[Outer Heaven] Currently working on a new DayZ map

[paxtonmega 156]

Hey there DayZ Players and welcome to my own personal "Under Construction/Development" thread all about a new map I am currently crafting for the community. Here I will wait for your suggestions, answer your questions and post news about the upcoming map. I will announce everything new with a new post and edit some side notes into this start-post here.

No need worrying peeps, whether this thread is in the right forum or not. My oppinion is that it belongs here because it is a suggestion for the mod to make it more cunning as it already is. Please, don't argue about that but argue about my ideas. News coming up guys, right now, right here.

For quicker updates please follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Shibuhya

I will also publish first hand material on my Youtube Channel in the future: http://youtube.com/PaxtonMega

[LATEST] My Idea for something really amizingly crazy

Still no actual data, still coding the grand structure because that is actually harder then it initially seemed, but I a doing pretty well on that one so far and soon I will be able to release first screens of the general outlet of the map itself. For now some more impressions on what I want to implement. You may have played some Namalsk lately. That Map is beast because of it's cold feature and the cunning ambience sounds. I want to implement something similar to that in my own map outer heaven. I want an Area that is, in fact, nothing other than anything else but I want this Area to make you sick on purpose. This area will contain the military grade weapons you want to find, will consist of old ruins, dark forests and a group of monoliths for the lore. On top of that the ambience sound shall make your bones rattle and give you chills. In this area you either need to stop and rest a t fires or kick out heatpacks. Hence the connection to either Namalsk or the game "Cryostasis", this area will give you a lot of threads: Cold, Zed's, other players and thanks to some ambience sound I allready gathered some nice chills while you expect attacks at all time ;)

I am currently connecting the parts of my islands to one Island and hope I will be able to code both roads and terrain rather quickly because I have the needed values allready from where I took the parts for my map, I will just need to adjust that to my own Ground-Zero of the map so they are in place where they belong. Wish me luck and soon I'll be able to show you some actual screens of outer heaven :) Alternatively I will hand out some concept arts I worked out if the screens happen to delay!

Info: The textures and sounds will be similar to THQ's S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Shadow of Chernobyl

Tell me what you think of this idea so far and maybe even make suggestions for sounds and textures.

[GENErAL INFORMATION] A new theme for the map - releasing after standalone?

Well, here it is the next wall of text about mind on the map before I will release first technical data about it. In the last post i told you guys I will have a minor change of plans for outer heaven!

The update is simple. I initially wanted Outer Heaven to be a PvP map but PvP is natural and does not need another Utes-like map. Instead of this I will give Outer Heaven a stronger atmosphere and a darker theme. Alongside castle-like buildings and a mansion complex I will implement a theme of survival for this map, and this is going to be what this theme contains: A dark, cloudfull sky that is allways dark by changing the skybox if possible, darker colours for all textures, giving it an european game look by removing colors and darkening the scene. I will make those buildings that spawn food and supplies rarer and those who spawn bigger guns even rarer than that. Outer Heaven will become a map for survival fans. It will give DayZ a "hard but fair" touch and it won't be as easy to survive on outer heaven since you will need to go some longer ways to get food. Other than that hunting will be way more important and you need to keep an eye out for animals and gut them as a big source of food income. There will only be one lake where you an refill your water bottle meaning this lake will be a hotspot for PvP and survivalists.

Why will I release even after standalone if neccessary? Just cause... thats why. I think the Mod-Community won't die so soon and I want to contribute to this community because I will stay on the mod for sure, even while playing standalone.

Sadly rocket might never read this thread because I want to try and give DayZ what it missed a long time now: Survival. Zombies will become mean monsters once again because supplies are rare and you will not be able to eat your way up to 12k again so easy unless you go hunting much. This map will be meant to be for the more hardcore gamers amongst you. If I get this map on servers I will reduce spawns of supplies and increase zombie spawns, make them attack harder and give them their danger back!

As allways, this is just telling you my mind, stay tuned for first details on terrain and size of the actual map, and how I think I will build it faster than normal.

Allways remember: This is going to be one of the maps that are not ported from ArmA developers or former community geniuses before you guys even thought of DayZ. This will be a DayZ themed map that is specifically made for the mod as it is.

If you want to know more about me and my way, follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Shibuhya where I will post some facts about my work on the map before I will summarise it here for you guys. See this thread as my dev-journal, twitter will be random shenannigans about the map!

Tell me what you think about the new theme!

