1.5 Week Mods

Creating new content for Trespasser!

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TrespasserGuy
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Re: 1.5 Week Mods

Post by TrespasserGuy »

Very cool Draco! Earlier I played this level, so here's my overview of it.
Spoiler: show
First I started on the ridge overlooking the first valley from the recently uncovered PH level, albeit with more foliage... and a hunter's Jeep! Going over to the Jeep I noticed an M16, which I picked up. Next I made my steep descent down into the valley using the giant broken tree. Once in the valley, I noticed the vanilla Tres Parasaur, accompanied with an appropriate Anne voiceover. Next I turned to the right to find a lone Triceratops, some Mayan ruins, and another abandoned hunter jeep. Finding nothing more of interest to look at, I took a sharp turn left and made my way through a small ravine filled with dinosaur skeletons. Coming out of the ravine, I found myself in the Hunters' Camp, where I promptly disposed of a few raptors, and picked up an AK and, what I later found out was, a Smith and Wesson M76. Continuing on with my trek, I mowed down a few more raptors with my AK and headed towards the rock puzzle that when completed grants you access into the wide open plain that was also in the original PH level. But, first I made my way to a large alcove hiding off the beaten path, where a large female T-rex was waiting for me. I quickly killed the rex, and in the process lost all of my ammo, so I finally went over to the rocks, knocked a few crates down, and completed the level, which loaded me into the actual PH level. :P

In my second playthrough of the level, after noticing a bit more things to do in TresEd, I went up the cliffs of Mt. Crick that I somehow missed in my first run of the level. On top I found a few Mayan ruins, a Calico pistol, and a death trigger that I accidentally walked into :yum:

So overall, I enjoyed the level for what it was, an expansion of the PH level with hunter objects strewn about. I also liked the added foliage which made the level all the more interesting. It seems to me that you're going to try to do the same thing for the rest of Plantation House, or else you wouldn't have the level load trigger at the end. I hope to see a denser, and more exciting version of that part of PH in the future. :D
This is really good, Draco! I've been enjoying a lot of these mini-mods yet I never had the time before now to put my input in about them!
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Re: 1.5 Week Mods

Post by Draconisaurus »

Thanks for the feedback, TG! 8) I do indeed intend to release a new version of PH sometime, for Tres Reloaded... Don't know when I'll actually get to that, though. Got RuinTown going, and the 1.5WM project to keep up with.
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Re: 1.5 Week Mods

Post by Draconisaurus »

Next 1.5WM is here. This week: Rex Rampage River. It primarily draws inspiration from the play-as-Grant boss level of JP: Rampage Edition for Sega Genesis. Find out what lies within...

Rex Rampage River

https://app.box.com/s/n8t00gs622894g204jheln34zwz8hs5f
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(Click on thumbnail for full size)
Image
(PS: requires ambient/effects/stream TPA files from retail Tres)
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Re: 1.5 Week Mods

Post by Hilwo »

Haven't gotten far yet, but it looks really cool!! :D I love Rampage Edition :)
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Re: 1.5 Week Mods

Post by TheIdiot »

Well, holy crap, this level is so cool...hopefully I'm not blinded by nostalgia when I write this review, but, here goes:
Spoiler: show
Rex Rampage River
By Draconisaurus


