D SKULL airship
By DLEGION
Date: 08-28-2010
Screenshots
Readme
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Jedi Knight : Jedi Academy
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TITLE : DLEGION EUROCORP SKULL ship
VERSION : 1.0
AUTHOR : DLEGION
E-MAIL : punisher_dio@hotmail.com
WEBSITE :
FILENAME : D-SKULLship.pk3
FILESIZE : 133 Mb
DATE RELEASED: july 2010
CREDITS : HUGE list!
in no particular order:
* Sith J Cull, not only a great mapper, but also a nice person,
he allowed me to use his (awesome) textures and models.
* to Corel,the creator of the awesome coruscant skybox! really thanks!
* Manquesa, creator of the great jedi starfighter.(i modified it a bit).
* various authors to let me use theyr skybox, models and other stuff freely.
* Ockniel and Angelmodder,members of "RUN AMOCK STUDIOS"
* kidoncrack, -raz0r- and NAB622 for the help on JKA modding forums
* to MSLAF, a very good mapper, that inspired me,
and allowed me to use some models made by him.
* to jedicouncilgcx texture creator.
the best and more useful custom texture i found,thanks!
* to the creators of some awesome *.md3 models
* to the creators of mini-ties.this things are great!
* to ayala,for the help in scripts with mini-ties
and other. really thanks!
* richdiesal for his great and simple tutorials.i still use them.
* lots of sites for tutorials. many closed now :( .
* to all the people that helped me with editor problems and bugs,
to many editing forums, to the people that inpired me and
to people that allowed me to use their textures or models! thanks!
NOTE FOR * to ID software for this great engine, for great games and for
JK3FILES Q3A textures and models inspiration. must be sayied something about this:
i downloaded entire packs of "remade" textures and models,
made by fan of the game, freely avaible online,
that not violate any plagiarism policy around here, and with the permission
of the various authors. map was started over a year ago....i formatted
my PC many and many times from the start of this work, and by now i can just
give you the link to some sites i used to get this awesome 3D models, don't ask
to me to link each model please, because is a huge work to re-track down
each single model i used.it's all online, you can search and you will find them,
like i did! - UPDATE - i noticed many site closed, like polycounts. really sad :(
* to "mighty pete" for a really good skybox texture used in Dmonolith map.
* credit to Absath and to Jim 'plasma' Manavis that edited that skin i used for crew
* to my beautiful girl! she supported me with her love!
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS : place the " D-SKULLship.PK3 " file
in your JKA (jedi academy) game folder,
in the directory GAMEDATA/BASE.
should be in the same folder as "assets1.pk3"
then start the game, create a new match, and under
"duel, ffa or power duel" you should find the map "D EUROCORP SKULLship".
OPENING COMMENTS: my last map was based more or less on the same subject. i was not satisfied of it,
and i had many tweaks in mind. then i decided to re-make it from zero.
please do not consider this map a "copy" of my other work, instead it is intended as
an improvement of the original concept i had in mind.
TECHNICAL : total brushes: 6411, total entities: 867, lights: 60, models 152+325, doors: 55
DESCRIPTION: Map is based about a little starship, called "SKULL ship", very similar to modern airships.
this ship has 5 deck, each one with it's own use (from relax to war).
ship is placed in geostationary orbit around (futuristic) earth,and around it lay many other ships.
going down you'll find a portion of a city, with buildings, and a docked ship (the Warhammer).
plus there are a couple of "simulated areas" accessible by holodeck on deck 5.
DECKS: 1 - hangar. you can fly starfighter from here and enter an experimental fighter.
2 - operations deck. main office, labs, armory, warp core, ship systems, planetary.
3 - luxury. swimming pool, bedrooms, bar, and a great forward view.
4 - bridge / crew. crew deck, with bedrooms, medical bay, command bridge.
5 - owner deck. private deck with luxury bedroom, bathroom, games room and cinema.
I did my best to optimize it in every possible way, nearly 500 models in a so small space is hard
to optimize, anyway, 90% of the ship places have 50-60 FPS. only few spots have low FPS, anyway
never under 35 FPS (on my PC).
if you want duel and want be sure to not lag due to FPS drop, go in holographic areas.
the beach and the castle have stable 90 FPS in any condition.
SECRET DOORS: There are many "secret" doors and places, in my other map secrets were a bit too hard to find for some,
so i made them a bit simplier to find. they are many, but nothing vital this time. good hunt :)
>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> just be sure to see:
- the 2 holorooms: on deck 5 there is a door and a little room with 2 pictures
press USe button in front of them and simutation will start. to stop it, just press USE key anywhere.
- the deck 2: press USE key on the picture behind the round desk, it will open revealing a big portion of deck 2.