Greetings, Pax

[OUTDATED] For the start I will tell you my general Idea for the map and want your oppinion on it so I see in which way that Idea could be improved.

The idea itself was born when I first played Lingor because I was sick and tired of Chernarus after a lot of playtime. l actually saw everything ingame, had my standard run-in's with Bandits, some good fights and raids but somehow DayZ grew a bit tiresome for me, not because of the mod itself but of places to see. The newest maps are some nice opportunities to see some new stuff and I enjoyed every single one of them, but soon after that again everything was seen and got a bit boring. What I wanted was some endgame content, something to strife on after you reached nearly anything ingame, saw all places and still wanted to roam the land for a purpose. That was the time I started thinking about a way to give DayZ a thing that would work like a system that gives you the chane for better loot by fighting for it. There were some ideas about arena fights but planning them would have taken too much time to be funny in the end. Another thing are griefers and hackers that make looting even harder. But what if there was something that did not spawn the big boy guns on helo's but in one place where people actually could fight against each other to take the price? That's when I realized that I should consider making a map that gives DayZ veterans an opportunity to have some gunslinging for a purpose again.

I came up with the idea of a map that would be structured in two ways, one to get your standard gear and survive against the apocalypse and the other would make things hard for players. I have the idea to build one area on the map that is ideal for pvp, where people could go that actually want to fight and would rather die in an all-out-assault than while grabbing a can of beans. This area would house the more valuable spawns all in one, that could be contested and held by clan-server owners and people would be able to try and sneak into this area to grab stuff or bring friends and fight the clan or group that currently occupies it. Besides that there will be standard DayZ elements like bigger and smaller towns, farms inland and a standard airfield for the more PvE-ish players. As for the PvP area: There will be ways to defend it and there will be ways to infiltrate it, both on easy and hard ways, whether you like most. This are will be all about fighting and tactical gameplay, the reward will be vehicles (I will make sure that they won't be hideable elswhere, that makes sure vehicles finally become something you need to protect and retrieve back if stolen.) and better weaponry than you can find inland (See it as PvP gear). Yet again this designated area might reduce campers since they get their spot and you know that you need to tuck your head in in this area to avoid camper fire (here I will also implement element's that prevent campers from killing everybody by simply adding obstacles that need skill to kill a cover-seeking attacker from the camping-spots). Campers are not something to change, on this map as I imagine it I WANT CAMPERS to hunt people through their scopes and therefore this map is for those who understand how to play DayZ in the "correct way" Rocket once described as "Play as if there is a crosshair on your head at all times". With this map I want to bring DayZ back to the days where skill weighted more than an as50.

This contested map was born in my mind under the name of OUTER HEAVEN since it is housed on an island and the Metal Gear Fans amongst you will know which kind of PvP area I thought of. With this information at hand, because I don't want to give away the surprise just yet, I leave you with the thoughts and hope you will pot your very own oppinion on what you read.

This is the first post I made about this map and I am eager to see what you guys and girls think about it, in the meantime I will work a bit harder on the map.

Greetings, Paxton

Edited October 29, 2012 by PaxtonMega

[paxtonmega 156]

[Placeholder if first post gains too much weight]

[Toastedzen 80]

Sounds exciting. Through the little bit of research I have done I have found that this requires a LOT of work and patience, so kudos to you for taking it on. Keep us updated. I would like to know how you progress.

[Pyro NJ 19]

Sounds cool.

The standalone will be out soon though and after that comes out I doubt very many will play the mod.

[paxtonmega 156]

Sounds cool.

The standalone will be out soon though and after that comes out I doubt very many will play the mod.

Thats exactly why I will try hard on finishing the map till the end of next month, off course no half-done thing that sucks, I actually learned some shortcuts in map-creation lately and got a lot of spare time :)

Nice to see you like the idea, I hope you will like the product in the end also. Tomorrow I will post first information on how the map will specifically look!

[starwarsfan@gmx.de 450]

Wrong forum? This really isn't a suggestion for DayZ...

Also Wall of Text much?

[paxtonmega 156]

Wrong forum? This really isn't a suggestion for DayZ...

Also Wall of Text much?

What? Want another "make the zombies run straight" or "OMG!!!111 mek ze as50z lezz prowerfuuuull" threads?

Also, too lazy to read much?

Anyways, about to release another wall of text to keep you guys updated on a minor change of plans, changing the topic of outer heaven from PvP to a stronger survival themed map. Stay tuned for info, I am about to go crazy on certain plans for this map. And on top of that I'll explain why I will release it even after standalone if neccesary!

