Concept: Arena underground level

[Borovos]

Hello guys,

This is the concept, extend the bar arena and generate a dedicated level.

To introduce it, there is few questions that I had about arena:
- in SoC, player can fight against bandits. So, where are they before the fight? Is there a prison around it? A place where Duty placed bandits?
- in SoC files, the player is able to fight against monsters. So, how the stalkers did to capture them and close them?

So, this is the response:
http://imgur.com/a/ifNQj

The underground arena levels is composed of 3 mains rooms.
A first one is the arena room as player knows in SoC
The second one is a prison. A room where Duty/Stalkers can closed monsters or enemies as Bandits.

After this two rooms, there is a long corridor with gates who join a third room.
In this one, the roof is broken. It fell down long time ago.
So, there is a one way connection from the Zone. A place around the Bar who is too radioactive for stalkers, only available for monsters.
By this hole, monsters are falling down one after one and they are trap (as in cavern). Sometimes it's a horde of snork, a isolated bloodsucker, or a horde of blind dogs...

At the beginning, the Duty tried to close doors, to kill every monsters who came here. But it was a strange place as the border of military warehouse and SoC redforest. Too much monsters, too much guys who dye here. Monsters always found a way and finally appears in the surface of the bar, using underground to join it.

As it was a perfect place to practice, they chose to create a arena. A place where rookies stalkers can see monsters eyes in eyes, discover the danger and fight to dye or join the Duty. In the same time, it was a place to execute prisoners in a last fight.

With the time, ppl start to bet for a winner. The arena we knows appeared like this.

So, the current arena is cut in two part, the first one with fight room and prison, and the second one (restricted area at first) with a duty/stalkers check point, to defend this place against monsters who come from the last room with broken roof.

-----------------------------------------

This is the current stage of development.
The main geometry is done. Except a trouble with no_sun/occ/sound_occluder, it looks nice in 3DSmax and LE.
Ofc, I have few idea to improve this level quickly as:
- merge the room 3 with galleries of snorks (object from the entrance of CS agroprom underground)
- add two more room for fights with different décors.

The current work is the addition of light. It start slowly, but it's in progress. As i'm not good about it, I'm using group and copy-paste them.
As it's a closed underground, it'll be quick to add decor object in it. I see this place as Metro underground, a lot of boxes...
I plan to add few static sounds too and few particles. I'm not sure about it, but dynamic fog could be fine too.

Finally, there is something that I can not do. Add spawn, space restrictor, way point and finally quests.
About quests, this is the concept:
Add the ability to be a spectator, so pay to see a fight & bet for a winner. (in this case, I'll add a additional room)
Start arena quests by fight against monsters
Second part of fight quests is against npc (as in SoC)

At the end, the player is recognize to be a great fighter. He can not fight in the arena.

But the guardians of this place are afraid by something terrible. The coming of a monsters who will be hard to fight.
A pseudogiant who fall down in the last room!
It should be a final quest. Defend the bar underground against evil! Go alone in this long corridor without lights.

It's not for today, not for tomorrow. But it'll be quick than TC or bigger project.

All comments, critics, ideas and others are welcome as always.

See you

[Zealot_Komputer]

Frankly, it's a question that i asked to myself : Where are the monsters before the fight ???
So, great idea !
Being a spectator is cool, too. I vote.
Regarding the quests, won't it be too scripted ? The final boss thing, i mean. Just asking.

[Borovos]

In prison boxes, as bandit, in the same room. Like this monsters are ready to fight against humans, they smell humans, they are looking for them, starving.
And bandit are afraid by a incoming death because they can not sleep near monsters... they have to fight to survive.

[Zealot_Komputer]

Yes, i had understood. I was saying that i was asking myself the question until you answered it with your concept.

Anyway,since we're talking about the Bar. There is something that really bothers me with this area. Is it or not a neutral area or is it a duty base ?
As it seems, it's non neutral (if you spawn soldiers, they attack the Loners). So, regarding the arena, it seems that some factions won't be able to fight in it : Bandits and monolith, of course, but also militaries, unless they kill all the Loners in the place. Same thing for Freedomers and Mercs (hostile to Duty).

