// A map for the Team Fortress QuakeC patch.

Title: Ripple
Map Filename: ripple.bsp
Author: >V< Null
Email Address: rcl@customized.com



// Construction 

Base: none (Inspiration from tp_beta2, concept, dm3, ironfort, 2fort_32.) 
Editors: Worldcraft, Ented

Known Bugs: By the ele, there is a group of faces that act like a solid clip brush. Im not sure
what caused this (qbsp bug I bet) or how to fix this. Adding brushes behind it had the same
effect. Nothing I tried would correct this problem. This annoys me so damn much. It's not worth,
not releasing the map over though. 

Build Time: About 3 weeks. 

Compile Time: see compile.txt
Machine: p2 400 w/ 128 megs.


// props 

>V< Lst for Compiling, Lighting and vissing this thing. Also for a slew of ideas
and help with the beta testing.

>V< Hugeguy for a custom qbsp

// CDs I listened to while building this map. 
( it's always reflected in the _structure_ (not the textures) Im sure you wont see it, 
but I do. Im gonna shut up now.. ;p

Grateful Dead - American Beauty (Ripple is track 6 on this BTW)
London Symphonic Orchestra - Us and Them, Symphonic Pink Floyd
NiN - Music(?) from The Quake CD
A CD of a thunder storm
Pink Floyd - The Wall
Vivaldi - Four Seasons
The Sound track to The Last of the Mohicans
Wall Flowers - Bringing down the horse

// Overview 

This is an attack / defend map. Each team having a chance to try their hand at both.

// Other Info 

I let r_speeds clime up a bit in places (outside), 
I figure most people can handle the slightly higher r_speeds now. 
I don't see it being a problem, I didn't let them get to out of hand.

I'm not really a big fan of standard CTF style maps. Yet, this is what ripple was going to be.
But, No qbsp out there would compile it. Not even the one >V< Hugeguy made for me.
Qbsp just doesn't like maps with > 3000 brushes much. I just got error after error,
then the final killer error was I hit the max faces. yet. I was only at 27000. No recompile
of qbsp would help this. It just kept telling me there were to many faces.. :( 
So, I had to cut it back and turn it into this.. This is cool though... so.. don't worry.. :)

Ripple is the name of a Grateful Dead song. I was listening to it while walking around this map
during its development, and with the map being devoid of all life, the name just seemed fitting.

Feedback is always welcomed, no matter how trivial. Just send mail to
rcl@customized.com, please put "Ripple" some where in the subject.
(flames can go directly to /dev/null and do _not_ need to go through me for processing.)

As a random side note, I love to talk about maps. Concepts for them. Building them. 
Texturing them, lighting them. Any thing to do with them.
Very seldomly though do maps come up in the >V< IRC chan. :(
So, if you want me to look at your map, have a question, comment or just want someone to 
bounce ideas off of. You can reach me via ICQ. My UIN is 1669969

Thx for playing and enjoy...

// How to 

copy ripple.bsp to quake/id1/maps or quake/fortress/maps
copy sounds to quake/id1/sound/ambience or quake/fortress/sound/ambience
except bfg__f1y.wav which goes in quake/fortress/sound/items

// My take on Ripple

Let's see here. I think, I really like ripple. It has a nice ambience to it and is relatively
consistent. I don't really like the way it "Blends". Meaning, each room really feels like just 
that, it's own free standing room. Rather then all the structure connecting (Blending) from 
room to room. Im gonna work on that for my next map.

The "Flow" isn't to bad (yes, I coin a lot of terms). Meaning, it almost acts like a big loop.
You can get any where, from any where else and there are lots of ways to get there. 
Which I think is very important in any DM map. 2fort4 does this EXTREMELY well. That is what I 
believe to be part of the secret to its popularity.

The lighting isn't to bad, although I would have liked to do more "Stylized Shadow Casting". 
This map is a bit darker then I generally prefer to make base textured maps. 
I think it worked well. There are enough  dark spots to add to the play value and give 
it the, built into the mountain look I was aiming for. With out making it to hard to find your 
way around. With this map I really started learning how much of a difference lighting 
can make. I feel silly for not grasping that before. 

One thing I see a lot of map makers do that is really beginning to 
bother me, (now, back in my swamp and arena days I did it too.) is let god light their maps.
They have no faces with a light texture on them, or sky visible, yet some how these maps are 
bright like there were lights every where. 

Also putting 1 light in a room and giving it a brightness of 1500 or so, is rather ugly. 
I see that to often too. 

Maybe I should start a  map review / tip / rant page. :)  
Any ways, enough of my chatter. Thx for reading and enjoy Ripple.

--
Null


return 0;