Testing modular level design (also at preprocessing):



3dsmax filesize is 5MB, once preprocessed for C2... 65kB

Just took them with FRAPS, SHIFT+D hasn't worked in a good 10 years for me in C2. They are in 640x480 with no AA, might explain why they look so crisp. However my game usualy looks like that :


nGlide with 0.8 gamma correction, set to desktop res while keeping original aspect ratio. AA, AF, texture filtering via Nvidia panel.
The other thing is I tend to use the original draw distance or a tad further, this helps keeping the fog consistent and that increases the sense of volume and depth (as the ingame lighting is still very flat).
Finally in these shots, while the texture are from the C2 silo etc. I doubled their size using a little progie called waifu2x-caffe, and for some even sharpened them very slightly afterward in photoshop. Supersampling this way is better than letting the game do it on its own IMO.

Some more wips. Having a problem opening that door with a remote switch (like the silo doors), no idea why.

I'd use a more recent version of Max but a very important plugin in my (pro) workflow stopped with 2012. Similar plugins for later versions of Max don't do the job the way I want. I stayed years with 3.1, then years with 8 and now I'm stuck with 2012 heh! So as long as it'll be compatible with Windows I think I'll stick with it

That big door there with the Doom door texture is really confusing me. As you can see it's opening around a top hinge. That is not a base feature of C2 as WORLD_HINGE_JOINT wasn't fully implemented so I set it to WORLD_BALL_JOINT and have another invisible noncar push it open and keep it from moving sideways as it opens. It's like a rail. That second noncar is the one I try to activate. If I touch the door, it will move a bit and trigger the other noncar alone and it works. But from a distance it just won't trigger. I don't understand because this is the same kind of setup I did 10 years ago with the "crushers" in the TDR Arena for C2.
Haven't had time to go back to it yet, but I guess I'll have to make a little test map and experiment some more. Annoying 'cause I'm almost done with the level...

Fixed the problem, can you spot it?

correct:


incorrect:



Yep, wasted a lot of time on this... Can't even blame C2!
Made a test map too: https://twitter.com/toshiba_3/status/835641873222021122

Another wip because I can!
Can't wait to setup the whole smash + shrapnels for this tonight.

Alright I'm done with this
I'm going to make a video illustrating the tricks etc. but I have a lot of work to catch up this week so the video will be for next week I guess.


Download at Road Reaction

It's ofcourse a little buggy: peds can fall off the roof if they wander too far, and it's possible to trigger the finish lane at the first checkpoint.

Tricks used:
- heavy use of instances for the level geometry (corridors, rocks, bridge)
- fullbrights (a bit everywhere)
- ylollipop (light spots in the pit)
- custom water splashes within the race's folder (nuclear lava)
- +x 500BRU camera limit (exit tunnel)
- lastlap trigger (tunnel turning black)
- noncars interacting to simulate a hinge (pit passage door)
- use of "-1" constant flashy groove to create a trigger at the groove's pivot (tunnel collapsing behind you when it turns black, then again a few meters further)

As said earlier, I've mainly used original assets (noncars, textures, sounds) with a couple of cameos (Doom, C1). I used waifu2x-caffe to upscale most textures to great effect. I believe supersampling "manually" like this works better than letting the game do most of the job. Ofcourse waifu2x-caffe takes much more time than Photoshop's simple upscaling. It doesn't always make wonders though, I'm not satisfied with the broken windows for example but it's still ok.

This project was really great for me as I've wanted to start this path for a long time. I like using original assets like this as you can go faster at texturing/populating your level while feeling like you're working on something that's cannon in regard to Carmageddon 2. A bit like Doom, Quake, Half-Life usermaps tended to use the original textures too.
Harm's script also makes it very easy and fast to get stuff ingame and test little changes, though I must confess I still use PT2 to compile the map as I noticed differences in beheaviour (3ds Max sources are included with the track zip file by the way), and still do the text setup by hand (the scripts often crash for obscure reasons).

I'm very motivated to work on a full fledged level now (that wouldn't focus on tricks and stuff) and yesterday we brainstormed a nice Beaver City Mall idea in IRC. I'll try to start this project quickly and progress step-by-step as I did with this test track.

Heh yes there's a little story somehow! I also wanted the environment to make a bit of sense and not just be a mishmash of geometry and props.

About the texturechange, a smashable can't trigger a funk but can do a 'texturechange' on itself. I guess it could be possible to set a smashable on all the materials used in that tunnel then have another smash you drive on activate them all via the blast radius thing. The setup would have to be confirmed working and sounds a little less pratical IMO.
Though the lastlap thing here is so-so too! There's a single checkpoint and you cross it two times but at different places (where things turn black and at the finish lane)! The plane defining the checkpoint area is VERY long and skewed.