Hello everyone! Not sure if this is the correct forum for this, but I think it belongs in a feedback setting.

I am currently building a NS2 map called Mineral and have released the first alpha version of it on Steam Workshop. What I would like is if people were interested in looking at the map, playing it in 6vs6 settings and all the standard see if there are bugs and such. If the games are streamed as well that is a huge bonus as I can watch what is going on in the games. Anything helps!

This is a university project for me this year as well so any help and feedback I can get is worth a lot to me. I am aiming to have the map fully playable and balanced for competitive by the end of the project's course. Any visual detail in the map will be a bonus, but I am sure I can make at least some rooms pretty before I "run out of time". The map will continue development even if the uni project ends. Right now it is only grey floors and developer textures on the walls. Everything technical is working fine so the map should be fully playable.

I've already had Maxamus put it up on the Gorge Busters server and have been allowed to do 6vs6 testing there. So a huge thank you for that! If any other server operators or teams would like to test the map and give me constructive criticism that would be sweet!

Here is the workshop link for the mod:

https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=226965879

Note, log in to steam in you web-browser to be able to use this link. May work to paste it in the steam browser as well!!

And the mod ID is "d87397" for server admins wanting to get it up an working quickly.

Any feedback about the map can be posted in this thread, or sent to the map's email adress at:

ns2mineralfeedback [at] live.com

Anything you guys can think of is of help to me in developing this map and I'd like to thank you in advance for any effort towards providing feedback!

No problem. I will install it on 2hrsLater server & NSL Match Lyon [NS2-Fr.com Hosted] in the next days.
I am in favor of helping mappers in their creations. If we have the opportunity to do some pcw on this map, I would keep informed of every feedback we have.

Thanks & good luck!

Thanks Pelargir that's great!

New version Alpha02 released on the Steam Workshop.

Updated the layout, changed a lot of location names around the map to avoid confusion.

Fixed arc distance from Pumping Station(west) to Drill Site, can no longer be arced from there, needs to be arced from Equipment Storage.

Added Drill Service room/hallway to increase walking distance from Surface to Drill Site, since I felt the route was a bit short.

Redesigned Pumping Stations area to avoid arcing of Equipment Storage RT from there.

Added detailed room to Transfer and some detail to Automation System(reused parts from an older project).

Moved Surface further south to prevent observatory from spotting System Access hallway.

Moved vent entrance to Automation system away from the tech point and added a cover over it to prevent bile bombing of the tech point.

Here's the new overview:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/47037191/ns2_mineral/screenshots/ns2_mineral_a2Layout.jpg

Alpha version 03 is released on the workshop guys! Not much to say than I have been working a lot to make it as good as it can possibly be so early on.

Changelog:

- Built a proper, detailed Ready Room.
- Finished "Surface" detail work(may need some more detail and lighting work).
- Rebuilt area between "Pump Control" and "Pumping Stations"(To remove 180 degree turns, thanks Loki!).
- Moved "Pump Control", "Stairway" and "Central Path" a little east to compensate for said rebuild.
- Opened up "Security" to a room instead of turning corridor(Thanks Howser!).
- Opened up "Central Path" location to a room instead of just corridors(Thanks Howser!).
- Moved "Lockers" RT and rebuilt the room a little(To remove the 180 degree turn in "System Access", thanks Loki!).
- Moved "Stasis Chamber" a little bit south to compensate for remade "Surface" and "Lockers"(Marine Start).
- Added ramp around the drill in "Drill Site" as well as a ladder on one end of said ramp.
- Built 3D "skybox" in surface.
- Built Occlusion Geometry for the whole level.
- Renamed "Mineral Tanks" to "Mineral Processing".
- Renamed "Backup Generators" to "Generators".
- Renamed "Equipment Storage" to "Storage".
- Renamed "Drill Service" to "Service".
- Renamed "Mineral Processing" to "Production", to avoid confusion with "Mineral Tanks/Processing".
- Made all crates in the level "vent"(orange) and made closed doors more obvious on the overview.
- Moved location names on the overview so they don´t block resource nodes and power nodes.
- Moved "Pump Control" power node to the west wall.
- Moved "Lounge" power node to north wall towards Production.
- Moved window in "Surface" ceiling downward(preventing aliens from looking too far outside).
- Removed a lot of location names from the overview as it was a bit cluttered.(Stasis Chambers, System Access, Service, Stairway, Cyst Corridor)
- Fixed line of sight issue in "Transport Halls/Storage/Service"(Thanks Loki!).
- Rebuilt ventilation from "Stairway" to "Transport Halls" to fix Occlusion/Draw calls issues.
- Moved "Transport Halls" west ventilation entrance north and switched exit point to "Service" instead of "Storage".

