Could be asleep, typing random messages instead.

02/11/2024 - "The Long Way Around" by Aspide

Each week a single map is discussed here in detail.

Moderators: Semfry, Sat42, Jigoku, UB_

User avatar Semfry
Trustee Member Trustee Member
Posts: 2121
Joined: 12 Nov 2007, 02:43
Location: UK
Contact:

Subject: 02/11/2024 - "The Long Way Around" by Aspide

Post Posted: 02 Nov 2024, 22:02

Map Title: The Long Way Around
Author: Aspide
From: A Friend In Need
Filename: AFIN-Map03-LongWayAround.unr




Video Playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ok5hPW2KdE

Synopsis: You have saved your friend, defeated Vulnere and are ready to head home. However, the Skaarj have already began their own assault on the Krall fortress, and the battle for survival is far from over...

Discuss!
Formerly Mman

User avatar Sat42
Skaarj Warlord Skaarj Warlord
Posts: 994
Joined: 14 Jul 2013, 16:42
Contact:

Subject: Re: 02/11/2024 - "The Long Way Around" by Aspide

Post Posted: 03 Nov 2024, 14:28

First of all, thank you Semfry for getting this MOTW up and running on time! :) (I have a problem with my gaming PC setup which should be resolved in the coming days...)

As the synopsis indicates, by the time you reach this map, the story's main objective is already completed... seemingly. Things are not entirely within your control now that the Skaarj have arrived!

As the third and last map in A Friend In Need (AFIN), The Long Way Around would be expected to provide the climax of the campaign, and superficially it does, with the Skaarj forces providing adequate fodder and the story coming to a conclusion. You are mostly retreading the first map in reverse, however, and even with all the changes and new areas towards the end, I feel like this familiarity ended up diminishing the impact of the level compared to the other two (the latter are nothing short of great in my opinion); moreover, on the Medium difficulty setting, this ended up being easy, even with the (otherwise well-executed) final boss fight, which only briefly provided the illusion of challenge. Now, certainly, I realise that on the higher difficulty settings this would be a different story, but the entire campaign ends up being easy on Medium (i.e., never even close to dying when just doing the mandatory stuff), which is a bit of a problem given how it's not supposed to be like the Easy setting :) as the campaign's climax, I expected to finally face a challenge here (next time I play through AFIN, I'll do it on the Hard setting for sure :) ). Consequently, I feel The Long Way Around falls short of greatness and is the lesser of the 3 levels in this mappack.

That said, we still get a really good experience with this map: the retread of the fortress itself with all the signs of the Skaarj assault definitely works well, the narrative driving you to the final showdown is still very effective, and as usual with AFIN, there's a lot of optional exploration to do if you want to find all the secrets! And I'm repeating myself here: the one real challenge of the campaign is finding the secrets, making this an experience that's closer to some of those maps from Quake's Arcane Dimensions than Unreal, except with the addition of a really solid story. I love how Aspide occasionally finds neat ways of implementing little touches to connect some gameplay elements to the lore: in this case, I'm thinking of the (again, optional) hunt for Skaarj Queen figurines, which implicitly conveys the idea that they work as a "mark" left behind by advancing Skaarj forces (kind of like the origami unicorn in Blade Runner). For the record, I didn't even find HALF of all the secrets in this level! (and yet I always managed to find almost all of them in the previous maps...)

Your Nali friend, Inti, did frustrate me a bit with his decision to run ahead like a headless chicken only to get killed (convenient ;) ) but it was a nice surprise to see him "return" in some form (also make sure you sit through the credits, people!).

What remains the most striking aspect of AFIN is that, overall, it provides a narrative experience which I'd call "between good and very good", and that's as high as I'd rate the best narratives I've experienced with Unreal/UT mods so far, like 7 Bullets and G59 (of course, AFIN is shorter than those, but I'm talking in terms of the average narrative quality per unit time if that makes sense).

And with The Long Way Around, we conclude the first complete tour of a mappack since restarting MOTW :)


EDIT: the custom music in the citadel is really good by the way, was reminded of it while watching Semfry's video playthrough!

EDIT2: some of the hiding spots for the Queen figurines are just evil!

EDIT3: thanks for showing us the full ending Semfry! :D And beyond that, I didn't know about that secret gallery in the difficulty select map, and I didn't even realise there's a credits map for coop! very nice :o
Nali: Magic or Telekinesis
Waffnuffly wrote:It's tarydium-doped smoothies. Drunk by the player, I mean. The player is tripping balls. The whole game actually takes place in a large city and the player thinks he's on an alien world.

User avatar Semfry
Trustee Member Trustee Member
Posts: 2121
Joined: 12 Nov 2007, 02:43
Location: UK
Contact:

Subject: Re: 02/11/2024 - "The Long Way Around" by Aspide

Post Posted: 05 Nov 2024, 00:15

Since this is the last level, I went and did the last secrets of the start map (I forgot to check the proper way to the secret room so just flew there though) and the coop credits maps.

While a lot of the design is from the first map it does a good job showing it ruined after the Skaarj assault, and there are enough surprises and new areas that it's not just backtracking through old areas. More Skaarj Troopers makes this more challenging than earlier maps, but you have plenty to deal with it, especially if you've been finding most of the secrets. The final boss has some nice set-up and ending surprise, although the troopers before seemed more dangerous than the actual boss and it seemed like them jumping you all at once would at least feel a bit harder (or maybe the higher difficulties already do this?).

The secrets on this level have the twist of the Queen statue hunt, which requires hints from a secret message in map 1 to not be needles in a haystack; the elevator one is interesting because I'm not fully sure on the intended way, as you can snipe like I did (although I messed it up at first as I wasn't fully sure if it would work), but you can also shoot grenades through the sides of the stuck lift, except the hitboxes are very exact so you mostly just blow yourself up, and I guess shooting grenades from the top of the shaft would work (and I guess is the safest way?).

While this map seems like a bit of an epilogue at first, it ends up adding quite a bit to the overall story as it supports the somewhat melancholic style of the rest, with it being confirmed the Krall were doomed all along with the Skaarj right behind you, as well as your friend not actually surviving in the end (although that leads to a nice surprise at the end of the final fight). I forgot the "post-credits" scene where I guess Vulnere is implied to have been saved (I guess the fruits can grow his legs back?), which suggests a more hopeful future for him after the second map twist gives him a pseudo-redemption. Though that darker mood throughout does get a bit offset by things like the Mario door sound at the start of this map and the loud secret call-outs. Overall I'd agree this is one of the stronger stories in an custom Unreal set though, with it sticking to the base concept but adding just enough twists to make it interesting without losing the basic thread. While I liked it playing it for the first time a bit ago I think getting most of the secrets and extras gave me more appreciation for this set with all the little ways there are to diverge from the path a little and tackle things in different ways, as well as some of the secrets doing some quite experimental things.
Formerly Mman

User avatar Aspide
Skaarj Assassin Skaarj Assassin
Posts: 106
Joined: 14 May 2021, 23:08

Subject: Re: 02/11/2024 - "The Long Way Around" by Aspide

Post Posted: 06 Nov 2024, 08:59

The last map of AFIN, like I said in the ReadMe commentary I reused map 1 because I was lazy (considering how much time it took me to learn how UE1 works I just wanted to finish this project as quickly as possible), however I also wanted to challenge myself by making a level that is a copy of another one but making changes so it plays completely different. When I was thinking of what to do to make this map unique I noticed that I never used the Skaarj in the campaign, so I decided to make a level that only has Skaarj as the main enemy. It worked pretty well and I used the appearance of the Skaarj to enhance the story by adding another layer to the themes of the story, I wanted to show the players the consequences of their actions. Stardust (the player) infiltrates the fortress, kills everything that gets in the way and only focuses on saving Inti while everyone else has to pick up the pieces. The sad irony is that when you read Vulnere (the Krall captain) diary entries you learn that Vulnere created a renegade group that opposes the Skaarj and the reason why Inti was captured was because of the Nali Priest magical abilities that allow Vulnere to convert the Skaarj's minions into their cause. So both Vulnere and Stardust want the same thing, all of the events of the campaign could have been avoided if only Vulnere didn't kidnap Inti the way he did, and also if Stardust didn't kill everyone and instead used a more peaceful way to solve the problem, if Stardust and Vulnere talked to each other then they would have definitely worked together and the Skaarj ambush would have been defeated without that many casualties and Inti would have survived. And in the future, thanks to Stardust help, Vulnere would have created a strong rebellion against the Skaarj , but none of this things happened, because Stardust (and you, the player) never expected the Kralls to be complicated creatures with their own motivations, so you infiltrated the fortress, never caring about the Kralls you killed, just like the countless times players killed Kralls and dismissed them as just Skaarj minions. So as punishment everything goes wrong, including your friend getting killed.

There are other small details about the story, for example in map 1 you can see three birds flying around but when you play map 3 two of them are dead. The birds represent the characters of Vulnere, Inti and Stardust (and the fact that two of them are dead when map 3 starts is foreshadowing to what happens to Inti) Another detail is the color of the tattoos of Vulnere, which is explained in one of his dairy entries in map 2. At the end of the credits you see a Nali ghost that spawns some Nali fruits near Vulnere's corpse, I interpretate this as the equivalent of giving flowers to the dead, and the identity of the Ghost is also not confirmed, it could be Inti, or it could be someone else, someone that has history with Vulnere. In map 1 you see some atrocities done to some of the Nali (this is a misdirection to trick players to dislike the Kralls), however if you read the messages you will learn that this is the actions of only one Krall that's very sadistic in his actions to the point that even Vulnere is thinking of getting rid of him.

The name of the campaign also has layers, while the name is a reference to the fact that your friend needs your help, it's also a reference to the Krall's situation (they are hidden underground, desperately searching for help by capturing Nali and other creatures), it's also references the character of Vulnere because of his backstory (both Vulnere and the Nali that's mentioned in the dairy entries needed help to be free and this is Vulnere's entire motivation). And at the end of the campaign where you get trapped by the Skaarj, you yourself need help and at the end you friend helps you. Also the abbreviation "AFIN" is very similar to "A la FIN" which is French for "in the end", which makes sense since every character meets their end except for you (but the phrase "in the end" can also reference the fact that not only Stardust killed creatures that could have been potential allies but also the mission to save Inti failed, so Stardust has no choice but to live with the consequences, lots of regrets.)

This map is the same as map 1 but with many changes (both aesthetics and gameplay changes), I added a lot of destruction to the environment including many corpses (which means that even if you spare everyone in map 1 they are still going to die). Level geometry is very basic, this was my first custom mapping project so I had no idea how to make good looking geometry, but it's funny that I learned how to make terrain before that :D . Since I knew geometry was going to be basic I focused more on the gameplay and the story. Lighting is decent, I still like the reddish look of the fortress area but I made the mistake of not adding Ambient Brightness so dark corners look extremely dark, good thing you have a flashlight with infinite charge 8) . However the cavern areas are very dark, again Ambient Brightness would have help.

Sound design is decent, I added many Ambient Sounds but unfortunately not that many DynamicAmbientSounds, I underestimated how important those are. Music is very strong, the first song is probably my favorite track of the campaign called "Doom's Day Part 2" , this is a song I found by mistake when searching for songs related to Doom in ModArchive (funny because the song has nothing to do with Doom), it's very dark and atmospheric and in my opinion it represents the campaign's overall mood very well. The second song is Razorback, an earlier version of the famous song that was used in UT99, I synchronized the final boss sequence with the music (however that effect gets ruined if you either play the game with a different speed or if you pause the game).

Gameplay is the highlight of the map, you have to replay the same map as level 1 but now in reverse and full of Skaarj Troopers. If you are familiar with map 1 then this level shouldn't be that complicated, however the first section is very different depending on the difficulty you are playing. If you use the cloak (or use a way to get higher), you can skip the first section, but you can't do that in Unreal difficulty :twisted: . There are many snipers and they are the top priority whenever you enter a new area, the section that used to be the first section of the first map has some very sneaky snipers in higher difficulties, so be careful. To spice things up I added a underwater section, it's quite an amazing experience when you destroy a section of the map and you end up in a place you recognize from map 1. This map just like the rest have plenty of secrets, however this map has the least secrets in the campaign, to compensate I created the "Queen hunt" where you have to find Queen toys all over the map to get a huge reward.

The campaign has a credits sequence (a SP and a Coop version), the SP version was inspired by Super Mario 64's ending sequence by showing previously seen locations, I used old fashioned Interpolation Points to get the job done, the credits are synchronized with the music (don't pause the game or you will ruin it :cry: ). The Coop version was created since you can't use Interpolation Points when playing online, so I made an interactive credits sequence, the secret in the Coop credits is a reference to a secret from Spatial Fear \o/

Issues I found:
-All maps in AFIN have an error message when you open them in the editor, I didn't port them to 225 properly.
-There's no Ambient Brightness.
-When creatures spawn they get stuck in the air.
-The destructible decorations (like the Queen toys) are pawns and therefore they bleed in the 227 patch.
-The map has pathnodes but it's very flawed.
-This map has a new version of the health pack, but the new message doesn't work in pre-227 Unreal.
-I wanted the Queen toy to move alongside the elevator that takes you to the area with the ScubaGear.
-For some reason sometimes when you play online the Nali ghost becomes afraid of players, which soft-blocks the map.
-There's a glitch in UT99 OldSkool with the amplifier where if you get that pickup before the ASMD you won't be able to use the ASMD with the Amplifier.
-The music track Razorback doesn't loop correctly in audio drivers like OpenAL.
-Very rarely the Troopers start fighting each other during the final sequence (where you are surrounded waiting for Inti to help you)
Somewhere in Nevada...

User avatar Mister_Prophet
Red Nemesis Leader Red Nemesis Leader
Posts: 3121
Joined: 11 Nov 2007, 23:30
Location: Lost in Oraghar

Subject: Re: 02/11/2024 - "The Long Way Around" by Aspide

Post Posted: 07 Nov 2024, 19:59

I wanted to make a comment out of respect for Aspide's work here, even though my general impressions about A Friend In Need are documented in my review. I really appreciate Semfry's attention to getting as much of the details shown in his playthrough as possible. It is necessary since Aspide makes his levels similarly to Waffnuffly or UB, where there are multiple layers of optional content to find and explore. This is difficult to chronicle outside of a well travelled video log, so kudos :tup:

Similarly as well, Aspide also mixes tone in some of the same ways as the mappers I mentioned, even though the approach to the actual game and construct differ greatly. Semfry and Sat both gave an excellent run down already so I will try not to overlap their comments. But, as someone who has seen (currently) two excellent levels for Savage Land that Aspide has put together I can attest to the honest truth of some of their statements about mixing impressions. Aspide's story telling is something quite special here and I personally prefer its subtlety. He is quick witted with his symbolism and always provides alternative interpretations for the player to debate upon. This is a master move. Yet, he has his humors! Integrating classic NES jests and old school ways of thinking are not limited to this set of maps for Aspide (one Savage Land level in particular keeps me cross-eyed while viewing it in UED because I'm still trying to figure out how I'm gonna find a way to meld all his ideas comfortably with the rest of the project :lol: ). I can see and understand how some people will find some elements distracting. It is not quite as severe as how the mixing of quality level design with surprise humor might flag one down in a Waffnuffly epic, but it's on the same train.

MOTW allows us to examine individual levels so let me say some things. "The Long Way Around" has as many double meanings as the rest of the plot, as Aspide has himself so demystified here for us in his own comment. Tricking the player onto one path and then lifting the flooring out from under them when bigger picture details come to pass is an old narrative method and one well suited for video games. Of course the player is going to shoot Krall! They've had two decades of Krall killing and barbarian brained Krall plotting to trust Stardust's motivations at face. Vulnere's misdeeds are tragic, but this is very much a Na Pali story in its bones. As a level itself, I did not mind the run back and as someone who has tried my hand at backtracking levels too I appreciated how he set this one up. A good backtrack uses the previous floorplan knowledge wisely, either to the player's service or to mislead them and this one does both well enough. The focus on Skaarj combat is an obviously adjustment, though I do agree with Sat about the difficulty filtering for Medium. Troopers are still the most dangerous Unreal enemy and some of the placements will be bigger obstacles on harder settings.

Some things I'm left with

-Will Stardust appear again, or is this book closed?
-I do really like all the names in this one, especially. Very fresh sounding for Unreal community stuff.
-Music selections are all good and especially well chosen in this level.

User avatar Aspide
Skaarj Assassin Skaarj Assassin
Posts: 106
Joined: 14 May 2021, 23:08

Subject: Re: 02/11/2024 - "The Long Way Around" by Aspide

Post Posted: 09 Nov 2024, 08:10

Thanks for all of your comments Sat42, Semfry and Mister_Prophet . I'm really happy that people enjoyed my campaign, even though it's very flawed. :wink:
Mister_Prophet wrote:-Will Stardust appear again, or is this book closed?

I'm planning on making a sequel sometime in the future, I already have many ideas on how the story is going to go and gameplay changes I'm going to make, it's definitely going to be my most ambitious project I'm ever going to make for UE1, but I have a few unfinished business first, but rest assured Stardust's book isn't closed yet :D
Somewhere in Nevada...

User avatar Sat42
Skaarj Warlord Skaarj Warlord
Posts: 994
Joined: 14 Jul 2013, 16:42
Contact:

Subject: Re: 02/11/2024 - "The Long Way Around" by Aspide

Post Posted: 09 Nov 2024, 14:58

Aspide wrote:I'm planning on making a sequel sometime in the future, I already have many ideas on how the story is going to go and gameplay changes I'm going to make, it's definitely going to be my most ambitious project I'm ever going to make for UE1, but I have a few unfinished business first, but rest assured Stardust's book isn't closed yet :D


Excellent, looking forward to the sequel! \o/
After Mister_Prophet spoke of symbolism and liking the names in AFIN, I was reminded that we are all made of stars... and given the Marathon influences here, Stardust can be understood as a poetic reference to the player, as our avatar in the world of Unreal.


EDIT: bonus screenshot
Nali: Magic or Telekinesis
Waffnuffly wrote:It's tarydium-doped smoothies. Drunk by the player, I mean. The player is tripping balls. The whole game actually takes place in a large city and the player thinks he's on an alien world.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

Copyright © 2001-2024 UnrealSP.org

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited