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RetroJam3DLC Released
At last, the long awaited RetroJam3DLC is finally here! The pack contains three devilish Runic/Vertical maps by Ionous, negke and skacky, as a continuation of RetroJam3's theme.

Engines:
retrojam3dlc_ionous requires Quakespasm or other BSP2 supporting engine.

� Download �
� Screenshot �
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Great maps. I liked Ionous' style, though too busy in places to read the whole map. Negke's map felt most oldskool which is good for this mapjam. I'm not a big fan of base enemies in runic maps, but it was fine. Skacky's map is very nice and vertical, enjoyed it a lot, I even managed to find 5 secrets in it. 
 
Thank you guys. Epic maps!
Ionous, you're damn good!

Quakespasm demos: https://mega.nz/#!lVwUAZQQ 
 
Couple Of Thoughts On My Map 
There's seems to be something about my map and its layout that makes it somewhat confusing or difficult to navigate. Some potential issues, some of which I was aware of, that probably could have been avoided. Though I also found that at times people aren't observant enough of the environment which adds to the problem, of course.

I think what complicates things for the player is that progression is predominantly vertical rather than horizonta, and the player moves through the level in a vertical zigzac pattern - not floor by floor, but often skipping a floor in-between, and visiting areas multiple times in random order. Three main issues come to mind: general navigation between floors, finding the key doors, and finding the elevator.

The fence in the central atrium is meant to get the idea of vertical progression across. The player starts right in front of it and his first goal is to lower it, teaching him that the way forward is to jump down. The window next to the button lets the player see the fence lower and open up access to the lower floor. However, the problem here is the tarbaby ambush which often distracts the player just too much. I wanted the encounter to feel natural so I refrained from having the monster wake up after the button action, but as it stands, it spots the player a second too late if he runs straight for the button (if checking out the window first, everything works out). In most cases, the player won't interrupt the movement, but press the button and then turn around to deal with the monster, thereby missing the crucial part where the fence lowers. It shouldn't be that much of a problem since it's circular layout with no other way to proceed, but apparently it is, leading several players to run around in circles clueless and not inspecting the atrium again (despite the fact that new enemies appear there).
Another possible complication might be that the player has to jump down an 'unnatural' height which implies fall damage, so some players may be hesitant to try. One only learns about the water mechanic that negates the fall damage after jumping.

A similar setup is the nailgun ambush. The window is meant to help players getting an idea of the layout/structure and locate the lift after lowering it, but the ambush takes away their attention from the window. Seems barely anyone returns to the window afterwards. Originally, the nailgun was placed in the center of the room, but it was even harder to see.

When players have learned they need to jump down the pit, some tend to get stuck on the circular lower floor as well, not realizing the only way back up is through the jump pads in the silver/gold key towers. And then need to jump down again to reach the central floor. That's part of the reason there are shortcuts from the top of the towers back to the respective doors. The player passes by each of the key doors at least once, so I was hoping he'd remember where it was.
Gold door is a little bit tricky, because, again, there are monsters that take up the players attention, although he'll likely walk by the door a second time with a means to kill the zombies. The shortcut down to the gold door requires the player to jump down a hole again, which doesn't work as well as with the silver key shortcut, because while it doesn't do fall damage, the height looks just a little bit too big, so many people tend to refrain from taking this route.

Finally, the elevator is another thing that may cause some players to get confused for a while. Ideally, one visits the elevator shaft once, spots the deactivated platform above, and recognizes it through the window next to its activation button. Then there's the additional window in the nailgun room to suggest one has to go further down. The level also puts a fresh zombie close to the lowered elevator and plays its wakeup sound as a reminder of the zombie corridor on the ground floor. Admittedly, it's a bit hit-and-miss.

In conclusion: look up, jump down, be observant. Or something. 
100% Demo 
Oh yes, as usual here's a 100% demo if someone's interested. 
I Did Get A Little Lost 
in your map negke. But not terribly so.

