New Kernel Panic Maps

New Kernel Panic Maps

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FireStorm_
Posts: 666
Joined: 19 Aug 2009, 16:09

New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by FireStorm_ »

I made some maps for Kernel Panic.
I've uploaded them to Spring Files:

Central Hub
http://www.springfiles.com/show_file.php?id=2451
Corrupted Core
http://www.springfiles.com/show_file.php?id=2455
Dual Core
http://www.springfiles.com/show_file.php?id=2454
Quad Core
http://www.springfiles.com/show_file.php?id=2456

They are also documented and linked here, on my clans blog:
http://sbspringrts.blogspot.com/2009/12 ... -pack.html

If someone has time to check them out, please tell me what you think.

Edit:
License
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons BY-SA License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Last edited by FireStorm_ on 02 Feb 2012, 20:16, edited 4 times in total.
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AF
AI Developer
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Re: New Kernal Panic Maps

Post by AF »

Central Hub looks pretty
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zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
Posts: 7049
Joined: 16 Nov 2004, 13:08

Re: New Kernal Panic Maps

Post by zwzsg »

Eh, you eventually made them!

I wish they all had 16 or 32 startpos, even if the map is intented for smaller number of players, just to make sure they don't crash if some particular condition require extra teams.

The edge are smooth :?. Remove the lowpass filter in mapconv commandline.

They have lots and lots of geo. Too many maybe?

I noticed they're assymetrical. I hope it doesn't give any starting pos any advantage.

But otherwise, very good!
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Neddie
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Re: New Kernal Panic Maps

Post by Neddie »

Are the sizes really that small?
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zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
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Re: New Kernal Panic Maps

Post by zwzsg »

Plenty of geo + tight pathes = nightmarish traffic jam and clogging. Though I'm partially to blame for playing with ONS on. The ONS pathes are interesting btw.

Also, I see you had fun with the typemap. But I'm not sure having the whole map x4 speed is that good. Made me feel like I was playing a +++ speed.
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FireStorm_
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Re: New Kernal Panic Maps

Post by FireStorm_ »

Quad Core is indeed somewhat narrow in many locations and quite unbalanced, but I believe fun gameplay can still be possible under these conditions. I think I might have to do a bigger version to make it 'work more properly' in balance and fairness terms, though.

As for the type map; I might have gone a little crazy, yes. I think I will tone down the speed zones, in the near future. Adding more starting positions can be done easy enough then as well. so can recompiling for less smoothness.

Thanks for the feedback by the way; is much appreciated.
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zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by zwzsg »

Not less smoothness, but 0 smoothness. Sharp edge!

Also, can you remove the NotDeformable (unless really needed), cause I hope to have some map deforming Lua in KP soon, and they'll fail on map with that.

The bottom half of the sky box was cut by a black plane. :(

Having different speed zone can be interesting, and having speedy ramp help with the clogging. Don't tone down the speed modifier (because low difference would be hard to notice and so even less intuitive), but keep in mind how speed bonus/malus affect the formation of traffic jam and the pathes prefered by the pathfinder.

Oh, and Debugger failed on the purple bad blocks of Central Hub, is it intented? Nevermind. I see now debugger shrink then. Amusing! (But I guess I'll have to update the AI to handle blocking features.)

The speed modifier on Corrupted Core are good. But the ramp are purple yet x4, while on the downstair area, purple is for slow and red for fast. So exchange the purple and red color downstair, so the color code stays consistent. Or maybe use color with stronger contrast for downstair.

Dual Core is almost entirely x4. I don't really like that, though it's doesn't really break gameplay. (Beside HOMF mode, but it's ok to no support that).

Quad Core speeds are probably ok, it's more the combination of huge number of datavents, narrow passes, weird order of ONS shielding, hard to reach places that resulted in me having over 700 units clogging the tube and having a hard time reach their targets in the game I played here. (4FFA, 3 humans, 1 AI, Weak ONS.) I'm watching some AI fight on that map now, and there's no clogging anymore. But AI tends to have many small groups well spread, while human players like me gather all the army in a single group with a single target.
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Gota
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by Gota »

I'd,as a KP player,would prefer slower speeds in places rather than speeding things even more.
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zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by zwzsg »

Kernel Panic tooltip features a speedometer. And it shows something interesting: Maps speed modifier are capped to x2: All your x4 area only provide a x2 boost: The tooltip shows the terrain gives x4 speed, but the tooltip also show any unit on them only go as fast as twice their top speed.

So I'd say to replace all your x4 by x2, to avoid any surprises if Spring ever gets unbridled.
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KDR_11k
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by KDR_11k »

I think Spring tells a unit how fast it should go at most (for formation movement) and 2x max speed is the default for "full speed".

