A Path Beyond Siege Work in Progress Updates

[Raap]

I needed to take my mind of some real life matters, and I found myself with a glue kit, and ended up with...

(UPDATE: This unit is NOT part of Siege!)

 
A Mobile SAM, because we already have a Mobile AA Gun so I figured, why not...
 
Since dual turrets were not achievable, the rear one is "disabled".
 
I'm not sure if this vehicle will be present in the map, though.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Raap

[Ice]

The vehicle looks interesting, although it's pretty easy to tell that it's two V2 chassis stuck together which looks kinda odd, and 2 SAM turrets seems rather excessive and redundant. Why not simply have a standard V2 chassis with 1 SAM turret, set up similarly to the Mobile AA?

Edited November 18, 2016 by Ice

[Raap]

The vehicle looks interesting, although it's pretty easy to tell that it's two V2 chassis stuck together which looks kinda odd, and 2 SAM turrets seems rather excessive and redundant. Why not simply have a standard V2 chassis with 1 SAM turret, set up similarly to the Mobile AA?

 

Because... Why not? It was literally as you say - two V2's slapped together (and re-rigged, etc.). It's not a serious vehicle and most likely you won't even see it in the map. Nonetheless I'll probably finish the model with a camouflaged SAM Site texture and call it a day. At least then a basic "placeholder-ish" model will exist for dedicated Soviet Anti-air, to go along with the Allied Mobile A A Gun, which was also a glue job.

 

Also in case you're wondering why I didn't use another vehicle as a base - The Soviets didn't have a truck of any sort of their own, unlike the Allies which can use the Gap truck. A single V2 was too small, so I merged two to make it truck-sized. Sometimes re-using assets makes a lot of sense both in terms of resources but also in a realistic way, since in the real world, people mount all sorts of things on top of trucks... And in times of war, anything that works, counts. It makes no sense to produce entirely new vehicles for a single weapon system, when you can modify existing ones to use them on.

 

Edit: But don't put more thought into this. This isn't really part of Siege.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Raap

[Killing_You]

Why would a single V2 be too small? Looks like you could rotate it 90 degrees and be fine. If nothing else, just rip it off of the base, or scale it a bit. 

[Raap]

Why would a single V2 be too small? Looks like you could rotate it 90 degrees and be fine. If nothing else, just rip it off of the base, or scale it a bit. 

 

Originally I hoped to utilize the 2nd SAM Site in some way. Doesn't matter though, as I said before, it's not part of the map (especially not now when ya'll just hating on something bigger than what you have!).

 

(Edit: I also wouldn't like the aesthetic of a SAM mounted single V2).

Edited November 18, 2016 by Raap

[Killing_You]

Eh, fair enough I guess.

[Raap]

A short update for a while; Today my father died at the age of 80 (he was to turn 81 on November 30th), due to a combined effect of a weak heart and a lung infection. The last two weeks I spend going back and forth to the hospital, yesterday there were signs of improvements, but suddenly he got a lung infection on top of his condition which proved fatal, essentially killing him within a 9 hour period.

 

I was able to be present as he drew his final breath, although he was no longer able to communicate in any way. We never got to discuss the details of his funeral, so I find myself suddenly organizing one, with very few documents to go by. For this reason I won't be able to commit to this project for a while.

 

If I think I need more time, I'll hand the files to Pushwall as-is.

Edited November 18, 2016 by Raap

[Killing_You]

You might want to do that anyway. Take some time away to heal, and don't worry about anything else.

[Raptor29aa]

Push wall is a very capable artist. He will keep your vision intact.

Also I will do a 31 demo salute in honor of your father.

[FRAYDO]

Our condolences to you and your family, Raap.

[TeamWolf]

I'm very sorry to hear that Raap, our thoughts go out to you and your family.

[NoSoldier]

Push wall is a very capable artist. He will keep your vision intact.

Also I will do a 31 demo salute in honor of your father.

 

I may stand next to you if you do it ingame.

 

Take your time and heal yourself. Let push take over.

[Raap]

Thanks for the kind words.

 

The funeral was today, so what's left now is mostly paperwork and such.

 

I'll see how things are in a week, if I remain creatively burned out, I'll hand over the files to Pushwall, or anyone who might volunteer for it.

[Raap]

I will pick up work again this week and finish Siege as soon as I can. 

 

I decided that I wanted to finish my planned contributions despite recent events.

 

Testers can expect a QA release in the first week of december (possibly sooner).

 

I hope to begin working on my 3rd and final map contribution right after I deliver Siege, the design of this map has already been prepared a while ago, and I can promise it will be an environment not seen before in APB.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Raap

[AZ-Stalker]

my 3rd and final map contribution

Why final? What if you get another idea, more free time and inspiration following all of the positive feedback you are definitely going to get for your amazing maps? Don't limit yourself (in your own mind) in advance since you don't know how you'll feel after the 3rd one. Just putting it out there. Can't wait to try out Siege!

[Raap]

 

my 3rd and final map contribution

Why final? What if you get another idea, more free time and inspiration following all of the positive feedback you are definitely going to get for your amazing maps? Don't limit yourself (in your own mind) in advance since you don't know how you'll feel after the 3rd one. Just putting it out there. Can't wait to try out Siege!

 

 

3 maps was the plan nearly a year ago when I 'resurfaced', and that's the plan I intent to stick with. I was always going to do a HostileWaters remake, a Siege finish-up (originally that was supposed to be the 3rd project), and a publicly voted map based on forum polling, which turned into a hybrid industrial themed Fjord, a map which will see several map designs merged into one.