- falling (of flying) down from the ship, will make you enter planet atmosphere, in an urban area.
there is an enterable hangar and a building. the rest is for sniping ;)
- the experimental fighter in the hangar (black and violet one) is enterable, just press USE while
being on its forward part. IMPORTANT: --- crouch while doing it, or you will have troubles! ---
STORY:
It is 95 years after the Syndicates fought for power.Eurocorp prevailed,now an oppressive peace reign,
and the Syndicate, hasn't been idle. Not only have they been upgrading the computer control Chips
embedded in people's brains, but they have also started a massive technological research
to find out how they can utilise more of the brains they control.
they also developed new war machines and cyborgs.
the heart of this develop is the "Eurocorp citadel", an ultra-fortified planetary headquarter, where
factory, offices, shipyards and research labs are located. even living quarters, for eurocorp workers.
this citadel is protected by the most lethal weapons at Eurocorp disposition,including orbital weapons.
high rank executives of EUROCORP have at theyr disposition a "croteus" class airship, able to fight in space
in case of war, with a control center for cyborg operations and even it's own fighters wing.
it has also luxury living quarters, to accomodate executive and his fellowship.
this ships can be seen travel in space, underwater and in the city skyes, and when
not used they are docked at EUROCORP buildings.
tonight a croteus is in geostationary orbit over the EUROCORP citadel,with its crew of cyborg.
hope you have fun exploring it, and even more fun fighting there!
supported gametypes: duel, FFA, powerduel, TFFA.
is made by my fantasy, anyway is inspired by syndicate wars.
BUGS : actually the only manifested bug in many and many hours of testing with forcemod III
is this: the chest of the mech in the hangar sometimes disappear from certain angles...
i have no idea how fix it, anyway it is not harmful bug.
report if you find other bugs !
NOTE: when entering the experimental ship docked inside the hangar, you >>> MUST <<< crouch before pressing use key,
or you will get stuck!
STORY OF THE MAP: I had in mind this project for long time. when i decided to realize it, i did a decent job,
with the map "EUROCORP AIRSHIP IN HANGAR T31", but far from what i had in mind.
i tried again later with "EUROCORP CITADEL",but again looking at it,i didn't see what i had in mind.
i undertood that the core was wrong. ship was too "square" outside, and inside was a bit too square too,
plus i didn't liked the placement of many things on the decks. so i decided to restart from zero.
i decided that only curves can give the look i had in mind, and i started to use them everywhere.
result is good (at least for me) but when i started the inside of the ship it became a nightmare,
maching square objects or other curves with existing ones was a drama. specially when you have few
space to use (due to small ship size). i think i started with the swim pool, building a piece after another
the whole ship was created, i tried to project it using also logical solutions, for space usage and
locations placement. for example in my old version there was lot of space wasted due to corridors, here
reduced at minimum. every deck has it's own space and functions,can be used without interfering with others.
MAP TOURISTIC TOUR: First a bit of explanation:
I love ships. simple as that. for a long time i tried to re-create my ideal ship.
At start i thinked my ideal ship was big (let's say star destroyer size?)...i realized later that
was not my ideal size of ship (other than being very impratical to realize). was a small ship, let's say
a serenity size (60-70 meters). Inspired by Syndicate Wars, where the controllers of the drones were located
on airships,i had an idea: a sort of "space-airship/mobile-base/research-lab/fighters-carrier/warship/mobile-home".
i thinked so many reasons to have such a ship, that i decided to realize it for JKA.
....i prefer describe it as a tour/story, that better explain my ship: the story:
After being promoted the agent D. didn't saw much burocracy. just operative missions, and agent D. was
one of the best drone controllers in the Eurocorp "syndicate", the only corporation left after the war.
with his last mission (the assassination of the police commander of new taipei), agent D. has been
granted ecurity clearance EX-alpha3,and with this the use of an "helicon" class research facility, a "limbo"
class cryogenic facility and 8 cyborg agents, all this packed in a 5-deck ship.
This will become the working place, house and working tool for agent D. for the rest of his life (a failure
will not result in simple dimissions, but in death).
Agent D. took a small shuttle in eurocorp citadel, the fortified eurocorp head quarter,and flyed in orbit,
then docked to "SKULL" (he had the honor to name it's new ship), and entered it....
.....now finally the ship tour:
The first thing he see is the big domed airlock, used to enter/exit the ship in case of forcefields failures,
few steps forward and he has his welcome: a cold fountain with eurocorp hologram on it, remembering him for who
he works. typical eurocorp style. a cyborg on his right side stand still like if he's just a statue, but agent D.
knows that a cyborg of that type can rip his head off before he even notice, luck that he's on his side.
