OfficerHot
-
Content Count
125 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by OfficerHot
-
-
On 4/8/2020 at 6:41 PM, Ellix said:
A fan-made project to bring a new district to APB:Reloaded
____________________________________________________________________________________Intro
Hello there my name is Nick also known as Ellix. For the past few years I've been working on something that I am really passionate about and would like to share with you today.
This is Project Midtown - A project that I started to work at back in 2015. The idea behind this work is to make a new district for APB:R which will go together with other mission districts. It will bring a brand new area of gameplay for the players and will be a host for 2 new organizations - 1 criminal and 1 enforcer.
Trough the years of development I've posted few threads both on the old APB forum and a new one about this project. In my last thread I asked you guys if I should continue working on this project and what you think in general. I really loved the response which was done with both praise and criticism so I decided that one day I will keep on working on this project and so I did.
Today I stand at a point where I can finally say that the project stands at a good spot to share again! So today it will be shared with with you what's been done so far, what I think will be the future but most of all I would like to hear the response of the community and the developers to see if my work can be actually used in APB:Reloaded or should be something fun that I've made and left aside for good.
I must say that I'm very excited to share this project with old followers and maybe even new ones but please TAKE ALL THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT.This is not a professional project, it's not done by the developers of the game and very likely to never be used.
But in any case I'm very excited about my work and would like to hear the community's opinions about it.
So let's begin.
About the work
Project Midtown was something I started back in 2015 when I was still in high school. It started like something fun that was done in my spare time and I had no idea at all if it will one day turn into something.
One thing was sure though - I loved this game and always knew that it has much potential. I also loved the APB lore so when I first heard about an unreleased district for APB it was very exciting!
For those who don't know Midtown District is something that was planned and worked on in the early RTW days (RTW aka the original devs of APB).It was never used but some of the assets that were made for that map were later used in Financial district. However it doesn't mean that the district doesn't exist. You have evidence in ingame e-mails and props inside the game that Midtown is real in San Paro!
However work on Midtown was never complete. It was nothing less then a test map that never got to a playable point.
The idea however excited me and I was up for discovering more about this district!
I started the project my getting all the data that I could about Midtown.
Like I said there were lots of e-mails that cross-referenced Midtown and there is a lot of information in the game. I gathered a file of info about the district's lore which you can find HERE. All of this is from the game and was a starting point for me.
And so I was ready to start working...
The process
I didn't have any modeling knowledge (Still don't really do). So I decided to try something else.. I looked for easy to use architecture programs that I could use to build a city and stumbled across Sketchup!
Also I didn't model it right away in the Unreal Engine. The reason for that is that APB is using it's own version of Unreal which is hard to make custom content for..
So the best I could do is to make a mockup of a map that can later be used to create the actual map.
For me Sketchup was really easy to get into - it's a very easy program to start building in and I decided that it was good enough for me to try and build few blocks with it.
At first there were many issues with my modeling as I left lots of garbage and artifacts on my creations. I later discovered that there is such thing as flipped faces and so on.
Years passed though since then and I now have a bit more experience with my tools so it's not as messy as it used to be back then..
I learned the tools just by keeping working on Sketchup. Never actually took a class or anything. I just had an idea and some willpower to actually do it..
I never really intended to finish the project so I only did about 1/5 of the whole work from 2015 to 2018. Together with real life issues I abandoned the project completely
However from August 2019 when I finally decided that it's about time for me to finish it and had a lot of free time I said to myself that at least once I MUST finish one big project in my lifetime. So I did.. And for the last half of a year I tried to work as much as I could for about 5-6 hours a day (With breaks of course) and finally last week I came to the point that it feels like something ready.
And although it still feels like there is work to be done I think today is a good point to review the project together with the community.
* Some of you may already seen the progress as I was spamming the Twitch channels of APB with this
*
In the end I think that the thing that cam out of it is something interesting...
Status today
So today I would like to share with you what I have:
The modeling is ready! All of the buildings are modeled and placed. I also added some props and placeholders for props to make the map a bit more balanced and alive.
This doesn't mean however that the work on it is done:
-There are no windows or shops in the district. It's something that I haven't added because even though I have the models for most of them the size and scale is off and it's not something good if you want to use the map to model it in the engine later.
- There are no textures on the map as I don't own any of APB's materials or know how to UV properly
- I miss some props that should go into some areas. Some of them are vital for balance and for the looks of the place
- Overall balance of the map is not done completely as you need to actually play the game in order to place the objectives at balanced places and also there are areas that can look balanced or unbalanced at first but actually are the opposite while you play
In 2 words lots and lost of smaller and bigger changes in order to make the map usable.
