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Total Members Voted: 14

Voting closed: May 19, 2013, 09:23:48 pm

[Glloyd]

Well hey there Creative Projects Board.

Introduction

I've been playing a game called "Space Station 13" far too much recently, and thus, to help placate my addiction, I have decided to make an entirely new station map. But, I know what you're wondering, "Glloyd, wtf. This is Bay12. Go to the Space Station 13 forums to do that!" Well, as a matter of fact, there is no single Space Station 13 forum. It's divided into many different branches and I really don't play any of them much...

Except for one!

The server I play on is a private Bay 12 server called "Urist McStation. We're small, and don't have our own forums. Also, although I'm making this map for the playerbase, I'm also making it for myself as well, to see what I can do with the horrible mapping software that is DreamMaker. Although, this is a big undertaking, and to that end, I will be accepting help from interested parties, and I will accept feedback from anyone who cares enough to politely contribute.

Information (Generously copied from the Urist McStation thread in Other Games mostly)

Space Station 13...
...is an RPG running on the BYOND game making engine, simulating life aboard Nanotrasen Space Station 13.  Engineers, doctors, botanists, scientists, security, the captain, and many more live on Space Station 13, keeping everyone happy and healthy.  Until the !!FUN!! starts, anyway.

Play...
...as one of the denizens of Space Station 13, performing your assigned duties to keep the station running and productive, but...one of you may be a traitor!  Perform your secret corporate espionage, and escape!   Or perhaps you're a changeling, disguised to absorb DNA from the unsuspecting humans aboard the station!  There are also revolution, cult, and many more possible modes, including secret, where nobody knows what mode is being played.

Urist McStation...
...is running a custom fork of the tgstation code base.  Several members of the SS13 community expressed a desire for a server that wasn't completely clownish, while not being too hardcore on requiring roleplay.  Roleplay is encouraged on Urist McStation, but players will not be punished for minor slips of character.  For example, medical hacking doors is fine, security performing major surgery is frowned upon.

This Thread...
...is not a place to discuss SS13. It is a place to talk about the map I am making, and politely offer advice/feedback/help. There are other places to discuss the game, and argue about it. Here is not one. To be specific, no game discussion, especially when related to bans. This thread is for mapping. If you want to post things you like about other station maps, that's fine. Argueing about which map is better? Not cool.

I am...
...a university student majoring in history. Maps have always interested me extremely, to the point where in some games, (Think older RTS titles with included map editors,) I would spend more time making cool maps then actually playing the game. When I started playing SS13, I found the Dream Maker functions, and instantly lost hours upon hours to it. It went hand in hand with my interest in coding.


I'll be posting updates as the map progresses, and hold polls to see what people think, and we'll see how horribly this turns out...

I will accept help though! This project is not only for me, but for the community. I intend to set up a Git repo, so prospective mappers can contribute to it as well. Until then, wish me luck!

[Glloyd]

Now that that's all set out. Time to state my actual plans!

I intend to make a new station map with a completely different layout from the one UMcS is using at the moment: http://wiki.nanotrasen.com/index.php?title=Locations

I intend to make it balanced for gameplay, so as not to make it too hard for "antags" or make it too hard for regular crew. But, while making the map balanced, I also want to take roleplay into consideration more then /tg/ did with their map.

I intend to add in a few new furniture items, and code/sprite them as well.

I intend to add new areas, mostly focused around leisure, (with new area sprites and areas being needed).

I intend to reduce lag, by lessening the number of local airgroups caused by /tg/'s current window setup.

Finally, I intend to make it fun to play, for whoever decides to play it.


As the thread goes on, expect exciting pixelly screenshots of my work, (and potentially some code and some sprites) but for now, I have naught to show you but my intentions.

Spoiler: To do list (click to show/hide)

• Less stuff, still a decent amount though.

Done Stuff

-Arrivals
-Layout
-Engineering
-Atmospherics
-Library/Chapel

Design Idea

Spoiler: 1 Redone (click to show/hide)

Github, for mapping only


Credits

-Glloyd
-Nienhaus- Contributed some awesome sprites.
-Electronics- Engineering and Atmospherics
-Karlito- Library/Chapel

[Karlito]

I'm definitely interested in following this, and perhaps contributing something more than my thoughts.

[My Name is Immaterial]

PTW.
I eagerly await your results.

[Cheedows]

A unique map for UMcS sounds great Glloyd.  I can try to help, but mind my complete technological and coding ineptitude. 

