ff_alchimy, a remake of alchimy

[Owoc]

Hi.
I am currently working on a remake of alchimy (http://tfc.wireplay.co.uk/index.php?pg=map&id=83). It's far from finished, but I devoted quite a bit of time to it recently and if I manage to keep this pace up I'll release soon. I didn't port any geometry from the original, but I measured the dimensions and followed them rather closely, sometimes rounding a bit to fit on the grid better, so 103 may become 96, but 1024 will definitely not become 512. As for the visuals, I'm going for a bright canal theme in the center (bridge area), the flag room and the upper level, and a darker, de_prodigy-style theme in the basement and pipe room. Here are some screenies - all in a very early and very messy state, but they show what themes I'm going for.

Basement. Lighting here will probably see some change so that the basement becomes more de_prodigy-ish.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2482/ffalchimy2cw9.th.jpg (http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ffalchimy2cw9.jpg)

Flagroom. Currently in an extremely messy state, but shows the brighter theme.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9337/ffalchimyb2bh7.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ffalchimyb2bh7.jpg)

The area above the ramp, viewed from the flagroom.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/5314/ffalchimyb3gq0.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ffalchimyb3gq0.jpg)

Looking down the ramp:
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2858/ffalchimyb1ao1.th.jpg (http://img232.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ffalchimyb1ao1.jpg)

Progress: the flagroom has the xy dimensions, lighting and some early texturing done. The pipe room, ramp and entrance corridor also have some basic lighting and texturing. The basement needs to have its dimensions adjusted. The upper level is orange mapped. The bridge area will have to wait.

Btw, I just wanna say that ff_wall_cement28 is too damn good, I'll struggle to avoid using it everywhere ;)

Updates soon:

this thread is gonna rape us mappers social lives :shock:

:cool:

[Beetle]

hmm. it looks good, except its way too different than alchimy for my likings. just my opinion though, so don't take it to heart.

[-=bingo-bango=-]

im kinda gonna have to agree with beetle on that

but +10000 points for quoting me :D

[ClangClangBoom]

I never played the original, but the geometry looks kinda... squarish. I can't really give advice on how to improve it, but I'm sure you will find a way. Looks good though. Keep working!

[mistermojo]

wow man that looks completely different...and it seems worse in every way

why dont you just make a new map or do a faithful remake?

[zSilver_Fox]

Isn't someone else doing that?

[Ihmhi]

I remember a thread about someone else making alchimy but there has been no updates in whenever.

Dustbowl looks nothing like TFC's dustbowl, monkey looks nothing like TFC's monkey - it's a good thing, and while the only screenshot is very very rough (as one can see), the concept as a whole actually appeals to me.

[Beetle]

nah, its too closed in for me, and the water conc no longer exists as far as i can see, might be the angle.

[Ihmhi]

nah, its too closed in for me, and the water conc no longer exists as far as i can see, might be the angle.

Or he could not have made it yet, as he said it was a very early screenshot. d:

[Beetle]

true, but i saw that other water area and thought that might be it

[-=bingo-bango=-]

it was originally me, i was just going to port over the old alchimy and make it ff_alchimy_classic but then someone wanted to do it, so i droped it, and now idk what happened

[Owoc]

Added another screenie.

Actually, the difference between this remake and the original alchimy will be mostly visual, I will keep the same layout. The flag room may look very different, but it's still basically a big room with three ramps/catwalks in it. I'll also get rid of the water in the flagroom -> basement drop, keeping only some shallow water at the bottom to prevent falling damage, like it is in the original. The flagroom->basement drop has been moved a bit, it's adjacent to the wall opposite the entrance rather than the wall opposite the mini-resupply, but I don't see that change affecting gameplay much.

The only significant gameplay change I have in mind is transparent water. This means it won't be possible to hide under the water's surface... I think I'll add some pipes/stuff underwater in the middle of the map so players can hide under that, and in the basement I'll make the water shallow, allowing players to move faster, compensating for being more visible.

[Ihmhi]

Remember the cubby in the front entranceway can have a SG built in it.

Also, would you be terribly against lowering the rafters in the flag room? A skilled solly or demo could get up there, but if there was a bit more room to move around they would make for a great internal defense.

Oh, and on top of that, if SGs could be put up there that would be awesomesauce.

[Choupi_]

http://www.morzar.ch/maps/ss/alchimy/alchimy_008.jpg

http://www.morzar.ch/maps/ss/alchimy/alchimy_009.jpg

[Owoc]

The flagroom got an overhaul. Less "squarish", and more alchimy-ish. :) WIP.
http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/6656/ffalchimy3mj4.th.jpg (http://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ffalchimy3mj4.jpg)
The blue mini-resupply isn't visible here because I haven't added it yet, and the doorway to the upper level isn't visible because I haven't even added the upper level yet. I got rid of the beams supporting the flag catwalk and will probably "support" it using ropes/cables instead, because when people are being blocked by beams in the middle of the flag room life sucks. ;)

Also, would you be terribly against lowering the rafters in the flag room? A skilled solly or demo could get up there, but if there was a bit more room to move around they would make for a great internal defense.

Oh, and on top of that, if SGs could be put up there that would be awesomesauce.
Something like this? This is sketchy atm, the platform would have to be moved to allow the SG to actually target anything down there, but you get the picture. Also, should I add a lift/ladder or force players to rely on *insert explosive device here*-jumping?
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/7629/ffalchimy4as4.th.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ffalchimy4as4.jpg)

A question to the veterans: what's the optimal water depth for water conc jumping?

Also, MorZar, the original author, wrote the following:
When alchimy was released for tfc, it was quite enjoyed (especially the flagroom and basement), but there was a little problem due to the fact that the flagroom was too close of the yard, making it a "full of spam area", which lead to using Hwguys and a 5 people defence (which is not wanted,4vs4 is always better)

Maybe there's a little work to do here, just optimizing these areas so the balance off/def is respected! ff_alchimy just looks nice!
Any thoughts on whether and how the layout should be tweaked to address the issue?

[mistermojo]

please make the flagroom ramp angled so you can rampslide on it!

other than that, the fr (flagroom) already looks 50x better than you had it before, so good work

[Ihmhi]

It might be the angles but it seems to me that the scale of the map is wrong.

[Pixel]

Isn't someone else doing that?
I started on it, but havn't worked on it in forever. (Textures woudln't have been final)

http://adam.areyouserios.com/image_dump/alchimy_latest.jpg
http://adam.areyouserios.com/image_dump/

[nodnarb]

I started on it, but havn't worked on it in forever. (Textures woudln't have been final)

http://adam.areyouserios.com/image_dump/alchimy_latest.jpg
http://adam.areyouserios.com/image_dump/
I like yours WAY better!

[-=bingo-bango=-]

tbh, i dislike both...

owoc, yours seems to be a bit to different

and pixel, yours seems to b a bit to much like the original

i would love to take a shot at this again, but my hands are just to full now

[Owoc]

I've done what I should've done much earlier - actually measured the dimensions in the original and followed them rather closely. See the first post for new screenies.

[Wlv]

Please Please Please Please and again PLEASE make sure a) the ressuply doors open properly this time rond AND the walls from balcony to upper entrance to FR ARE NOT sticky...

Alchimy was a great map to play, just those 2 things we're incredibly annoying :P

[Donny]

You ARE going to edit it to be not so blocky? :shock: Right?
This is Source engine!

[immortal]

:O

why did you stop?

[Dr.Satan]

*cough* ff_alchimy_b1 (http://forums.fortress-forever.com/showthread.php?t=20342) *cough*