Campaigns, multi-map missions

[MirceaKitsune]

I like the single missions for TDM! But when it comes to single-player, my heart still goes to long story-based games... like Half-Life, Unreal, DeusEx, and so many others.

 

First of all, I believe I read somewhere that TDM now supports multi-level campaigns. I understand they're a lot like single missions, but distributed as a single package and grouped under one list, and you must finish one to unlock the next. I was wondering if any were created so far, and are available for download anywhere... this is intended as a thread to mention them in.

 

Second, I had a question: Is it possible to create single missions composed of multiple maps as well, between which you can travel freely? So you can add a trigger in front of a door, and have a new map load when the player walks into it... while keeping your inventory and objectives and stats.

[Airship Ballet]

There's a big campaign in the works, and a couple regular-sized ones out already. You're not going to get anything the length of Deus Ex because it's so much work for one person to undertake that it'd be a pet project spanning a year or two. Levels can be linked: I'm doing that for a series of bank heists, though story-wise it's merely an excuse to rob a load of banks in a row, aside from a twist I have planned for the final one. You can link areas with teleporters with no need to load a different map: you can simply lay out two areas that are cut off from one another that a player teleports to when they frob a door TES-style.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Airship Ballet

[Oldjim]

Try No Honor Among Thieves which is a three part mission

Edited January 2, 2015 by Oldjim

[Bikerdude]

Try No Honor Among Thieves which is a three part mission

That reminds me, I need to upload the fixed version of this mission, I will do that this evening.

[grayman]

Second, I had a question: Is it possible to create single missions composed of multiple maps as well, between which you can travel freely? So you can add a trigger in front of a door, and have a new map load when the player walks into it... while keeping your inventory and objectives and stats.

Most of the code is in place to support moving back and forth between missions w/o going back through the menu screens, but it is untested. There's no plan to fill in what's missing (yet).

[MirceaKitsune]

Thanks for the info! I shall try Try No Honor Among Thieves, and will gladly wait for the other ones in the making! I know long missions are a lot of work, so I'm not expecting something grand and instant.

 

I know that Doom 3 / Quake 4 had multiple maps, which you could walk back and forth between. TDM has its own game code however, so things might break if this hasn't been handled or tested yet. When I get DarkRadiant running and learn it, I can hopefully create a test case myself.

[Capela]

There's a big campaign in the works, and a couple regular-sized ones out already. You're not going to get anything the length of Deus Ex because it's so much work for one person to undertake that it'd be a pet project spanning a year or two. Levels can be linked: I'm doing that for a series of bank heists, though story-wise it's merely an excuse to rob a load of banks in a row, aside from a twist I have planned for the final one. You can link areas with teleporters with no need to load a different map: you can simply lay out two areas that are cut off from one another that a player teleports to when they frob a door TES-style.

Thats is interesting dint know that. It is possible to have several SkyBoxs with their own ambient light in a single map?

[Airship Ballet]

I don't think you can have more than one sky box, but you can definitely have more than one ambient light with the use of the location system.

[SteveL]

I think I'm sure I read you can have more than one skybox too. Each skybox has its own info_skyportal and you can target an info_skyportal to make it the active one.

[Bikerdude]

I don't think you can have more than one sky box,

I think I'm sure I read you can have more than one skybox too. Each skybox has its own info_skyportal and you can target an info_skyportal to make it the active one.

@Steve, correct.

[Moonbo]

Yeah, you can definitely have more than one skybox, I use two skyboxes in my upcoming map.

[Capela]

So with that system i can have a big area like a city to walk around and get missions were i can jump to other small areas with its unique environment and make it feel like a mini campaing. Is there any tutorial about how to use more than one skybox?

[Moonbo]

Hey Capela,

 

It's very simple: just make two sky boxes with a info_skyportal in each. Then trigger the info_skyportal in the skybox you want to switch to and voila, the skybox changes.

[Airship Ballet]

Sweet! I can't see myself needing more than one skybox, but it's good to know.

[MirceaKitsune]

I realized I had one more question about campaigns; If they consist of multiple single missions, is it possible to make the player maintain their inventory / loot / health / other stats between missions? That way, if you finish a mission with say just 3 water arrows, that is the only weaponry you start the next mission with... same with tools and other items.

 

Also, is it possible to have the failure / completion of an objective in one mission change what happens in another mission? For example, you get an optional objective to kill someone in a mission... but if you don't do it, you will encounter this person 5 missions later on another map.

[Springheel]

First one, yes. Second one, pretty sure is yes as well.

[grayman]

yes to both

[MirceaKitsune]

Awesome. Sounds like what I'm looking for is a campaign... where each map is an individual single mission, but you go through them in order and as a whole. Will certainly dive into it eventually, after I learn to make simple missions first.

[Obsttorte]

Sweet! I can't see myself needing more than one skybox, but it's good to know.

A simple example would be a manor mission consisting of a street and a manor part. While you use a typical skybox on the outside (showing the night sky), you could use it to fake the view out of windows on the inside to save performance. One can also use cuemaps for this, though.

[MirceaKitsune]

I know a map that might be using multiple skyboxes: Business as Usual. In the tower where you have to knock out a guard, you can't see anything under you, only the lights coming from city windows in the dark.