Serenity - Firefly (Re-Release) (0.00)
By Spineless
Date: 06-26-2014
Version: 0.00
Screenshots
Readme
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Serenity - Firefly (Re-Release)
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Date: 16/06/2014
Author: Spineless
Website: http://www.spbdesign.co.uk
Email: sam_barham@hotmail.co.uk
Map Details:
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Brush Count: 22,424 + ~9,000 in ASE Models
Entity Count: 3736
Build Time: 6 Years!
Compile Time: 30 Minutes
Custom Models: Yes
Custom Textures: Yes
Custom Shaders: Yes
Custom Effects: Yes
Custom Sounds: Yes
Custom Scripts: Yes
Botroute Support: Yes
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Installation: Extract the contents of the .zip into Jedi Academy/GameData/Base
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About (History):
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As many of you will know, (and for those who don't), I created a rough-round-the-edges representation of Joss Whedon's Serenity back in 2003 that I thoroughly enjoyed making - but in hindsight - could have done with a few more brushstrokes of accuracy.
So, 6 Years in the making and (I fear) 4 years too late, I have finally got around to releasing it! I firstly have to apologise to all those I have kept waiting. The problem with it all is that I'm too much of a perfectionist. Something that I will have created 3 months ago, will look dated to my eyes and need updating. Besides, bug fixing bores the ^&*! out of me, and the larger part of entity/script work is by it's nature - bug fixing.
So, as far as I know, this is about as close as anyone's come to completely recreating both the exterior AND interior of the ship. I will be the first to admit that there are currently many and far superior exterior models out there, but I don't think anyone has tackled the interior with any gusto. (Correct me if I'm wrong).
Design:
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I am not ashamed to admit that this effort is far far far superior to its' predecessor. I have embellished the ship with every conceivable detail, and poured through tons of reference material in order to conceive the closest possible representation of the ship you all know and love so well. This map is largely overscaled, around 20-25% to allow for a reasonable chance at role-play/game play.
Serenity, as mentioned by it's design team, is one of those few sci-fi space vessels that doesn't suffer from the Tardis effect. (Being much bigger inside, than out). All that said, I couldn't for the life of me fit all the interior into the outer shell, without warping one or the other. I decided very early on that I would have to split the map into too. Besides, with Quake III's modest capabilities, a joining of the two parts would *slay* the user's fps.
This, in turn, created a whole heap of problems which I have had to work around. Firstly I have taken liberties with some of the design. The hangar-shuttle connection in the film and tv-series is pitched at being set at the top, roof level of the hangar. Yet the blueprints rest both on the level of the kitchen. This led to a design compromise, where the shuttle access ports rest in two side areas, either side of the kitchen with a ladder down to the hangar.
I have also taken liberties with all the secret passageways and any design element in between the areas seen on the show. I have included a fuel-room, (a mighty powerful engine needs one I figured) a nav control room, a light control room, a kitchen stock room, and a spare 'crew quarters' room. These are all accessible via secrets and secret passage-ways. (Explained below).
Features:
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- Every possible area of Serenity seen in both tv-series and the movie.
- Scripted tiered secret system. Allowing you to unlock:
- The Medbay
- The Explosives Room
- The Main Hangar Door and Side Airlock
- Both Shuttles
- Navigation Controls
- Toggle-able Engine Thrusters
- Asteroid Script
- Sound Clip Easter Eggs
- Cockpit & Kitchen Light Switches
- Master Room/Airlock Override Switch
Secret Area Unlock System:
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There are 10 secret areas in the map, (and one somewhere on the exterior). Discovering 2 secret areas will unlock a sealed area of the map in the order layed out above. If your stuck, look for the shady corporate (and blue) symbol that lies close to every secret.
Oh and press your "use" key whenever you see a Tracey's mp3 Player!
Known Issues / Bugs:
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1. Interior/Exterior discrepancies
Due to the duplicitous nature of the design there are areas of the ship shown from the inside to appear like the outside that don't quite match up. For example, the seating area in the kitchen is scaled smaller in the exterior. Similarly, some of the lighting doesn't quite match up.
2. Light bleed, (bloom & dark patches), features throughout the map. Due to my ignorance with the _lightmap stage of the .bsp compile :s
3. High detail = low fps.
Unfortunately the nature of the map will kill some of your computers. Although, hopefully some of you should have good enough gear to run this smoothly. It runs moderately well on my dedicated GPU on my Ultrabook's Core i5. Still struggling? Turn off r_dynamicglow.
4. No Teleport
To make the transition between interior and exterior as seamless as possible, I have included a separate .pk3 which nulls the sounds and .gfx of the teleport function. Of course this will effect all your other maps so included or discard it as you wish.
5. Invisible Asteroids
For some reason the asteroids shown in the lower part of the map flicker on and off for the first five seconds whilst they appear. I don't know for the life of me why this is the case (because they don't in the identical top half), I've tried everything to get it working but as it's so minor, I've decided to leave it.
6. Airlock Unlock System
As it was possible before to fall off the ship whilst leaving both the hangar and airlock 1 sealed behind you; I've created a master switch in the spare room (next to Jayne's Room). Which unlocks the Med Bay, Explosives Room, the Shuttles, the Crew Quarters and of course Airlock 1 and the Hangar Door.
This is only accessible after the 10th secret is found.
7. NPC/Botroute Support
I have added botroute support, but keep in mind, it doesn't work very well. Plus the NPC's have an unusual tendancy to open all the doors/secrets/sound effects even with the "Client Only" flag ticked. I don't know why.
Notes on Modding:
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I have included all the source files in the .pk3. Do what you want with them, but keep in mind:
- If you want.to add brushwork, either delete some of mine, or add it in the form of an .ase model. Otherwise q3map2 will not get past the -meta stage of the compile without the -notjunc switch.
- If you want to add entities, keep in mind that the map is around 5 brush entities away from the "max_submodels exceeded" error. I believe I have optimised as best as possible, so you will have to delete some of those ~200+ trigger_multiples I have used if you want to add
entities of your own.
- I would like to have included:
- No sound in space (at all).
- Scripted gravity for the exterior.
- A weather cycle system to link with the skybox cycle system,
If anyone has any ideas for any of these, please let me know. I would like to
include the above in any future versions I may or may not make... (no promises!)
Notes to Roleplayers:
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I have included a separate map for role-playing purposes. This version removes the secret counter system and renders every area of the map unlocked.
Access the level using "/devmap serenity_rp2_noscript" via the console.
Acknowledgements and Thanks:
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- A big thankyou to Erwino and ReVa who have nudged me more than anyone to get this thing finished.
- The Whole of the {OJK} Clan, (particularly Marro & Predator) who have supported me throughout the project.
- Sziko VII and Robophred for script inspiration and advice.
- ent for bug testing the open BETA vigourously.
- Lord Revian, Circa and the JKHub community for showing continued interest.
- AshuraDX for texture and shader help.
- General Jaxun for the "No Teleport" .pk3 Idea.
- Crazy Assassin for inspiring the Secret Area System.
- To the loyal followers of my Gamingforums thread: (Korro, Nozyspy, Zeig, S.T.A.L.K.E.R, Raz0r, NAB622, Botdra Lar'les and the rest, you know who you are!)
- The creator of the Modern Gun Pack, (which I have used for Jayne's weapon store) who I am unable to contact for permission because the email bounces.
- Cerberus, a Unity Asset developer who made those beautiful skyboxes. I made the boring black one... (web: https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/publisher/770)
Thanks for your patience and hope you enjoy it,
Spineless