 

When all is done, I'll see what happens next.

 

Plans are always subject to change or delays, as you can see right now as well.

 

Edit: To be clear, the final map is NOT a Fjord remake, it is an entirely new map called Frostburn Cove - I'll leave that name here so people can speculate what the theme is going to be.

Edited November 26, 2016 by Raap

[Raap]

The map is now feature-locked. The last thing I managed to sneak in, is a new underwater caustics effect.

 

My hope is to deliver the map to Pushwall this week. No internal testing will be required. With some luck, despite all the delays, you might still see this map playable this year (the release of Siege may coincide with hell freezing over).

 

I need a couple of days to fix a few bugs and do the final foliage pass. VIS will be implemented at a later date as I didn't want to delay the map even longer... VIS will only arrive if demand for it exists (AKA if too many people complain about performance). Pushwall may then opt to return the map to me for VIS development, however this will delay progress on my 3rd and final APB contribution.

 

VIS is a true horror show for a map like Siege. Truthfully, the W3D engine doesn't handle open maps like this very well, especially not with air units available and various "disconnected" underground sections. Lessons have been learned on my part, but I was stubborn and really wanted to finish this project, which dates back to my BHP days during 2006-2008.

[Raap]

Alright folks, this is the very final preview screenshot of the work in progress on Siege. The map is very close to being finished now.

 

Below you see the water caustics effect along with a shoreline effect, both of which are animated effects. You also see an expanded selection of water edge ground plants (a total of 5 different textures, 8 if counting aquatic plants).

 

Hopefully the map will see a public release relatively soon.

 

Edited December 2, 2016 by Raap

[Raptor29aa]

Nice work. It appears this map is Raap's masterpiece. (Personality looking forward to shooting the cannons).

[Raap]

Heh, I'm not sure if it is a masterpiece by any means, but I did implement a few new aesthetic designs that I think enhance Delta's art direction.

 

I'm signing off on the map tomorrow (AKA delivery day). I look forward to being able to play the map alongside the rest of our players.

Edited December 4, 2016 by Raap

[Raap]

The map has been delivered to Pushwall. What happens with it now, is entirely up to him.

[AZ-Stalker]

Fantastic work Raap, we all greatly appreciate your efforts!
Now go reward yourself by finally setting an actual avatar on the forum.

[Raap]

I wouldn't know what to put up there, because a single image never really represents my mood or interests... Unless I feel like trolling, which is probably a side of me that the W3D community has never seen. 

[SarahNautili]

Edit: To be clear, the final map is NOT a Fjord remake, it is an entirely new map called Frostburn Cove - I'll leave that name here so people can speculate what the theme is going to be.

*takes a stab in the dark* so, Volcano (with an actual volcano) plus a frozen over cove?

[Raap]

 

Edit: To be clear, the final map is NOT a Fjord remake, it is an entirely new map called Frostburn Cove - I'll leave that name here so people can speculate what the theme is going to be.

*takes a stab in the dark* so, Volcano (with an actual volcano) plus a frozen over cove?

 

 

Nope, not exactly. 

 

It's quite a unique - outlandish perhaps - environment.

[NoSoldier]

A remake of RA_moon? (If it was called something like this)

[Raptor29aa]

A remake of RA_moon? (If it was called something like this)

It could be re-titled RA Christmas 2 ?

(The devs are probably saying "no don't mention that!")

[Raap]

FrostburnCove is still in design stages, but I can give you at least a few quick facts, because these have been finalized a while ago:

 

• At its core, the map is set in cold and snowy Russia.
• The map is between 25% to 33% the scale of Siege, which means the map is much more compact and with limited open space. It will most likely be the most dense map in APB Delta, and the effect of that will be limited vehicle maneuverability.
• Roughly 1/3rd of the map is a Soviet R&D facility where MAD Tank technology was developed, and something else... The plot of the map is simple; Something went boom, and both factions have set up their base nearby to find out what happened.
• You can expect prototype vehicles present in this map. At least one of these vehicles is not native to the Red Alert universe.
• The map will feature small bases without base defenses. Aircraft is still something I'm undecided on; My focus is on good ground gameplay and great secondary objectives, and air vehicles may not necessarily add to this in a positive way.
• Expect lava, including new effects for it.

 

That is all for now. I will not be posting as many updates as I did for Siege. I plan to keep most things a bit secret.

Edited December 9, 2016 by Raap

[moonsense715]

Sounds good, and a direction level designs should actually take these days. That is side-objectives speciality per-map that makes maps unique, aside from unique terrain design that drags somewhat different gameplay (but that leaves the core game the same).

[Raap]

Sounds good, and a direction level designs should actually take these days. That is side-objectives speciality per-map that makes maps unique, aside from unique terrain design that drags somewhat different gameplay (but that leaves the core game the same).

 

I pushed for that direction when I was still with BHP. People mostly disagreed on this approach so it was never done.

 

If I had the time, rights, and access, I would have added objectives to some of the existing maps in APB Delta, but unfortunately I got none of those things. Perhaps someone else one day picks the idea up... But for that, we need a larger playerbase.

 

Edit: I guess with Siege released (soonish according to Pushwall), my forum title can get changed to not refer only to HostileWaters? 

Edited December 9, 2016 by Raap