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Specur · 08-04-2010, 04:54 AM

Arctic Infiltration
Current Version: 1.2

Greetings, fellow marines!

I have been doing some mapping for past two weeks now. I have no previous mapping experience other than making some basic room with light and water in Quake and CSS many years ago. When Alien Swarm came to Steam I played the original campaign over and over again until I got just bored of it and decided to give a shot at the mapping. And damn... I really got sucked into it!

So I have been working on a map for over a week now after learning all the basic stuff about mapping for Alien Swarm. Please note that this is my very first proper map that isn't for testing purposes only.

Some of the features of this map are:

Beginning of the map is in outdoors in arctic conditions at night
Most of the map is in indoors
Working minimap is included
Objectives are realistic, not "Kill over 9000 drones"
Objective Details tells about the story and conditions
Objective Pictures are included
Custom PDAs are in the map

Mission Story

IAF received a distress call from a SynTek Research Facility saying that they are under swarm attack. The research being done in this facility is highly classified. IAF has only little data on this facility so on-site search for intel is required before proceeding further from the outer part of the facility. IAF Intelligence Division has sent us orbital imaging of the area and it shows that the swarm has breached the entrance already. Team of IAF marines are sent to investigate the call and attempt to rescue any survivors they find.

The team approached the landing zone and on the way they dropped some flares to guide the way to the entrance since it's very dark at night. They landed the Bloodhound on the landing zone and should continue from there.

Objectives are:

Gain access into the facility
Power up the generators
Download data from the computers
Proceed deeper into the facility

Now I'm asking from you guys that you give me feedback about my map. What you liked and what you didn't like. What was good and what needed improvement. I think the biggest problem right know is that the aliens aren't really that well balanced yet. This is because I haven't had chance of testing this with full team. So I would really like some feedback on balancing the aliens right now. Oh, and the map wasn't made for soloing, but you can attempt it of course.

I hope you guys like it! Meow.

-----

Download map and view screenshots from Swarm Armory

Mirrors (Version 1.2):
http://www.mediafire.com/?myc2s87g08xy699
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=84ZEHPPA

Review by Sabre at Swarm Armory - Score: 85/100

-----

UPDATE2: Version 1.2 is finally out! Big changes in this version, whole new section, old places have been changed and lots of more! You should definitely check this out!

I'm considering this version to be the final version of this map. I'm only going to probably update it with necessary modifications and gameplay balancing only from this point forward. I have already began working on my next map, but don't expect it any time soon.

I want to thank all of you for your feedback and for playing my map. It has really motivated me to continue mapping. Thank you all!

All feedback is still welcome.

UPDATE: Version 1.1 is out!

Thanks a lot for your feedback, guys! Some of you had problems with Swarm Armory so this time there are mirrors for downloading. From this point forward the full changelog is included in the package. Enjoy!

I would like to hear your feedback on balancing the aliens on different difficulty settings. As it is not perfectly balanced yet.

-----

Changelog

Version 1.2

Added a whole new section into the map.
Generator room has been modified.
Entrance room has been redone.
Updated minimap.
Added new spawners (e.g. from igniting the biomass in the generator room).
Modified existing spawners.
Music and sound effects have been added.
Added mission debriefing.
Added credits at the end of the mission.
The fiery bridge now can't be activated until you complete other objectives first.
The generator room and the data storage room doors are no longer indestructible, but instead just reinforced. (Can be shot down.)
The generator's panel model has been changed and made a little more noticeable.
Remade all of the vents on the floors to look a lot more realistic once broken. (No more black squares on floor.)
All lights inside the facility have been modified.
Added signs for rooms.
Changed the wall texture in the data storage room.
Map is now a lot more detailed and has various new additions.
Some non-listed problems have been fixed too.

Version 1.1

Fixed AI problems at the entrance where aliens didn't follow inside, but just facehugged the wall outside.
Fixed the fiery bridge to work better with the AI. Aliens can now cross it to follow you properly.
Added new spawners and modified old ones. All spawners have been adjusted and now scale differently according to the difficulty setting.
Added more biomass and eggs to the generator room, removed aliens out of the way. (The ones you kill before you start using the generator panel.)
Objectives are now only shown one at the time on the minimap.
Fixed lights and shadows little bit.
Removed the egg at the end behind the bars to not confuse anyone anymore.
Fixed chainsaw and blink pack showing outside the map at the end.
Removed collision from the first human corpse inside the facility.
Few minor problems fixed too.

