Could be asleep, typing random messages instead.

Scoring individual moments in mods against the USP schema. What would get 100?

For gameplay advice and broader discussion of single-player Unreal including custom maps, mods and mutations that alter the game.

Moderators: Semfry, ividyon

User avatar TheIronKnuckle
Gilded Claw Gilded Claw
Posts: 1967
Joined: 12 Nov 2007, 07:21
Location: Riding my bicycle from the highest hill in Sydney to these forums

Subject: Scoring individual moments in mods against the USP schema. What would get 100?

Post Posted: 10 Jun 2012, 06:59

There are certain packs which are memorable as a whole, and then there are packs which aren't memorable so much themselves, but contain extremely memorable moments. In other words, sometimes when I remember something from unreal I don't remember an entire pack so much as a specific moment from a pack, and sometimes I don't remember specific moments from a pack, so much as i remember the general feeling that that pack was great.

==================================================== Introductory ramble ====================================================
[spoiler]When I remember an entire pack or map as being awesome, I remember
  • One day
  • Tower of shrakitha
  • The last fortress
  • Seven Bullets
  • attacked
  • ONP
  • The landing
  • etc
But when I remember a moment as being awesome, I think
  • The ISV dragonfly nightmare sequence.
  • Various parts from The Chronicles of Weedrow (pokemon battle, final sequence, credits)
  • The original unreal first skaarj encounter.
  • Pretty much anything from the ONP credits
  • The ruins of nali pente (This had a massive impact on me)
  • The whole kira subplot. The ascent of the bell tower and finally finding kira in bluff eversmoking
  • The controller boss fight in Xidia:The escape.
  • The fight and lead up to the fight with the bishop (skytown reduxx)
  • The whole intro of The Calling
  • The tunnel run from my usp speedmap
  • The first gameplay sequence of Legacy (Evading the Behemoth)
  • Clearing out the fortress in One Day, followed by the flying sequence
  • Many little things from the Tower of shrakitha (Nali and tray of drinks, ending sequence, boss fight, the smoke)
  • Opening sequence of the vigil 99
  • Most of Revelations Part 1
  • Zora episode 1 (The maze, the island)
  • Walking out and seeing that massive cliff early on in ONP (Can't remember the map name). Equivalently, the view at the end of the map, where you get to turn around and survey what you just acomplished
  • Exploring the ruins in Shamuquest. My mind was blown.
  • The attack on the village in the first map of nali chronicles
  • The illhaven boatride, and other moments from this pack

Notice that, for example, the landing appears in the first list as conceptually grand, but I didn't list any particular moment in the second list that corresponds. Similarly, while I found the vigil 99 opening sequence to be fucking amazing, I didn't find the vigil as a whole to be anywhere near as conceptually grand.
When I remember the vigil, i remember the opening, not the rest of the pack.
When I remember the landing, I remember it being good, but with no concrete amazing moments that I can really name (Sure, i can remember the individual levels being cool, but there's nothing that really jumped out as an absolutely awesome, in your face, never been done before set piece)
Both are obviously memorable for the very reason that I can remember them, but to me it seems like two different reasons. One of them is memorable as a whole, one of them is memorable for a specific reason.

Of course the best packs will mix this up. For example the last fortress is solid as a whole, but also contains awesome segments such as the skybox anihilation, climbing the tower, crossing the bridge etc.
Similarly The tower of shrakitha is solid as a whole, whilst it also contains epic set pieces such as the tray of drinks, the deadly smoke, the boss fight, the ending map and extro, etc.[/spoiler]

==================================================== Back to actual topic ====================================================

Think back to your most memorable moments from USP single player maps and packs, and write a mini-review about that moment and that moment alone, making reference to the USP schema. Ideally it should be no more than a few sentences, although if you want to have an emotional rant with an extremly detailed analysis feel free :P Whilst I encourage close reference to the schema, which I have found of great aid in analysing levels, the final score is not important.