Screenshots:




Updated overview:


As usual it would rock if people have the time to check it out and give me some feedback on this.

That's it for now, enjoy!

Will be having a public playtest today at 18:00 CET on the Spark Crafter Collective server. Welcome anyone!

Here's my feedback.
I think that the places that I circled in red are waay to far, it is fine if there is some places far, but in this case it is 4 places very hard to get to defend.

The light blue places I think are to close, to be able to arc from Lounge is a madness, since the corridor leading there are very narrow and plain and a built obs with show any life forms coming from the right side.

The light blue in Drill is that the obs can see ANYTHING so when you attack there they will see you for a few secound before you even threaten the base at all!


And about Minerals and possibly Surface even though it is Marine spawn, there are only 2 ways there and very narrow, to lock down a life form trying to get to the single hive in Mineral is way to easy!

Cheers! Was a blast playing!

Hey again! It's been a long time coming, but now I have finally released a new version(Alpha04) of ns2_mineral.

Changelog:

- Detailed Lockers.
- Flipped Production to point east on the map instead of west. To get rid of ARC spot from Lounge.
- Edited Lounge to Production corridor according to flip and made it shorter.
- Moved Storage, Transport Halls and Security westwards.
(shorter line of sight from Storage to Service)
- Blocked path from Loading Bay to Transport Halls.
- Added stairs from Security to Automation System so players move directly up to Tech Point level using that path.
- Moved Pump Control, Pumping Stations and Cyst Corridor slightly north.
(to remove ARC spot from Central Path to Pump Control)
- Moved Central Path slightly south and redesigned the location.
(to remove ARC spot from Central Path to Pump Control)
- Added path from Loading Bay to Transport Halls that passed through Security.
- Almost complete rebuild of Automation System to account for new ARC spots created by path from Loading Bay to Security
(moved tech point slightly east.)
- Moved Transfer slightly west to shorten travel time from Production to Generators.
(reduces line of sight from Production to Transfer)
- Moved Surface tech point lower to allow aliens to push easier(no more uphill).
- Fixed vent from Generators to Production.
- Moved Lounge a tiny bit west and resized the room.
- Moved and fixed path from Lounge to Production.
- Fixed vent from Lockers to Production(not in the room, but in the entering corridor).
- Moved vent entrance from Automation System to System Access.
- Fixed path from Upper Pumping Station to Mineral Processing to account from north movement of Pumping Stations.
(Mineral now has two west wall entrances spawning out of the same corridor.)
- Completely redesigned and detailed Generators.
- Completely redesigned and detailed Transport Halls.
- Detailed Storage.
- Removed Service location and power node. Combined half/half of it with Storage/Drill Site.
- Completely redesigned and detailed Production(still WIP).
- Detailed Drill Site.
- Added vent from Drill Site to Pumping Stations.
- Completely redesigned and detailed Mineral Processing(still WIP).
- Added vent from Mineral Processing to Transfer.
- Added vent from Generators to Central Path.
- Added more cover for aliens around the map, may still not be enough.
- Added arrow decals to Transfer when coming from Production to avoid people running into the dead end
- Fixed some textures not scaling/tiling correctly in Transfer.

Layout:


It would be absolutely lovely if teams could play this map in standard pcws 6vs6 and provide some valuable feedback. My goal with this map is to make it competitively viable and possibly included in ENSL seasons some time after completion. Also if games are streamed/recorded it would be awesome so I have the opportunity watch them later on.

Thanks in advance for any help towards making this a great map!

I have created a steamgroup for playtesters so it will be easier for me to organize some 6vs6 testing with competitive players. It's invite only, so just send me a pm here or add me on steam(MasterG) if you want to take part!

this.... wow.... Why haven't I seen this map before. I'm really impressed and I really look forward to seeing it finished. Fantastic job so far.

Thank you rantology. The map is only about 2 months in the making, but is somewhat of a university project for me so I'm putting a lot of time into it.

What would be extremely valuable is if Titus could take a look at it and provide some feedback. Maybe play it against Saunamen or Legendary Snails?

I have talked to Tane who said he would talk to his team and that they would possibly give it a swing if they have time.

I played this map last night with the SCC map testing, we had some good teamwork. but what i noticed is that Automation System is too marine friendly and after the marines get a hold of it, its hard to get them out. While they have it they can freely push Pump Control and Mineral Processing.

