Project Midtown Discussion thread.

[Ellix 415]

 

Hi!

So not so long ago I posted a thread about my project here on social forums but it got moved to creations pretty quickly.

 

This is a discussion thread about my project about making a new district for APB:Reloaded.

It's been in works since 2015 and now at a pretty good state to say that it's almost comeplete.

If you'd like to check the details about it please click the image above or this link..

 

I would like to discuss few things about it with you guys. I know a lot of you are players of the game!

Some of you may not be playing at all anymore but you still visit the forums!

Anyways if you stumbled upon this thread and you like APB I really would like to hear your opinions on the subject.

 

The project already been aweknowlaged by @MattScott and he said that there is a chance that the map can be used in case there will be some more people playing the game..

 

Anyways I'd like to hear the forum's community opinion on this:

 

1. Do you really think this project is worth working on in general

2. (If you don't play anymore ) Would you return to the game with a release of a new action district/ new map.

3. What would your ideal mode for a new map as big as Financial would be?

 

---

 

Also I'm looking for some people to help me..

It's been very hard to work on it alone and although I got some help from @BrandonBranderson and @Queen of Love I still need help from dedicated people..

I got the same issue with the lightmaps while importing to UE3.5 (UDK) that Matt mentioned in one of the posts about the engine update..

If somebody is femiliar with this feeld I need help.

 

Also if anyone of you want to help the cause by designing contacts for Red Rain and SPPD as well as symbols/graffiti..

Maybe anyone with some sick 3D skills can help detail the map even more..

 

This project needs your help!

 

---

 

I've made a small poll about few things I'd like to know.

And again! Thanks for everyone who's been supporting this project so far

 

Thanks! -Nick

Edited September 3, 2020 by Ellix

[vsb 6171]

55 minutes ago, Ellix said:

1. Do you really think this project is worth working on in general

as long as you're having fun (and learning new stuff) its worth it imo

 

if you mean from orbit's POV, then i think such a massive community collaboration has a lot of positive PR potential and new content on this scale has a ton of replayability 

 

 

55 minutes ago, Ellix said:

2. (If you don't play anymore ) Would you return to the game with a release of a new action district/ new map.

my play time has dramatically decreased over the last few years, but i like to think i'd play more if there was a whole new action district to explore

 

that said even a new map won't help much if it suffers from the same issues as the rest of the game, so its difficult to put a project like this in front of other potential population fixes

 

 

55 minutes ago, Ellix said:

3. What would your ideal mode for a new map as big as Financial would be?

i'd like to see the battle royale concept dropped entirely and orbit to focus on creating a more fleshed out version of the anarchy/chaos district ruleset - open world objectives, larger scale missions, free for all/team-based/faction-based, etc

 

the broad strokes would be fight club but for mission gameplay, where its easy to just jump in and do some objectives or kill a bunch of people or hold/attack an area, but without waiting 20 minutes for a mission to start and without the "nothing matters" vibe that fc encourages

 

 

 

its really cool to see community stuff like this, regardless of the game's current state, i really hope this project gets some positive results down the line

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by 404
typo

[Musul Man 60]

I have seen this before and I believe it is actually great. But I'd recommend personally that you hold on to it in its current state until further notice since it looks like APB won't make it to 2021. See what happens, maybe it gets sold again to another company or flat out dies. Perhaps a miracle happens (doubt it) and resurrects. 

Just don't waste more of your time, maybe in the meantime save it for your portfolio or CV and thats it.

[Nagletz 215]

Yes. And Yes is not enough.

[Tako 93]

Keep it up, i'm pretty sure we'll all play there someday.

 

[wHisHi 206]

Amazing job! I hope LO will help you out and use it for game!

[Queen of Love 451]

Great honor to my Ellix friend for keep it up this project after many years.

 

 

1. Do you really think this project is worth working on in general _____________ Every brick added to a new map is new content, and this is positive, always.

