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

[meshcarver 12]

Hi mi24,

That's quite difficult to answer accurately as I haven't planned them out yet, but for a rough guide check out the offices/hospital in COP and use that as a reference mate.

I'd say anywhere between 10-40 room really, but that's just a guess.

May I ask why you want to know man? :)

[NeuroFunker 11]

Btw mesh, just wondering, have you ever heard or even read of "Roadside Picknick" by Strugatsky brothers? Worth to read, as this book is actually a "father" of everything named stalker, zone etc. And in this books zone, there were no mutants like in stalker games, nor even guns, just few stalkers crossing the dangerous zone. I wish you would make the plot more "realistic" Just the athmosphere, dangerous zone full of artifacts and anomalies and some lonely stalkers itself. :) Also, would recomment to find one of earlier stalker shadow of chernobyl builds, from 2003-04 period, as this game were nearly completly different at it's eralier stage, much much more athmospheric and creepy, closer to metro 2033 in athmosphere.

[meshcarver 12]

Hi NeuroFunker,

Aye mate, I have lost count of the times I've read it right through and I've read sections of it even more in little bites!

It is THE main inspiration and aesthetic I am going for, so no worries there...

A fantastic book, I love the way the Anomalies are treated like real and immediate threats- there is no fucking around in the Zone of Roadside Picnic.

Also yes, I've seen build play throughs etc of various early builds from SOC, and have made notes and sketches based on what I like from them.

Finally, don't worry about realism with this- that is one area I want to keep in check as otherwise it gets a bit too "fantasy" for me and loses its grounding in reality.

NOVA ZONA will be realistic, gritty, dangerous, barren and grim. :)

[mi24 10]

Just that will be more interesting to loot many rooms in side of hospital,military buildings or old village town hall)))

[Kaxii 11]

This reminds me of that Chernobyl map which someone is working on, it didn't have enterable buildings though even though the insides were all there as they came from stalker I think but he has been working on getting them enterable

[NeuroFunker 11]

Hi NeuroFunker,

Aye mate, I have lost count of the times I've read it right through and I've read sections of it even more in little bites!

It is THE main inspiration and aesthetic I am going for, so no worries there...

A fantastic book, I love the way the Anomalies are treated like real and immediate threats- there is no fucking around in the Zone of Roadside Picnic.

Also yes, I've seen build play throughs etc of various early builds from SOC, and have made notes and sketches based on what I like from them.

Finally, don't worry about realism with this- that is one area I want to keep in check as otherwise it gets a bit too "fantasy" for me and loses its grounding in reality.

NOVA ZONA will be realistic, gritty, dangerous, barren and grim. :)

wow, nice to hear that mate, so you know what i'm talking about pretty well ;) I'm even more excited now then ever. :)

[meshcarver 12]

@mi24,

Lol, no problem man- it just seemed like a really specific question! ;)

@Kaxii,

Yes, that guy is doing the commendable work of porting most of the GSC content over from STALKER which is cool, and if he manages to make good solid work of it, it's a map I'll be spending a lot of time exploring myself..!

@NueroFunker,

Aye man, I've got a pretty solid vision in my head about this. I don't know if you've read the entire (!) thread, but it's been mentioned about my inspirations for it and there is a LOT of great advice from the community too- much of it referring back to Roadside Picnic.

It's well worth reading the thread through if you have time, as there are some ace suggestions in here.

Btw all, you did read a few comments back that this is more or less "on hold" for the time being yes?

[mi24 10]

One thing in Namalsk island was perfect for such game like S.T.A.L.K.E.R but one problem (sea) because the sea in radioactive atmosphere spoils the whole game i mean some places must be somewhere Rivers but if you saw S.T.A.L.K.E.R there was no such thing (sea) i know in Chernobl there is no sea but I have not seen the islands so that there was radioactive atmosphere. its perfect when just hills lakes old villages,military bases,large city and etc. (sorry for my bad english using google translater)

Edited January 12, 2014 by mi24

[meshcarver 12]

Hi mi24,

Your English is fine mate, don't worry! :)

Yes, I fully understand what you mean about it being an actual island surrounded by sea.

At first, I was going to make it "landlocked", but after doing a bit of research, I read that islands have better performance in the ARMA engine so that is a plus.

Also, I am really going to play on the coastal theme too, and will have large industrial areas spilling over into the sea to create very atmospheric scenery.

Things like abandoned coastal villages and pipelines going out into the sea should look and feel pretty atmospheric imo.

Either way, I do understand your concerns..!

[mi24 10]

That all i want to know about island for now)))

[Kaxii 11]

Hi mi24,

Your English is fine mate, don't worry! :)

Yes, I fully understand what you mean about it being an actual island surrounded by sea.

At first, I was going to make it "landlocked", but after doing a bit of research, I read that islands have better performance in the ARMA engine so that is a plus.

Also, I am really going to play on the coastal theme too, and will have large industrial areas spilling over into the sea to create very atmospheric scenery.

Things like abandoned coastal villages and pipelines going out into the sea should look and feel pretty atmospheric imo.