Frankly, in my opinion, the Bar should become a fully neutral area (even for the player), where anybody could come to fight in the arena (with the exception of monoliths, maybe). BUT, of course, if the player decides to shoot people, the other stalkers would immediately retaliate.

That's why i'm not too sure about the idea of bandits prisonners. I think fighters in the arena should be volunteers (apart from the monsters).

[Alundaio]

Yes, i had understood. I was saying that i was asking myself the question until you answered it with your concept.

Anyway,since we're talking about the Bar. There is something that really bothers me with this area. Is it or not a neutral area or is it a duty base ?
As it seems, it's non neutral (if you spawn soldiers, they attack the Loners). So, regarding the arena, it seems that some factions won't be able to fight in it : Bandits and monolith, of course, but also militaries, unless they kill all the Loners in the place. Same thing for Freedomers and Mercs (hostile to Duty).

Frankly, in my opinion, the Bar should become a fully neutral area (even for the player), where anybody could come to fight in the arena (with the exception of monoliths, maybe). BUT, of course, if the player decides to shoot people, the other stalkers would immediately retaliate.

That's why i'm not too sure about the idea of bandits prisonners. I think fighters in the arena should be volunteers (apart from the monsters).

I don't agree with this idea. The entire purpose of different factions is so that the player can play the game as if he was that faction. Eliminating the consequences of being of a certain faction defeats the purpose and we end up with a game like Call of Pripyat where Freedom and Duty are happily sitting together drinking vodka and sharing eachother's kolbasa in the same base. If you want to play the game as freely as possible then be a Loner.

[Zealot_Komputer]

I understand and i'm always fond of games with choices and consequences, but it has nothing to do with such things, here. I was talking about the arena, precisely, and the fact that the Bar could be a ceasefire area, i was not talking about being able to drink a beer with a Dutier, but to distinguish or sacrifice yourself for the amusement of the Zone.

You say "If you want to play the game as freely as possible then be a Loner", ok, but that's how it will end up : To be able to fight in the Arena and to get all the stuff available in CoC, players will choose this faction to the detriment of the other ones.

No big deal, that's what i think. So, just to be clear, the Bar is a Duty Base (as well as Yanov is a Freedom base) and the only partially neutral area is the Rookie Village, right ? I mean "partially neutral", cause a Loner player is the only one attacked by soldiers.

[Alundaio]

I understand and i'm always fond of games with choices and consequences, but it has nothing to do with such things, here. I was talking about the arena, precisely, and the fact that the Bar could be a ceasefire area, i was not talking about being able to drink a beer with a Dutier, but to distinguish or sacrifice yourself for the amusement of the Zone.

You already can as long as you are of a neutral or friendly faction.

You say "If you want to play the game as freely as possible then be a Loner", ok, but that's how it will end up : To be able to fight in the Arena and to get all the stuff available in CoC, players will choose this faction to the detriment of the other ones.

That is just a fact of choosing a faction. What would be the point in choosing a faction if you were not limited by this decision? Should we go back to only using 'actor' faction and player can go anywhere he wants?

No big deal, that's what i think. So, just to be clear, the Bar is a Duty Base (as well as Yanov is a Freedom base) and the only partially neutral area is the Rookie Village, right ? I mean "partially neutral", cause a Loner player is the only one attacked by soldiers.

Rostok was a Duty base in Shadow of Chernobyl. The neutral areas in Call of Pripyat were done due to limitations of only having 3 maps and probably laziness.

[Zealot_Komputer]

"Should we go back to only using 'actor' faction and player can go anywhere he wants?" , i've never said that and it was not my point.

Anyway, Borovos, your idea is cool and relevant. And Trucks Cemetery is one if my favorite maps.

