Wherein thebigh sets himself a 24 hour building challenge

[thebigh]

It's occurred to me that it has been quite a long time since I released anything. Meanwhile I've started and abandoned three largeish, ambitious missions because I got stuck, or I made something that I just couldn't get looking good, or whatever, and just gave up on it.

But not everything has to be a big, sprawling epic. There's lots of smaller missions that remain fun to play despite their modest size: Thief's Den 1, for example. Even Closemouthed Shadows is still enjoyable.

So... I am going to challenge myself to create a small mission in under 24 hours. Maybe I'll fail, but why set yourself a challenge you're sure to achieve? Where is the ambition in that? Whatever happens, at the end I will have at least a few serviceable areas done and that's better than the pointless fussing I've been doing lately.

MY RULES:

• From the moment I post this thread I have 24 hours real time to produce a mission from scratch, playable from briefing to finale
• Implement three difficulty levels
• Include a small tribute to Grayman
• Include at least one secret
• The 24 hour limit does not include beta testing, a title screen, or producing cool promotional screenshots. I just need a mission to show after 24 hours

The level will feature zombies, which is no doubt how I will feel this time tomorrow. Good thing I had a nap this afternoon.

Well, here I go. Wish me luck.

[Amadeus]

16 minutes ago, thebigh said:

The level will feature zombies, which is no doubt how I will feel this time tomorrow.

Lol, good luck! May the Builder guide you

[Dragofer]

Good luck! Though I would definitely settle for the 24hrs being spread out over some time. That should give time for the creative batteries to recharge.

[Springheel]

It's definitely doable...I did a speedbuild in 4-5 hours (although spread out over several days).  Good luck, and use lots of prefabs!

 

 

[thebigh]

what have i got myself into???

[thebigh]

AAAAAAAA

[Anderson]

Self imposed deadlines help against procrastination, but you shouldn't kill yourself and your health.

[thebigh]

Phew! That was a lot harder and more frustrating than I thought it would be, but I've succeeded in about 85% of what I wanted to do:

 

• Grayman tribute done
• Hidden secret! Done
• Three difficulty levels, but for some reason the "return to your starting point" just won't work and I can't figure out why

Two of the buildings still look like poop on the outside because I just didn't have enough time to detail them properly. Oh well.

If anyone's interested in looking at a five-minute run through the most hopelessly ugly level ever I can put the file up. Otherwise I'll just put this one down for experience and do something better.

[JackFarmer]

32 minutes ago, thebigh said:

If anyone's interested in looking at a five-minute run through the most hopelessly ugly level ever I can put the file up.

Hm...wasn't that stated in the OP, I mean, showing the result to the audience?

[roygato]

Effort like this is very commendable, so I'd def check it out.

[DeTeEff]

Lots of love to you thebig, for trying this! 

Don't kill your spleen though...! 

[thebigh]

Okay then, here it is. Luckily it weighs in at under 500kb so I can attach it directly and not have to upload it somewhere else. For your face-palming amusement, I give you "The Shield of Canthus"

Stuff I just couldn't get working right:

Spoiler

The zombie on the top floor of the tavern doesn't patrol right. I think the hallway might be too narrow and he just keeps bumping into the wall.

For some reason the "return to where you started" objective refuses to work. But if you want to know how much loot there is, it's $294 in total.

The haunted trap on the second floor of the townhouse is just a rough proof of concept for now. The skeleton that appears is supposed to patrol, and I thought my script would make him proceed from the triggerwait to his first patrol point, but no luck. I also couldn't figure out how to set off a target_callscriptfunction when grabbing an item- the haunted trap is supposed to trigger when you pick up the shield, so as a standin I used opening the door to that room (after picking it) to trigger that script.

I ran out of time, so the front of the townhouse and the tavern are ugly and incomplete.

Also it's too dark. I used the Sotha night-vision trick but even so it needed a few more lights. I can't dial up the ambient because I really dislike that washed-out look.

If you're looking for the secret, go into the back room of the tavern. Inspect the recessed section on your right carefully. (I couldn't figure out how to get it marked as a secret though).

Is this damp squib releasable? Hell no. Will it ever be? Also not. It's just so ugly and badly designed.

But I think I learned a bit more about mapping from doing it, so it was worth it IMO.

On the plus side, I think the location settings were pretty good. And the little flooded basement with my tribute to grayman looks pretty similar to how I imagined it in my head.

Now I'm going to have a cold beer and a nap.

shield.pk4

Edited May 29, 2021 by thebigh

[JackFarmer]

It does not look that bad -the ambient and the spare lighting really create a weird mood.

It would just need more time for details and so on. I really like the atmosphere of the setting and

Spoiler

the sitting zombie is a great idea. I am just wondering why I never did something like that till now!

Have a good nite sleep and thanks for your efforts!

 

 

[JackFarmer]

Just now, JackFarmer said:

It does not look that bad -the ambient and the spare lighting really create a weird mood.