For further updates follow me on twitter if you are interested in my mind while living and coding: http://twitter.com/Shibuhya

[OrLoK 16182]

Hello there

I applaud you efforts. Do you have any experience in Map creation in Arma?

rgds

LoK

[paxtonmega 156]

Well, here it is the next wall of text about mind on the map before I will release first technical data about it. In the last post i told you guys I will have a minor change of plans for outer heaven!

The update is simple. I initially wanted Outer Heaven to be a PvP map but PvP is natural and does not need another Utes-like map. Instead of this I will give Outer Heaven a stronger atmosphere and a darker theme. Alongside castle-like buildings and a mansion complex I will implement a theme of survival for this map, and this is going to be what this theme contains: A dark, cloudfull sky that is allways dark by changing the skybox if possible, darker colours for all textures, giving it an european game look by removing colors and darkening the scene. I will make those buildings that spawn food and supplies rarer and those who spawn bigger guns even rarer than that. Outer Heaven will become a map for survival fans. It will give DayZ a "hard but fair" touch and it won't be as easy to survive on outer heaven since you will need to go some longer ways to get food. Other than that hunting will be way more important and you need to keep an eye out for animals and gut them as a big source of food income. There will only be one lake where you an refill your water bottle meaning this lake will be a hotspot for PvP and survivalists.

Why will I release even after standalone if neccessary? Just cause... thats why. I think the Mod-Community won't die so soon and I want to contribute to this community because I will stay on the mod for sure, even while playing standalone.

Sadly rocket might never read this thread because I want to try and give DayZ what it missed a long time now: Survival. Zombies will become mean monsters once again because supplies are rare and you will not be able to eat your way up to 12k again so easy unless you go hunting much. This map will be meant to be for the more hardcore gamers amongst you. If I get this map on servers I will reduce spawns of supplies and increase zombie spawns, make them attack harder and give them their danger back!

As allways, this is just telling you my mind, stay tuned for first details on terrain and size of the actual map, and how I think I will build it faster than normal.

Allways remember: This is going to be one of the maps that are not ported from ArmA developers or former community geniuses before you guys even thought of DayZ. This will be a DayZ themed map that is specifically made for the mod as it is.

If you want to know more about me and my way, follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Shibuhya where I will post some facts about my work on the map before I will summarise it here for you guys. See this thread as my dev-journal, twitter will be random shenannigans about the map!

Tell me what you think about the new theme!

Greetings, Pax

[paxtonmega 156]

Hello there

I applaud you efforts. Do you have any experience in Map creation in Arma?

rgds

LoK

Thanks mate :) Yes, I have some experience with visitor3 and bulldozer but never built a full map with it just yet, that will be my first "complee2 map. Earlier I closed some gaps on Islands like Lingor, played around with textures and started coding my map a while back without knowing a few tricks I just learned a few weeks back, and excercise them with some buddies who are building a larger map at the moment that is in early testing phase!

If you want to know where my knowledge comes from, alongside the technical data I will post some links to tutorials if anyone wants to join the party and work with me! :)

[Raged 187]

Is Solid Snake/Big Boss making an appearance?

[indominator 95]

sir, i am sorry to bother you, not trying to discourage you, i just would like to know how expert are you modding for arma 2, a portfolio or just a quick talk about how well qualified, its just that i dont like words too much anymore, since that famous thingy we must not talk directly about. Any pics plz?

Also, i fear this is wrong forum and wrong sub forum, maybe this belongs more at the BIS forum, armaholic or whatever they call

Edited October 25, 2012 by indominator

[paxtonmega 156]

Is Solid Snake/Big Boss making an appearance?

ha, unfortunately both have their own missions so their sons can train their bodies on their grounds in zanzibar land ;)

sir, i am sorry to bother you, not trying to discourage you, i just would like to know how expert are you modding for arma 2, a portfolio or just a quick talk about how well qualified, its just that i dont like words too much anymore, since that famous thingy we must not talk directly about. Any pics plz?

Also, i fear this is wrong forum and wrong sub forum, maybe this belongs more at the BIS forum, armaholic or whatever they call

Since it will be a DayZ related map I think it belongs in the DayZ forums and it is in fact a suggestion. Unfortunately I don't have any existing evidence of my modding since I never thought about releasing when I was playing around with the island maps and Chernarus. Also, the development of the map so far is not telling any better if I would post screens since it is flat land with just a layer of textures, first images will roll in when I start to emerge the terrain. For now my word has to weigh more than pics, I know "pics or it didnt happen" but unfortunately, as i said, I never actually screencaped my previous unworthy works :/

[HeidlerVG 6]

Sounds nice bro.

