Potential FTB-related map series

[Henix_Aurorus]

Hey guys. I've had an idea I've been tossing around for a while, which is rather relevant to FTB, so I felt I'd toss this out here. I've already gotten input from some people on Dire's IRC channel, and a nice handful are interested.

I'm planning to do a map series that effectively applies a lot of the mods in FTB to Super Hostile-esque maps- effectively, it'd be like Super Hostile, but taking advantage of a lot of the blocks and items available with some of the mods we already use.

I have two questions for you guys.

The first is, if I were to do this, would you play it? (It'll help if you use the poll up top so I can keep numbers.)

The second is, assuming you're interested, what would you like to see from the series? I'm looking to get some input from the community, as I would like to have a map series made not just by me, but by the collective ideas and suggestions of the community as well. And if you're not going to play it, but still would like to contribute, that's just as good.

 

[Whovian]

First, yes, I'd play it. I like Super Hostile.

Second, just so long as it has a gigantic 3d pixel art of Majora's Mask, I'll be happy.

 

[Henix_Aurorus]

...well, the poll certainly seems to support the "yes", which is good because I'd already started making the map. XD

Also, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to make something like that, but I'll give it a shot. (Talking about the Majora's Mask pixel art, not the map. )

Now, in terms of the map itself, I will probably be mostly focusing on just difficulty, and not cheap tricks. This is CTM, not Kaizo.

In terms of mods that will definitely be used, the list is fairly long:

• Twilight Forest (mostly for the various blocks from the Dark Towers, but also for the really tough-to-break blocks used in... well, the Dark Towers, and the Labyrinths... and before anyone asks, yes there will probably be at least one area filled with Anti-builders to drive players insane.)
• CustomNPCs (which I personally think gets less attention than it deserves- I'm mostly using it for NPCs (As the mod name implies), but since it doubles as a custom mob creator... well, yeah.)
• GregTech (For the variants of credits, and some other stuff too. Hardmode would be disabled, however I might make a separate version WITH hardmode to make things more difficult. :3)
• Forestry (...because I can see a BUD switch next to a leaf block to take advantage of pollination in the back of my mind. Also, bees could definitely make good obstacles (with the right effects, of course.))
• Mystcraft (Because ages. Seriously, having the ability to make an age for any application is the best thing ever when making a map.)
• MFFS (...once I completely master it. Forcefields should definitely come in handy.)
• Xycraft (For the cool lo- I mean, multi-tanks.... okay, fine, and the awesome-looking blocks.)
• ICBM (...yes, that does mean running into a Condensed Explosives + Glass Pressure Plate trap may be in your future. Watch your floors... also because missiles should be useful.)
• RedPower and/or Logical Engineering (Whichever updates first. Basically, frames, non-sucky redstone. To be honest I can't see myself making a map without this.)
• BuildCraft (Pipes. And maybe other stuff. But mostly pipes.)
• Thermal Expansion (Wait for it... liquiducts. And conduits. And everything else that's awesome about TE. Like tesseracts... which could be an issue.)
• ThaumCraft (Various reasons, though I'll have to work around the apparent soon-to-occur removal of Aura Nodes. Worst comes to worst, I go into MCEdit and grab the schematics for what I've already built and paste them into a new world.)
• Factorization (Mostly Wrathfire stuff, especially wrathlamps, but I can see wands of cooling and other stuff coming in handy.)
• ...and there's probably more I forgot, but eh.

...and since I happened to save a couple screenshots a few days ago, here you go:

...as a note, the sign you see in the first screenshot isn't actually there (anymore). It was meant as a placeholder for a door of vanishing blocks. It's now a reappearing block door... which is just a sample of what I plan to do. Also, the reason for the empty portal frame is solely the fact that when I made the thing I didn't have the linking book to the next area yet. :S

...and to explain the minimap, shenanigans. No worries, I'll clean it up eventually. (In fact, I intend to remove that layer of grass completely.)

As one final note, no I don't have a name for the map (although I DO have one for the series... which I'm not sharing just yet ), which is part of where the "community input" thing from the first post comes in- I'd like to know what you guys would think would be a good name for this first map (although I obviously don't expect any immediate ideas since the only thing you guys have to go on is the first two rooms ).

 

[Cieronph]

I think some people are already doing something like this its called FTE or something, i'm fairly certain its like this not sure though

 

[Henix_Aurorus]

It has been mentioned a couple times on IRC, but I do believe I'm the first person (or very close to) to actually start working on the idea. That and I have my own unique ideas that will probably set this apart from other similar maps.

