It may looks like a detail and an especially useless one (like most details), but anyway, here it comes (I haven't seen any mention of this concept anywhere in the forum, but still, I might be wrong)

I wondered what could make the maps more immersive. I've been talking about sounds in another thread but now, I'd like to talk about cultural details.

We live in a world where pictures and advertisement are everywhere (printed ads, t-shirts, usual products, clothes, music…). Theses things we see everyday are a part of the mainstream and mass culture, you can feel at home everywhere in the world until you can have your coca cola drink in a mc do, listening to your favourite musical band.

That's why I wonder if adding such references couldn't make the maps more immersive, realistic and create a real unity inside the game world itself.

Of course, the use of real brands, copyrighted names and registered trademarks is clearly illegal. That's why new ideas from many people around are needed: "fake brands" could be created (for drinks, food, clothes, magazines, shops, comics, movies and music for instance) and derivates products out of these (posters, t-shirts, flyers, panels, windows decoration…)

It's just an idea, I never meant to say "It has to be done" but, I thought it was interesting enough to be mentioned. Personally, I think it could be a plus for overall immersive feeling and third parties map. But it's only my opinion.

Thanks a lot for reading this boring stuff (now, I disappear, I still have work to do )

Well, you're suggesting eye-candy and are suggesting to add things to the maps that would most likely just be ignored by a majority of the users.

Of course, you could add humerous graphiti and such that sometimes just can't help to be noticed.

Although I get where you're coming from and think you have a potentially good idea.

~Silentcrisis

I think it's a good idea, but as Silentcrisis already said, it's really just eye candy. I think it would be interesting to have a map or series of maps revolving around a certain company, with posters and advertisements everywhere.

And it's more of the 3rd Party maps that don't have eye candy. They have more-so advertisements of their clan or other stuff and not so much funny humerous stuff.

~Silentcrisis

They should actually put those eyecandy of advertisement where they make sense. it would make the map look amatuerish if the logogs and stuff were in places where they shouldnt be.

(I should stop making such long texts, all apologies ;I'm not trying to convince anyone, I just need opinions to know if it would worth the try or not)
Thanks a lot for the feedbacks.


It's not really about humorous graffiti (Dopefish is alive graffiti rocks anyway ), I was thinking about logical-fake-brands-advertising (sorry, it sounds weird). For instance, Mako Balistics and NG Resonance in Deus Ex2 ; the Cabalco in Blood 2 ; the many ads in The Nomad Soul ; even the Pop Dog in Counter-Strike. I think they could have gone a lot further with this idea. To use the Pop Dog example, you could have soda cans using the colours and logo of the brand, but you can also have vending machines decorated the same way. And of course, advertisement in logical places (bus stops, posters in coffee, references and sponsoring) (why not considering a transport company: we could spot its name on the NorthPort map for example… what's in those containers anyway?)


Clan promotion could be done fine (I'm not sure how for now, because I've never spotted any poster of clan in the streets around me ) but indeed, most of the time, it's not correctly included in the map environment. In my opinion, TC:E advertising in a map isn't such a good idea, because you suddenly realise : "yeah, I'm only playing this game, there's no kind of really behind" (the overall may look illogical), in this case, the graffiti trick would work a lot better (graffi usualy look and feel unofficial). The basic idea isn't to add fake advertisements at any cost, but more about creating background to the game universe.

I completely agree: it is eye-candy and may be ignored by players. But our "real world" is mainly based on visual and look (more than sounds or touch, but it tends to change) and advertisement is rarely noticed neither. Somehow, I believe it add elements in the background, in the live behind the simple war against to teams. Especially hard to include for now, because levels are generally industrial zones and abandoned buildings (I'm not complaining: it's realistic and the gameplay is addictive… but there's no soul in this world, it's empy to me)


That's a part of the idea I had but not especially around the building of a specific company, but keeping common brands from map to other could be a good point (I'm not sure if I correctly understood the meaning of your sentence, tell me if I'm wrong)

(Anyway, I'll try to make concrete examples when I have time, it would be easier to explain what I'm thinking about)

if I ever start mapping (probably never, because I see a modelling career just for me) I'm putting in fake ads. even bilboards. with fun company names

mikey shoes, for example.