[Borovos]

I have the same point of view. Bar is the base of Duty. The barman use this protection for his own business.
Only neutral guys are able to go here. The Duty use this place to enlarge his effective and recruit loners.

@Alun:
In the case of a spectator scene for the player, imo, it need:
- force npc to use waypoint as spectator
- spawn two fighters squads who target each others (npc vs npc or npc vs monsters) and ignore others npc
- add hue sounds
- add a movement camera as the actor join his place

Are you thinking it's possible?

[Alundaio]

I have the same point of view. Bar is the base of Duty. The barman use this protection for his own business.
Only neutral guys are able to go here. The Duty use this place to enlarge his effective and recruit loners.

@Alun:
In the case of a spectator scene for the player, imo, it need:
- force npc to use waypoint as spectator
- spawn two fighters squads who target each others (npc vs npc or npc vs monsters) and ignore others npc
- add hue sounds
- add a movement camera as the actor join his place

Are you thinking it's possible?

Yes, it is possible. What do you mean by hue sounds? Like BR huehuehuehue?

[Borovos]

sounds/ambient/arena/crowd sounds files.But not as ppl are far way like this.

[GoTDTruth]

I approve. cheeki breeki iv damke

[Bangalore]

I recently found in the CS gamedata a cutout CS arena, which is an outdoor map for the single player game. It could be the surface part of your undergound arena, Borovos.
We have everything to make it work, LE scene, camera effects, sounds, logic and script functions, etc. I'm not impressed by the map itself, it's not the best map of all times, but could be a nice addition to the game.
My idea, that after you finish SOC arena's 8th fight, a dude, some kind of arena master, would meet you in the door of the arena building. He would invite the player to the pro arena zone. This dude would have a place, a table in 100 rads Bar, and only he could teleport the player to this hidden map, no level changers and such.

Russian modders restored it as a CS mod, the game refers to it as "Poligon" arena, some kind of survival game.



The original concept was, if i look at the gamedata files: the arena has 5 rounds, and starts off fairly easy with the first - 2 on 2. Next, its 1 vs 5 bandits, followed by 1 vs 4 Stalkers, followed by 1 vs 5 Clear Sky. Then the final round is you vs 12-15-20 monolith, spawning from 3 different locations, and unlike the first 4 lots, don't remain in their spawn zones.

[Borovos]

I know this level but I never saw this video.
I was thinking it was a demonstration level about npc who take cover in CS.

So, this is a real arena for fight.
Why not. But I see something different.

The player finish arena fights.
After it, he obtain the mission to defend the underground against monsters (from a guardian), we can imagine few quick quest like this.
After it, he have a new mission. Eliminate few bandits who try to enter in the underground to free their mate.
So, the player go alone in the underground, fights against bandits and find a exit to the ground (a door code on a corps as example).
He open the door (teleport), & the player have to defend the entrance of underground of wave of bandits and monsters.

We can easily replace this npc spawn by only bandit squads. And we can keep the progression in the fight. First wave is rookies bandits, next normal one, next veteran and finally masters with exo...

We can imagine the opposite mission in bandit faction.
If the player have a very bad reputation and a very good relation ship, he can attack this exterior place (teleport), first wave of enemy are rookies Duty guy...who are going out the underground and the last wave are fucking enemy with exo. After what, the actor can join the underground and liberate his faction mate. Fight in underground against guardians...

I prefer the concept of faction war than a arena fight between factions without reasons.

To discuss.

Tell me your opinion. I see two way, restore this exterior level like this and just add "fake doors" in each little bunker to simulate the entrance of the underground arena.
Or I can try to merge exterior and underground level. Open door in bunkers, add stairs, create a hole in the terrain object and connect this exterior level to my underground...

This is a bigger project than I expected. But it could be fun. Ppl are looking for something like this.

[Bangalore]

There are some building to connect the ug part. Both is fine for me.
You can create invisible holes on the terrain, if you make holes on the terrain with earth_slide or fake_slide material. It will be impossible to see them, and players can fall down to the underground part. It will be fun.