DR Arena
Gametypes Supported:
FFA, LMS, TDM, CTF, GunGameNumber Of Players:
Single: 13, Team: 36 (18/team)Latest live Version: ut4_drarena_a6
Slick surfaces. Icy Jumps. Crazy ideas.
Map number twelve, begun in June 2012. DR Arena. DankRider Arena. This one was a HUGE gamechanger, in more ways than one. FSK405|DankRider and I were hanging out playing UrT,chatting on TeamSpeak, and he asked if I could build him a map, if I had time. I was just finishing up KickOff! 2, and what would become Mountainside looked to be yet another failed idea, so I was more than happy to listen. His explanation of the idea was... interesting. Liberally paraphrased: "Well, I want it to have icy surfaces. The main part will be a ring, like a NASCAR track, ya know, angled like that. All icy. And then in the middle, kinda like Probing Grounds." I made this small map, and... yes, I said small! Dank hopped on, and I could tell he was disappointed. "It's nice, but I was thinking like way bigger. With a pit in the middle." Hmmm... okay, this was going to take some thought. Dank then says I need to hop on one of hte "Icy Jumps" maps by Rambetter, so I cna see what he is talking about, trying to describe. OOOHHHH! Wow, this is flipping UrT physics on its head. Now I was smiling.
I made a huge ring, long straightaways. And I put the flags on each end, at the top edge of where the curve from ground to wall became flat. I placed spawns behind and above those flags, behind glass, with drop-ins, like a skate park. And that is what I treated it like form that point on: a skate park! I placed a barrier across the center, but not blocking that outer ring. I made it non-slick, so you could get on it, and not be sliding around. Catch your breath. And then I added some "rest area" type spots just before and after the "grand curves" at each end. Dank was truly impressed this time, but still wanted more: "Oh! Yes! But... could you maybe add, like, a second smaller one above the main one?" HahHAha!!! And then... hmmm... OOOH! I know!
I had to learn "icy q3 physics", and I had to learn q3 curves and associated geometry, and then I had to figure out ways to work aorund it. I was VERY lucky to have found Rambetter, whose surface creation utilities were absolutely invaluable. Luckily, the q3 engine was public at this point, which meant that modifications were possible. So, I asked someone if they could perhaps modify the q3 engine to make stamina either longer, or not exist, ala Q3 Arena. Done! Much like Dank had with me, I then asked for more. Better. "Could you make stamina scale?" And after a few tries, the most beautiful stamina mod was finalized. Stamina was not an issue so long as you were healthy. Injuries would non-linearly scale stamina, with the greatest hit being once the player's health dropped below about 10%. This completely changed what was possible with this map!!!
At the same time as this was happening, I discovered that more thna one set of flags could exist in a map. WHile there are quirks, it does work. DR Arena became a playground of crazy ideas, only possible because of the ability to scale stamina. It is definitely more carnival than refined circus, but it is a grand skate park! Combos galore, and hours upon hours of fun.
