Fan Mission:Dragon's Claw by b1k3rdude (31/10/2011) updated

[nbohr1more]

That's a good point Sotha but please consider that ALL contests are inherently biased towards skewed criteria. The players are influenced by comparative evaluation between the missions. Who's to say that the original Winter Harvest release in the last contest didn't cause players to be deeply grateful for the quality of the other submissions? Was Alberic's Curse really the number two favorite between all 3 contests as it's ratings show? The only way to resolve that question is to pit the new and historical missions against each other directly in a vote. It would be great if players kept historical missions in mind when offering critiques on the latest missions but it's not really human nature unfortunately. After the contests are over and new players continue to vote on the missions over the long-run we will then be able to get more realistic results.

[Bikerdude]

"Objective one: find a way to the plagueward. You've heard rumours the guard captain knows how to get there. The guard captain probably hangs around in the city watch building in the city section." Put a note on the city watch captain, with a map that shows the location of the dragon grate. Maybe the grate must be opened with a crowbar the player needs to get elsewhere.

Sounds good.

 

No problem. I'm working on a readable for a whore house where a busty lass gets the plague and has her tits drop off.

LOL...

[Springheel]

It will burn our talented mappers out and the end result will not be as polished as one would hope. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned here?

 

I wouldn't call Melan's Fauchard mission unpolished. It's the prime example of what speed-building should be, IMO. Likewise missions like Too Late and Outpost were completed in a matter of weeks and they're also quite successful. It can be done, but I suspect people just got too ambitious for the time allotted.

 

TDM requires quality over quantity.

 

I'm not sure I agree with that. Granted, quality is necessary, but long stretches without any new missions at all (if it weren't for the contest, there would be only one mission released in the past five months) is also bad, especially this soon after release.

[nbohr1more]

I suspect people just got too ambitious for the time allotted.

 

+1

[Bikerdude]

+1

and helping other mappers with thier mapsd at the same time didnt help,

[Tarhiel]

Hello Bikerdude,

 

Very nice mission. I, as Diego for that matter, had a problem with entering the tavern - it freezes, and my symptoms are exactly the same as Diego's. So I´m also waiting for version 2 of this fan mission. Otherwise, I was immediately immersed by atmosphere and story (have you been inspired by "Haunted catedral" story by any chance?), although as Melan said, streets were a tad empty and there was nothing to do/loot/read in majority of rope arrow accessible areas (I thought it was an intentional new approach to leveldesign - breaking the traditions ).

 

This is not a reproach, seeing that the fan missions had to be done pretty quickly.

 

All in all - I´m waiting for version 2 impatiently

[Thiefette]

Everyone seems to be mentioning freezing up at the

 

tavern. I had a small slow down there (thought it froze but then worked) however most (but not all) of my freeze ups were in the plague ward. Just thought I'd let you know.

 

[Bikerdude]

Right

 

I'm guessing the point at which everyone is getting the freeze is not as the open the outside door of the tavern, but rather as they turn the corner and see in the inside.

 

This issue is Im also taking an educated guess only effecting people with low end systems? The reason is the draw call count at that point is almost 2000.

 

I will make sure the draw call count is closer to 1500 in problem places like this one in version 2.

[Diego]

It's definitely a performance issue, that's why low end computers are having problems. I remember seeing a.. better to put spoilers here

 

I remember seeing a house in the plague ward that was empty. By empty I mean I could see the whole map as if I'm no-clipping away. Couldn't this kind of 'leak' affect performance in some way? I'm just guessing as I have no idea how the inner workings of the engine are.

 

[Thiefette]

It's definitely a performance issue, that's why low end computers are having problems. I remember seeing a.. better to put spoilers here

 

I remember seeing a house in the plague ward that was empty. By empty I mean I could see the whole map as if I'm no-clipping away. Couldn't this kind of 'leak' affect performance in some way? I'm just guessing as I have no idea how the inner workings of the engine are.

 

I saw that as well and that was one area where I froze up just coming near it. As for my computer I have:

 

Intel Core Quad 2 Q9650 @ 3.7GH core speed

8 GB of DDR2 memory

GEForce GTX285 Graphics.

 

Is this considered low end?

[Xcen]

This issue is Im also taking an educated guess only effecting people with low end systems?

No. Not really.

 

Q6600

4GB DDR2

GTX460 1GB

most (but not all) of my freeze ups were in the plague ward.

Same here.

The reason is the draw call count at that point is almost 2000.

Even with >9700 draws my test map doesn't crash.

[Bikerdude]

Hmm no those systems are way more than capable, so I must have a bunch-o-internal-leaks and or texture load stutters due tio the amount of custome textures used.

[Oldjim]

I have hit a major problem - playing easy level.

I first went to the plague area and found all the loot then I went and collected the loot from

the crate near the canal

which completed the objectives and then tried to go back to the square with the statue. The game then froze completely with a constant CPU usage of 65% (I don't know how this was split over the two cores in my CPU) and I needed to use Ctrl Alt Del to get out of it, Operating system Win 7 64 bit

i tried several times including creating a new save point.

Save game is available if required.

[Bikerdude]

PM yer save game.

[Oldjim]

Have sent a link by PM as I can't see how to attach a file

To add - I just did it the normal way round - plague area second - and no problem but tried the save game again with the same result

Edited November 21, 2011 by Oldjim

[Bikerdude]

got the file, will see if I can reproduce the freeze..

