get in contact with you, the email are
: "undeliverable" for some reason. Could you
: please write to me about the skills that I need to
: have and things like that ? Id like to help!

What address did you send it to? I have recently somehow made it onto some spam lists so I know my email works. Anyway, here is a mini-FAQ that I'm writing for inclusion in the next rev manual:


Q: What does it take to become a mapper for Marathon:Resurrection?

A: The basic requirements are:


  1. You have played Marathon 1.
  2. You have access to Marathon 1.
  3. You have access to UnrealEd.
  4. You have an attention span.

There is some possibility that this can be done without access to a Windoze box. I hear of legends where people have used UnrealEd successfully with VPC. There is also some possibility that this can be done without access to a Macintosh. The port of Marathon 1 to Aleph1 is near completion. We haven't looked at this port yet, but assuming that they were as meticulous and detail oriented as we like to be then their texturing should be identical to the originals. In that case A1:M1 could used as a reference for texturing levels and and the Macintosh version of M1 would not be needed.

 

Q: So I can make my maps look however I want, right?

A: Wrong. As far as design style, the following requirements must be met:


  1. The level must be immediately recognizable from the original.
  2. Except for detail areas, the level should be textured the same as the original using M1.utx.
  3. All doors, lifts, terminals, switches, puzzles, secrets, etc. must be recreated. Door and lift timings should be the same as the originals.
  4. No UT pickups, decorations, or textures (except for things like glass or other detail touches).
  5. The Marathon-style rectangular geometry should be a general theme for non-alien levels. Deviations that make sense are OK.

 

Q: Who decides what makes sense?

A: As Wolfchild speaketh, so shall it be.

But I'm just a harmless little Woofy - ask anybody. :-)

We don't want the 27 diferent levels to look like they take place on 27 different ships. Even so there is plenty of room for creativity - especially in the areas of lighting and architectural detail. It just takes enough skill to be both creative and subtle. If you look at a scene and the first thing that catches your eye is the eye candy then it wasn't done right. This isn't about impressing other mappers - this is about making the player feel like they're on the Marathon. The more realistic and subtle the lighting and architecture are the better.

 

Q: What maps do you need done?

A: There are 27 SP levels in M1, while there are less than a dozen MP levels. SP levels are more complex than the typical MP level. We need people who have the attention span to complete a complex SP level while paying attention to all the details that make a map immersive.

 

Q: What kind of mapping experience do I need to have?

A: Some mapping experience is necessary. This pretty much means experience with UnrealEd, Forge, Pfhorte, or any of the mapping tools for Quake or Half-Life. While you don't need to be an expert mapper, you do need to know the basics. We can help you out with the rest. If you have never mapped before but you think you can learn UnrealEd pretty quick, feel free to do so and get back to us. There are many good tutorials available at Wolf's Unreal and OsX.

Film at 11.

woof

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