The Downloadable maps

[TWO_FASE]

i recently downloaded some of the vctf maps but it seems like no one plays on them. the maps look really good and break up the routine of doing the same 3 everyone is in love with. megastructure, necris and canal warfare all have a lot to offer with plenty of vehicle mixtures for everyone. why aren't people interested in these?

[UrLord75]

People either don't know about them or don't know how to download them!
...just a guess though...
Maps get a little time consuming to download all at once so i only do a couple at a time

[Do_Or_Die_420]

I just dont download them....

[Liqu1D_133]

I have ALMOST all the maps that were posted here... I don't see the big deal - you leave it to download and set the PC to shutdown when done. And installation isn't that hard either.

[Tailsnake]

We've setup servers with them a few times but it's a real hassle getting in contact with everybody. This is the discussion server for the vCTF server: http://gearsforums.epicgames.com/sho...d.php?t=613651

But I haven't been in contact with KS lately (his connection was good enough to host and have people from NA and EU playing together with almost no lag) and Grinchy is nowhere to be found (he posted the maps we put in the sevrer on UT3mod.com). We're still trying it out but It's a lot of work, I wish the PS3 just allowed redirection servers.

[Der_Schreiner]

Overall it generally is strange that almost nobody hosts games with custom maps. I have PS3 and all I ever get to play online is the same maps that ship with the game over and over ... I mean, yeah, Deck and Fearless and Rising Sun and a bunch of others are awesome, but after weeks and weeks it's time for something new, something custom, no?

And I fear that if I hosted a game with a custom map nobody would join because almost nobody actually has the map...

[kfs13]

i find that if i see a downloaded map on the join screen there is usually no one in it.its kind tough to play vctf like dual. the worst part is that everyone was asking for all these maps to be cooked for the ps3 but no one uses them. hopefully more people will download some soon.

[Teckniec]

i recently downloaded some of the vctf maps but it seems like no one plays on them. the maps look really good and break up the routine of doing the same 3 everyone is in love with. megastructure, necris and canal warfare all have a lot to offer with plenty of vehicle mixtures for everyone. why aren't people interested in these?

I plan on hosting custom vctf maps server every once and a while. I'll let everyone one know the map cycle and when I'll have it up when I get off my lazy a** and do some work. I think I might have pogo on there two that should be fun with flag runs

[rek]

canal,megastructure, and atlas city kick crazy backside... but rarely see them being played. i occaisionaly host games in atlas, but no one sticks around...if i get really bored, i'll host a match and fly the redeemer around all day, or time laps in a manta.

[BroKen~DisK]

I guess it depends on the day and time of day. While some gamers will join a server hosing custom maps (I prefer to avoid those with mutators), you do need several people to have a competitive game.

Lately I have been setting the bot ratio to 1:1. This helps to balance out the player count. The host plus three for four players makes for a good game depending on the bot's skill level. Its also a great way to learn your way around a new map

If we can ever get the use of a decent dedicated server, we can set a time and day that will be consistent week to week. This will allow us to play each other. (as it should be)

[SMP_KayoticKilla]

I think part of the problem is the inability to download maps from the host on the fly. I've hosted some TMDM games where the game is maxed out with people playing. But what happens, is that at the end of the match, if a custom map is selected, those individuals that don't already have that map, are then dropped from the server. To me, an easy fix to this problem, would be for Epic to allow players to download the map directly from the individual hosting the match, or possibly doing something like a torrent; where the map is downloaded from multiple users at the same time which should reduce toll on any one persons connection.

[Tailsnake]

I think part of the problem is the inability to download maps from the host on the fly. I've hosted some TMDM games where the game is maxed out with people playing. But what happens, is that at the end of the match, if a custom map is selected, those individuals that don't already have that map, are then dropped from the server. To me, an easy fix to this problem, would be for Epic to allow players to download the map directly from the individual hosting the match, or possibly doing something like a torrent; where the map is downloaded from multiple users at the same time which should reduce toll on any one persons connection.

That wouldn't work, a 64KB mutator takes a few seconds (lets say 3) to download when it's only being uploaded to one person at a time a 25MB level (25600KB) would take 1200 seconds (20 mins) to upload to a single player. Let's say 6 people in the server want the map, it would take 120 (2 hours) to upload it to all of them and the server would be laggy as hell the entire time. That's just not feasible. What the PC does is redirects the player to a remote server that hosts the maps for DL, it still takes a few mins, but it works. I don't know why this option wasn't included in the PS3 version.

[[s§s]Bison_Boy]

IMHO what you need to play and have fun with vCTF is several people, communication and better map design.

Finding enough peeps on at a time is difficult, I don't bother with a server without atleast 7 others on. Maybe we could make some small vCTF maps? Does anyone like that idea? If so, we neend to name them somehow to reflect that.

Communication: Teamspeak and ventrillo, etc etc are competing with each other and Epic dropped the ball here too without putting in a viable chat. At the very least we need an Epic sponsored chat that has atleast red and blue channels, otherwise peeps won't agree on which one to use.

Map design: Noobs must have a chance. Varying gamestyle too. Played a extremely dull 15 min match on the suspense map last night where the Goliaths set in the corner with aircover hiding and playing defense. No one got the flag, boooooring. Make maps where you can't dominate the whole thing from one defensive position. Don't get me wrong, Suspense is a great map But still is flawed for gameplay.