There are some Line of Sight issues in Transport halls because of the rendering in NS2, if you are sitting in storage you can't see anything climbing over the door in the middle / lerks spiking from behind the door.

Other than that, it was really fun to play this map and i will be looking forward to play this map some more.

Edit: And if possible, could you please make some of the really big images, a bit smaller? would be easier to read that way when people have smaller screens. like people using their laptops to read the forums.

Thanks Yaluzan! I have been getting similar feedback on the ns2 mapping forums and this is something I will be actively looking into. I have some BIG plan for automation that will hopefully make it more friendly towards aliens. The fact that is has no cover right now and is basically a big grey box I think is the most apparent problem with it.

Good observation about Storage/Transport Halls. Not sure what to do with this though. Maybe blocking the top part of the door a little closer to it(with the gantry in the ceiling) can partly fix it. IE making it so you can't look all the way into Storage from that opening. Any ideas would be great!

I'll see what I can do with the images. And I will also add you on friends and give you an invite to my competitive playtesters group. There will be a 6vs6 mixteam(gather style) playtest of the map on Wednesday(April 2nd) at 18:00 CET. Should be time for most people to play a couple of rounds before teams start playing matches.

Alpha version 05 is out on the workshop!

Changelog:

- Redesigned a lot of the middle portion of the map around Automation System.
(Automation System now has 2 entrances from the north and two from the south).
(Automation system detail is copied from Production and reterxtured + removed/added some details).
(Production Still the same but altered lighting).
(Central Path is now East Path and no longer has a connection to Pump Control).
(Added West Cross which spawns out to Automation System, Transport Halls and Pump Control).
(Changed Security to make marine travel time from Surface to Automation System a bit longer).
(Made System Access(hallway between Automation and Lockers) a little bit longer to increase marine travel time to Automation from Surface).

- Reworked vents around the center.
(Vent from Generators now goes to Automation System and Pump Control)
(Vent from Loading Bay now goes in to Automation System again)
(Removed vent from Security)
(Vent from Transport Halls now goes to West Cross)

- Reworked path between Mineral Processing and Generators with more cover for aliens.
- Reworked Tunnel a little bit with cover for aliens
- Closed semi-open door in Transport Halls and added a vent that has the same function instead(LOS Issues).
- Did NOT move vent entrance in Mineral Processing from Transfer(not enough time!).
- Added half-assed textures to all geometry in the map. Some places may have been forgotten and vents don't count!

New layout:

http://www.twitch.tv/tachii_/b/516467217

Thanks for the recording Tachi and thanks to everyone who played!

I would really like everyone who played to chip in with some valuable feedback!

I've definitely got something to go on after those two rounds, but it's only the opinions of myself and a few others. A great map needs more opinions or it will not get balanced ;)

Thanks again people!

In other news, new version is out on the workshop! The changes are so "small" I have started to add decimals to the version numbers. This one is alpha 5.01.

Changelog:
-Removed Loading Bay Automation System vent.
-Removed north vent entrances to Automation system and moved one of them to West Cross instead.
-Reworked Mineral Processing Transfer vent. Moved entrance in Mineral Processing above floor level(behind pipes in the back). Moved entrance in Transfer to the middle of the north wall.
-Lowered vent between Lockers and Production so it should be less of a pain for commanders/casters(Thanks Mega!).
-Added small vent in Security for hiding purposes only(Thanks Mega!).
-Added vent to west side of Drill Site to help aliens defend against attacks from Storage(Thanks Robby/Skogsmulle!).
-Added Automated door to Automation System entrance from Security(Thanks Robby!).
-Lowered central structure in Automation System to make the room less powerful for Aliens.
-Made the server racks in Automation System a little shorter to provide a little less cover for Aliens.
-Reworked path from Surface, through Stasis, to Lockers. Entrance to Lockers from Surface is now coming in from the south instead of west. Moved resource node accordingly.
-Lowered center structure in Lockers to prevent Aliens from sneaking over it too easy.
-Fixed easy gorge block in Transport Halls. Moved entrances to the small corridor on the west side to the center of each section and made them larger. Results in a longer corridor as well.(Thanks Totaldang/izO!)
-Fixed some doors where Skulk feet were sticking through the walls on the side when hiding(Thanks Cr4zy!).
-Capped some random holes in the OcclusionGeometry.
-Removed some annoying doors from commander view, helpful for medpack drops(Thanks Malus!).

Layout:


Will be trying to get a playtest tomorrow, not sure when, through the playtesters group I have on Steam. Hope some of you have time to play a couple of rounds! Again thanks for feedback.

Alpha version 6.01 is out on the workshop 5 minutes ago!