Also avoid speed mods outside of special areas because they mess with the range/speed balancing.
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FireStorm_
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by FireStorm_ »

I was about to add a terraintype in order to gain a 2x speed zone (i was gonna call it DDR1 SDRAM) next to the 4x speed zone (wich would then be DDR2 SDRAM). But now i am to understand this has been invain, beacause 2xspeed is the max? What causes this limitation? And how might it be removed?

Maybe i'll experiment with slower speeds like Gota suggested.

The Purple badbocks (Unusable Sector) behaviour is intentional. I wanted a stronger barricade for balance purposes. The original badblok doesn't provide much resistance. (To be honest, nor does the Unusable Sector if you use a Byte, or different faction equivalent.)

I don't know why my Skybox was cut in half; I'll look in to it.

The most annoying problem i have now, is that i can't get my Hightmap and Texturemap to align neatly. Maybe it isn't possible, because of the small size of my ramps and such? (See picture for clarification.)
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KDR_11k
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by KDR_11k »

Maybe the wrong resolution?
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zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
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Joined: 16 Nov 2004, 13:08

Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by zwzsg »

Nah, not a resolution problem.

The thing is that the pixels of the heightmap are at the corner intersection of the (8x8) pixels of the color map, and that also they are offseted, by ... uh ... I never sorted out the exact details, I just shift my heightmap by a pixels or more, until it matches the color map.

Or you can see it the other way around: If the heightmap is pure black next to pure white, then ingame you won't have a sudden height change, but instead the transition will be a slope spanning 8 pixels of the color map, or 1/4 of the 32x23 grid square that makes KP maps.

You cannot have perfectly vertical cliffs, they'll always span a least those 8 pixels = 1/4 of the yellow grid square.

Usually, I make the cliff span a whole "yellow grid square". This is done by having three shades of intermediate gray between the top white color and bottom black color. Three one-pixel stripes, yet the resulting slope will span the width of four heightmap-pixels. Because, again, three intermediate shade between two pure colors on either side, means 4 transitions. And the heightmap is shifted by half the size of one of its own pixel. Uh, I don't think I've been very clear, but hopefully you'll understand by yourself.

Or you could just forget about that, keep smooth edge, and call it "having your own style".


FireStorm_ wrote:What causes this limitation? And how might it be removed?
The engine, and it's not removable.
FireStorm_ wrote:I don't know why my Skybox was cut in half; I'll look in to it.
I would guess some water plane or horizon plane of some sort.
FireStorm_ wrote:Maybe it isn't possible, because of the small size of my ramps and such?
It is possible, but it always take me lots of fiddling.
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FireStorm_
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by FireStorm_ »

I finally finished the maps, and uploaded them to spring files. (First post updated.)

The improvements aren't huge ones, but at least necessary to end up with a neat and tight looking KP map. Haven't tested them a good as i should, but KP crashes on me as soon as the first AI-bot is eliminated.

Most importantly, i removed speed zones and made the remaining ones clearly visible, The maps have hard cliff edges, Quadcore is a little more balanced, and i added skyboxes.

I'm aiming for some critique that will help me to make some final minor tweaks and adjustments. (although honestly, i also want to get on with the next thing i working on.)
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zwzsg
Kernel Panic Co-Developer
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by zwzsg »

  • FireStorm_ wrote:KP crashes on me as soon as the first AI-bot is eliminated.
    Get the lastest version of Spring, 0.80.5.2.
  • The default terrain is called default, it looks odd when the tooltip jumps from Default to DDR2 SDRAM. Care to change that Default to RAM?

    Oh by the way, I put RAM in middle of my terrain type definition in .smd because sometimes, Spring smooth the terrain type map, inserting terrain type that weren't there at the border between two terrain type. I mean, for instance, if you place some TERRAINTYPE0 next to some TERRAINTYPE3, at the limit, the color smoothing will generate some TERRAINTYPE1 and TERRAINTYPE2 that weren't there.
  • I'd rather have the grid's lines be lined up with the top, convex, edges than with the bottom, concave edges.
  • I forgot already how were the old versions, but IIRC with the new version, it's easier to see the ramp, top, bottom. However, the new version starts looking much like my maps, and now I feel bad for stifling your creativity. It was nice to have maps that felt different, and I'm afraid we'll lose that if you follow my instruction too much.
  • So, changing the "default" terrain name to RAM should be easy, but for the rest, you shouldn't feel forced to redo your maps.
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knorke
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Re: New Kernel Panic Maps

Post by knorke »

nice, but too detailled heightmap imo. The labyrinthlike cliffs make it difficult to manoveuer the units through the map imo. some open areas would be nice.
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