[Mister Sinister]

Duke had been capture yet again! This time things are looking real bad: aliens took Nukem to their base and put him in prison cell, but that isn't even the worst part.
Our hero must survive a venture through the "Naked Dash": a surreal office complex built by aliens for entertainment purposes and filled with deadly traps and puzzles.
Will Duke be able to make it through this doomed office fortress which took lives of many men before him? More importantly, will you help him escape?

General Info:
This map was finished in approximately 7 or 8 weeks; it doesn't have difficulty settings and it also almost exceeded Mapster wall limit (around 70 spare walls left).
It is best to go blindfolded, but if you just hate fun or something:

Spoiler

One of the gimmicks of this map is a secret ending. In order to get it you have to find secret places scattered across the complex.

Screenshots:

---
Report any found bugs!
---

Be patient and pay attention!
Be nice: don't cheat and have fun!

DOWNLOAD FROM MEDIAFIRE
or DOWNLOAD FROM ATTACHMENT BELOW

 Mister Sinister, on 25 September 2017 - 06:01 AM, said:

Updated the map to 1.1. Fixes include:

Spoiler

- Fixed the force field clipping issue: now the sector is separated by a purple wall, also turned a chunk of ground into water. I can't get inside no matter how I try now, so I think that fixes the issue.
- Falling ceiling puzzle is changed a bit: the sector is now solid ground with water sprites on it. Changed because the ceiling doesn't squish the player standing in water in newer EDuke32 versions.
- Moved the camera with a message about hidden cameras up to match the height of the other messages.
- The red keycard door speed is set to a 1000 now.

Please note the following: use 6444 build or older, the latest build (6450) breaks the crane section!
If any of the moderators care to update my OP with new download link, attach the new version and post my warning about build 6450, I'd be very grateful.

MEDIAFIRE LINK
Attachment:

Attached File(s)

•  NAKED_DASH.zip (5.48MB)
  Number of downloads: 327
•  NAKED_DASH_1.1.zip (5.48MB)
  Number of downloads: 410

[Sanek]

The only thing I want to know: Is it spooky-surreal or is it just surreal? Like your Railways station map with no enemies in it.
Anyway, that looks interesting. I'll play it by the next week or so.

[Mister Sinister]

It's just a bit surreal, but it's not like Locked Up: that one focuses on the riddles, this one is much more environmental. You'll see what I mean when you play it.

[quakis]

I must be doing something wrong here;

Spoiler

Found all keycards and reached the crane section - also found an earlier hint telling me to "kick the crane". I understand I'm probably supposed to interupt the crane part way to land on that middle platform, but no amount of kicking or struggling is doing anything to drop myself so I must be approaching this part wrong. Any hints or is the game just being a jerk to me?

[Mister Sinister]

Maybe:

Spoiler

It's either the game being an ass to you, though that never happened to any of the testers or me, or you're not aiming right at the crane. Aim your kick higher at the very top of the crane, like this:

[Loke]

Damn, took me roughly an hour and a half to finish this. Felt like a mix between the Portal games and The Trap mod for Half-Life. Very refreshing and fun map even though the final part was pretty standard Duke3D stuff gameplay wise.

[quakis]

Spoiler

Yeah I think the game is being a jerk to me, tried kicking that high and various other positions too and makes no difference. It'll just carry me to the default ending regardless how many times I try. I'd probably have to noclip to the platform. Tried updating Eduke32 just incase and there's no change there either (played using r6372, updated to r6450)

[Mister Sinister]

That is certainly very odd behavior, never happened to me or any other testers.
I have an older version of EDuke and more recent one, and it works in both versions. Also, as you can see, Loke finished the map. Sorry about that.
Btw, Loke, I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks for your feedback! I wonder what was the most frustrating part of the map if there was one.

[quakis]

Beat it. Played on CGS and took around 2hrs. Missed 1 secret.