Speaking of usable...
The model is currently a Sketchup creation. It means that it can be exported as a 3D model (For example in FBX format)
I don't actually know what the new APB engine will use - BSP or actual models for the maps however 1 thing is sure..
If it's models - There still should be UV and shadowmaps done for all of the map
If it's BSP - You need to convert everything into BSP which is not a 1 click process..It actually requires you to place the 3D model and use it as a guide to reproduce it in BSP.
In both cases it's not as easy as to just take what I've built and use it and I understand that.
But I hope that I've made something that can be used to build something that is actually usable later ingame
Here are some more images both from a mockup in Unreal 4 that represent the map
Some Midtown lore and how the map is built
So as I mentioned earlier I was using the released top down map and the ingame e-mails to make Midtown. (Which again you can read about from this file)
I tried to stick as much as possible to the lore of the district.However few changes that are made are:
- The overall layout of the map (It's similar to the original but changed)
- I took the original Midtown map layout flipped it and changed the roads but kept overall oval shape
- Bankside is now actually..at the BANK (shore) side which is West and not East.
Overall though I tried to stick to the lore:
This for example is where the district is located according to a map found in the game.
Some of the building and spots I made from the lore are:
Letsby Court in Pocket
Birches out by the campus (Suburbs)
University of John Holland and a campus near it
Opera House in Northen Quarter (Cinema nearby as well)
Satori strip (Which was modeled after an old concept art)
Site of an old hospital next to Satori
Joker gunworks old factory
And of course..
Green street and Green Projects (Gang turf)
There are more..
I tried to stick to the lore as much as I could. Even a bit of so beloved by LO - Red Hill is showing..
I also left a spot for something different.The big cyan square on EAST of Midtown is actually a SPPD keep HQ.
I though it will be a good idea to reuse the enforcer social district at least as a distant scenery
If not as a (Not inside actual district) Fightclub map later on..
In general I think my creation will fit with the existing lore..
Size
Overall the gamplay area is about Financial's size
Organizations and contacts
The two organizations for Midtown are SPPD and RedRain
San Paro Police Department while currently (according to the lore) being out of order may still be roaming around Midtown and trying to protect the people.
Some of them can be found in other Enforcer organisations but some of them may still run a small bit of operations somewhere in the city. So I think Midtown is the right home for those people.
Red rain being a gang that rules Midtown is looking very gangster type of criminals.They are quite stylish and own quite a bit of money and turf in Midtown so they might be a little more organized then your avarage crim.
One iconic member is YoDawg
His model seems to have once existed in APB's files so I bet LO will still have him somewhere..
Other contact designs can be those who we see a lot in some APB art such as some works of the old devs.
Here are some examples that can be used as a design..
This of course requires from the devs some work as not all of the clothing items are now available but I hope that we will see those types of contacts in the district..
I made it that in Midtown it's possible to host up to 10 contacts for each faction
That is however a lot of work and content that needs to be made so I bet it will be alright to start just with 4
Here are the spots however..
(Yellow spots are gas stations)
Gameplay predictions
I designed the map as a mission district just as Financial and Waterfront are however I'm quite sure that it can be good even for Riot (with some work) if it's ever getting re-released
I tried to balance the ranges so there will be enough for each class - meaning that there are long,mid and cqc areas on the map. I assume that there will still be weapon changing tactics so there will not be spots where you will do fine just with one same class of weapons and the map overall supports a lot of team based tactics such as snipers covering cqc players,spots covered from different angles and so on..
I put some great work into trying to balance the spots of the map so there will be no camping spots. In theory there should always be at least 3 paths to get into some spots and no higher grounds to camp with items at (as much as it was possible).
The map supports lots of CAR SPAWNERS and paths that you can use in the middle of the blocks to get inside with your car with or drive trough.
In general I think the map is a bit harder to master for a new player as in some cases it's using tactics of approach that require some "parkour".
So my though if this is going to be released that the level cap should be limited to at least R30 however that's just my opinion.
Again - the layout is a subject for change and there still needs to be work but you can already see for yourself which type of gameplay they represent which in my opinion is a good mix between Financial and Waterfront..
Overall you need to play this map to know anything for sure but those are just my thoughts as a developer.
And also- There are a bit of sewers :3
Logisticszzzz
This project requires the new engine being built. And I think this is obvious that the current one can't support such a thing.
Only assuming that everything goes well and the population will be slightly bigger this can become a reality!
However in that case the game needs some new content!
I think that a new district is something the playerbase really needs as for the past 10 years we've seen just the old 2 mission districts,Fightclub and a small glimpse of a new gamemode.
I hope that a new area can be a good update for the game.
All this of course requires a lot of new content for people to actually get from the new contacts. That means more development time of course but I think in the end it will be worth it.
If the project will get built as an actual map I think it's best to first start off with Anarchy mode for the playerbase to actually test the map and see if it plays well. (All this of course after SPCT and devs themselves)
This whole project is something for the FAR future of APB and it requires a lot of things to get just right.
But I'm hopeful - otherwise I wouldn't keep doing what I did!
"So what's in it for you?"
Let's suppose that LO is seeing a potential in this.. What do I want for my work? Am I willing to get paid?
Well yes and no.
What I would want to receive IF the project will get approved is not hard stacks of cash.
I'm willing to give this out for FREE as a love latter to my beloved game that I play for 8 years now.
The best way to repay me for the work done is to accept me as a game tester for APB (SPCT) to actually test this map and maybe repay me in some amount of G1C.
Again! I will accept rejection as well as I understand that this is just a fan made project and it's nothing professional.
In any case it was fun thing for me to do and it's a good project for my personal portfolio as an environment designer.
So in conclusion..
First of all I had a lot of fun with this project!
This was a blast for me to actually do something this big. A lot of time and effort was put into it and for me personally - I'm happy with the current result.
I don't really know what's the future for this.
Will it be accepted? Is it realistic?
I don't really know. But that's not the important thing.. The important thing for me is that I'm done with a project! Maybe the first time in my life.So I personally feel really pround
The answer is something to look into and I'm very hopeful but no matter the outcome - I will be happy with anything.
Dear LO. I hope you will see this post and consider using what I've done in the game. As a long term fan of APB I really would like to help the game if you let me and it will mean the world for me if you can use my creation.
Dear community - I hope to see your best response. Good or bad please be honest. It will really help me for this project and for anything I do in the future.
Feel free to ask me any question about the map!
I would like to use this opportunity to wish everyone an easy quarantine. Stay safe guys!
Thank you everyone who's been reading and following the progress of Project Midtown!
-Ellix
This is hella neat!
-
On 10/30/2020 at 6:49 PM, ArtDeco said:Hello, I want to give attention to a an issue where a number of APB accounts have been breached in the past day or so.
As some of you may know some accounts in EU have been reported to have been hacked in the today and yesterday. Mostly targeting well known "theme maker" accounts so far.
One of my alternate APB accounts have also been hacked as my friend in Dischord pointed out that one of my chars in that account were seen "speed hacking" in mission districts while I was not home and at work.
I'm not going to name any names or victims but I will give a hint of the suspected culprits as some of you in the APB community already know them,
Snipped Name and Shame ~@mayii
Just take some precaution and change your passwords and set up a 2 step verification process with your APB Gamer first accounts!
As for how our accounts got hacked we don't know, I never did anything stupid to have my information stolen like that.
I think this is a real issue that Little Orbit should take a look at.
I will now take this up with Support.
I appreciate the warning, But do you have any evidence to support this statement?
-
On 3/15/2020 at 9:15 AM, NotZombieBiscuit said:I heard underage APB players is also bannable.
You know the age restrictions differ per country/region right?
-
3 hours ago, Benguin said:no, every san paro citizen should get a free pony
And a zombie virus.
-
6 hours ago, eazy-vinny said:Hello everyone,
When you from the Netherlands the legendary you brought would be locked on one character.
I know its not possible to trade the item because of the government
but i think its not fair to punish us and lock it on one character and all others can send it to any character they want
so i would really love to see a change who is thinking the same ?.
Let the legendary atleast be account wide or its not worth the money.
Ben er nogal zeker van dat de Belgische overheid lootboxes, etc heeft verboden. Aangezien gokken legaal is in Nederland.
I'm pretty sure the Belgian government made lootboxes, etc illegal. Because gambling is legal in The Netherlands.
I'm able to buy boxes and i'm able to trade my legendaries... I'm located in The Netherlands so this is kinda strange.
-
Blame European Customs not LO...
-
1
-
-
On 6/10/2019 at 8:23 PM, LoKIE said:Now we're talking B-)
Hows that thick though?
Merged.
On 6/9/2019 at 7:50 PM, LoKIE said:Is there anyone out there making bara and gay shit like that cuz I need me something cute to spray around in the district. HMU if you have anything to offer.
edit: I do have a specific image in mind. Just trying to find someone with experience in the "anime" style
I mean i made this once
-
1
-
-
On 8/8/2019 at 1:47 PM, Hunt said:I'm sorry if something similar has been posted recently, but I was wondering what everyone thinks about the addition of these clothing items that the Social contacts have, or anything similar for that matter.
It's more the belt items I'm interested in.
I'd love to have the badge of that dude and not them weird looking ones we have now.
-
6 hours ago, Kalder said:Hello, Marskman rifles was nerfed in the past due to IR3 change to % value but never was reverted. For example, carbine is 35m, oscar is 35m, obeya is 55, obir is 55, if you compare the range of the carbine against the whisper(which is 50m), it doesn't make alot of sense. Is it in the plans to revert the range ? Carbine with 40m would make more sense, obeya was 60m too.
Thanks.
Pretty sure i played against you with my Huntress this afternoon.
-
On 12/4/2019 at 1:01 AM, KawaiiAlice said:Maybe it worked for you , but for many others it didnt , we are suffering the only thing is making us not quit the game is that we know this is temp , silvers and bronzes and low golds are suffering v.v
They had to remove the Threat system because the New York server were just server to ''redirect'' traffic. So they couldn't uphold a full server with full use. The Threat will be back when the new data center is ready to start.
-
1
-
-
34 minutes ago, blockblack said:So today I tried to launch up APB to start playing, but what I have noticed is that the Launcher never finishes checking the game, I tried restarting the Launcher so many times but it didn't help at all, My internet speed is already 12~16 MBPS so my internet is not the problem, what I know is why this is happening, The Launcher always keeps getting stuck at 80% or something, here's a screenshot for my 11th time restarting the launcher to see if it fixes the bug: https://imgur.com/a/MW7Xh2G
My internet security sees APB Reloaded as a treat. I've disabled my internet security that fixed my issue. At times also a PC reboot seems to help too. (I know this sounds like basic tech support
)
-
5 hours ago, HighSociety said:May i ask which nvidia driver version u use?
I'm using version 436.15 at the moment.
-
1
-
-
2 hours ago, HighSociety said:May i ask which nvidia driver version u use?
I'll check that in a tad bit
-
18 minutes ago, HighSociety said:U got a RTX GPU right?
If so just set ur settings to low will fix it for the moment.
I have a RTX too don't have any trouble with that
-
I always take breaks. But i also always come back lmao.
They are playing mind games for sure!
-
1 hour ago, SirVilla said:They are maintenance, or so I think, it doesn't let me log in either.
1 hour ago, JustSam said:Me and my friends have a problem. We get in the game and then 5 minutes after that the server shows up and doesn't work. We see people connected. We downloaded and reinstalled again. It's always been a week like this. something happened ?
We join the a server and stil say we dc
Won't let me login either so.. Probably maintenance.
-
1 hour ago, Farmiga said:When will we have criminals special weapons such as enforcer weapons? I'm 5 years waiting for them to put them haha
I Love using them on criminals though
-
On 12/9/2019 at 2:33 AM, RCooper said:Actually curious to know if g1 sold the cars to another company
The games are quite olds btw but i remember them and it made me wonder why are there
This looks plain bad ;-;
-
Wondering if you guys are still active. I've been playing seince 2011 on Citadel EU The EU theme kinda starts to bore me to be honest. Might make myself a North American Character. However i was unable to use the discord link provided.
-
Complexity
in Game
Hey, Uhm... So well basically. I have alot of issues with my clothing or cars being too complex.
Is there a particular reason behind it? For Loading times?
I'd really appriciate it if the complexity cap would be extended in the engine update.
I think i speak for alot of us. ^_^
-
On 12/1/2019 at 9:06 AM, CYBORGKIMJONGIL said:broken again??
I think so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Other people are unable to hear me and i barely hear others. Miss them old days of people blasting heavy metal in social district Lmao.
-
On 11/12/2019 at 2:08 PM, xHenryman90x said:Me too, even though i'm no longer as active as i used to be years ago, started to play less after finishing roles, right now i have interest to earn JT's and money for future legendaries. I sometimes play throught my legendary collection on the criminal side.
Pretty much waiting for engine upgrade but guess i'll wait till i'm old, solid job, wonderfull children and married. Lol
-
On 11/9/2019 at 10:35 PM, xHenryman90x said:I personally never completely, as long as the game is alive. Your thoughts?
Yes, but someone i always come back. I guess i'm too addicted. Been playing this game longer then any other game. Sad life..
-
Looking for a good designer [CITADEL]
in Server Marketplace Auctions
Posted
Hey, As the title says. I'm looking for a good designer.
Looking for the following:
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Logo in Grey/white shades, Gold, Colour.
San Paro City Logo in Grey/white shades.
If you are interested do not hasitate to contact me. Payment can be discussed.