Changelog coming later as it is LONG and I have no time to write it yet!

Minimap:



Have fun!

Quick hotfix, version 6.02 released on the workshop!

-Added ladder to the pit in Pumping Stations.
-Moved power node in Storage so that it won't get hurt from infestation in Drill Site.
-Fixed the broken ventilation between Generators and Pumping Stations.

Thanks to Cr4zy for the quick feedback!!

Coming in with the change log for latest version(s) of Mineral.



Alpha 6.01 Change log:
-Moved Automation System east on the map, closer to Generators.
-Reworked East Path.
-Moved Storage, Transport Halls, Security and Loading Bay a bit south-west.
(Removes ARC spot from Storage to Drill Site.)
(Makes path from Surface to Loading Bay slightly shorter, but Loading Bay to Automation System slightly longer.)
(Changes path from Storage to Drill Site slightly.)
-Reworked path from Security to Automation System slightly
-Reworked West Cross and its paths into Automation System and Transport Halls.
-Moved Lounge to a new location, between Lockers and Automation System, and rebuilt it completely.
(Walking time from Surface to Automation System, through Lockers/Lounge, is slightly longer due to this.)
-Combined Pumping Stations(Upper/Lower) into one room and and reworked its path into Pump Control.
-Deleted the old Production room and rebuilt it to have it look different than Automation System(due to earlier copy of the room)
-Added new location, Cooling, which is now the path between Lockers and Production.
(Walking time from Surface to Production is slightly(2 seconds?) longer, but Production looks and feels less remote on the layout.)
-Removed the ventilation from Lockers to Production and added ventilation from Cooling to Lounge instead.
-Moved resource point in Generators slightly, to decrease Marine effectiveness in taking it down when coming in from Transfer.
-Moved Power node in Generators to the west wall so that Aliens can take it down easier, and marines need to go all the way into the room to defend it.
-Added more cover for Aliens in most places around the map. Some places may still have been overlooked due to limitation of time.



Alpha 6.02(Hotfix) Change log:
-Added ladder to the pit in Pumping Stations.
-Moved power node in Storage so that it won't get hurt from infestation in Drill Site.
-Fixed the broken ventilation between Generators and Pumping Stations.

Not been played once in a gather, great support from the community.

Then people start moaning when the season starts that its tram/summit/veil.

Great work!

Kilo says

Not been played once in a gather, great support from the community.

Then people start moaning when the season starts that its tram/summit/veil.

Great work!

We have totally played it in gather now.

No thanks to you though, Kilo. Disappointment!

Alpha version 6.03 published on the Workshop today!

Contains a few minor changes around the map. The biggest change is West Cross, which didn't change all that much.

Alpha 6.03 Change log:

- Added pipe beneath middle catwalks in Mineral Processing.(Fixes stuck spots and players can no longer travel under it.)
- Added ledge to the path between Generators and Mineral Processing.(Makes ARCs less effective on Mineral Processing as they need to travel further to hit the resource point. Makes it more Alien friendly with more cover.)
- Moved Power Node in Generators.(Easier to cover for Marines, but still friendly for Aliens to attack.)
- Moved Power Node in Cooling.(Can now be built by MACs and Marines don’t need to jump on top of a ledge to build it.)
- Removed one table in Lounge which was blocking the main path through the room too much. Moved one other table to avoid a potential stuck spot.
- Capped the random hole in the Ready Room.
- Opened up the West Cross stairway section a bit and raised the southern part of the location.(Makes the stair sections shorter, easier for aliens to maintain some speed when going up. Makes the location a bit more friendly for Marines while still maintaining cover for Aliens.)
- Split the slope going from West Cross to Pump Control into two slopes.(Makes it easier for Aliens to maintain speed when going upwards.)
- Removed ventilation from Lounge to Cooling.(Further decreasing Alien chance of early game base rushes.)

Minimap:

pug was played on it

http://www.twitch.tv/ggkaneh/b/524715176

- doors that dont' open need to have some bigger sign they won't. some holographic do not enter thing or broken down bars and sparks all over it
- marine naturals are ridiculously hard to clear, both the map layout and the rooms themselves make it near impossible
- its really 'big' which may or may not be terrible but it feels slow which isn't as fun

Thanks for your feedback Kaneh, appreciate it!

There are only two doors in the map that looks like the ones that open(there is only one model that is used for automatic doors), but they are bulging out as if they have been beaten by an onos from the other side. I have put up 2 "Restricted Access" decals and sparks+flashing lights on both of these for the next version, but further signal of them not opening is planned.