2. (If you don't play anymore ) Would you return to the game with a release of a new action district/ new map.___________I would play again like 2011, with old features, a new map with current system could be useless. I play weekly , but with this MM and this P5n5 plus the free2cheat people make me play a lot less, plus i have 2 maxed chars, i dont really need much to play. (play just  for Jt weapon is nice but not exential)

3. What would your ideal mode for a new map as big as Financial would be? _____________Financial is like New York, Waterfront like Miami, why donT use an European city as ispiration for New map? I suggest Palermo,Sicily, the Mafia Historic bases, Mountain ,Beach, Metropolitan and Ancient Luxury all togheter ,there is no other one city with that strong gangster/police history background and with a great eclettic variety of ambient,

[Ellix 415]

7 minutes ago, Queen of Love said:

 

3. What would your ideal mode for a new map as big as Financial would be? _____________Financial is like New York, Waterfront like Miami, why donT use an European city as ispiration for New map? I suggest Palermo,Sicily, the Mafia Historic bases, Mountain ,Beach, Metropolitan and Ancient Luxury all togheter ,there is no other one city with that strong gangster/police history background and with a great eclettic variety of ambient,

 

Sorry Kelly but Midtown is fixed place in San Paro  No beach district nearby

 

[CookiePuss 5377]

Nice work!

[Noob_Guardian 417]

1. If it'll be added or go somewhere? Yes

2. - still play so n/a-

3. I don't think we need more "mission" districts, but anarchy map control would be good imo. Mass location/dm/objectives join.

 

Still looking good though.

Edited September 3, 2020 by Noob_Guardian

[Roxl 120]

Gets better each time I see it. Good work!

 

1. Regardless of what state it ends up in, there'd still be quite a bit of work to implement something like this in-game. However, I'd think it'd still be worth the effort to work on, even if it's just to show off

2. I still play a bit every now and then but exploring map changes, or a new map in this case, would bring me back real quick.

3. Due to APB's nature, I'd have a hard time seeing a map as big as this as anything besides a mission district. Though that would require placing and balancing of both mission objective points and gameplay elements. Though perhaps blocks could be cornered off and playtested in a sort of mock fight club styled district.

 

15 hours ago, Ellix said:

...

Also if anyone of you want to help the cause by designing contacts for Red Rain and SPPD

...

Might be an interesting challenge

[TzickyT 212]

1. Do you really think this project is worth working on in general

i think this is the best expension APB can have at this moment. if its done correctly and everything . what you did is what apb deserved to have for the last 5 years

2. (If you don't play anymore ) Would you return to the game with a release of a new action district/ new map.

i m stil playing ... i m stil enjoying the game and if a new district got added i would play the hell out of it.

3. What would your ideal mode for a new map as big as Financial would be?

u can do everythign from Missions / BR / envyroment game mode / plunder / maybe something new / even anarchy. whatever is possible in midtown wil be possible in all other places.

 

this project stays the best project i have seen in APB

[yourrandomnobody74 106]

honestly, this game needs a breath of fresh air desperately. would be lovely to see this ingame!

[R3ACT3M 489]

Watch it perform better than what RTW could do XD

 

I know the biggest fear about a new district is splitting up the population. But I can see content like this bringing the population back.

 

so I would love to see this in APB. 
 

If it cant be turned into an action district immediately, they should use it for riot or make it like a fightclub but instead of 20v20 do 40vs40 and have a zone rotate around the map.

 

Really hope LO takes advantage of your work!

[Deadliest 385]

this map alone brings more hype than the engine update..

 

brilliant job

Edited September 4, 2020 by Deadliest

[Flaws 1033]

I've looked at the 3D model of the map and I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised at how good it looks. I would love to play on this map, mainly because it would bring much needed freshness to APB and it would open it up to an enormous set of new scenarios of how missions could play out. It looks very promising and your level of dedication to the project is commendable. I assume that after some time of proper playtesting, there might be spots that could use small rebalancing/tiny changes/tweaks as they usually do but its a definite yes from me.

 

I see some concerns about splitting up the population. Honestly, everyone knows both Financial and Waterfront like the back of their hand 10 years in. If they really want to properly introduce this district into the game, they could easily make it so all contacts could be leveled in this district, at least for the time being, until more contacts are introduced/moved around and until there is a growth in player population. Also, yes, I can see this bringing a bunch of players back to the game because it is a breath of fresh air that we've needed for longer than you've worked on this project.

 

I think this map should still be used for missions. Even if they kept the same old missions but made to work on this map, it would still be very interesting to play because the map is completely new and different for everyone imo.

[Cr0 328]

I have a question for you actually.

I'm curious what your initial motivation and goal was with making this impressive new district layout and if it has changed or been redirected along the way?

[Ellix 415]

1 hour ago, Cr0 said:

I have a question for you actually.

I'm curious what your initial motivation and goal was with making this impressive new district layout and if it has changed or been redirected along the way?

 

Initially I planned this as a fan project.

All I wanted was to try and make something that can be used in APB.

I had no idea what to do  but wanted to try myself in level design.

With no knowledge of any kind of 3D modeling software I tried what seemed like an easy one which was Sketchup.

My goal was to make a fan made content - when I started it I had no idea if something made by me can actually be used but I hoped that if it's 3D - that can work

The pipeline is more clear now and it seems like you can use the assets but still not tested in APB engine.

 

Right now I'm still positive about just giving out the map to the devs so they can import it.

But I'm soon running towards another issue which Sketchup - My subscription is running out and I don't know if I will renew it or not.

It all depends of weather there is a point in keeping on working on the map.

Actually I would really love the devs to pay for my licenses if this turns out to be something thay're willing to import into the game but right now this idea still seems to be something far..

 

I guess my main goal was to learn a bit of level design and actually finish a big project in my life which I never seem to do. (I have so much under-worked content in my portfolio that I would love to develop more). But I guess in the end even if it's not meant to be in APB I still got a lot of experience from doing it

 

Hope I answered your question  

 

 

[Cr0 328]

4 minutes ago, Ellix said:

 

Initially I planned this as a fan project.

All I wanted was to try and make something that can be used in APB.

I had no idea what to do  but wanted to try myself in level design.

With no knowledge of any kind of 3D modeling software I tried what seemed like an easy one which was Sketchup.

My goal was to make a fan made content - when I started it I had no idea if something made by me can actually be used but I hoped that if it's 3D - that can work

The pipeline is more clear now and it seems like you can use the assets but still not tested in APB engine.

 

Right now I'm still positive about just giving out the map to the devs so they can import it.

But I'm soon running towards another issue which Sketchup - My subscription is running out and I don't know if I will renew it or not.

It all depends of weather there is a point in keeping on working on the map.

Actually I would really love the devs to pay for my licenses if this turns out to be something thay're willing to import into the game but right now this idea still seems to be something far..

 

I guess my main goal was to learn a bit of level design and actually finish a big project in my life which I never seem to do. (I have so much under-worked content in my portfolio that I would love to develop more). But I guess in the end even if it's not meant to be in APB I still got a lot of experience from doing it

 

Hope I answered your question  

 

 

Thanks so much for the detailed answer, which cleared up to me the background to the questions you have to the community about this as well as give insight to the whole process, which made me even more impressed than I was, especially seeing how you didn't have any knowledge of 3D modeling software before this, meaning you've learned so much along the way as you stuck to it and just continued working on it. I love that.

 

I'm not often impressed by people in this community, but this is something else. I hope that you'll be given all the recognition you deserve and the help/support you need.

 

 

[Delete884943468320878423 172]

More fantasy stories about updates

Edited September 9, 2020 by Vnight

[Musul Man 60]

with all those downvotes to my post it is clear people around here are delusional, no wonder why everyone thinks there are no cheaters.

 

The OP can try pushing this to LO, but they won't do anything because 1. they have too much to do first, 2. they may not care, 3. the game probably won't last long and neither will they since they will go down with it.

[Spy 152]

On 9/3/2020 at 6:18 PM, Ellix said:

1. Do you really think this project is worth working on in general

2. (If you don't play anymore ) Would you return to the game with a release of a new action district/ new map.

3. What would your ideal mode for a new map as big as Financial would be?

1:

No. Eventho I do appriciate the effort but there are so many things that need to addressed first before a new map is even a concideration imho:

• There are still glitches on Waterfront who haven't been fixed by G1 (back then) and LO, eventho the glitches are known to them
• Forcing a tie on a match in Financial is still not fixed, original report of this dates back to 2013 and more recent.
• Glitched items and players is still not fixed, eventho multiple reports date back to 2016 and more recent.
• Matchmaking, population, cheating. You know, the usual stuff

 

2:

I play ocasionally and I probably will play a new map, even if it's just out of curiosity. A thing related to playing is spending real money. And tbh, I used to spend quite some cash on the game but that stopped instantly after the bad decisions LO made regarding the Nekrova-Citadel merge. A new map would not make me play more, nore will it change my mind on spending real cash on the game.

 

3:

No opinion

 

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by Spy