I think the map is just a bit more labyrinthe than we're used to from newer maps. It's very much old school in feel. 
 
Damn, I'm getting to old for all this action... died in all maps but had great fun... Ionous didn't work very nice with .lit was way to bright...

Anyway finish then all but recorded first demos to all

http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/tr_retrojam3dlc.rar

thanks for mapping time

Best Regard

Rui Aka Trinca 
 
> people aren't observant enough of the environment

Yah.. your last few maps have been tough to navigate. And this one and another, gameplay is crowded for me.
Loved Ionous' block staircase - secrets 3/6, including sixth :) Skacky's skybox and pyramids. 
All Awesome Maps 
skacky's has very cool gameplay and probably the only one with retro design/visuals :)

ionous - holy hell, what detailing! I did get a weird brushwork/models 'popping' type buyg in quakespasm where things like grilles and light fittings would disappear and then re-appear when I got close to them though. Leaving that aside, amazing map all round. Nice gameplay mix too.

skacky - liked this a lot more than the standard retrojam3 map because the gameplay was less grindy and more fun. Some serious visuals too, especially in the vertical direction. 
Btw If Someone Knows How To Play Ionous' Map 
without the glitch I mention above, would love to hear it. 
Nitin 
Could you post a screenshot? Didn't notice any artifacts myself in qs.
Also could be worth trying MarkV, the latest version should run this map. 
Eric 
will do both in the next day or so. 
Nitin 
Are you running it on Darkplaces? That happened in a level I did, only in DP. Along with nasty light artifacts also. 
Ionous's Map With All Secrets? 
i managed first run no deaths on nightmare mode [fuck knows how!].

3 out of 6 secrets

i ran out of ammo 2-3 times, and i'm usually quite frugal with ammo!
definitely should provoke more in-fighting to level the playing field on skill 3!

skill 3 seems to work the best if you don't charge in guns blazing, a knife between yer teeth and a red bandanna, i find ;)

c'mon, who's done a demo where they've found all the secrets? 
Btw I Just Realised I Mentioned Skacky Twice In My Comments 
first map comments are obviously talking about negke's map. 
Found 5 
...but there is an elusive 6th, i'm stumped! 
Pietretronne And Nitin 
Nitin:
It never happened to me during testing, but while streaming a play through, I saw the vanishing. What's vanishing are func_walls, back when I thought I fit this in normal Quake limits (foolishly thought, I hasten to add). As for why...I do not know.

Pietretronn:
Secrets:
DB shotgun
Megahealth
SNG
Yellow armor
Lightning Gun
Quad

Which one are you missing? 
It Could Be The Yellow Armor 
i know that you get yellow armor later on but it's not a secret, so that sounds like it.
i've definitely got all those others. 
Yellow Armor Secret 
It's in the room below the silver key door, with the big rune textures. It's also poorly designed,in retrospect, so I see why people have trouble finding it. 
Christ! 
found it!!

just that little brick slightly popping out from the others.
these type of secrets are always the hardest to find.

if i didn't say it before, i will now:

i rally enjoyed this map, didn't get lost.

my 1st playthrough was on nightmare and i didn't die once. no quicksaves/reloads etc.

i was rusty as hell, as i haven't played for three years, so it always feels like your skating around on ice :( 
Gib Heads 
This just made me wonder: those of you who played my map, did you encounter any gibbed player heads in the main artrium? And if not, did you notice the blood particles coming down from the spikes?

It's one of those last minute features that initially seem cool, but may ultimately create more problems than what it's worth. 
Neg 
I didn't notice it, but I am notorious for being terrible at noticing stuff. 
Just Found Time To Play Negkes Map 
haven't played the new retrojam but I guarantee retrojamdlc_negke is 1000x more e4 than all of those maps!

So god damn good and weird. 
 
You couldn't be more wrong 
Woah. 
 
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