Spoiler

Level was a nice change of pace from the usual type of gameplay which is always welcome to spice things up. There's a decent selection of puzzles to solve and many of them were interesting variations of shrink ray challenges, including neat ideas like navigating the vent maze for switches and that long tunnel with each shrink ray wave having a different pattern. Those horizontal crushers were cool to see as well. Infact I could sit here all day pointing out each chamber and talk about them, so I'll just summarise in that the technical feats were definitely a highlight. No particular puzzle held me back for too long, the solutions seemed clear enough and was a matter of executing them. Probably helps that I found all those clues though but even so it kept a steady flow without hanging about too long on any single puzzle.

I especially liked how half the level is locked behind a secret ending. Your reward for completing their challenge is suppposed to be death and getting that chance to rub your victory in their face with several dozen bullets is a nice way to round off the whole experience. Too bad the aliens in my game had installed an extra-secure crane sadly. I honestly didn't expect the level to continue that much further considering how much milage you managed to pull off with the puzzle section. Really did feel quite Portal-ish once you're walking behind the scenes through the innards of an alien vessel and discovering their decoration stockpiles, unfinished puzzle chambers and a control room observing the whole Naked Dash scenario. Loved it.

The biggest complaint I'd have however is ending the level with a tired cliche end-boss encounter. That prior fight against that large wave of aliens watching the big screen felt like it was enough of a finale; could have then grabbed the red keycard and jumped into a shuttle or something along those lines. When I saw the Overlord it felt like an unnessessary box was being ticked off.

It was an excellent level overall, thoroughly enjoyed my time here despite the few personal annoyances I might have had here and there. Cheers!

[Micky C]

 quakis, on 24 September 2017 - 04:11 PM, said:

Beat it. Played on CGS and took around 2hrs. Missed 1 secret.

He said there were no difficulty settings implemented. You might as well have just played on DIG.

[Paul B]

Well congratulations for putting an entire episode of gameplay into a single map. I've spent the entire day playing this damn map and had a shit load of problems. Before I review it, I want to voice my concerns here first. I played both endings btw. Hang tight for me to upload stuff I'm referring to. In the meantime I've uploaded it to my site which can be found here: http://www.dukemaps.net/?p=7216

I wasn't fond at the start of tripping the laser trip mines with my face, before proceeding. (Was that intended?)

I also experienced many crashes playing this game where it through me directly out of the game and back to the desktop. I think it has something to do with squishing sectors and hit detection but it crashed the game at least half a dozen times during my play through. It may also have to do with quick save and reloads too. I'm not sure I must have died over 1000 times and I filled every save game slot available and could have used more empty save slots. So this has to be the longest Duke Map I've ever played, if you fail to locate the first exit as this map took me from 9:30am to 5:00pm to finish non-stop.

Screenshot Problem: 1a & 1b. If you wait too long in this room you end up trapped but not squished. This kills game play and is frustrating.

Screenshot Problem 2: Crazy insane Multi-Switch I couldn't figure out the combination and resorted to guessing as the numbers I found in different locations didn't appear to have anything to do with the switch combination.

Screenshot Problem 3a & 3b: I warped through the force field by exploiting a glitch with the water teleport. Was this the right way to enter this Alien area by exploiting a glitch in the game? There didn't appear to be a way to turn off that Force field?

If I played the game as it was intended to be played, warping through the force field , then I have some big issues with Weapon\Ammo & Health placements in the Alien section. I played through that area with 2 HP and no ammo for the longest time. The enemies would not drop any guns just ammo. Leaving weapon placement up to the AI to drop is a very bad idea.

There was minimal shotgun ammo scattered around the hive which wasn't enough to take on New Beast & Commanders. There were many times I ran into a room blind and hopped around like a bunny to scope out items I needed for survival. It was all i could do to get through there with millions of saves and reloads. It had to be perfect playing or you died instantly.

The first real gun I ended up getting after the empty shot gun was the devastator which I found at the furthest end of the Alien base. After that point it got easier, but I was collecting all this ammo and couldn't use any of it until that point. Also, I didn't get a pistol until practically after everyone was dead I found a pistol by a dead trooper while I back tracked back out of the Alien section.