I saw some writing on the walls on some of the screens...

lol ive suggested something like this on the main.forum a couple months back, but evryone whas flaming,

this is not a bad idea,

i wonder if some company wanna pay for having some logo's advertisement of their company in the maps, like posters and stuff..

anyways...

what your suggestion is to add more decoration into the map,
but keep in mind that all the maps sepose to be industrial thereins,

if you want a more decorative map.. that i suggest that the devs should make a "cuba" "paris" "itali" etc. etc. map...

why? because those type of countrys like cuba, or the other european countrys have allot of decorative historical monuments,

like old statues, and old buildings,:

here are some examples:









those decorative monuments will add more immersion,
it gives a really cool effect if you can shoot those monuments and see them being destroyed by the bullets, thats totally awesome...

edit: especially if you can see allot of dust comming out when you shot at those old buildings and old statues

Jesus Christ Dragon. This thread has potential. Don't come in here and *i-need-a-broader-vocab* it up.

I mean, you already wandered from the main threads idea of wall imagery to static models that you think should be implemented into some levels.

Decorative monuments cause lag with some servers because of the large number of polygons and textures that are within the relic. And just *i-need-a-broader-vocab* stop with the "It should be able to be destroyed by bullets" shit because we've already discussed it and told you probably at least fifty times that it's a bad idea.

My point is that this thread is about signs and images you might find on servers (E.G. clan advertisements, humerous pictures, pornographic imagery, any of the following.), not about static meshes or statues or buildings that would add more "eye candy" (Another idea we've shot down) to a server than what is really deemed necessary. Plus, the ET engine makes it very difficult to create statues or detailed surfaces with holes and divots that would only just add to the lag that a n00b with a 64MB Video Card would encounter.

~Silentcrisis

You know, in real life, I dont think a standard rifle NATO and pistol NATO bullet can destroy a tatue no matter how much you fire at it, maybe in the eventuality but not likely going to happen before you run out of funds for ammo. The only thing capable of destroying a statue while the game timer is still running would be a 30cal antimaterial rifle, a 50 cal machine gun, an explosive (not a frag), ofcourse larger shells from 90mm, 120mm etc.

---------

Clans shouldnt over advertise, however. Over doing it can make a map look terrible. And they shouldnt advertise by editing original TCE contents like avatar skins.

well you ask for it, i think your asking to be owned by Dragon again, like usual

click this link:
http://tc.hanfacker.ch/pics/news/h15.jpg

statue's difficult?

oh and another thing, you cant take someone idea down by telling things that are not true

This thread isn't your idea or your thread fruend.

And the point I was trying to make about statues is that it would majorly lag anyone, with a slow computer, their experience because of the large amount of polygons and textures that their computer has to process and put out.

It's more for the n00bs with the unfriendly computer than the pro's that have all the accesories to maximize their computer experience.

~Silentcrisis

they can change the settings, you can like choose fast perfomance, so it wont lagg that much anymore,

or the pros that are too damn poor to get a good machine, but can't upgrade because his parents were so anal about computers they had to get an HP pavillion.


and about advertising real products:

if a MAJOR company (i.e., Ubisoft) has a game that involves places you would find products (i.e., cafeterias (sp?) in Splinter Cell) and they cannot put a real product in, what makes you think a little mod for a three-year-old game will?



back to original post:

yeah, the maps are pretty soulless, but urban areas give me the creeps (not just because a friend of mine was stabbed twice, and shot in one) but whatever it takes.

you forgot to say: a mod that have upgraded the wet-engine,

you'll never know, maybe there is someone that owns a big company that wants to sponsor this mod for a small amount of money, you'll never know,