The cryo tubes are empty, crew is all non-human now, but in case of needs the tubes are there.
turning the corner reveals the crew relax area, a tv, mess hall, even an old video game called "street fighter",
the kitchen, the infirmary entrance, the bathroom and the crew beds, all facing the small internal plaza.
"all this space wasted with a cyborg crew", thinked agent D.
after the corridor he arrives in the forward part of deck 4 of the ship, where another cyborg control his moves,
it is placed in a strategic location, because after that corridor is the control bridge of the ship.
He walked in a corridor with on it's side many control consoles, every one with it's function, after that he reach
the very big (for a ship of that size) bridge, with a really good forward and side view, pilot console in the middle,
many consoles, at sides, every one with it's own role, the captain chair at the center and the tactical desk behind it.
Is easy belive why this ships are so good in manouvring....they have awesome visibility (and oversized engines).
after a fast look at the strategic room, agent D. goes back in the corridor, and reach the stairs.
He really wanted to see where he have to live for the rest of his life. after completing the spiral staircase,
he notice a big space, with a very large swim pool, with a small tree at his center. he was impressed.
the last ship he see, had a room of 16 square meters as captain apartament, and was a 300 meters-long ship.
anyway space used by swim pool can be converted in a solid big plaza, activating the glass floor covering the pool.
Instead he find here a huge sofa, a long table for 8 or more people, a bar, even a piano.
on the opposite side of the swim pool there are 8 spacious guests rooms, each one with it's own bath and outside view.
Perfect place to live, thinked agent D.
Back down the staircase he choose to inspection deck 5, the lowest one.
He was surprised, didn't knew that there was a deck all for him. First things to get his attenction were the mini-soccer,
the chess, the multy-player LAN, and the small cinema with a comfortable bed and a sofa.
he proceeded on the other side, finding a spacious table, a desk, even a bar and other 2 sofa with a small table.
few steps up the small stair and he sees the big bedroom, with bath behind it and with pool on a side.
the view from there was amazing, he can see throught the forward and the floor glass, was like floating in space.
Sure to have seen the most amazing part of the ship, he went back on his track to the turbo-elevator,
here he noticed the switch to lock-down deck 5 from the rest of the ship.
Before use the elevator, he wanted to see the holographic room, so he started a simulation called "zeghema beach".
he find himself placed into a hot sand, with nice clean water (a thing that earth no longer know) and some trees.
he was amazed, but had to continue his tour, so he deactivated the simulation. he went on the turbo-elevator,
then he pressed button for deck 2, he really wanted to see "HELICON" class lab, and the cryo lab, where cyborgs come to life.
he find himself instead in a spacious room, with a statue inspired by "sword in the moon", some console, and a nice office,
with a glass floor looking down on the planet surface. turning the corner he sees a nice planetary, showing a twin-sun
star system, probably teta-k6. Finally he enter central room, the drones control room. round, spacious, and with controls
for every system of the ship, this is the core of cyborg operations. he went out of the office, back to the elevator,
he noticed a small corridor at it's right side. entering the door after it reveal the "helicon" lab, with many desks
for cyborg construction, a cutter and a molecular factory, one of the most advanced building method, atom by atom.
he expected more things from a lab of that class, anyway that was all here. apparently.
Agent D. was good not only for his raw skills, but also for it's great intuition, a thing that make him different
from cyborgs. he walked back to the round office....he was attracted by the picture behind the chair...he touched it..
and the picture opened, revealing a big corridor, with glass walls, and on it's left side another part of "helicon" lab.
"Here's the trick" thinked agent D. he opened the second part of the wall, explored the other part of "helicon" lab,
there was a shield development system, an experimental teleport, a particle accelerator, a CPU development console,
and other things he didn't understand fully.
exiting from that room, and continuing in the corridor reveals the famous cryogenic facility, the storage and maintenance
place for the most precious (and powerful) cyborg. here are the ones that allowed Eurocorp to win on its rivals,
and conquer global power. this cyborgs will be used to mantain that control over the human worlds.
proceeding in the aft section he find in the middle the core room, a matter-antimatter reaction core, supplying energy
for the whole ship. a HUGE amount of energy. on the left side is the armory, with the most advanced weapons avaible to
Eurocorp, a lot of ammo, a desk to weapon maintenace, and a load of nuclear-fusion and black-holes warheads (the most powerful
weapon know, able to rip entire planets surfaces, with theyr gravity holes), ready to be loaded in the launch tubes.
on the right side is the systems room, with the computer core, and many other ship systems, from artificial gravity,
to forcefields, to life support, ecc.
