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 Title                   : MorpheusX
 Filename                : morpheusx.pk3
 Maps			 : MorpheusX - quarter gravity version
			   MorpheusXG - normal gravity, with the grappling hook
			   MorphuesXCTF - quarter gravity, capture the flag
			   MorphuesXGCTF - normal gravity with grapple, capture the flag
			   MorphuesXDom - quarter gravity, Domination map
			   MorphuesXGDom - normal gravity with grapple, Domination map

NOTE: BETA VERSION DOES NOT CONTAIN THE NORMAL GRAVITY VERSIONS.

 Author                  : Chainsaw
 Email Address           : chainsaw@chainsaw-films.com
 Description             : Three towers in space
 Release Date		 : 28th January 2000
 Version		 : Release 2 BETA!!
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NOTE: If you have the original MorpheusX.pk3 file, please replace it with this one. It fixes a bug that never occured during playtesting, and puts some of the textures back to where they were meant to be. Sorry about that, I hate having to re-distribute a new version. To make it all the more sweet, I've got 2 new maps in the pak, with the obligatory low and normal gravity versions. Now you can play MorpheusX in FFA, CTF, and Domination games!

NOTE 2: A few things will definitely have changed by the time of the full release. Firstly, the Domination map in this pak is not lit correctly. I'll do that soon, at the moment I'm just interested in the games flow and how it feels. Secondly, there are a few textures out here and there, don't worry I know about them! Plus some of the brushes, on the lights and curves and jump pads, are out a little as well, I have fixed these, it's just with it taking 10 hours per compile I wanted to get the test out for this weekend. Lastly, I've included the original MorpheusX with some texture alignment fixed. Since the included version, I've changed a few more things and tidied the textures some more, but again compile times are crippling so you'll have to wait for the full version to get that as well!


Instructions:
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1 ) Extract morpheusx.pk3 into your Quake3/baseq3/ directory
2 ) Start Quake3
3 ) To play type "map xxx", where "xxx" is the map name, in the console, or click on a map in the menu.


* Play Information *

 Settings                : Deathmatch and Tournament / CTF / Domination
 Players                 : 7 spawn points in FFA / 4 per team in CTF
 Bot Support             : Nope, they don't like low gravity!


* Construction *

 Build Time      : A few weeks, inc. learning Radiant. The CTF and Domination maps around a 		 	   week in total.
 Compile Time    : Upto 10 hours per map on a K7 600 [q3map -light -extra]
 Editor(s) used  : Q3Radiant
 Known Bugs      : The mirrors mess up from certain angles. I've tried and tried but I can't get 		   them working. I'm really sorry, but unless someone can help, they're going to 		   stay as they are. They're OK 98% of the time. The grappling hook included by 		   id isn't skinned, but there are skins floating around out there so grab one. 		   Lastly, the platform / Quad pickup makes a funny noise, and I couldn't change 		   it. I didn't want to lose the effect, so it stayed. All this makes it sound 			   alot worse than it is, trust me!

                   
* Info *

There are basically three maps in the pak, with two varations of each.

The standard Free For All map, MorpheusX, is based on the Unreal Tournament level Morpheus. It's basically three towers in space, with a small lower platform in the middle. In quarter gravity ;-> It's a very dark map, I wanted to create the impression of being high above the world at night, and set a certain mood.  

It's not a literal copy, I've altered how the level plays, hopefully for the better. The physics are completely different for the two games, hence the slight change in dimensions. Also the weapons are alot different, but I think I've done an OK job in placement, even if I did squeeze in all of them!

Suitable for upto 8 players, if you want a pretty hectic match. More if you're really evil. Works OK as a tournament map; though it has the Quad and BFG, it is quite possible to nail any opponent going for them. Low gravity fighting is as much about powering your opponent up and into space as it is on getting the kill.