The scope and definition of a "moment" is left up to you, it could be a split second, a whole sequence, gameplay based or story based.

I'll start:
1. The ISV dragon nightmare sequence scores 100 hands down for me. The slowing down of time, blowing up of valves, foggy atmosphere, bloodshot screen overlay, scream, skaarj; The fact that you have total control over your player character but no matter what you do you're going to get fucked. It's bloody conceptually grand. The architecture, texturing and sound works flawlessly, the idea itself is great. There are no bugs. The story is implicit in the situation. It's just a great moment.

2. The attack on the village at the begining of nali chronicles is golden. The locals get charactarisation, and serve distinct purposes in the village. The architecture is a mix of old and new (the houses, the temple). The story drives everything. You end up at the top of the tower to do some training/see the priest. All of a sudden the skaarj attack. And this isn't just some skaarj pawns being made visable and plonked in the middle of the village; this is a full on attack with shit flying everywhere, nalis being slaughtered, a general atmosphere of "oh shit time to bail", a rush to the escape hatch. Everything about it is worth 100.
ImageIgnorance is knowing anything
And only idiots know everything

redeye
Banned Banned
Posts: 1393
Joined: 08 Dec 2007, 06:55

Subject: Re: Scoring individual moments in mods against the USP schema. What would get 100?

Post Posted: 11 Jun 2012, 06:41

For me it is ONP, I like the humor, the maps, the lighting, everything, the voice was never an issue for me.It gave me the feeling of Unreal but not so stuffy as a corporation produced game.Still bold and done good enough to not make it just some user made thing.There is one huge tiered landscap outside map, you can look waaay down there and see creatures walking around. gets a 100 from me.
Just ban everyone

User avatar Semfry
Trustee Member Trustee Member
Posts: 2068
Joined: 12 Nov 2007, 02:43
Location: UK
Contact:

Subject: Re: Scoring individual moments in mods against the USP schema. What would get 100?

Post Posted: 12 Jun 2012, 02:42

I think bringing the schema in muddies the concept up a little, as this is essentially "moments/levels in packs that stick out the most to you".

I guess I'll bring up a specific one with sancient1 from Shamuquest. I'll just quote from the second opinion I recently sent in on why I think that map is a masterpiece (of course, it loses a little context without the rest of the review, but not much):

"sancient1: This second map takes place in the temple of an evil Nali god. For good reasons, of all his Single Player maps, this is the one known as Chicoverde's magnum opus. While there are still flaws when you take a closer look (like ruined pillars unconvincingly overlapping into each other, and the occasional odd texture), the visual design is much more solid than the first map. This is arguably the most convincing ruined temple made in Unreal 1 ever; the massively scaled rooms full of decayed details and things such as underground rivers flowing through the ruined floors of the lower level all work to make it interesting. Then there's the atmosphere; this is the domain of a malevolent being, and the level truly manages to make you feel as if you aren't welcome in the slightest. Between the various traps, gloomy lighting, tricky gameplay, music use (the use of Unreal4 as the soundtrack of this level is somewhat divisive, but I think it works perfectly for pulling off an alien, unwelcoming atmosphere), and macabre details like blood-soaked rooms, screams and tortured Nali this level almost feels draining to play through; and this is the combination of elements that truly brings it together into a masterpiece for me.

The layout is interesting too; it can be very confusing the first time through due to it's scale, and could do with a few more hints of where to go and what to do, but once you get how it comes together it's actually only comprised of a few main areas, and makes makes great use of space to feel far bigger than it actually is. Gameplay is still on the difficult side and feels a little cheap at times (it's very easy to wonder into brutal fights with little warning, which is not helped by Chicoverde being very trigger happy with the placement of ASMD and Sniper Skaarj), but the lack of spawning makes it less irritating than the first map. There's also a much greater general variety in the gameplay, with traps to avoid, a lot of exploration to do and a puzzle or two. The traps are a bit haphazard; they rely on crushing the player against the ceiling, and it's basically impossible to get caught if you stay on the move, but they do at least keep you on edge. Technically the map is much better than the first; I did miss a trigger at one point, and have to fly out of a room because this resulted in me getting trapped, but that's the only issue I came across; with the geometry here it's a miracle it's as solid as it is. This is the map to play Shamu Quest for."
Formerly Mman