Agent D. was impressed by all this high-tech devices all togheter in a so small space. he went back to the turbo-elevator,
and pressed button for deck 1, the hangar. he see a really huge hangar (for a so small ship), with 4 starfighters parked
at the sides , after the 2 big hangar doors. behind that lay a huge molecular-factory, able to build a starfighter in few
moments, and a maintenace desk behind that. the space behind this desk was filled with gym tools, he understood that probably
the owner before him failed a mission...with deadly results.
on the other side is there a strange "thing"...a closer inspection reveal that it must be the sort of convertible fighter-mech
he heard about. it's all curved, with 3 rotable engines, he wanted to see it inside, so he climbed on top of it, and entered it.
he found a 360 degrees holographic hud, showing all the exterior like if the fighter structure was not there.
the only thing showed were the engines and the energy conduct, useful to control in case of damage.
Extremely satisfied he tried to start the experimental fighter, but wasa unknown technology, and he failed.
so he decided to pilot a starfighter, that he better know. he openend a giant hangar door, entered a fighter,
and slowly flyed outside the ship. he flyed around it for a while, noticing the big twin railcannons at the sides and
at the top of the SKULL ship. then he noticed the forward skull, placed following his instrucions, hiding the warp cannon,
an experimental energy weapon.
The starfighter was flying slowly around SKULL, to give him time to see the details of the ship...but he knew that t can fly
much faster, and wanted test it. he pointed towards the planet and accelerated full speed....in few moments he find himself
in the planed atmosphere, over the Eurocorp citadel, many alarms raising, but thatks of his security code automatic cannons
did not shoot him down. he flied for a while between the high buildings, then he pointed his ship with nose in the sky, and
accelerated full speed again. Agent D. reached his ship, and while doking in the hangar simply thinked: "what a nice ship".
in my idea this ship is: office/laboratory/factory/living place/war machine/carrier/strategic platform.
* office was the simplest: place an office, that being on a ship can be moved where needed (near the action).
i imagine that the owner will pass here most of the time, to work.
* laboratory, because new technologys are always in development,and there are two labs for this reason.
one mainly for theorical, and other for pratical builds. there is also a particle accelerator.
* factory, to be self-sufficient,builds atom by atom everything needed (new tech too).
* living place: i was in doubt about how many space give to this. i finally decided for a good portion,
because this is not a pure warship, so i thinked that at least a decent apartament size was needed.
i wanted every comfort, so there is the pool, the piano, the sofa, the rooms for guests ecc...
plus a "private deck" with a spacious bedroom with bar, pool, holographic room (simulating only 2 areas
for now,anyway it gives the idea), dining room, and what i call "games area", with a small cinema,
a 6 computer "LAN", chess and mini-soccer.
while not big, i think is a nice place to stay, having a glass floor with awesome view.
crew are mainly cyborg, but in case of humans there is a bedroom with 10 beds, a kitchen,
a dining room with tv, bathroom and cryostatis tubes.
* war machine: it is also a great war machine, having 3 twin rail-cannons able to rip bigger ships apart,
(that you can activate from 2 points) and a load of 11 black hole warheads, able to eat entire planets,
a shield system (displayed in 3D in a lab), but most of all it's huge agility due to the giant engines.
* carrier was another hard task. i finally decided that it carry 4 fighters but is able to build (and hold)
other fighters if needed. here find place also a fighter converted in mech mode, and a new experimental
fighter/bomber with 3 engines (my design). a repair table and ...a gym (..i had much space....).
in my idea the fighters are used as support for cyborg missions, for defence or attack if needed.
* strategic platform say all and nothing. with that i mean a ship like that has potential,
that's why i placed a second office,many control consoles, a planetary and a big (for the ship size) bridge.
this ship can be used for space exploration, or to perform the most different missions, from rescue to
strategic attacks, so it must be versatile to match the needs of the moment.
when the ship was done, i placed it in space, giving the possibility to still visit the urban area by flying
towards the planet,and i think the result is acceptable.
i must admit it is still not 100% what i had in mind, but editor limits are always gripping me, and i had to
stop here.
COMMENTS : was a continous fight against the editor bugs (GTKradiant 1.5.0)
for small map it's easy, but when map grow it start to be very buggy!
suggest: FORCEMOD III. is a very good mod, will give you much.
Thes hovering ship is FULLY explorable, it means it has no "fake doors" or
inaccessible areas. check with attention every area, try "use" button on
every console and in every direction, maybe you can find an hidden room
or more!
THIS MODIFICATION IS NOT MADE, DISTRIBUTED, OR SUPPORTED BY ACTIVISION, RAVEN, OR
LUCASARTS ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LLC. ELEMENTS TM & © LUCASARTS
ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LLC AND/OR ITS LICENSORS.
bye bye!