Next up, the CTF map. Basically two towers now, one a team, with a shit load of jump pads between them ;-> It's more multi-levelled than the FFA map, with a couple of evil rail platforms for LPB's to reap havoc from. I did originally have a train running at the base from tower to tower, but evidently the Q3A train code isn't fully realised and I had some trouble with behaviour, like it bouncing off players and not killing them (!!), so I lost that and put in a couple more jump pads. Expect a very fast and frantic game, not unlike Q3CTF4. Captures can happen very quickly. Good for any number of players I suppose, 4 a team is nice, but there are so many jump pads and attack routes, you can get 8 a team I suppose, though there would be short of weapons, and the flag areas themselves are rather small and get crowded quickly.

The final variation is for Anthony Jacques Domination mod, itself based on a UT game. It's team fair again, with 3 domination points, teams accumulating points according to how long they hold each domination point. There is one on each tower, as the flags in CTF, plus a slightly modified bottom central ring with another domination point on there. It's got a little more connectivity going for it than the CTF version, with an extra 4 jump pads, but all in all it's the same map with a few item locations changed. The mod itself rocks, get it from www.planetquake.com/domination/

Two versions of each map, one with quarter gravity, the other with normal gravity and every player spawning with the Grappling Hook. The grapple versions have the prefix G after the X, thus MorpheusXG and MorpheusXGCTF. I prefer the low gravity versions, but I thought I'd include the other versions to give people a little variety.

Playing in low gravity takes some getting used to. At first you may find yourself running up a ramp and floating into the void below. I've done my best to help prevent this with additional space to land on (thanks for the ideas Herod!), but there's only so much I can do without ruining the map. So be a bit careful until you're used to the new feel, and don't start slamming it because you keep scoring minus frags ;-> I've spent so much time on it now, I'm finding it hard getting accustomed to normal gravity!

You'll need a powerful machine for this map, I fear. It is playable on a P2 300 with detail low enough however, so consider running in 16-bit colour. The towers have quite a few shader passes on them, which doesn't help performance. I was planning on cutting them back, but I really liked the shiny metallic effect, sorry. 


* Performance Suggestions *

These maps require rather more power than the average map, due to the open nature of the levels and my love of shaders ;->

Well, invest in a GeForce wouldn't hurt! Other than that, run it in 16-bit colour, that gives me a health 50% odd frame rate increase. The *biggest* increase, however, comes from turning on Vertex Lighting [instead of Lightmap], as this also reduces all shaders to a single pass, so you only get the base texture. It makes it a lot uglier, but my frame rate rarely drops below 90, the max refresh of my monitor, at any point on any of these levels like this. Yes, I could have been more conservative with shaders and whatever else, but I really liked how it looked, sorry!



* Issues *

For some reason, the grenades aren't affected by low gravity. I assume this is a problem in the code, and will be sorted at some point in time.

The accelerator pads on the tope of the towers are also a little suspect - try and hit it dead centre, at the base, to be guaranteed hitting the bounce pads. Pushing a player in low gravity, they float for a long time and the smallest degree out has pretty disastrous consequences. In both maps, don't be afraidof moving a little in the air to increase your chances of catching everything. Taking the accelerator pad dead centre really helps.

I'm getting some pretty bad r_speeds at times, especially when coming out of a tower at the top of the platform. I spent a long time messing around with hint brushes with no real joy. The nature of the map doesn't lend itself to brush optimisation I'm afraid. It shouldn't be too bad for the majority of play hopefully. If anyone wants to have a go at optimising it, give me a shout and I'll send you the .map file.

Lastly, some of the texturing is a little off in places, though you won't notice it battle, I hope! The volumetric lights around the curved fixtures on level 2, for example, is particularly poor, but I couldn't really make it any better. It gets to the point of such diminishing returns - a 10 hour full VIS and LIGHT doesn't help - that I felt enough is enough. Not a lack of commitment on my part, a lack of time I'm afraid.

Send comments to chainsaw@chainsaw-films.com


Thanks to Daniel Baron / Herod for playtesting it, and pointing out the problems!


* Distribution *

Feel free to distribute this file in any form, inc. on CD media, as long as proper credit is given and this text file has not been edited in any way.  
 