[Eldrad]

The mission is asking for the Doom3 CD key? It does not give me room to type it in. There is a STR # with a string of numbers that when I click on it the whole game crashes. Darkmod has never asked for a CD key ever. What is up? Mission looks cool if I could play it. First problem ever with any DMFM.

[Eldrad]

Never mind! a restart cured the problem.

Having a temporary freeze but it goes away after time.

 

Looks incredible so far.

[AluminumHaste]

The mission is asking for the Doom3 CD key? It does not give me room to type it in. There is a STR # with a string of numbers that when I click on it the whole game crashes. Darkmod has never asked for a CD key ever. What is up? Mission looks cool if I could play it. First problem ever with any DMFM.

 

That's a Doom 3 issue, especially if you have the Steam version. If you have the Steam version, delete the d3key and d3roekey files in the Doom3 directory and let steam verify the game cache. It will redownload those files for you. Then make sure to run Doom 3, then the expansion RoE to let those games validate their keys, then you should be good.

This has happened to me at least a dozen times with a bunch of different mods and just Doom 3 itself. I have no idea why it happens I blame Steam.

[zergrush]

Biker, you make some of the most aesthetically pleasing maps I've ever seen, but I feel you still gotta learn how to balance them out with some challenge, man, even if that means sacrificing some graphic detail. Dont get me wrong, I absolutely love your stuff in terms of story, level design, and appearance, but it's just a darn shame that amazing maps like this one and Caduceus of St. Alban are so darn empty of guards. I would kill for updated versions with better AI placement, that would indeed make me play 'em over and over. Your attention to detail is jaw dropping, but it also begs for more secondary and optional objectives, kinda like you did with Alberic's Curse. Try using these to incentivate exploration instead giving us a hard time with the main objective like you did with the rooftop puzzle on your Cathedral map.

 

And please, please update your older maps as it is never too late to make something good even better.

[jaxa]

Might also be due to performance. Hopefully enough code enhancements will allow larger scenes with more AI.

[Bikerdude]

• Biker, you make some of the most aesthetically pleasing maps I've ever seen, but I feel you still gotta learn how to balance them out with some challenge, man, even if that means sacrificing some graphic detail.
  
• Dont get me wrong, I absolutely love your stuff in terms of story, level design, and appearance, but it's just a darn shame that amazing maps like this one and Caduceus of St. Alban are so darn empty of guards.
  
• I would kill for updated versions with better AI placement, that would indeed make me play 'em over and over. Your attention to detail is jaw dropping, but it also begs for more secondary and optional objectives, kinda like you did with Alberic's Curse. Try using these to incentivate exploration instead giving us a hard time with the main objective like you did with the rooftop puzzle on your Cathedral map.
  

 

Now that 1.07 is out, I will be getting around to updating all of my maps. 'Business as usual' has already been updated - it has even more eye candy, more Ai and more nooks and crannies to explore :-D

 

The reason for the lack of Ai in version's 1 of my maps was as Jaxa put a perf and code issue. But hopefully with 1.07 I will be able to place more Ai without taking a perf hit.

[zergrush]

Good to hear man. I really liked how you made the player explore the whole map on Alberic's curse to do various optional objectives, and how sparse and well spread the loot was, forcing you to go to places you wouldn't normally venture to (like the cellars, which are dangerous as hell) to obtain enough loot. The only thing that seemed a bit down was that these secondary objectives often had no consequence other than completionism. I feel that optional objectives should either ease your task at the main one, or at least make the player feel rewarded at the end of the mission; however since there are no outro sequences, it's hard to make the player feel rewarded with just a little check on the objectives list. So, in-game visible impact becomes really important for this kind of immersion. especially when you're accomplishing tasks. I was really hoping all undead would disappear the moment you blessed Alberic's skull. Heck, at least Alberic's ghost outside should go before the dawn, since it was his skull that got blessed; this wouldn't largely affect the gameplay, since Alberic's ghost is not that hard to avoid, and would give the player the feel that they actually accomplished something; perhaps even playing a small voice track with the player character saying something like "now Alberic's ghost will trouble me no more".

 

Something similar could be done with Caduceus of St Alban. I felt really disappointed that the observatory and the planetarium played no major role on the quest and had no sidequests linked at all. Plenty of other details could've been used as secondary sidequests to make the main quest easier, like using cook's magic shrooms to poison some guard's food or something like it.

 

But I digress. I'm sorry if I'm starting to sound annoying, but I just feel the need to point out the little unpolished edges on your work, since I find it pretty good.

Edited December 4, 2011 by zergrush

[lost_soul]

Well, I like this mission, as my votes show. The tavern was my favorite part. I didn't encounter any lock-ups or abnormalities. Thanks for another fun (but short) mission Bikerdude, and thanks for helping others get the most out of their missions too. Hopefully you don't get discouraged from mission making because of a couple bad reviews. I knew this was a speed build and my ratings reflect that.

 

BTW I went back in the tavern and caused all sorts of trouble. I even got the guards to start throwing rocks at the wench and other people sitting at the table. lol If you get one of the guards to attack you and then his rock hits another one, it will cause them to fight. It reminded me of causing havoc in Deus Ex all those years ago.

Edited December 4, 2011 by lost_soul

[AluminumHaste]

LOL that's awesome!