If you've played Jurassic Park: Rampage Edition for the Sega Genesis, you'll immediately recognize the overall idea and style to this level. You are Alan Grant (a nifty reskin of...Assad, I think it is?) riding a raft down a river on Isla Nublar, with the surrounding island in flames (for some reason) as the park's vengeful tyrannosaurus makes it its lot in life to devour you, minus your hat, which fortunately this Grant lacks. Immediately, I like this idea, and I'm so glad to see a tribute to the Genesis JP after the cancellation of the Escape from Jurassic Park mod, and the level looks almost exactly like the game, with its intense red tint, waterfalls pouring down, and surrounding forest aflame. The creative use of many assets, such as re-skinned trees for rock pillars, is very clever and everything feels completely fresh. Perhaps one of the most creative ideas here is the execution of the wooden raft that Grant is "sitting" on - some CEntityAttached objects put together and attached to Grant, so that as Grant swims around the water-only terrain of this level, it appears as if the raft is floating instead. A very clever idea, and one I would never have thought of, so huge Alan Grant-hats off to you. :D
The level itself consists of a single long, linear section, wherein you have to make it from Point A to Point B, all the while defending yourself from assaulting Raptors and the lone tyrannosaurus, which pursues you all the way to the end of the level. I couldn't help but feel like there was something missing to this level, since the entire thing is 100% linear and it's impossible to get lost, but I think the concept and recreation lends itself to that problem and prevents it from becoming too intrusive. However, I will admit that by the time I exited the cave section, I was a little bit bored since at that point the level was nothing more than me weaving back and forth to avoid the rex, slowly making my way forward. It became a bit tedious by the end, unfortunately, but this was the only thing that I didn't really like about the level.
Due to the simple nature of the level, I find it pointless to present a play-by-play or highlight reel, but I will state an overall concept of the level's events and my thoughts on it. The whole rex chase thing is really fun and interesting and is something I have wanted to see for along time, and the level is so creative in almost every way that it remains interesting even as the gameplay wears down a bit by the end. Eventually, the huge "cave" that the river you are in runs under disappears, but is ultimately replaced by a very similar landscape minus the roof. In addition to the threat of the tyrannosaur, there are also Raptors that assail you from either side every now and then, though unfortunately they did not pose any threat to me as they seemed to be somewhat passive, moving into the river but not actually attacking me - perhaps a bug, or just Tres' weird AI bugging out? I also found the guns placed somewhat randomly in the air to be overall useless, as I assume the Rex is unkillable and the Raptors never got near enough to me to warrant a fight. Eventually, you make it to the SS Anne B (or a similar ship) and escape the island, which brings the level to a short but sweet close.
So, all in all, this level to me was a very cool concept that needed perhaps a bit more of a refined execution. While I do find the river rafting idea to be ultimately one of the best uses of clever Tres mechanics, and the look of the level to be near-perfect in capturing the feel of the Genesis game, I did find that the rafting bit went on a little too long, and the lack of any real challenge other than stopping now and then to dodge the Rex made the level feel a bit tedious, I think the positives and creative ideas presented here still elevate it above a standard Tres level.

Map Design: 6/10 - It sure looks exactly like the Genesis game, but I couldn't help but feel that the look of the level was so good that it feels a little bit wasted, considering the level is simply a straight path with no deviation, and the challenge of navigation is nonexistent. Perhaps a branching path or two could have been included to promote a bit of exploration - however, I do get that you were going for a recreation of the Genesis level, so I can't fault you too much for that.
Gameplay: 7.5/10 - This one is completely unique in its gameplay, as I have never seen another level quite like this. Fighting off the Rex while rafting down the river and trying to reach the end is a really fun idea, but it felt a little bit weighed down by the length of the level (a little bit too long) and the lack of any challenge other than dodging left and right. What you get is essentially a Trespasserified version of the Genesis level, by the book.
Story: N/A - The level doesn't really have much of a story as it is a clone of the Genesis level, which was very simple in its concept, and I believe that it does not need to as this is not a fundamental part of what Draco was going for. Therefore, this category will not be counted into the final score.
Creativity: 10/10 - Well, there you have it, a perfect score. You did everything right here - clever use of assets, cool level concept, and a great conversion of the Genesis game into Tres format. The level felt wholly original and looked great, and I had a blast just looking around at all of the neat things you came up with considering the limitations, from the raft, to the "cave", the fire...everything. Awesome job.

OVERALL: 8/10
For the perfect RRR level experience, please play the following music in the background on loop:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/e1fF3DSErK4?list=PL334D909F9489D942[/youtube]
(Ugh, why won't it show the video as it's supposed to? I took the link from the "Share" button and everything as usual...)
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Re: 1.5 Week Mods

Post by Draconisaurus »

Thanks for the review, TI. 8) After reading your review, I have to agree about the linearity failures. As with TT, time constraints cause this sort of issue... 1.5 week mods take 1.5 weeks or they wouldn't be 1.5 week mods. After your review I also feel I would have done well to have made the boss RaptorCs more of a threat..

(PS: never got a review from ye on the previous 1.5WM..)
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