Screenshot Problem 4 - I ran into this room and when I heard the enemies spawn I ran back out before the door closed. This prevented me from continuing onward as the door never re-opened.

In case your wondering, after playing the level to completion I went back into the level to take screenshots of the areas that were problematic. Hence why the inventory items don't match the area.

On a more positive note: There were some really ingenious trap ideas. The last time I have played a map with as many clever ideas in one map like this was IT Lives. So you've definitely blown me away with your ingenuity and creativity. I think it may have been better used in an episode rather than cramming it all into a single map though.

Attached thumbnail(s)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[Mister Sinister]

Paul B:
Here's a rundown of your problems
1) I don't know why you experienced that issue. I just ran the map and the falling ceiling squishes me every time. I have no idea, maybe different versions?
2) Multiswitch puzzle solution:

Spoiler

Walk into the toilet, open all the doors. You'll find a broken urinal with a number behind it: this is a hint, which implies that the numbers are hidden behind the urinals. Break the urinals and you'll find numbers hidden behind them

3) If you warped through the force field, then this is ABSOLUTELY not the way to enter this section, though again, this never happened to me. I tried everything I could, tried crouch jumping through it, but I was never able to get past it from the water pool.
4) This is something I legit overlooked. Didn't realize that player would react this fast.
5) Ammo/health are scarce, true, but beta testers didn't complain, so I left it as it is. Also, there are a few tricks you could use like making protozoid slimers eat newbeasts or Octabrain's vulnerability to Devastator.
IMPORTANT EDIT:

Spoiler

Well, what can I say, I think you just missed pretty much every weapon you could. You missed pistol in the very first room where alarm goes off and six liztroops come down from the elevators; you missed Grenades, which are located in almost every room of the map; you missed Devastator in the cargo room with a big window, you had to take the elevator up and there's a Devastator. You missed chaingun which is right there on the crate as soon as you enter the blue keycard door.
I had in mind this Idea that infiltrating alien base is by no means easy, so I made the health/ammo balance pretty tight, but still manageable. As I said before, two guys who tested it had no problem at all.
Also, it seems like you've entered the alien section in a completely wrong way, hence all the balancing problems you've experienced. I don't know why you didn't think that it is not the right way to enter this section from the start. I wouldn't put players against all hell breaking loose with just a lousy shotgun. That area with a water pool was there just to tease the player with a sneak peak into alien base, NOT to enter it.
The correct way is to collect all the keycards hidden in the office building and jump off the crane. THEN you would have better balance, better flow and better weapons almost from the start, since you get the Devastator in the first 5 minutes of this section. My man,
I'm really sorry I turned out to be this frustrating for you.
I suggest you to trying to play this really problematic section in a correct way by entering through the main gates which are locked behind three keycards and see if the balancing gets better, because I believe it does.

6) Never had any crashes whatsoever. Don't know what to say.

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the map.

[Paul B]

 Mister Sinister, on 24 September 2017 - 04:41 PM, said:

Paul B:
Here's a rundown of your problems:
1) I don't know why you experienced that issue. I just ran the map and the falling ceiling squishes me every time. I have no idea, maybe different versions?

I am running EDuke Version 6428. I never get squished every time the ceiling lowers. I think it has to do with the sector being tagged as a water sector.

Mister Sinister said:

2) Multiswitch puzzle solution:

Spoiler

Walk into the toilet, open all the doors. You'll find a broken urinal with a number behind it: this is a hint, which implies that the numbers are hidden behind the urinals. Break the urinals and you'll find numbers hidden behind them

Yes I totally missed the Urinals as I was finding other numbers elsewhere and it wasn't working with the mult-switch.

Mister Sinister said:

3) If you warped through the force field, then this is ABSOLUTELY not the way to enter this section, though again, this never happened to me. I tried everything I could, tried crouch jumping through it, but I was never able to get past it from the water pool.

Yes I can repeat this process many times. However, it is a one way in type deal. Once you've warped through the force-field there is no going back into the pool.

