Also sorry for long response i got into it lol ( super baked)
Desert Map - Landscape and Features
I honestly donāt think that would be an issue
It really depends on how it looks. The thermal in game seems to work simply by applying textures to models, which is why the thermal in comparison to other predator game iterations (hell even wildlands) is difficult to work around.
Because of that, applying hot textures to everything is especially concerning
I think itās just a filter or a different render
Other games use filters.
This game really does seem to use seperate textures. Probably to make the models as clear as possible to create balanced gameplay. Still Im not sure. I can only speculate.
Opportunity to improve thermal overall.
I think thereās lots of ways to decrease eye strain while still making it advantageous to the Predator. Thatās why I suggest a couple of features for heat, the distance blur, plus the random bubbles/plums of heat, plus stationary heat on some surfaces predcore paths and edges of rock formations. Between the different effects, the map should have enough coverage and open places.
1 Like
I agree. thermal could look infinitely better. I have a thermal post linked on my legacy thread. If they can achieve something similar I think that would be much better. But how difficult it is to achieve that is honestly a question I cant answer. I can kind of educated guess to how lots of things work. But the way that thermal works in game is really beyond my scope of even remote understanding.
1 Like
So what do you think of the trolly idea?
I picture it as two cars going up and down a cliff face parallel to each other. So FT can ride up or down every minute or so. With no windows and minimal supports, as itās meant for machinery and workers not leisure. With a Predcore path up the suspension supports it hangs from.
Imagine a cliff that only has one safe path FT can jump down with a sharp edge and drop far enough to down them. The Pred will have 3 or 4 paths up the same cliff, crossing over each other giving you choices about where you come up.
It can either run parallel up the cliff face opposite the jumping path (which may only be a way down), or it could run towards the cliff at a fairly steep angle. Donāt want the trip to be too time consuming.
The trolley could also run over a misty gorge, but I donāt think weāre likely to have a map we can fall off of. As cool as that would be, one bad Pred leap and itās over.
Edit. I do think there would be a secondary path or even two separate paths leading around each end of the Trolleys end path. One is likely a footbridge over an non death gorge (one you can climb one side of it easily). The other path at the opposite side might require a bit of jumping and being exposed more often than a short run across a bridge. the bridge ending in decent cover up the foot paths and stairs.
āāā
If they were to do more than one Desert map, which if there are enough assets they should, I think the Trolley map with elevation could be one, connected to another via the water pipes at the lower end of the Trolley map, a second map with a variety of terrain from sand to rock canyons. With the water pipes being a recurring feature, I should note that I think STGZ is co-opting a local pipe that runs by their base and off the other edge toward where ever. The third map can be on the coast, with even greater variety of environment types, reusing a lot of existing assets. Docks, boats (bigger and board-able would be nice) and beyond them an open body of water acting as a huge edge to this one map.
We can start at the water map, work our way through the middle one, that is mixed environment types, and finally ascend the rock plateau or cliff face and find out what so important in the middle of nowhere.
Maybe not release them all in a row. Instead, start with a plan for having them compliment each other and kinda tell a story as we move through them. Have missions that stack together and give you the opportunity to develop STGZ villains.
Introduce a loose plot that we can pick apart with tweezers and magnifying glasses, for lore and for building out the world.
1 Like
Interesting. I like the idea of a map that revolves around a cliff as a choke point of sorts
But the trolley, do you think weāll get environmentally features like our current train but useable? Every time I see the train roll out or watch the map change because of something we did to it, Iām blown away. At first, I didnāt have time to appreciate those things and they simply registered as happening but when I do look, it is so cool.
Sand
I canāt believe I forgot to type this out. Building off my examples above, Iād like to add what Iāve been thinking about sand. Iām not expecting massive particle movement or displacement but even rough trails where feet have moved or impact craters where a Pred lands will make this into a dynamic environment to fight in.
In the earlier example I mentioned using water to fence in the map, I think the middle and last section of these maps could have a similar thing happen with sand. If we move west in our objectives but are given room to move both north and south those borders can be large expanses of sand, stretching out to the heat haze in the distance.
Out in the sand, dips and rises exist to give Predator a place to go heal. The map fence being far enough back to make itās useful. The heat effects on the sand can be magnified with the lack of shade.
I think sand is very important to selling the feeling of a desert but it can also provide natural barriers to the maps.
I think that designing a map to utilize them is difficult but absolutely possible
1 Like
the areas to be covered with mud are very limited marginal. The high temperature of the desert would make the predatorās heat seeker unusable (the whole environment will be hot), if the desert is like the Gobi, the coverage is also limited, it would make it glow like a light in the dark most of the time for lack of coverage, the environment is cold. areas too open and the only high points are in gorges (this would make the game an ambush / defense game rather than a hunting one). first correct the bug of getting muddy, 40 seconds to find a point where the action indicator does not disappear, by the time you are covering yourself with mud the predator has already found you
Thank you for sharing such beautiful pictures.
1 Like