[Taffy]

It happens all the time at Taffy's TDM. Happened last night a couple times.

We'll be playing stock maps like deck, defiance, sentinel, etc... and the server will fill up. Then, a custom map will be voted for and the server will pretty much be emptied.

The server has an optical redirect, so anyone in the US with a fairly decent connection should be able to DL the maps fast.

I think the reasons are as follows:
1) Players don't want to play a map they're not familiar with for fear of getting raped by players that know it.

2) Just don't want to learn the map. They don't know where weapons and powerups are.

3) Don't want to wait the 1-2 minutes for a download.

I don't know, I can't figure it out and it's making me upset that people want to play the same maps over and over and over.

[marilol]

surely maps aren't 256mb for ps3? There only about 70mb = 6 players = 32.81 mins.

Thats faster! But still a long time, redirect would probably still be a better option then.

Preferably i just don't wait for the downloads on pc anyway, i dont care bout being beaten on a new map, its just slow. Also, vctf is a pain in the ass for a pc to download, the last megastructure download lasted 30 mins before the server started a new map, meaning it timed out!

[Taffy]

Preferably i just don't wait for the downloads on pc anyway, i dont care bout being beaten on a new map,

So I guess you'll be happy playing the same 4-5 maps over and over?

[Tweakd]

Preferably i just don't wait for the downloads on pc anyway, i dont care bout being beaten on a new map,

There is more to the uNreal series than winning on Deck.

[Taffy]

The Midnight redirect server is an optical redirect server in LA.

I'm in the DC area and it takes me less than a minute to download a 40M map.

So I don't buy the "download is too slow" excuse on Taffy's TDM. Occasionally someone with a crappy connection has a hard time getting a map but that's a rare case.

I will buy the "I don't want to get beat" reason.

Players just have to recall that this isn't a game that you master in 6-8 weeks and then put on the shelf. This is a game that you can grow into and get better at for months to come. Getting your butt kicked makes you a better player when all is said and done. Don't be afraid to try new maps because of getting worked. You will eventually get better and enjoy the new maps as much if not more than the stock ones.

[Taffy]

Also, just to re-emphasize my above point, most all (99%) of the players that are playing the custom/remaked maps and doing well have a ton of experience.

I've been playing almost every day since 2k3 came out and some of the UT99 veterans work me over pretty good.

Do I quit or refuse to play the maps? No. I take my lumps, learn the maps, and get better. What better way to improve than to learn from the vets? Most of the vets don't care for most of the stock maps and also don't care for 16 player TDM spam fests. So, they tend to gravitate to servers with a variety of maps. Want to play better players and improve? Play custom maps on reasonably configured servers and don't be afraid to get beat bad. Nobody notices when you get beat bad, but everyone notices when you start getting better.

[nero25]

i play at hedsteem server but the bot suck i have most costum maps and i dont get it pll play the same map over and over like suspence and is ther a way tooo let plll play more costum maps last i whas in a costum map server for 15 min and no one enter the server

[SMP_TheProdigy]

imma get them.. so i will be there..

[SMP_TheProdigy]

ok i got em.. nice.. 10 mins total to get 3 maps..

[nero25]

Yeah They dont have a spell checker either....And we rarely ever play Suspense.....That map is crap.

lol no whe dont have spell checker crybaby ooh he type it wrong and yes suspence is a crapy map tooo many flagcamper and respawnkillers

[The Demon Slick]

Seems like a lot of pc players here, but I see some familiar faces from PS3 here too..... I play custom maps all the time. It's kind of my thing that I'm into. I will play for hours and hours, all custom maps "votem if you gottem", Drop it all and Dual Enforcers, TDM, CTF, VCTF..... Hardly ever does anybody join me. If they do, it is almost always somebody from europe, and there is a huge time zone difference. It gets discouraging. After two or three hours of killing bots and waiting, I wander off to find some humans to play with. I don't know what the reason is. I have tried to set up custom ahead of time, with limited success. When I look at what games are on, there will be 50 or more going on (all game types), and maybe three or four will be using a custom map, almost always flatwars with the sneaky snipers. For instance, last night there were 28 TDM matches going on, not one with a custom map. You can download maps directly with your ps3 too, no pc needed. There is just no excuse, in my opinion. User created content is the greatest thing to happen to console gaming since PONG was invented!

[TWO_FASE]

this is easier said than done but i was thinking to just make a list of people with custom content or those willing to get it.then on the voting screen when the map is voted on i dont see myself with nothing but bots. it makes the game more fun and it doesnt get repetitive. like i said easier said than done.

[The Demon Slick]

TWO FASE Maybe you can start a thread, or edit the first post in this one, and when people sign up you could put them in the first post? My PSN ID is TheDemonSlick, I'm in, if you have custom maps, send me a friend request. You can often find me playing custom everything (WAR, CTF/VCTF, TDM). I don't like DM that much because I feel like when I'm fighting one dude somebody always shoots me from behind, and I hate that, but the same maps as TDM apply. I usually play dual enforcers and dropitall, but I'm flexible as hell.