Ion Storm by Namod on July 15, 2001

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Capture the Flag Desert Storming

Many would call Death Birds Fly one of their favorite maps. I like it, but I find it a little boring after so many plays. Consider this like a sequel to it. As I hinted to in the opening screen for the map, a disturbance in space approaches the planet where DBF takes place, and sets off massive storms below. The valleys are flooding, but the war must go on!

I made this not with the intent of just giving DBF a facelift, nor the intent of completely re-working the map. I wanted it to be an evolution of sorts. The bases are a bit better equipped and a bit easier to defend. Use of force fields make it less likely that one casual mortar round can cripple the entire base. The middle towers (and their accompanying vehicle pads) can now be powered down by enemy attack, but that attack has to be more than just a couple discs.

Be warned, this one seems a little heavy on the client resources. I suffer around a 10 fps penalty from the rain and both types of lightning. The fog doesn't help much, because I designed the fog to complement the look of the storm, not make up for lost framerates. The gravity has been messed with somewhat, but I believe I compensated for it by allowing for more vehicles. I'm trying to nudge people into more teamwork, not beat them over the head with it.

It's my first map for T2. Please be gentle. :D

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by Namod71 on July 16, 2001 · Rating:
Action

We played the map on a server last night, and the framerate hit was the biggest problem. I had the visible distance set around 1100m, with fogging maxxing out at 1000m. I have three layers of fog at the ground level going up to 300m, which were 700 800 and 900m visible distance. I've since changed it and made an Ion Storm 2 with a bit different curve on the fog distances, and I think it looks fine. I can raise fps, and not compromise the look I wanted to achieve with the map. I'll submit it shortly.

by Namod71 on July 24, 2001 · Rating:
Action

Well geez, I know it's not great.. but no grades at all? Out of 61 downloaders? I said be gentle, not silent. :D Constructive criticism is a good thing for improving one's skills.

by NonExistant on August 12, 2001 · Rating:
Action

To be honest, I liked this map. It really looks good, and most of the additions were good. Like, that little place near the main base has an Inventory Station and a Sentry Turret (I always thought that little place needed something more than just a mortar turret...something for only a turret shouldnt be that big). But base assaulting is near impossible on Ion Storm. With 2 layers of Forcefields on each of the entrances to the tower powered by a Generator deep inside the main base, its hard to "capture" the enemy tower (my fave thing to do on DBF). People are surely going to put a few clamps in the base to prevent enemies from attacking the gens as well as a Heavy with Shield Pack. And the Sentry turret under the flag makes it even harder to reach the gens. One of my favourite things about DBF is the 2 "targets". But now, if you focus all your defense into the main base, you wont have to worry about the tower, thanks to the green forcefields. So basically, the attacking team can forget about the tower and only focus on the main base, pretty much making it a "1 base" map (until the gens are destroyed, that is). I'm not really gonna suggest any improvements, because other people probably won't like them.

However, this is only my opinion. I love base assaulting (thats why most people dont like me on pubs, lol), so the tower is my only complaint. Otherwise, this map is really good for a first project.

PS - excuse my grammar

by Gorthaur on August 13, 2001 · Rating:
Action

Hey, i loved the feeling to this map, the usually hot desert with cool rain and wind. I can nearly feel it. Even though my framerate lost some, it was still very playable. This one's going in my collection.

by PB*Tech on August 28, 2001 · Rating:
Action

I think this map is great fun! Plenty to keep team members busy. And it's not "overpowered" with turrets and stuff, leaving a lot of the dirty work of protecting the flag to the teams themselves. I,ve had this map in my collection since it was first released (the first version) and it's still fun to play on, sorry i didn't comment on it sooner. If you don't have this one, DL it now!