[dutch_miller 159]

Seems like a good forum choice to me, I don't get why people are complaining about it so much. He's talking about implementing a suggestion for a survival based map.

Any better forums for this? None that I'm aware of.

[paxtonmega 156]

Sounds nice bro.

Thanks man :)

Seems like a good forum choice to me, I don't get why people are complaining about it so much. He's talking about implementing a suggestion for a survival based map.

Any better forums for this? None that I'm aware of.

Exactly my thoughts :)

[starwarsfan@gmx.de 450]

Seems like a good forum choice to me, I don't get why people are complaining about it so much. He's talking about implementing a suggestion for a survival based map.

Any better forums for this? None that I'm aware of.

I can suggest Rocket dress up like a chicken for Halloween too doesn't mean it belongs into the suggestion forum. What he is/was suggesting is creating a map for DayZ, that nothing that concerns the development of DayZ. It's user created content and should be the 'Private Hive Section' if you ask me because it has absolutly nothing to do with 'vanilla' DayZ. I guess you think people should post their suggestions about what to change about Lingor Island and the other Maps in this section here as well. Sure why not, totaly relevant! :rolleyes:

[dutch_miller 159]

I can suggest Rocket dress up like a chicken for Halloween too doesn't mean it belongs into the suggestion forum. What he is/was suggesting is creating a map for DayZ, that nothing that concerns the development of DayZ. It's user created content and should be the 'Private Hive Section' if you ask me because it has absolutly nothing to do with 'vanilla' DayZ. I guess you think people should post their suggestions about what to change about Lingor Island and the other Maps in this section here as well. Sure why not, totaly relevant! :rolleyes:

Suggestions is rather vague term, isn't it? I don't look at it in the same way you do. I see it as the place for any new or WIP ideas that relate to the game, because I don't go looking in the private hive forum to find interesting suggestions.

Now here's a suggestion: create more specific threads within the private hive forum, or have the private hive forum within a user created content forum.

[paxtonmega 156]

No need worrying peeps, whether this thread is in the right forum or not. My oppinion is that it belongs here because it is a suggestion for the mod to make it more cunning as it already is. Please, don't argue about that but argue about my ideas. News coming up guys, right now, right here.

[LATEST] My Idea for something really amizingly crazy

Still no actual data, still coding the grand structure because that is actually harder then it initially seemed, but I a doing pretty well on that one so far and soon I will be able to release first screens of the general outlet of the map itself. For now some more impressions on what I want to implement. You may have played some Namalsk lately. That Map is beast because of it's cold feature and the cunning ambience sounds. I want to implement something similar to that in my own map outer heaven. I want an Area that is, in fact, nothing other than anything else but I want this Area to make you sick on purpose. This area will contain the military grade weapons you want to find, will consist of old ruins, dark forests and a group of monoliths for the lore. On top of that the ambience sound shall make your bones rattle and give you chills. In this area you either need to stop and rest a t fires or kick out heatpacks. Hence the connection to either Namalsk or the game "Cryostasis", this area will give you a lot of threads: Cold, Zed's, other players and thanks to some ambience sound I allready gathered some nice chills while you expect attacks at all time ;)

I am currently connecting the parts of my islands to one Island and hope I will be able to code both roads and terrain rather quickly because I have the needed values allready from where I took the parts for my map, I will just need to adjust that to my own Ground-Zero of the map so they are in place where they belong. Wish me luck and soon I'll be able to show you some actual screens of outer heaven :) Alternatively I will hand out some concept arts I worked out if the screens happen to delay!

Info: The textures and sounds will be similar to THQ's S.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Shadow of Chernobyl

Tell me what you think of this idea so far and maybe even make suggestions for sounds and textures.

[colekern 1364]

Thats exactly why I will try hard on finishing the map till the end of next month, off course no half-done thing that sucks, I actually learned some shortcuts in map-creation lately and got a lot of spare time :)

Nice to see you like the idea, I hope you will like the product in the end also. Tomorrow I will post first information on how the map will specifically look!

Rocket said that user-created maps could be used in standalone. Maybe, if it's good, you'll get it featured there.