2D platforming elements using Quake 1.. Examples included

Non-technical talk about multiplayer and singleplayer gameplay and game design.
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dayfive
Posts: 77
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:48 pm

2D platforming elements using Quake 1.. Examples included

Post by dayfive »

Hi guys.

Lately, I've been wondering about how might we use the physics exploits of the Quake 1 engine for a gameplay advantage. Watching stuff like Quake Done Quick really makes you think about what might be possible with regards to level editing. As such, I was going to post this in Mapping but I think it's more gameplay based..

Anyway, I was wondering if any of you guys had any thoughts about how we might go about creating a fun and fast paced jumping game using Quake 1? What design elements would be fun?

Here is an example of what I've experimented with so far. It seems like pits that harm the player, moving platforms (trains), and high ledges necessitating a grenade jump all translate in a way elements of 2d platforming.

http://harbl.iiichan.net/sonic.zip

Image
(click on the thumbnail for a larger picture)

Code: Select all

================================================================
Title                   : PLATFORMING USING QUAKE 1
Author                  : dayfive
Email Address           : day5ive [AT] gmail [DOT] com
Release Date            : 02 February 2008

Description             : Levels intended to test three
                          dimensional platforming using
                          the Quake 1 engine.

Additional Credits to   : FrikaC, LordHavoc, and
			  The creator(s) of gtkradiant & hmap2.
================================================================

* Play Information *

Episode and Level #     : SONIC.BSP *
                          JUMPTEST.BSP *
                          SPECIAL2.BSP *
                          SPECIAL3.BSP

* denotes that this level was used in a demo that will play
in order after you start Quake.

Single Player           : Yes
Cooperative 2-4 Player  : No
Deathmatch 2-4 Player   : No
Difficulty Settings     : Yes
New Sounds              : No
New Graphics            : Yes
New QuakeC		: Yes
Demos Replaced          : 3

* Construction *

Base                    : My imagination
Build Time              : Eh, give or take about a week. Thinking
                          about this stuff is great for
                          relieving stress.
Editor(s) used          : gtkradiant, hmap2 for compiling maps.
                          Direct port of qcc for compiling QC.
			  Text editor for editing QuakeC

* Notes *

How to run		: Just put the 'sonic' folder parallel
			  with your ./id1 folder and run
			  "quake -game sonic".
			  For example if your folder is setup as
			  C:\QUAKE then put 'sonic' at
			  C:\QUAKE\sonic.

Hint			: Consider the radius of explosives
                          relative to the player's current
                          position to gain speed and
                          altitude. Watch out for gaining
                          too much speed and then going
                          through a teleporter without touching
                          the ground. Email me ways that you think
                          2D platforming gameplay elements can be
                          realized using the Quake 1 engine and
                          the known physics exploits.

* Copyright / Permissions *

Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are 
permitted worldwide without royalty in any medium provided this 
notice is preserved.

Source code is included under GNU GPL license and is located in
the ./src folder of this archive.


discuss.[/img]
Error
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Post by Error »

there have been many 2D platformer mods for Quake. I can think of a few: The Ascension of Vigil, Target Quake, Giana Quake, and that one speed mod (belfry was it?), and Asaki's This Mike (which I still have).


good luck on your 2D platformer... any start is a good start.
RenegadeC
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Post by RenegadeC »

Check out 2DCam, it's a bare bones quake mod that you can easily modify to make your own style 2D game with a bit of QuakeC knowledge.

http://renegadec.digitalfunk.org/Quake%20Mods/2dcam.zip
dayfive
Posts: 77
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:48 pm

Post by dayfive »

Thanks for your suggestions. I actually have RenegadeC's 2dcamera already and LordHavoc was kind enough to send me the source to TargetQuake, one of my favorite 2d mods ever.

That said, I think I misled you in my original post.

What I'm trying to achieve is primarily map based elements of gameplay that can translate elements of 2d platforming (from 2d) into 3d, a la the Quake 1 engine.

What do you guys think is fair in terms of moving platforms the player has to jump from?

What types of enemies are good to pit the player against while trying to navigate difficult obstacles?

Right now my "mapping devices" are this:
  • func_trains that move side to side, diagionally, up and down that they player has to jump from. If the player falls, it's into a trigger_hurt brush.
  • high ledges that necessitate some type of explosion jump to pass.
  • water pipe maze followed by an explosion jump section. the thinking is, that if the player takes too long, the health will be less when they have to use some for the explosion jumps.
basically, what i mean by "2d platforming elements" is, the types of gameplay elements found in games especially from the 90's that had no save functionality. The design at the time suggested that if a player could beat the game, the player would no longer play the game. Thus, if the game was hard enough it would make the player engaged for a longer time.

What design elements from vanilla quake can be used to achieve this goal?
RenegadeC
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Location: The freezing hell; Canada
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Post by RenegadeC »

2D elements in 3D huh, are you planning on changing any vanilla QuakeC? My suggestion is to play some 3D platformers (Mario 64) and take notes from that. Moving platforms are good as they're pretty much the staple in any platformer, explosives should be saved for harder stages as it'd knock the player around, also suggesting that to relieve frustration try to avoid have moving platforms over insta-death pits but apply a bit of falling damage.

If I think of whatever else I'll post it here.
dayfive
Posts: 77
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:48 pm

Post by dayfive »

RenegadeC wrote:2D elements in 3D huh, are you planning on changing any vanilla QuakeC? My suggestion is to play some 3D platformers (Mario 64) and take notes from that. Moving platforms are good as they're pretty much the staple in any platformer, explosives should be saved for harder stages as it'd knock the player around, also suggesting that to relieve frustration try to avoid have moving platforms over insta-death pits but apply a bit of falling damage.

If I think of whatever else I'll post it here.
Thanks for your suggestions.

One thing I tried was to make a trap_shooter have a method for firing a ROCKET instead of just a spike or laser. This has the advantage of allowing the player to rocket jump without actually having acquired the rocket launcher.

Other QuakeC things I might do are add a few more types of explosive boxes (with corresponding .bsp) with varying radius damage for varying jump velocities.

In the abstract I'm still trying to think of other ways for the player interacting with the environment to providing a "platforming like" experience..


PS. I put the misc.qc file I'm using for the rocket trap in the paste bin. Just replace misc.qc in the vanilla sources with this. It only works when you have or make a level that uses SPAWNFLAGS = 4 on the trap_shooter.. You can just change it to 2 though in the source and go the like E4M1 and noclip over to the laser traps to see it.
http://inside3d.com/pastebin.php?action=show&id=215
scar3crow
InsideQC Staff
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Post by scar3crow »

Just bear in mind that Mario 64 platforming was fun, Half-Life platforming was annoying.

Heatman's level in Megaman would be damn annoying in first person I imagine... That phasing out sound of the blocks is burned into my mind for all time, signaling immediate frustration.
seraulu1
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2010 9:26 am

hi

Post by seraulu1 »

Hi all,



Thanks for the suggestion you give that's good help for us!!!! mind power hypnosis
LonePossum.
Posts: 38
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2009 11:07 am

Post by LonePossum. »

Hmm, One game I played (This might be offtopic) It was a game that implemented skiing (CS maps) and i floor similar and it required you to run a certain way to master it and jump up half pipes to get up to levels and progress through the map and each section of the map or different maps was harder.

Most likely offtopic.
tomdesile
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Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 4:05 am

Post by tomdesile »

Wow you post nice information. but can you tell me witch application you use to make that type of game because I dont know about it and I want to learn about it.
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