Either way, I do understand your concerns..!

Awesome! THis with the great lighting and fog in arma 3 would look awesome! I wish there was a way to get AI to cleverly use buildings without that tedious work in the editor tso that those awesome buildings could become inhabited easier :D

[mi24 10]

Sorry for many questions but what about train carriages? It will be in your future plans?

[meshcarver 12]

Hi guys,

Ahhhhh, this is all killing me..! It's great having questions and interest, but because I have to put this on hold for the foreseeable future it's bloody painful to be writing about it... :(

Anyway...

Indeed, it should look really nice with ARMA3 amazing lighting and fog, and I'll be making structures that will really pick up on these FX.

And yes, there will be numerous abandoned old Soviet trains etc littered throughout the rail system of NOVA ZONA... Damn, just writing about it is killing me guys... :(

*crawls into corner to cry and sob*

[Brain 12]

Let's start a crowdfounding for NOVA ZONA. I'm in with 50€ for the start. :p

[meshcarver 12]

Let's start a crowdfounding for NOVA ZONA. I'm in with 50€ for the start. :p

Ahhh damn, shucks, bless you matey lol..! ;)

However, extremely kind as your offer is I'm going to have to very kindly decline good sir..!

All the same, cheers for your support for NOVA ZONA Brain, it's such a tough decision to come to and even tougher to stick with... I will just have to whittle away at it any time I get, but the danger with that is that inconsistencies have a chance of creeping in in the long term.

Frustration at seeing how many structures there are now, but god knows how long before I can add to them again. :(

Once again Brain, I very much appreciate your sentiment, but will carry on with my amended plans man.

[jtec 0]

Sad news Meshcarver although totally know where your coming from with regards to free time and that evil thing called real life. Id love to model again but have rarely time to do anything other then work and sleep :S Your works and vision have been awe inspiring and i really hope that in future you can continue! Be nice to win a few million just so you can work on your dreams eh?

[meshcarver 12]

Sad news Meshcarver although totally know where your coming from with regards to free time and that evil thing called real life. Id love to model again but have rarely time to do anything other then work and sleep :S Your works and vision have been awe inspiring and i really hope that in future you can continue! Be nice to win a few million just so you can work on your dreams eh?

Hi Jtec,

Hey, thanks for your support man, appreciated.

My god, if I won even enough money to fund me through this development then even that would be enough! I wouldn't need millions although that'd be quite nice... Lets make it billions hey..? ;)

This must be something every modder goes through though, and I know it's not unique to my situation so hats off to those guys who get through this and go on to complete their goal.

I wonder if there's a thread dealing with this kind of issue, as it must be quite common?

[Brain 12]

*cough* Crowdfounding*cough* :D I understand that you need money, because it takes a lot of time, but you don't want crowdfounding... :D Damn, we need to hire many co-developers and an office in Downtown NY, London and Bangkok for Nova Zona. That'll be expensive.

[USSRsniper 0]

This project looks promising maybe in future you will continue working on it. :)

Here is something for inspiration, the town of Slavutych, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavutych

You could see some pictures on google maps, and here http://vk.com/albums-1046027

What is interesting about this town is that its small and yet it has more architectural variety than some big cities built in USSR. It has different kinds of apartment buildings and even single family homes.

[katipo66 94]

Mesh, log off the forums and walk away from the puter! :D

[meshcarver 12]

Hi guys,

Hey, thanks for those links USSRsniper, there's some pretty good ref there!

Indeed Katipo66, that's probably a good idea at this point... :(

[katipo66 94]

Haha all good, I should take my own advice!

[CombatComm1 10]

Hey mesh, map is looking awesome!

I think I remember reading somehwere in this thread you're a DayZ fan. Is this going to be released for DayZ if and when they allow mods?

I dont think any other map would add to DayZ like this one could.

[meshcarver 12]

Damn, I try to take a break from these forums but keep coming back like a lost puppy lol...

Cheers CombatComm1, damn kind of you to say and yes, I loved playing DAYZ back in its early forms- a great experience and one of many inspirations for this map too.

It would be a dream come true if I could release this map for both ARMA3 and DAYZ SA, but I don't know in what form Rocket would be accepting mods like this?

But, if possible then I'd love to develop it with these two great games in mind- that'd be perfect.

*goes back into forced hibernation*

[big_t 1]

Damn, I try to take a break from these forums but keep coming back like a lost puppy lol...

Cheers CombatComm1, damn kind of you to say and yes, I loved playing DAYZ back in its early forms- a great experience and one of many inspirations for this map too.

It would be a dream come true if I could release this map for both ARMA3 and DAYZ SA, but I don't know in what form Rocket would be accepting mods like this?

But, if possible then I'd love to develop it with these two great games in mind- that'd be perfect.

*goes back into forced hibernation*

For selfish reasons I hope this thread haunts your thoughts regularly. Knowing not only that this truly amazing idea need to be realized but also that it could be the next big thing and make you infinitely wealthy :) hehehe seriously though I understand when life gets in the way, I'm really excited about Nova Zona though. Keep up the good work! (when you can ;))

T