It would just need more time for details and so on. I really like the atmosphere of the setting and

  Reveal hidden contents

the sitting zombie is a great idea. I am just wondering why I never did something like that till now!

Have a good nite sleep and thanks for your efforts!

 

 

Edit: Why did you give my previous post a "confused" ?

[thebigh]

2 minutes ago, JackFarmer said:

Edit: Why did you give my previous post a "confused" ?

I think I was going for an "embarrased" face because I forgot I said I'd show my results  no matter how bad it was.

[roygato]

I mean, as brief and hurriedly done as it is, it wasn't half-bad. I was expecting it to literally be "run into the first house you see and pick up an item", but there was even a little bit of true Thief-like maneuvering.

Spoiler

Does the keyhole button in the final room do anything?

 

20 minutes ago, JackFarmer said:

  Reveal hidden contents

the sitting zombie is a great idea. I am just wondering why I never did something like that till now!

 

Spoiler

Oh there was such a thing, he came after me so fast I didn't even see it.

I've played a fair amount of these kinds of "five-minute wonders" when it comes to Thief 2 fan missions, and I've seen a whole hell of a lot worse. I've seen worse in "real" missions that supposedly work. Big A for effort for sure; some of us just sit here and only daydream of making missions.

Edited May 29, 2021 by roygato

[JackFarmer]

8 minutes ago, roygato said:

I've played a fair amount of these kinds of "five-minute wonders" when it comes to Thief 2 fan missions, and I've seen a whole hell of a lot worse. I've seen worse in "real" missions that supposedly work.  Big A for effort for sure; some of us just sit here and only daydream of making missions.

Absolutely.

[thebigh]

16 minutes ago, roygato said:

I mean, as brief and hurriedly done as it is, it wasn't half-bad. I was expecting it to literally be "run into the first house you see and pick up an item", but there was even a little bit of true Thief-like maneuvering.

  Reveal hidden contents

Does the keyhole button in the final room do anything?

 

Spoiler

The skeleton who warps in has the key to that lock on his belt pelvis, and you can pickpocket him for it. The lock button lets you back out the window you came in through.

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by thebigh

[roygato]

4 minutes ago, thebigh said:

  Hide contents

The skeleton who warps in has the key to that lock on his belt pelvis, and you can pickpocket him for it. The lock button lets you back out the window you came in through.

 

Spoiler

Oh I see. Didn't realize the window closed at some point.

 

[Obsttorte]

3 hours ago, thebigh said:

but for some reason the "return to your starting point" just won't work and I can't figure out why

One side of the exit location brush is textured with caulk, maybe that is the issue. Btw.: iirc if you set ongoing on the exit objective you don't have to use the enabling objectives logic, as the objective will only tick off if all not ongoing visible objectives have been completed. Could be worth a try, too, if the caulked surface isn'T the source of your issue.

[thebigh]

I figured it out. I needed to put "any entity with SDK-level spawnclass idPlayer" but I accidentally had "entity with name idPlayer".

[JackFarmer]

15 hours ago, thebigh said:

 

Is this damp squib releasable? Hell no. Will it ever be? Also not. It's just so ugly and badly designed.

 

Well, you have invested 24 hours of your free time and you actually managed to publish something playable.

Why don't you simply use this draft for the next challenge, something like:

1. Geometry remains, but will be visually dramatically enhanced and polished with new details and assets.

2. Add readables, better patrols, better lights, etc..

And set yourself a time frame of let's say four weeks with subsequent beta testing?

Then you can alter everything in a more relaxed way and the result will surely be a cool addition to the current mission portfolio with similar vibes as in this other small threatening mission. Forgot its name, was it "The Creeps"?

I'd love to help you, but I don't feel like mapping for the time being.

 

[thebigh]

1 hour ago, JackFarmer said:

And set yourself a time frame of let's say four weeks with subsequent beta testing?

Now I feel as though I've been issued a challenge.

Let's see how much I can achieve by the end of June.

[JackFarmer]

10 minutes ago, thebigh said:

Now I feel as though I've been issued a challenge.

Let's see how much I can achieve by the end of June.

That's the spirit!

[demagogue]

We used to have contests more often.

They're great because they kind of naturally temper your ambitions. You have a limited time like 1 or 3 months. A few for Dromed had build-time limits (because the Dark Engine actually tracks the build time; I don't recall DR doing that though), and it'd be like 24 or 72 hours or the like, which of course you can spread out over a week or few weeks. Often there's a size limit, and it's sometimes really small. There's usually a theme so you have something to spark an idea. And the fact it's a competition can add a little motivation, for people that are competitive by nature anyway.

The thing is: You don't even need a contest to set yourself those kinds of limitations. And the other thing is that contests missions are a kind of genre in themselves, and we could always use more of them. A lot of the most memorable FMs I've ever played were contest FMs.