User avatar TheIronKnuckle
Gilded Claw Gilded Claw
Posts: 1967
Joined: 12 Nov 2007, 07:21
Location: Riding my bicycle from the highest hill in Sydney to these forums

Subject: Re: Scoring individual moments in mods against the USP schema. What would get 100?

Post Posted: 15 Jun 2012, 01:34

Can't wait for that to hit the main page. It sums up my experience so well. I remember when i first played sancient1, 10 years or so after it came out (I don't know exactly when it was made), I was so impressed. Like you said, the fact that it doesn't just fall apart from the insane geometry is amazing. So i could appreciate it on that level, but also the whole experience, the large scale, the small details, the music, the whole atmosphere conveyed. Magnum opus indeed. I swear many of his other maps are better in build quality, but that map is what stands out as Chicoverdes signature to me.
ImageIgnorance is knowing anything
And only idiots know everything

User avatar AlCapowned
Skaarj Elder Skaarj Elder
Posts: 1175
Joined: 19 Dec 2009, 22:25

Subject: Re: Scoring individual moments in mods against the USP schema. What would get 100?

Post Posted: 18 Jun 2012, 15:10

Finding that I could move outside the UMS Solaris and then seeing how huge the ships are was a big moment for me. Coming out of a small cave and seeing the Skaarj Castle was awesome. I also really liked Strangeworld's night and day system, and how it expanded the Skaarj/Mercenary conflict. Tentacle-Hunter's pack has the best (and only) swamp for Unreal that I've ever seen. The escape shuttle on Redeem Your Space was cool, especially when I didn't reach it the first time around.

redeye
Banned Banned
Posts: 1393
Joined: 08 Dec 2007, 06:55

Subject: Re: Scoring individual moments in mods against the USP schema. What would get 100?

Post Posted: 18 Jun 2012, 21:20

Actualy the skaarjtower that has the 3 cave paths.That is just one hell of a map
Just ban everyone

User avatar Shivaxi
Gilded Claw Gilded Claw
Posts: 1916
Joined: 24 Jun 2008, 19:51
Location: Behind You! =P
Contact:

Subject: Re: Scoring individual moments in mods against the USP schema. What would get 100?

Post Posted: 27 Jul 2012, 22:37

If I had to describe the single greatest moment of shock and awe I've experienced in Unreal...to date at least...well...I would be ruining a mappack for you guys that hasn't been released yet :P

Of course I'm talking about Firestorm.

I wont give anything away but you've all seen the screenshots. And when I tell you every map is huge.....every....map...is....HUGE! I don't know how Turboman didn't break the node limit with each and every map being this huge and complex...not to mention the rarity of any bugs or bsp's. There are rarely any maps on a grand scale like that without having some serious BSP errors. Turboman is a masterpeice in himself with his level design. And if you're an explorer like me, you'll be in one of Turboman's Firestorm maps for at the very least an hour if not more...exploring every nook and cranny and doing all you can do.

I won't give anything specific away, but let's just say that sometimes it feels like there are entire levels inside of levels when it comes to Firestorm. Some serious side-questing going on =P. Firestorm already has 26+ maps (dunno how many now but that's what it was when i played it) and if Turboman split each map up to be the size of normal Unreal maps...that number would at least triple and you'd be looking at 60 maps honestly.
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/9950/shivavatar2.jpg Image

Waffnuffly: If there is any purpose for the god damned ocean, it is for us to eat it.
Jet_v4.3.5: I want to be Lincoln and kick Satan's ass. Emancipate and Proclimate on his ass.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 29 guests

Copyright © 2001-2024 UnrealSP.org

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited