Large S.T.A.L.K.E.R. inspired Island "NOVA ZONA"

[KorroBravin 1]

fap-fap-fap, is all i can say about it :p

Agreed, and I believe BIS is working on a re-vamped dynamic weather system, better rain, wind, storms, stuff like that, could be really cool if it could be localized to various regions of the island (Though continent is more what I am thinking this could be!) have more frequent storms/rain in swampy areas, and sand/dust storms in other places, also these variances in weather could lead to interesting survival aspects as well (assuming that a full fledged game/mod is made, and from what I am drawn together from the creative exchanges in this thread, it SHOULD be made).

Also I have to ask meanmachine, have you done any kind of size-prototyping, I believe you said cherno-sized earlier in the thread, but I think you could/should push for something bigger with all of the great ideas going with the island, though keeping it detailed AND vast might prove to be a bit of a challenge.

[NeuroFunker 11]

arma's 3 weather, when you set at full clouds and wind, already made me thing of stalker. Also iranian solders and the island itself, reminded me of very early stage of stalkers development, one of first alpha builds, where the game was called: "oblivion lost", there were some mayan like pyramide, some robots and futuristic look soldiers. Now i'm having a bit of dejavu playing arma 3 at bad windy weather, sneaking up to iranian base. Really touches my "stalker feelings" lol.

[meshcarver 12]

Hi,

Wow, there's some really good comments and suggestions going on here- thanks..! :)

@KorroBravin- I am planning on have a few swamp areas, with one of them being absolutely massive- also planned is for having half sunken villages in their midst too aye. I thought a good idea would be to have some sort of little wooden church ruin collapsed completely under water in a swamp, but with the currents/underwater life every now and then you hear the bell quietly tolling down there... would be quite freaky at night..!

Also, aye, the more updates there are to the weather system in ARMA3, the better it'll be for this island in the long run as STALKER is a lot about the environment.

Size wise, I'm sticking to my plans for a Cherno sized map so far, as it really is SO MUCH work to create a map of this size- it's a HELL of a LOT of work mate...

@Grimwald- sounds like you're a massive STALKER fan lol..! What's your sandbox game you were talking about mate? Either way, indeed, go for it man...

@Kyle- cheers bud, looks like your idea for Ashland in this island is catching fire lol..! ;)

@Masterdon- Very much appreciated, and aye, it'll take a fair amount of time.

@NeuroFunker- "fap-fap-fap, is all i can say about it" LOL..!

@Shtebbie- Thanks!

Anyway guys, here's a couple of links to the latest WIPs, a few Piling Defences for the Stalkers to crouch and cower behind in the heat of a gunfight, I hope you like them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86890612@N02/8558234197/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86890612@N02/8559342348/in/photostream/

Also, if you click the "meshcarverWIP blog" in my sig, there's a bit more information.

And again, thanks for all your input and if there's any more ideas/crits etc PLEASE let me know, as it's also a great motivator!

Cheers..!

Edited March 15, 2013 by meanmachine1

[KorroBravin 1]

Hi,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86890612@N02/8558234197/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86890612@N02/8559342348/in/photostream/

Cheers..!

Wow, that looks great, has a distinctly industrial look to it. And I see what you mean by how hard it will be (Trying to pick up mapmaking in A3 myself now) But making a map with all of these great ideas and do so in a natural-looking way could be difficult without more space, or a bit of geological trickery, either way I'm sure you have something planned for this, and it will look amazing.

Edited March 15, 2013 by KorroBravin

[meshcarver 12]

Hi,

Aye man, I'm going to make most of the map completely grown over with foliage like weeds and rotting plants etc, so that all these rusted buildings and assets fit in. There'll be muddy areas, swamps and forests too, all wild as the Zone has crept slowly outward from the center, taking everything over bit by bit...

[JRobin 16]

It would pretty neat if there was an allusion to the Skadovsk in one of the swamps. Just my random two cents. :P

Anywho, again, your models look fantastic! They look like an updated version of something straight out of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.!

To put it simply, this and Invasion 1944 are my two most watched threads right now.

[O_SkyWolf 1]

This sounds great, best of luck

[meshcarver 12]

Hi,

Yeah, it'll be a challenge to make this map, as I do want to go down the realistic approach layout wise, but trying to incorporate Stalkerish buildings/structures into the plan means it'll have to be done convincingly.

Talking of "convincing"(Or not..!), my next update will be a take on the notorious "Witches Jelly" phenomenon from Roadside Picnic. I want to get some of the horror of the Zone into my map, and try to include as many refs to Roadside Picnic as possible, especially were these things like Artifacts and Anomalies are concerned, but will put my twist on them- trying to retain the possibility that these things could be real.

I know the Witches Jelly is basically a "gas" of some form, and it gives off a glow that can be seen at night and is mostly located in depressions or basements etc, but I thought to make it so at the center (Or thereabouts, you can never tell...) of the glow area you could have a source so to speak...

So for the source I've done a sort of gelatinous mass, which is the ref to the "Jelly" part. To me, it'd be horrific if you were low on health, trudging through a swamp at night in rain, and could see a single ruined farmstead up ahead. "Food!" you think, only to get closer and see the glow from the Witches Jelly inside the building and know that to go in there now would very likely mean death... But to know that the source of the glow is masses of gelatinous growths in the basement, pulsing away slowly would add to that revulsion... for me anyway...

I know it's a risky proposition to add things like this, but done correctly and realistically I think they'll add so much more individuality to the island, as there's not really any other islands like this with "organic" structures atm as far as I know..?

There will be loads of Anomalies that are "just" weird effects, like gas, strange visual distortions and fire etc, but I think it could work to give some others a "form" or life of their own in creating horrible center/reason to their source.

But, important to mention, I'll NEVER go down the route of giving the Witches Jelly legs, eyes and a lazer tail from Hell kinda thing if you get my drift..! ;)

These kind of things will almost look mundane, like irrelevant smudges in the dark corners of basements and muddy swamps... but you know they're there.

Anyway, I'd LOVE to hear people thoughts on this, as I know it's a bit risky lol..!!!

I can always take them out anyway... but they're such fun to create too, and different from buildings all the time lol..!!!

Oh and yeah- having a ref to the Skadovsk would be a great touch- maybe having it almost completely sunk/ruined from repeated hits from Emissions..? More like a hulking wreck than a safe house now...

[KorroBravin 1]

I love the thought of adding the jelly (was always a terrifying thing when I was reading Roadside Picnic) And making more than just a gaseous space would be awesome, I really like the idea of it being some kind of fungus, or such that is actually alive and growing, not just an inanimate mass. Also I do not think there are any islands that actually have any kind of organic structures (mostly as these are very difficult to do with poly limmits, at least making them look good.) are you thinking of adding some things like the mutated vine growths from STALKER in Prypiat?

(This one http://images.wikia.com/stalker/images/2/25/Mutated_Vine_Anomaly.jpg)

[meshcarver 12]

Hi Korro,

aye mate, I'm going to be adding a LOT of vines like that, no worries..! ;)

Yes, the idea is to finally animate these Witches Jelly growths, so they look like they're breathing/pulsing slightly. They won't be moving around though, and as you point out they're sort of like a "fungus", but a mutated Zone irradiated version- completely repulsive to look at tbh lol...

They're literally just heavy looking blobs that sit there on the floor pulsing. I don't want to make these things too "in your face" as I think that would reduce the horror factor- less is more.

The idea is to make them seem almost like tumours growing on the land itself.

There will be other versions of this idea for some other Anomolie sources, one of which will be growing inside and outside structures, and on the walls, ceilings etc... I've got a few sketches to remind me of how these will work.

[meshcarver 12]

Hi again..!

Well, this one's a bit of a risk, but in trying to stick to Roadside Picnic and it's environment I have to adapt some of the ideas for the ARMA3 island.

This one is from the Witches Jelly anomaly, but as mentioned above I've gone down the route of introducing a bit more of the horror side of STALKER into the design.

A few reasons for this, but primarily is because there aren't that many islands/themes in ARMA addons upto now that have this (As far as I know), and also it really fits the STALKER universe so I'll try to play on it in subtle ways that will effect your game play.

Anyway, these little beauties will be growing in basements, swamps and dark recesses of old irradiated factories and laboratories etc, and will give off a glow that can be seen for quite some distance away. They will be surrounded by a glowing miasma of gases which they expel, hissing and spluttering, completely harmful and fatal if exposed to for longer than say, 10-20 seconds... So you know to stay well away.

That being said, you won't really be able to walk up to these and study them for that reason- you'll have to give them a wide berth and study them from afar.

Ideally I want them to be breathing/pulsing slightly and slowly in the final build, as to give them a sense of life, like a tumorous parasite that should add to the feeling of repulsion hopefully.

Imagine being stuck in an old ruined factory at night, surrounded by Bloodsuckers, and you know there's a whole crop of these in the room next to yours... :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86890612@N02/8560718017/in/photostream

Anyway, please let me know what you think about this idea, and don't worry- I won't get too carried away with this side of the design.

[iOGC_Broadsword 1]

Another great addition mesh, can't wait to get my boots on the ground, as long as I don't step into some witches jelly.

[meshcarver 12]

Whey hey..! :)

'Sup Broady..!? How's it going mate!?

Thanks for taking time to check this out, 'tis appreciated and I'm glad you like them- I was sort of worried about going down the route of subtle horror but thought it'd probably benefit in the long run as long as it stays subtle and has an actual effect on units- Ie; they tread in it and basically lose their bones lol..! ;)

Anyway, take it easy man and I'll keep you boys in iOGC updated.

[all3n 1]

Hey man, if I could recommend some things, you should look towards fallout new Vegas or fallout 3 for some building model ideas as well, they have a very diverse assortment of buildings, one thing I'm afraid of happening is there won't be a good balance of destroyed/somewhat in tact buildings. I mean buildings that can still be entered without fear of a monster coming in all 4 corners, with a closing door perhaps

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

I'll NEVER go down the route of giving the Witches Jelly legs, eyes and a lazer tail from Hell kinda thing

And - what's wrong with lazer tails? I was born with one man! I have to wear special underpants for it, and to sit wrong on it...! You don't know the shame, man! The SHAME!

;)

The witches jelly looks PERFECT. As do the cobbled-together and scavenged fighting positions. And I love the idea of a completely sunken church, with its bell still softly tolling due to the currents - man, to be underwater and hearing that thing - just the idea of it makes my skin get goosebumps. Could you imagine having bloodsuckers SWIMMING about down there! Very hopefully BI is supplying melee combat support for underwater encounters, so that it's possible to have the swimming bloodsuckers being able to attack. Of course, we could always design our own twisted creature(s) for such aquatic realms...

And I agree with your assessment regarding Ashland. It seems pretty clear that the community members love the idea of it.

All in all, stellar stuff Marc.

I just got my Steam code for ArmA III Alpha Lite. As soon as I free up enough memory, I'm downloading/installing it to see how well my system can handle it. If it does a decent job, I'm hoping to scrounge up enough funds to get the Supporter version of the game. Fingers tightly crossed that all goes well!

[meshcarver 12]

Aye man, I've played Fallout 3 and really enjoyed it (soundtrack is classic).

With each building I show, bear in mind that I'll be doing about 3 layout variations on each, and some will be more ruined/intact than others, and some will also have working doors too.

I'll try to get a diversity of structures, and one thing I would like to do is to create a feeling of not being totally safe/secure when you're inside one of these structures as so many windows and walls are around you so a snipers bullet could come from any angle.

