Darda: Beach - BIG UPDATE NOV 18

Working on a new map? Have a new mod out for swbf2?! Post an announcement of the up-coming release here.

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jedimoose32
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Darda: Beach - BIG UPDATE NOV 18

Post by jedimoose32 »

SEE LAST POST FOR DETAILS ON THE BIG UPDATE

Hi everyone! It's time for me to reveal the project I've been working on for the past month and a half...

DARDA: BEACH

Some of you might (maybe) remember this as a WIP map from 2011. I had made a lot of good progress toward finishing it at that time when some personal stuff came up and I left modding for basically the past 3 years. There was even a thread: Darda: Beaches
Usually I'm pretty good about keeping old mod projects but in this case I lost the mod folder at some point in the past couple of years. So when I caught an itch to mod BF2 at the end of this summer, I couldn't just pick up where I left off with the mod. However, I was still pretty excited about the idea behind the original map and so I decided I would start from scratch and make a number of significant changes (in some cases because I honestly can't remember very clearly what the original was like... I don't even have the screenshots anymore). Anyway, enough history. Here is your first look at the Darda: Beach reboot map.

Plot Summary:

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After a long year of bloody struggle between the CIS and the Republic for control of the planet Darda, the clones have been given the go-ahead for Operation Zero, a daring beach assault on the Separatists' primary line of defense. Their objective: to breach the enemy defensive line and capture the CIS bunker, clearing the way for future reinforcements.
Progress:
Map: 95% - To do: Finish modeling CIS bunker - Done: Increase cover, add hint nodes, refine planning
Sides: 100% - DONE!
Sound: 90% - To do: Custom music for CIS hero, adjust music fade-ins - Done: Edit weapon sounds
Detail*: 75% - To do: Always one more thing... Done: Localization, loading screen, LOTS of bug fixes, some LUA scripting

*Detail = miscellaneous stuff that's hard to list

The essence of the map is the same as in the original version. The Republic's goal is fight uphill to reach and capture the CIS bunker. There is a large defensive wall in the way with a gate that you will need to destroy before you can get anywhere near the bunker. The mod does include some side changes, mostly changes to weapon ordnance and firing rate. There are a couple of new weapons as well, both of which I think are pretty fun to work with. The Clone Ranger (officer) has a Mk.II Heavy Blaster, which is slow but does very heavy damage, even to buildings/vehicles. And the Magnaguard has a Light Repeater, which is as it sounds - very fast at the expense of the amount of punch it has.
I think I've done a fairly good job of balancing the sides so far - in my own tests I have won and lost as either team several times. The CIS bunker model isn't finished yet but that should be done in a matter of days.

UPDATE Nov 1 2014: I've been working very hard on this project all weekend and at this point I'm happy to announce that there will be a beta version for those who are interested in testing. I'd like to have the beta release out by Monday morning. Please let me know in a reply if you would be interested in testing this map and providing helpful feedback. I'll accept up to 3 testers on a first-come first-serve basis.

Credits (so far):
Hidden/Spoiler:
[code]Republic Commando & Skin....Nedarb7
White EP3 Trooper Skin....DYFX
DP-23 Tactical Shotgun....RogueKnight/Deviss
Trando ACP Repeater....Darth DUCK
SFOR Republic Carbine....Fai222
AI Hero Support....Archer01
All Stock Assets....Pandemic

Advice/Support/Know-How....GT Community
Please always feel free to let me know if I missed anyone in these credits.[/code]
And at last... Screenshots (not up-to-date):
Hidden/Spoiler:
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Edited 2014-11-01 to reflect progress to-date.
Last edited by jedimoose32 on Tue Nov 18, 2014 6:28 pm, edited 3 times in total.
MileHighGuy
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by MileHighGuy »

Looks like it will provide some real challenge! May I suggest using the new greivous animations someone released a While Back? It would be really cool to see in your map. I love the atmosphere you have set up!
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by jedimoose32 »

I certainly hope it will present players with a challenge! Thank you for the compliments. I'll have a look and see if I can find those Grievous animations.

It's also worth mentioning that some of the textures you see on some of my custom models are placeholders, and haven't been properly UV mapped or edited in any meaningful way. E.g. the small bunker next to the Magnaguard in one of the pictures.
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by Generalfacu »

I read the title and thought it may be nothing special. Then saw the screenies and I am impressed!!! It looks awesome! NK Necrosis my God! I have to play this map. I really have to, I love how it looks, the ash, the AT-TE, everything! :runaway:
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by jedimoose32 »

Thank you - I have definitely put a lot of work into getting the atmosphere just right - lighting, fog, ash, etc.