 

[Cieronph]

Fare enough

 

[Henix_Aurorus]

Little bit of an update, wanted to show off a screenshot of the first dungeon since I happened to have it on hand:

Now, you're probably looking at this and going "oh that'll be easy, I can just run in and destroy the spawner before it spawns anything"... well, let me just say that I have NBTExplorer less than five feet away from me at all times, and trust me, it's not that simple. This specific spawner has a player range of 100- that means that by the time you reach the dungeon this room will likely be swarming with skeletons.

As another balancing measure, the boss at the end of this dungeon is definitely not a cakewalk (especially since during the fight you can very easily fall in lava). The basics of it is, at the end of every dungeon I plan to have some form of boss (usually oriented around a major enemy in the dungeon) that you have to defeat to obtain the wool. The plan is for each of these bosses to be made using CustomNPCs, or some other medium that allows me to have the boss respawn as many times as it wants (for the purpose of science getting wool back in the event you lose it), which of course also allows for a huge amount of flexibility in the direction of what the boss does... to a degree.

And before anyone asks, no, I'm not telling you what the bosses are. Oh, and there's an NPC in the screenshot above that looks almost exactly like a skeleton. Find it... and no, it's not the one with the enchanted bow.

 

[OmegaPython]

That's a really cool map, and I would most definitely play it. Oh, and is that fancy looking GUI tukmc?

 

[Henix_Aurorus]

That's a really cool map, and I would most definitely play it. Oh, and is that fancy looking GUI tukmc?

You mean the bar at the top? And the block name in the top right corner? That's CJB's More Info Mod. It's awesome. You should use it. Just remember to install CJB API first or you'll get a crash... yes, I found that out the hard way. XD

 

[Henix_Aurorus]

Hey guys, another update. This time, I didn't bring a screenshot. Instead, I brought this. It is, as the filename implies, a beta of the map. Currently it includes the first 6 dungeons split across three areas, as well as the beginning of the first open-world region. Why am I releasing this? Quite simple, really- for testing purposes. And science. But mostly testing.

Included in the zip file I linked are two things, which are admittedly just thrown in a zip file. At least I thought to not include the 20+ unnecessary config files that are cluttering the folder. (I need to get rid of those things...) But regardless, the first thing is a copy of the map. The second is all of the config files that will be required to run the map, although the mods themselves are not included. You will need to download those yourself- the required mods are:

• BuildCraft
• RedPower
• Railcraft
• CustomNPCs (really important, don't forget this one)
• PlasmaCraft
• IC2
• GregTech
• CompactSolars
• Tinker's Construct (new addition, not used yet but it is planned)
• Universal Electricity (Base components)
• ICBM
• Electric Expansion
• Atomic Science (Yes, I plan on using both of these.)
• ComputerCraft
• MiscPeripherals
• Factorization
• EnderStorage
• CodeChickenCore
• ChickenChunks (I've settled on combining chunkloaders with HV solars and IDSUs for energy)
• ExtraBiomes XL
• Twilight Forest
• Forestry
• Thermal Expansion
• OmniTools
• ChargePads
• EE3
• GraviGun
• GraviSuite
• Iron Chests (And potentially Better Storage in the future)
• Portal Gun
• Obsidiplates
• Nuclear Control
• MFFS
• Obsidiplates
• Soul Shards
• Steve's Carts (I can see a dispenser cart trap in your future...)
• ThaumCraft
• Extra Bees + Thaumic Bees
• Wireless Redstone
• Xycraft
• BiblioCraft
• MystCraft (Seriously, neglecting this one will render the map completely borken.)

Also recommended are:

• CJB's MoreInfo mod (as mentioned in my previous post)
• Inventory Tweaks
• NEI (Recipe mode)
• Easy Crafting (which if you use this, you can probably disregard NEI entirely)
• NEI Plugins (requiring NEI, obviously)

...that's a long list.
So yeah. Feedback is welcome (and encouraged, even), I need to know how I did on the first area so I can do good on the later ones. (P.S. I will also personally be running through what is done of the map real quick. And hopefully I won't die 9000 times in the process.)
Also, keep an eye out for glass pressure plates.
Just sayin'.

EDIT: Took all of five minutes to figure out that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to complete any of the dungeons since proper weaponry isn't readily available in any of the areas. This will be rectified, most likely by providing some wood at the entrances. I also have a couple spawners whose player ranges clearly need to be toned down, especially the wide-area spawners in the Glacier.

EDIT2: One more note, I forgot to mention it before, this map will currently only work on 1.4.7, for obvious reasons- at least half of the mods required aren't updated to 1.5.

 

[zzZombie]

You know, not to be a complainer or anything, but I would much rather see you build the maps with a map pack already in mind. Or work with the FTB team to get us a private pack that will work for these maps. I downloaded the maps but I'm not sure when I'll find the ambition to seek out the additional mods you're using.

 

[Henix_Aurorus]

I have plans to get in a private pack, and maybe I'll get it set up soon. I don't make any promises on that, though.