EDIT!

Hi Kyle..! How's it going man..!?

Thanks for your support on the Witches Jelly too, it seems to be going down well with some people who've sent pm's etc, so that's sort of a relief..!

Aye, Ashland will form a substantial part of this island, that's for sure.

Things are going well here, and I've just started another generic building like "control room 01" aswell. After that one is finished, I'll start on another house structure, one of the wooden ones...

Anyway man, I hope everything's cool with you.

Take it easy and stay in touch- your input is always anticipated and valued..!

(Lol at the lazer tail underpants!) ;)

Marc

Edited March 16, 2013 by meanmachine1

[RadioActiveLobster 10]

I support this. After all, GSC stole the name for their game from me (totally not a lie)

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Wow! Quick reply.

And you didn't apologize for your discrimination against us lazer-tailers. :icon_sad:

Rest assured, one day we will rise up against the mundanes (the derogatory term we've assigned to the normals), and we shall rule you all.

;)

I had a couple more concepts that I've wanted to post here, but kept forgetting about. Here they are...

If possible, supply us structures that have had anomalies form inside of them, and "nicked" their perimeters. There could be two main variations of these:

Variant 1: Imploded. Whatever anomaly formed here, it instantly caused the surrounding area to contract within its spherical radius of influence, causing even the studs, braces, and joists to bend towards the center. Materials that were not consumed by the anomaly would be cracked, shattered and scattered if made of brittle materials (such as wood), and would be stretched and warped if made of elastic materials (metal, plastic, etc.).

Variant 2: Exploded. As above, but all of the destructive warping of materials would be bowed outward from the anomaly's center.

I'm utterly confident that supplying a structure or two per location affected by one of the two types of anomaly influences would really help to keep the player's nerves on edge, and all the while, supply a more tactically challenging scenario, as they'd supply entry/exit points and major firing lines into/through otherwise sound structures.

Ideally, these warped-regions could be scripted to be a dynamic anomaly center. Half of the time, whatever anomaly had warped that structure has dissipated, and half of the time, there'd by some kind of randomly generated anomaly there. Not only would the type of the anomaly would be randomized, but so would its strength - the weakest form of a vortex might be sufficiently strong to twist one's ankle/knee and force a yell of pain from whomever moves through it, etc., etc.

There could be some real creepy moments with structures such as these. Buildings might look entirely normal from the outside, but as one proceeds through its interior, debris begins to be seen, and then suddenly a spherical hole dominates the ceiling and floor (and whatever walls it touched) from where an anomaly used to be, or currently is.

If anyone could pull this surreality off, it's certainly you. :)

[meshcarver 12]

VERY quickly as I'm about to go sleepy bo-bos lol..!

Unreal Kyle, I have a sketch from about 6 months back that was based on the Gravi Anomaly, but taken to an extreme.

I thought to have a perfect sphere of ultra condensed matter and detrius floating about 5-10 meters off the ground, and even the ground (terrain) itself spiked up to almost meet the floating sphere, so it looks like a huge concentration of gravity in a small circumference. Almost exactly like what you've described..!!! :)

Reading again your description of variant 01, there are some differences to my idea, but tbh, why don't I make both..!? :)

Your idea of having a partially deformed structure sounds fantastic, so aye, I'll certainly make it happen mate... Great idea again..!

Keep them coming please..!!!!!

Just occured- another variant on your idea would be a twisted variation, as per the "Meat Grinder" in Roadside Picnic.

So aswell as having metal, wood, plastic etc pulled straight towards a center of space, I coud also make some structures "twisted" towards an area of space..!?

---------- Post added at 11:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 PM ----------

@STALKER- I am so utterly (Witches) Jelly of your user name... ;)

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

So aswell as having metal, wood, plastic etc pulled straight towards a center of space, I coud also make some structures "twisted" towards an area of space..!?