[kilakan]

PTW, Also my little tad of input;
There's a couple professions on the current station that are absurdly in the open which makes it impossible for antags to ever really utilize their unique items.  I'd like to see say, chemistry and botany a little less 'in plain sight'  I mean why does botany need full on picture windows to the main hallway, and while I can see there being a need for a chemistry lab to act as a pharmacy, it's also got some dangerous aspects like potential mis-mixing of chemicals that creates a fire cloud.  So perhaps it shouldn't be in open view of the busiest intersection on the whole station?

[BigD145]

I'd say other people want to see some greenery as much as the botanist. The botanist does have a back room that is quite dark and I've been dragged in there and killed at least once. The chemist is a secondary front desk of sorts and is asked for chemicals by more than just the medical wing.

[Glloyd]

PTW.
I eagerly await your results.

A unique map for UMcS sounds great Glloyd.  I can try to help, but mind my complete technological and coding ineptitude. 

Thanks guys! I appreciate the support.

I'm definitely interested in following this, and perhaps contributing something more than my thoughts.

Awesome! I'm in the process of setting a Git repo up, so once I get started on the map, any help is welcome.

PTW, Also my little tad of input;
There's a couple professions on the current station that are absurdly in the open which makes it impossible for antags to ever really utilize their unique items.  I'd like to see say, chemistry and botany a little less 'in plain sight'  I mean why does botany need full on picture windows to the main hallway, and while I can see there being a need for a chemistry lab to act as a pharmacy, it's also got some dangerous aspects like potential mis-mixing of chemicals that creates a fire cloud.  So perhaps it shouldn't be in open view of the busiest intersection on the whole station?

I agree with chemistry, it should be slightly removed from such a high traffic area, while still being open to the medbay lobby, but as it is, botany already has its own little back area. I always imagined botany as very open, with all the hippies botanists, just hanging around, enjoying the view. I do see where you're coming from though. I think I would keep botany decently open, but perhaps add a garden-ish area so people don't die from lack of greenery?

[kilakan]

Yeah I actually do agree with botany being fairly open after some thought, for all the 'pretty things' growing in there to be appreciated, I also just remembered that theres currently the few grow trays in the illegal section encase anyone wanted to grow some weeds for that delicious toxin.  So maybe some sorta hidden antag grow op?  Or you know, for people like me who hand out bags of weed in all the slow rounds.

[b_knight286]

Don't forget to leave space for new objects as they are modded in.  Much less work later on.  Also, keep our low population in mind.  We don't need an enormous restaurant, just a little bar.  I also recommend a garden area, as well as more lobby-ish lobbies, with card tables and stuff.  Bonus points for making a special Clown area with a single bananium ore and some cream pies.  And a laser tag gun.

[Nienhaus]

I shall wait till you well me what I can do to help. And one thing I noticed, Like the maps I've made, Don't give to much space for some things.

[BigD145]

Yeah I actually do agree with botany being fairly open after some thought, for all the 'pretty things' growing in there to be appreciated, I also just remembered that theres currently the few grow trays in the illegal section encase anyone wanted to grow some weeds for that delicious toxin.  So maybe some sorta hidden antag grow op?  Or you know, for people like me who hand out bags of weed in all the slow rounds.

The asteroid also has trays.

[Vactor]

One thing I've personally thought would be cool is a less compact station, with spindly arms housing the various facilities.  A bit more like the international space station. 

[miauw62]

PTW.

PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS.

Or a general design.

Also, Vactor, a less compact station has a few problems. Including Z-level size. The Z-levels we currently use are pretty much entirely filled with the station, you're not going to fit much in there.

A less compact station also has balance problems, because it would be easy to lock a traitor in a certain department etc. Altough being able to cut off air/power to entire divisions if you know the right wire/pipe does sound cool.


GO: Map-making isn't that hard. The basics aren't. But there's a bazillion variables for each little item, making the map intresting and balanced that's pretty goddamn hard.

[Glloyd]

PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS.

Or a general design.

SOON.

I'm mocking together a general design as a I write this, using a program recommended to me on the BS12 forums, so we'll see how it goes.

Also, Vactor, a less compact station has a few problems. Including Z-level size. The Z-levels we currently use are pretty much entirely filled with the station, you're not going to fit much in there.

As a matter of fact, there's a *decent* amount of unused space, but again, the problem is keeping it balanced for our smaller playerbase.

I've been wanting to try out making a map, for curiosity's sake, but I've always failed to find out how. Failed, as in 'been to lazy to bother looking'

There's a half decent guide on the /tg/ wiki somewhere. It helped a bit, but the best way is just to open the map file in dream maker and just start breaking making stuff.