As for the marine naturals I'm not sure about them yet. More testing required to see if the issues you mention are actually persistent. If it keeps being an issue I will do something about Lockers at least. Loading bay isn't detailed yet and big plans for changing the room are coming, I'm just not sure when. These things take time :)

I get that it feels slow, but the map is not any bigger than for example summit. It's just different and I think a lot of people's issues come from not knowing the map. We'll see more of how it's working out in the future when people hopefully start to get to know it.

A new version is coming later today with some changes. I just need to make sure everything is working as intended before publishing.

New version is out on the workshop right NOW!

A 6.04 Change Log:

- Added ladders to pillars in Automation System(where it is logical!?) to allow marines to climb up.(Aliens can no longer be completely safe on top.)
- Added some geometry on the top of the middle structure pillars in Automation System so that aliens can’t hide up there without effort.
- Removed collision on many models that didn’t need it.(Still an ongoing process!)
- Added new collision geometry that blocks bullets in many places.(Still an ongoing process!)
- Moved middle girder on north wall in Storage south to avoid placebo ARC-spot to Drill Site.(Thanks Play-testers!)
- Added railings to the stairs and some cover to the ceiling over the stairs in West Cross(Thanks Cr4zy!)
- Redesigned Security to make it a more interesting area to play in, and to remove the ARC spot to West Cross potential Gorge tunnel.(Thanks Cr4zy!)
- Redesigned Pump Control completely to be a more open location, still maintains Alien cover.(Thanks Cr4zy!)
- Moved the power node in Transport Halls to the western corridor of the location.
- Fixed vent in Production so that marines can’t glitch jump it(alone).(Thanks Cr4zy!)
- Redid path from Production to Transfer to get rid of an ARC-spot from Production to Generators.
- Moved Mineral Processing slightly north to avoid RT ARC-spot from Generators.(Thanks Cr4zy!)
- Removed some pillars in Surface so that marines can armory block for free if they build base correctly.(Thanks Cr4zy!)
- Turned off collision on all rock models in Drill Site and built new collision geometry for them to hopefully improve performance in the area(Thanks Cr4zy!)
- Added sparks and blinking lights to doors that do not open.
- Renamed Automation System to Automation.
- Renamed Transport Halls to Transport.
- Renamed Pumping Stations to Pump Stations.
- Moved power node in Storage because spark was having a hard time figuring out that it was actually within a location, and thus not giving the room power.

Load it up yourself for minimap because I am lazy today!

currently slightly marine sided, mostly due to the conventional geometry. Imagine the corner checking you need to do in obs on tram, then compare it to the corner checking in rooms here. Not all rooms in tram are like this though, but a handful have corners like it. Just make a few of the rooms easier for skulks to get picks on, and add small, boostable vents. I was speccing from overhead position though. Kaneh says they are ridiculously hard to clear. That was a bit ago though, before the patches. Guess it's hard to find a balance lol.

There is a place in automation systems, in the ceilings, where a fade/lerk can crouch and it's impossible for marines to hit them without jp, or nade launchers.

Been a while since I updated this thread with any info about updates. But I just released Mineral Beta 1.03 on the workshop. Check it out!

Change log:

- Finished detailing Ready Room.
- Detailed Resource Node location in Transport.
- Rebuilt/Detailed Rupture.
- Fixed Onos stuck spot behind Tech Point in Drill Site.
- Added ladders to Drill Site, for marines to find their way up a little easier.
- Removed OP Alien hiding spot on the southern pillar in Automation.

New minimap, been a while since I posted one here:

some strong shit..where is the sauna? :D

Mineral Beta 1.04 is out on the workshop now.

Change log:

- Updated level information material.
- Made all entrances to Mineral Processing larger so they can not be armory blocked too easily.
- Moved Power Node between Mineral Processing and Generators due to making Mineral Processing entrances larger.
- Added ladder models to pillars in Automation to make them more obvious.
- Fixed Occlusion bug when going from Pump Control to Loading Bay. It turned out that an occlusion face had been accidentally moved into the playable area.
- Copied used original cinematics to my own Mineral folder to make them show up in-game when the map is launched via Steam Workshop.(not sure why they won’t display when using their original path, any input on this will be appreciated!)(increases mod file size by 22kb so far)
- Detailed Pump Control.
- Detailed corridor/stairway between Loading Bay and Pump Control.
- Tried to fix stuck issue in ventilation entrance from Pump Station towards Drill Site.
- Fixed missing piece of overview in Transport.
- Deleted some excessive props throughout the level.
- Removed collision that was unnecessary for some props.
- Removed some unnecessary props from Commander view.