[SP] [WIP] Industrial Flower Tower
Well, that played seamlessly for me. The map just keeps opening up (like a flower?) as you progress, with new surprises at every turn. Everything worked and I had no confusions and I believe I visited all areas this time. It is still going to be a difficult map for others, I think, because so much is hidden at first, which will force them to explore at each iteration. A wonderful map with a style all its own. Not as epic (in the literal sense) as Laser Encounters, but conceptually its more cohesive. Nice job!
I've just spent a couple of hours trying to break this map, but I found nothing significant. I think its ready to be released to SP. I managed to lose a cube while attempting some wild idea of mine. But I eventually found it. Unless you like to hug laser beams, death is impossible. Nothing ninja is required. But having an open mind is absolutely essential. This is not a map like any other.
Okay, did a final release. Another playtester mentioned that a player could get stuck in the top most room with the cube in it, so I added an escape hatch into it, as well as indicator lights representing the polarity of the funnel into that room, in case players neglect to check it. If a mod could move the map into the single player section, I would appreciate it.
Cheers.
Thank ya kindly, good sir.
Holy smoke, I made it through in just 57 minutes! Considering how confused I was almost the entire time, I'm surprised I didn't rage quit. But I'm a stubborn s.o.b., and after I got the first cube, things started to make a little sense.
I'm going to edit down my blind playthrough before I post it, so you can see what problems I had. While I'm doing that, I might have more perspective on why the thing is so damn confusing. Right now I can't even remember how I got the first cube!
This is one of the more different uses of world portals that I've seen. I can't recall anyone using world portals to move you around the same room this way. I think it's a very interesting design. Unfortunately, the lack of direction at the beginning made it a very frustrating map to play. This map has the potential to earn a 5 from me, but the initial misery drags it all the way down to a 3, because it definitely needs work.
EDIT: Here's the video of my blind (and mentally handicapped) playthrough. I managed to chop it down to under 26 minutes, but it's still painful to watch.
Link: Industrial Flower PowerEmbedded
Just a few thoughts on improving it:
- The red titles in the video are real problem areas, won't repeat them here
- Signage needs to be greatly improved, just to list a few
- Something over the little door in the bottom corner
- The funnel direction buttons
- The door to the world portal to the red room
- The lighting is meant to guide the player, but it doesn't really help that much
- The room is too large, it contributes to the visibility problems.
[spoiler]My YouTube Channel: Please subscribe!
My Steam Workshop Check out my collections for some good maps
Basic Mod for playing .vpk files Needs to be updated for dlc2, but still works[/spoiler]
Going to work on this tonight. I've added some indicator lights to the polarity buttons, as well as the funnel icon sign near them to indicate what they control. As to the door on the lower area near the water, there is a reason I say that the water is more useful than is first thought of. Anyway, I'm also going to add some more portable surfaces to make travel throughout easier. The button that opens the "flower" now has the magenta light inside of it, so it should 'pop' in comparison to its surroundings.
You might also want to edit your first post to change the Subject from [WIP] to {SP].
For some reason I can't change the actual thread name, even if I change the download page.
okay, updated the map. moved some stuff around a bit, added a new set of doors, some new triggers, and added some indicator lights to the funnel buttons.