Mister Sinister said:

5) Ammo/health are scarce, true, but beta testers didn't complain, so I left it as it is. Also, there are a few tricks you could use like making protozoid slimers eat newbeasts Octabrain's vulnerability to Devastator.

I never realized this was even possible until the bathroom section early on in the map. However, it didn't pan out so well for me by the Blue Keycard in the Alien base. I had previously killed all the slimmers before getting the Blue Keycard. This left me in a rather difficult & frustrating situation with the newly spawned New Beasts that appear once you get the Blue Key Card. There is no indication that New Beasts are going to appear out of no where after you reach the blue keycard. I'm not sure how this could have been implemented differently. But it was totally unfair for the player.

Mister Sinister said:

IMPORTANT EDIT:[spoiler] Well, what can I say, I think you just missed pretty much every weapon you could. You missed pistol in the very first room where alarm goes off and six liztroops come down from the elevators;

This wasn't the first room for me. This was like near the end as I was back tracking I stumbled across this room on my way out. Had I followed the intended path I'm sure my story would be different.

Mister Sinister said:

you missed Grenades, which are located in almost every room of the map;

Nope, I collected all Pipebombs, it was the pipebombs and boot that got me through the majority of the alien base.

Mister Sinister said:

you missed Devastator in the cargo room with a big window, you had to take the elevator up and there's a Devastator.

This was where I first found the Devastator. It was at this point the game started to turn more in my favor and I didn't have to save and reload as often.

Mister Sinister said:

You missed chaingun which is right there on the crate as soon as you enter the blue keycard door.

I did have the chain gun, just never enough ammo to keep the AI under control. It was useful on the Commanders & Troopers the rest of the AI was dealt with the boot and strategically placed pipebombs.

Mister Sinister said:

I had in mind this Idea that infiltrating alien base is by no means easy, so I made the health/ammo balance pretty tight, but still manageable. As I said before, two guys who tested it had no problem at all. Also, it seems like you've entered the alien section in a completely wrong way, hence all the balancing problems you've experienced. I don't know why you didn't think that it is not the right way to enter this section from the start. I wouldn't put players against all hell breaking loose with just a lousy shotgun. That area with a water pool was there just to tease the player with a sneak peak into alien base, NOT to enter it.

That was my problem, I didn't realize I entered into the area wrong because when I surface the water the game through me right into that room. It was only after I played the entire map I went to back track and realized that area was a force field and I somehow popped through it. I repeated the process several times after the fact when I noticed that something didn't seem right. For me the game looked like it naturally flowed into the alien hive from that point. This has to be fixed because it totally destroys your map. On the pool side when you surface from the water there is a ledge before the force field try making it so duke can't get onto that ledge by making the ledge a purple wall see if it fixes it?

[Mister Sinister]

Spoiler

Okay, so it is POSSIBLE to warp through the force field, but this requires very specific crouch jump from the ground nearby in order to get it done. I can't warp through from the water no matter how I try, but from the ground it is in fact possible.
I think I know how to prevent this from ever happening to anybody else, so I'll post an update tomorrow.

Also:

Quote

I never realized this was even possible until the bathroom section early on in the map. However, it didn't pan out so well for me by the Blue Keycard in the Alien base. I had previously killed all the slimmers before getting the Blue Keycard. This left me in a rather difficult & frustrating situation with the newly spawned New Beasts that appear once you get the Blue Key Card. There is no indication that New Beasts are going to appear out of no where after you reach the blue keycard. I'm not sure how this could have been implemented differently. But it was totally unfair for the player.

This is also a legit point, but on the other hand the slimers are in fact an indicator of newbeasts nearby, at least I intended that way. There's almost no newbeasts other than in the sections with slimers. I think besides this encounters, there are only two more rooms with them.

EDIT:

Quote

This has to be fixed because it totally destroys your map. On the pool side when you surface from the water there is a ledge before the force field try making it so duke can't get onto that ledge by making the ledge a purple wall see if it fixes it.

I already did it and I think it works, I also think I'll make the ground a bit farther from the window. This a legit issue that I'll fix tomorrow with an update. Thanks for pointing it out, I had no idea.
Anyway, too bad this really small thing I overlooked ruined the experience for you.

[Paul B]

Mister Sinister said:

The correct way is to collect all the keycards hidden in the office building and jump off the crane. THEN you would have better balance, better flow and better weapons almost from the start, since you get the Devastator in the first 5 minutes of this section. My man, I'm really sorry I turned out to be this frustrating for you. I suggest you to trying to play this really problematic section in a correct way by entering through the main gates which are locked behind three keycards and see if the balancing gets better, because I believe it does.[/spoiler]

That would explain why I always had an extra set of Keycards on hand until the very end. I thought the crane was the alternate ending when you fell down into the pit?

Mister Sinister said:

6) Never had any crashes whatsoever. Don't know what to say.
Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the map.

Well....it was a very long and frustrating experience and I probably made it a lot harder on myself then it had to be. I think if a few of these glitches are corrected it will prevent other players from experiencing the same experience as I had. Impressive the size and magnitude of this map and how it can be created in such a short period of time. I'm willing to bet you had a lot of this map down on paper before you started building it.

[quakis]

 Micky C, on 24 September 2017 - 04:15 PM, said:

He said there were no difficulty settings implemented. You might as well have just played on DIG.

Spoiler

Plot twist; I definitely skim read the post to get to playing sooner!

 Mister Sinister, on 24 September 2017 - 04:41 PM, said:

1) I don't know why you experienced that issue. I just ran the map and the falling ceiling squishes me every time. I have no idea, maybe different versions?

Just for the record if it matters at all, I also had this same ceiling not crush me, but it wasn't much of a deal breaker since the end result is practically the same either way.

[Paul B]

Mister Sinister I am by no means trying to pick apart your map. It was just how it played out for me. Leave it to me to accidentally screw up the level but I come by it honestly. Anyway, there was so much perfection built into this map it's hard to believe you were able to pull this map off. You have won yourself another fan. It's now 8:00pm at night here and I haven't stopped for Breakfast\Lunch or supper because i've been engrossed by this map. I need to take a break today as i've almost dedicated a solid 12 hrs in this map. I look forward to playing it again with fresh eyes the way its intended to be played and it probably won't take me near as long next time. =)

I'll hold off on the review until I am able to play it again with the updated version. You might want to look into that flooded room with the crushing ceiling as well. That should kill the player, not expose the entire map while being pinned in a sector. There are visual clipping issues that occur once trapped in that room.

[Mister Sinister]

Paul B: really sorry that happened to you. I understand completely, and your feedback will certainly help to make this map a better experience for other players. You missed some really cool puzzles because of that glitch!
Just so you know I had some ideas written on paper, but the actual layout was just a stream of ideas that came to me in the process.
I started the map in May, worked on it for 1 or 2 weeks (can't remember really), dropped it and then resumed in the end of August.

[Mister Sinister]

Okay, I have also found the source of Quakis problem: turns out, in the newest build of EDuke (6450) it is not possible to kick the crane while it's carrying you, only when it picking you from the platform.
I believe this is a bug of EDuke, I can definitely remember being able to drop down from crane in every other version of the game I played. Also both testers didn't experience the crane problem, and I also tested the map with two different versions of EDuke32 I have, one is really old (2015 or 2016), and the other one is I guess from August.
Another thing: I just downloaded a version dated Sept. 20 and the crane works just fine.

Do not use 6450 build while playing the map!

[MetHy]

I betatested this map and it's really good. Very inventive.

The entire true ending plays more like a "classic" map packed with action, and it's the length of a map too (took me 35mins), so make sure you don't miss it.