Yeah, that sounds GREAT! Honestly, one could create creepily surreal "sculptures" out of an enormous range of natural vegetation, boulders, and nearby structures, so that a twisted mix of natural/man made materials would form eery forms, such as a 35 m. tall "spike" into the sky, and/or multiple "spikes" that twist about each other before going their own way. Tree limbs would participate in the visual madness. Maybe a few animals got caught in the event, and are now forever frozen in the unnatural formation? Seeing a deer's or cow's body penetrated-fused with brick and steel, with a portion of a window emanating from its skull? Some of these surreal formations might be so huge as to be climbable, and one could seek cover and concealment from its enterable interiors (with cobbled together shelter or a camp built inside?).

Whoa! Heavy.

[grimwald 24]

Hi,

@Grimwald- sounds like you're a massive STALKER fan lol..! What's your sandbox game you were talking about mate? Either way, indeed, go for it man...

Yes, big fan from way back (Oblivion Lost alpha builds). Sandbox game idea is to have series of "missions" around the narrative of how Bloodsuckers came into being. The Sandbox part is supported by the inclusion of random "missions" that have no effect on the game if taken, failed, or otherwise. My biggest challenges are testing, finding out how to make artifacts do something, and implementing a trader (although there's someone posting with a trader in their sig that I have to investigate those scripts). I'm guessing it'll be about 10hours of gameplay to follow the core "missions". Hopefully I can get it co-op friendly.

If anyone's interested in helping PM, or email, me and let me know how you could help - even if it's just to run through what's done so far.

[meshcarver 12]

Hey man,

that idea sounds cool... would be good to see even more STALKER related content coming out on ARMA3..!!! :)

Good luck with your plans mate and try to stick to it- it'll be worth it in the end..!!!

[all3n 1]

Hey mean, I'd just like to say that I've checked out your websites, your résumé, your experience, I'm sure you've heard it all before, but please stick with this project, don't abandon it, because I know it's so easy to do. But if you can stick with this project and follow through with it and get it done, you will have the pride to know that you've satisfied thousands of people's needs for a creepy-esque type mod for arma, I for one am looking forward to ONE thing about arma 3, and that is the new "stalker" type maps and campaigns. With the creator of namalsk AWOL, your the only one left that's stepping up to the challenge. So take your time, take it slow, don't burn yourself out please;) I'm really looking forward to this map, and maybe even if your feeling excited you could make a campaign for it too;p anyways mate, good luck! I'll definitely be checking in!

---------- Post added at 02:15 ---------- Previous post was at 02:11 ----------

To follow up on what I just said, your an amazing modler and I can't wait to see what you come up with, maybe you could throw in some underground areas the way namalsk did by covering the floors with concrete, would be amazing to have creepy cellars in a lot of the houses;) maybe some anomalies in them!

[charliemilk 10]

Good luck with this!!! :)

[meshcarver 12]

Hey guys..!

@charliemilk- thanks man, appreciated!

@All3n- Hey, cheers man it's nice of you to say all that and aye, don't worry, I intend to fully complete this project as I myself would love to have a STALKER landmass to explore and fight in using ARMA3 as the gunplay in the ALPHA upto now is amazing.

What happened with Sumarak..? The Namalsk guy..? I thought he was working on a Chernobyl map or something..? Namalsk is fantastic btw...

I'll try not to burn out, and as it happens I'm away for a month in a months time, so that'll be some time away from the keyboard anyway lol... I can recharge my batteries and get some more ideas fleshed out on paper then.

I would LOVE to add in a LOT of varied underground areas, but until I see that ARMA3 will/could support them properly, I'll hang fire- they'll be easy to add in later anyway really. Well, not easy but doable...

Yeah, I can imagine being in a deserted and lonely farmhouse at night in the rain, and you hear footsteps slowly moving around in the basement right under the floorboards... epic..!!! ;)

Anyway, it's great to have all this input as it keeps my powder dry and helps the motivation- thanks again man..!!!