08-04-2010, 04:54 AM	#1
Specur Join Date: Jul 2010 Reputation: 3 Posts: 19	[Release] Arctic Infiltration Arctic Infiltration Current Version: 1.2 Greetings, fellow marines! I have been doing some mapping for past two weeks now. I have no previous mapping experience other than making some basic room with light and water in Quake and CSS many years ago. When Alien Swarm came to Steam I played the original campaign over and over again until I got just bored of it and decided to give a shot at the mapping. And damn... I really got sucked into it! So I have been working on a map for over a week now after learning all the basic stuff about mapping for Alien Swarm. Please note that this is my very first proper map that isn't for testing purposes only. Some of the features of this map are: Beginning of the map is in outdoors in arctic conditions at night Most of the map is in indoors Working minimap is included Objectives are realistic, not "Kill over 9000 drones" Objective Details tells about the story and conditions Objective Pictures are included Custom PDAs are in the map Mission Story IAF received a distress call from a SynTek Research Facility saying that they are under swarm attack. The research being done in this facility is highly classified. IAF has only little data on this facility so on-site search for intel is required before proceeding further from the outer part of the facility. IAF Intelligence Division has sent us orbital imaging of the area and it shows that the swarm has breached the entrance already. Team of IAF marines are sent to investigate the call and attempt to rescue any survivors they find. The team approached the landing zone and on the way they dropped some flares to guide the way to the entrance since it's very dark at night. They landed the Bloodhound on the landing zone and should continue from there. Objectives are: Gain access into the facility Power up the generators Download data from the computers Proceed deeper into the facility Now I'm asking from you guys that you give me feedback about my map. What you liked and what you didn't like. What was good and what needed improvement. I think the biggest problem right know is that the aliens aren't really that well balanced yet. This is because I haven't had chance of testing this with full team. So I would really like some feedback on balancing the aliens right now. Oh, and the map wasn't made for soloing, but you can attempt it of course. I hope you guys like it! Meow. ----- Download map and view screenshots from Swarm Armory Mirrors (Version 1.2): http://www.mediafire.com/?myc2s87g08xy699 http://www.megaupload.com/?d=84ZEHPPA Review by Sabre at Swarm Armory - Score: 85/100 ----- UPDATE2: Version 1.2 is finally out! Big changes in this version, whole new section, old places have been changed and lots of more! You should definitely check this out! I'm considering this version to be the final version of this map. I'm only going to probably update it with necessary modifications and gameplay balancing only from this point forward. I have already began working on my next map, but don't expect it any time soon. I want to thank all of you for your feedback and for playing my map. It has really motivated me to continue mapping. Thank you all! All feedback is still welcome. UPDATE: Version 1.1 is out! Thanks a lot for your feedback, guys! Some of you had problems with Swarm Armory so this time there are mirrors for downloading. From this point forward the full changelog is included in the package. Enjoy! I would like to hear your feedback on balancing the aliens on different difficulty settings. As it is not perfectly balanced yet. ----- Changelog Version 1.2 Added a whole new section into the map. Generator room has been modified. Entrance room has been redone. Updated minimap. Added new spawners (e.g. from igniting the biomass in the generator room). Modified existing spawners. Music and sound effects have been added. Added mission debriefing. Added credits at the end of the mission. The fiery bridge now can't be activated until you complete other objectives first. The generator room and the data storage room doors are no longer indestructible, but instead just reinforced. (Can be shot down.) The generator's panel model has been changed and made a little more noticeable. Remade all of the vents on the floors to look a lot more realistic once broken. (No more black squares on floor.) All lights inside the facility have been modified. Added signs for rooms. Changed the wall texture in the data storage room. Map is now a lot more detailed and has various new additions. Some non-listed problems have been fixed too. Version 1.1 Fixed AI problems at the entrance where aliens didn't follow inside, but just facehugged the wall outside. Fixed the fiery bridge to work better with the AI. Aliens can now cross it to follow you properly. Added new spawners and modified old ones. All spawners have been adjusted and now scale differently according to the difficulty setting. Added more biomass and eggs to the generator room, removed aliens out of the way. (The ones you kill before you start using the generator panel.) Objectives are now only shown one at the time on the minimap. Fixed lights and shadows little bit. Removed the egg at the end behind the bars to not confuse anyone anymore. Fixed chainsaw and blink pack showing outside the map at the end. Removed collision from the first human corpse inside the facility. Few minor problems fixed too. Last edited by Specur: 08-19-2010 at 09:49 PM. Reason: New update