[Paul B]

 Mister Sinister, on 25 September 2017 - 06:01 AM, said:

Updated the map to 1.1. Fixes include:

Spoiler

- Fixed the force field clipping issue: now the sector is separated by a purple wall, also turned a chunk of ground into water. I can't get inside no matter how I try now, so I think that fixes the issue.
- Falling ceiling puzzle is changed a bit: the sector is now solid ground with water sprites on it. Changed because the ceiling doesn't squish the player standing in water in newer EDuke32 versions.
- Moved the camera with a message about hidden cameras up to match the height of the other messages.
- The red keycard door speed is set to a 1000 now.

Please note the following: use 6444 build or older, the latest build (6450) breaks the crane section!
If any of the moderators care to update my OP with new download link, attach the new version and post my warning about build 6450, I'd be very grateful.

MEDIAFIRE LINK
Attachment:

I haven't play tested it again as I've got work today. But i took a sneak peak in Mapster. It looks like the forcefield in that sneak peak room into the Alien base has been removed altogether. Was this intended? I think the player should see some sort of barrier between the water and the Alien base otherwise people will think they can just jump into that room and might be frustrated they can't when it looks like they can.


Also curious to know if you adjusted the speed and timing of that Red Keycard auto close door?

[Mister Sinister]

The force field is there, and it was always there. It's just the same masking trick as in Episode 2 force fields. It is in intended: I wanted players to have a clear view of the room and the shotgun.
The same thing is used in a room where you have to redirect shrinkray.

Spoiler

The red keycard door speed is adjusted to 1000 now. It closes almost instantly.

[Paul B]

 Mister Sinister, on 25 September 2017 - 06:45 AM, said:

The force field is there, and it was always there. It's just the same masking trick as in Episode 2 force fields. It is in intended: I wanted players to have a clear view of the room and the shotgun.
The same thing is used in a room where you have to redirect shrinkray.

Spoiler

The red keycard door speed is adjusted to 1000 now. It closes almost instantly.

Ahh okay, very nice I thought since mapster didn't show the forcefield when pointed at the window the masking wasn't turned on for that wall. Sorry, it's been a while since i've used the editor I guess i'm getting kinda rusty. I look forward to trying it out, i've already updated the latest copy at dukemaps.net as well.

Too bad we can't edit older posts. It would have been nice to see the updated map link in the first post. =S

[Mister Sinister]

The map has been updated to version 1.2.
This time the update includes a new section which bypasses inability to drop down from the crane twice (though you still have to do it once).
Also, a new section was made which allows players to backtrack with a bit more ease via a system of teleporters. I wanted to do that in the first place, but I had no walls left for this.
Really had to squeeze out spare walls to make this, but after cleaning up the map (I removed some leftover rooms and rejoined some split walls), it was possible.
DOWNLOAD FROM MEDIAFIRE
Attachment:

Attached File(s)

•  NAKED_DASH_1.2.zip (5.48MB)
  Number of downloads: 292

[Paul B]

Also updated here: http://www.dukemaps.net/?p=7216

[quakis]

I got around to writing a review for this one, it's mostly an extension on my thoughts already expressed in this thread: http://taw.duke4.net...e3d/naked-dash/

[Mister Sinister]

Thanks for the fair review! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I wonder if anybody here can explain why Megaton breaks the map. I've decided to upload it to steam workshop and discovered really odd gamebreaking glitches.

Spoiler

This shit kills the player: it acts like rotating sector even though there isn't one around.



And this is some weird visual glitch:

[MetHy]

Have you tried playing in DOS Duke to see how these same things would react?
We're so used to eDuke32, sometimes we don't realize that the use we make of some effects wouldn't have worked in DN3D.

also maybe try running a corruptcheck even if there is no corruption showing.

[Mister Sinister]

Turns out I'm blind because there was a blank SE in that room, but I can't figure out what's causing the visual glitch in the crane section. I thought pal4 walls combined with parallax ceilling are causing this, I fixed those and the glitch is still present.
Also bouncing shrinkray chamber is messed up too: for some reason Megaton offsets the direction of the teleporters slightly to the side.

[Mister Sinister]

Nevermind, I think I got it. Everything seems to be working fine now. The visual glitch was caused by parallax ceilling: I had to redo it in reverse.