@MileHighGuy: I looked for the Grievous animations and found the ones by MandeRek but unfortunately they are pre-munged. So I would gain the benefit of the animations at the cost of losing N-K.
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by MileHighGuy »

how is nk different from grevious? why cant you use them?
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by jedimoose32 »

Different skin. Unless there's a way for me to inject the NK skin into MandeRek's lis.lvl
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by MikeTheBeast55 »

Hmm, yes I do remember a WIP for this a few years back (even though I did not make a Gametoast account until the beginning of this year) but I was pleased with the work made there and now here is an "update" per say on the map and I have to say this is very impressive! I will anxiously wait for this release along with a couple other releases by other Gametoast members!
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by MileHighGuy »

jedimoose32 wrote:Different skin. Unless there's a way for me to inject the NK skin into MandeRek's lis.lvl
You could try loading your skin in a side.lvl before (or after?) the lis.lvl. The game will use the first (I think) loaded file of that name.
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by jedimoose32 »

I tried the new Grievous animations and honestly didn't like them as much as I thought I would. So I'm going to stick with the stock animations for now. And MAAAAYBE make some custom animations for him... I'll think about it and decide whether that's within the scope of what I want to do with this project.

In other news, I updated the models for some of the weapons.
New Credits:

Code: Select all

ACP Repeater....Darth DUCK
DP-23 Shotgun....RogueKnight
The DC-15s I am honestly not sure who made it. It came in the "Various Clone Trooper Weapons" pack - maybe someone can point me in the right direction author-wise?

Screens:
Hidden/Spoiler:
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by hunpeter12 »

Looks really cool, but as I judge from the screenshots you could add more cover like rocks etc.
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by Kingpin »

Nice! Those walls look great. I was wondering what they would be in.
Hidden/Spoiler:
Wasn't Necrosis in the Galactic Civil War?
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by Generalfacu »

Kingpin wrote:Nice! Those walls look great. I was wondering what they would be in.
Hidden/Spoiler:
Wasn't Necrosis in the Galactic Civil War?
Yes, but it was developed by a CIS scientist.
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by jedimoose32 »

Both points are true. He was created by a CIS scientist from the charred remains of Grievous's armor but the project was commissioned by the Empire.
This map is not super canon, unless we imagine that a large magnetic storm has been keeping the Darda system from receiving external communication so the clone wars are actually continuing here past the end of RotS... :)
Not a bulletproof explanation, I know. My hope is that people will still enjoy the map even if it's not 100% canon.
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by Kingpin »

Either way, it will be fun to play him :P
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by Generalfacu »

Let's not speak about canon in this moment of crisis, unless we all agree in the same point ;)
EDIT: Does that Jet Trooper have a Commando armor?
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by jedimoose32 »

Sort of. It's not technically the Jet Trooper, but it's the Republic hero, which I've called the Mech Trooper (supposed to be the Republic equivalent of the Imperial Dark Trooper). I still have a lot of tweaking I want to do on that unit.

Also, an update: I've made significant progress on the CIS bunker. Just finishing up with UV mapping the textures (you can see some work needs to be done, even in the screenshot). Then I'll do the bump and specular map. Here's a teaser picture (just shows one small area of the interior):
Hidden/Spoiler:
Image
EDIT: Updated the original post with new information from Nov 1, including an announcement of an upcoming BETA RELEASE.
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by JazzMaster »

This looks great! i like the fact that you aren't staying canon as doing so can be pretty limiting on creativity.

love the regular clone trooper with cloth.
One thing i might suggest if you havent done it already is to change the stock dc-15 rifle (long version) to the one that rogueknight made. That is if you're still using it.
Also i see some of the anti-vehicle turrets defending the wall. Will there be any smaller anti-infantry turrets defending it as well? i think that would be a fun addition.
Either way this looks like it will be a fun map :D
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by jedimoose32 »

Hey, thanks for the feedback. In the post right above yours there are some screenshots showing that I am now using RogueKnight's blaster, as well as a couple of other new weapon models.

I have STAPs on the map for the CIS instead of anti-infantry turrets. I have to be very careful about keeping the game balanced - for some reason this map gets thrown off-balance with even a very minor change.

I've changed quite a few things since the original post so I'll have to upload some new screenshots sometime soon.
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Re: Darda: Beach (Reboot)

Post by TWINKEYRUNAWAY »

If there is a spot open, I would be interested in giving your map some testing. The atmosphere looks really good!
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