I Hate Mountains Forums

The William Wallace

Member

Registered: 2010-06-05

First Impressions

Right, so I just finished my second playthrough. My first time I played normal, second time we tried advanced.

Pros:
- Great level design
- Divergent paths provide replay value.
- Outdoor theme was executed flawlessly.
- Adheres well to the L4D storyline.
- DOMO-KUN!!! *runs*
- Graffiti was amusing and believable.

Cons:
- Tanks had some navigation issues in the crypts
- It is possible to get stuck on the helicopter debris.
- In normal mode there seemed to be an overabundance of ammunition and guns in 'clim

Thoughts:
I really liked this campaign, after just two playthroughs it is already one of my favorites. The time and care that was put into this map is obvious. On normal mode it seemed like there was a lot of ammunition and guns lying around making things too easy. However once we bumped up to advanced it wasn't an issue.

Overall the level designs are very good. I thought the plethora of safehouse --> signs weren't really that necessary though. The spraypainted arrows served us well enough and mesh with the idea that other survivors are leaving a trail for the others to follow. I loved the divergent pathways.

As you forewarned bot behavior is occasionally a problem. I saw a lot of infected getting stuck on pillars and corners. The tanks occasionally  got confused in the crypts and weren't sure how to get up the grand staircases. Oddly witches seemed immune to crowning but I don't think that's a map problem. During the finale you might tweak the horde trigger time after the last tank. It was very easy for us to reach the escape vehicle, even from the house, before any infected could show up.

The special dialogue was a nice touch. You guys did a great job on this campaign. I look forward to whatever your next project might be.

Last edited by The William Wallace (2010-06-05 00:56:52)

NykO18

Administrator

From: Montréal, QC

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: First Impressions

- DOMO-KUN!!! *runs*

Yeah you better run!

Overall the level designs are very good. I thought the plethora of safehouse --> signs weren't really that necessary though.

Oh boy, if you were there during the playtest you wouldn't say that!
That's right it kinda breaks the atmosphere but the lack of signs was the most annoying thing testers were reporting to us.

During the finale you might tweak the horde trigger time after the last tank. It was very easy for us to reach the escape vehicle, even from the house, before any infected could show up.

Yes, that's by design.
Nothing's more frustrating than finishing a 2 hours campaign just to see the rescue vehicle arrive and die while running to it. This is something we wanted to avoid at all cost.

The special dialogue was a nice touch. You guys did a great job on this campaign. I look forward to whatever your next project might be.

Thank you for your feedback, we'll investigate the issues you reported.

Noddie NZ

Member

Registered: 2010-06-05

Re: First Impressions

During the finale you might tweak the horde trigger time after the last tank. It was very easy for us to reach the escape vehicle, even from the house, before any infected could show up.

Yes, that's by design.
Nothing's more frustrating than finishing a 2 hours campaign just to see the rescue vehicle arrive and die while running to it. This is something we wanted to avoid at all cost.

I didn't even see the evacuation vehicle, I ran about randomly searching for it and ended up dying

Same issue for the helicopter, I didn't know where it was going to land. Common sense told me the helicopter pad, but that was after I went around to the back of the house.

Great time playing though, I prefer this over many of the original levels.

NykO18

Administrator

From: Montréal, QC

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: First Impressions

I didn't even see the evacuation vehicle, I ran about randomly searching for it and ended up dying

That's one of our concerns, we which we had the opportunity to make it fly over the finale area before landing but the delay after the last tank is killed is hard-coded in the engine and can't be longer. It would have been too long to wait for the plane considering the amount of infected coming right after you. We're approximately using the same delay than Valve on Blood Harvest which I believe is the longest we can make.

Noddie NZ

Member

Registered: 2010-06-05

Re: First Impressions

It's not exactly a problem, this was only on my first play through. It's expected of players to do quite bad on their first go and get accustomed to the level before playing for real on a higher difficulty or online.

NykO18

Administrator

From: Montréal, QC

Registered: 2010-05-13

Website

Re: First Impressions

Yeah well, I think you're right.
As a matter of fact, our little team also died miserably while searching for the Stryker at the end of Blood Harvest back in the days.