Invisible Walls for Shootmania Editor?

[UrinStein]

Hello everyone,

these last few weeks I had to put up with many, many, many breaks on my maps which forced me to fix my maps again and again and again. Especially the recent gameplay updates since MP3 have been devastating breaking maps faster than chop sticks...

The problem here is, that I try to build every wall in and around the map as low as possible to allow about more of the sky, a bit more of the scenery to find it's way into the gameplay area. But when a wall is only 5 blocks high (which already looks like a definite end of the map) it's mostly very easy to find a way over it, especially when there is a tree around or with the new blocks which all have some stuff sticking out of them that you can use for obstacling...

It would be really easy to just build skyscraper walls around every map or not to build walls altogether and put watery offzone around the map, but while water does not fit many map styles, skyscraper walls just look ugly as hell...

My wish is, to build the map boundaries just high enough, that it is obvious, that no one is supposed to get behind them, without having to worry about some insane triple walljumps, bumper blocking, grapple misuse and especially gameplay changes. For most gamemodes (including Elite, Obstacle, Siege, Speedball and others) it is important to not have people jumping out or running above the map, but when it happens, the only way to fix it is mostly the most ugly (3 blocks higher walls or OFFZONE ALL OVER THE PLACE).
Shootmania is probably the only Arena Shooter that is not played in Arenas. I really think that's a great plus.

This is a box! I don't want to play in a box, I want to play on a map!

An easy and elegant solution to this would be dem good old Invisible Walls.
We all know them, there's a fence or a rock and if we actually manage to get over it somehow, well then there is an invisible wall... simple. I think game developers figured it out sometime in in the PS1 era.

Personally I think it would be great if there was a tool in the editor, where you could place little invisible walls similar to the offzone. My mate Klaus is thinking of a kind of "force field" which, when you hit or shoot it, glows and makes a 'bzzzz'-sound or something like that.

I know, I know, some people would start doing stupid stuff with it, like making invisible mazes... invisible floors and all of that stuff, but I guess that applies to every tool that you add to the editor. Those who really try could actually do really cool and funny stuff, like putting it under water so you could WALK ON IT LYK JEEZUS.

So please, if you read this, ask yourself one question: What would Jesus do?

[AurelSM]

Hi,

You can use a large trigger plan with a black screen that would appear when the player try to go out of the map. And another large trigger plan under of this first to remove the black screen.

[UrinStein]

You can use a large trigger plan with a black screen that would appear when the player try to go out of the map. And another large trigger plan under of this first to remove the black screen.

That's the workaround that is mostly used, yes.

Well, first: it's ugly.
It's really annoying to have your whole screen in black, telling you to go back to where you came from. People always complain about mapper doing that: "Aw, that's so cheap of you to prevent me from breaking your map by blackscreening, mimimimimi."
I can understand them, it feels very very forced and unnatural and it's an unpleasant surprise to suddenly have it all over your screen.

Second: it could be triggered unintentionally.
When you run into an invisible wall you just stand still or your bang your head and fall down to where you came from. People can live with that. But if you trigger a blackscreen and it takes half a second to disappear again, that would be really disorienting. And if you are stuck on a place with blackscreen, you need to maneuver yourself out of it without seeing anything, or backspace...

Third: your map might not have the same height everywhere.
It can get rather complicated with the blackscreens and anti-blackscreens when you try to find the best way to implemented it on a map whitout a flat boundary everywhere.

last but not least;
In a gamemode like Speedball the fact alone that you ran out of the map might be enough to troll everyone on the server (when you take the ball out of the game) or to even win the game, when the enemy needs to score to win, but you dont...

[Griffou]

I couldn't agree more with everything Urinstein said.

[Akbalder]

If the players are nice, you could just ask them to be fairplay and to not leave the map area.

[itzViolent]

If the players are nice, you could just ask them to be fairplay and to not leave the map area.

Yeah but I do not want to tell the players all the time: "Please stay insde the map!!" while we are playing it
and in public there are often trolls who just having fun by annoying people. This tool will solve the problem.
If you are a good mapper you will use it anyway just there where people just recognize it if they really want to get out of the map like in Counter-Strike or nearly every FPS game.

I like the idea!

[kadaz]

I agree.. a good idea, with using some sort of a ice block look?

I take notice that there is some of Smtrak maps that people jump out on or pan the roof, yet that is expected an right, and sometimes you want the height.. or the outside walk.

Either way, you most often lose on the points using this "vantage point" yet it can be fun to explore.

Yet I hear what you saying.. so often I place water around the outside of the map and offzone it.. yet if its around a map exterior, I do like your recommendation or perhaps for the less often height restrictions, having a sort of a barrier, would please me also.

And do like the mentioned effect of the buzzz.. ha so perhaps just a solid color of sort that you can pick to match your map, I just dislike the invisible nothing invisibleness.

Yet I supposed if you got the experience.. make a custom object for it, if necessary.

But I agree with the preference to have it selectable field of some sort, like the offzone, so to cover large spaces
with a buzz if you collided with it.

EDIT: also included with the stamina buzz, it would make a wave ripple on the invisible wall.

Good follow through.

[novationx]

ive "seen" ( well , they are invisible haha ) the blocks today on a map.

I'd like to say to mappers that they shouldnt forget to keep their maps feel logical. I've seen some strange invisi walls today!
But it sure is better than those boxed in maps

[rexin99]

Well, yes, I think invisible blocks popped up on Maniapark.
Yet I am skeptical about using it... Doesn't it require special Title packs, or is it what the Item Embedding feature is for?

[TitiShu]

they works with embeded feature...

And ofc it musn't be an easy way to prevent breaks but only when there are no solution