GPGnet has been patched
Earlier today, version 1.5.83.1 of GPGnet was released. An official patch note/thread is available here. Two features have been added.
First, The Vault contains sections for maps, tools, and videos, and may be accessed from the ‘Tools’ menu in your GPGnet main window. The map vault is a significant addition, as it provides a central collection for all custom maps. Presumably, video content will comprise of short clips of cool or humorous in-game action sequences. It is unclear what belongs in the tool section, although it may contain various modding tools. The Vault includes an ‘Activity’ tab that displays current uploads and downloads, and all previous downloads can be viewed under the ‘My Content’ tab. For maps, the author can include a version, and users can rate each map. As SonofShagrat states in the aforementioned thread, a mod section will be added to The Vault shortly, and allow mod/map combinations to be uploaded simultaneously. Currently, there are 21 maps, a number which grew in the process of writing this post; the second-most downloaded map is Summer Duel by AngryZealot. By omitting the ’s’, is AngryZealot contesting the official spelling of Winters Duel?
There doesn’t appear to be any regulation to uploading, however, which may prove to be desirable in preventing buggy maps or vandalism. Hopefully users will keep each other in check. More importantly, GPGnet will not automatically download a map from the vault if you join a game set to play that map. The fact that you lack the map will be proclaimed in the game lobby’s chat window, and an error message will be displayed if the host tries to launch the game. This feature leaves the map vault wanting, overall.
I am pleased to present the second feature added with the patch: a tournament calendar. It is simply a place for anyone to schedule, register for, and view results of tournaments. There is one tournament underway, and another scheduled for Friday at 1:00 AM in an undisclosed time zone. Presumably, one just shows up at the appointed time and is automatched with their opponent, and the next round will commence after all first round games are completed. However, the tournament calendar feature is currently in a ‘late beta, live test’ state that restricts tournament directors, so I am unable to test out several aspects of this new feature. Specifically, I’m wondering if team (2v2, etc) tournaments will be supported, tournaments can be private, and how seeding and byes are arranged (by ladder ranking, maybe?). One feature that is available is forcing random factions, which should provide some interesting games. I will assume a single faction may also be forced, which will be useful in competitive tournaments. Additionally, in the ‘Tournament Results’ page, two icons bearing unknown functionality appear next to each match. I’m guessing one is a link to the replay of the match, which is useful.
Personally, I love the tournament calendar feature. I believe I’ve expressed concern in comments on SupComTalk about competitive gameplay in SupCom. I am a former competitive Quake 3 CTF player, and in running tournaments and ladders much time was expended in registering, match scheduling, server selection, and finding match observers. These problems don’t appear to exist given the tournament calendar feature, and hopefully the final version will be significantly better.
On a final note, the map vault is good, but an official map editor would be better. Currently, word on the map editor is nothing more than rumor and hearsay at best.
EDIT: The automatic download feature may not be automatically desired as I previously thought. SonofShagrat discusses this issue in this thread. I hadn’t considered the large file sizes of the maps as a factor. However, if automatic downloading is not viable, features that could still be added include prompting the player to download the map directly upon joining the lobby, and giving the host the option to kick the player or relegate him to observers until he has downloaded the map.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:25 am
“On a final note, the map vault is good, but an official map editor would be better. Currently, word on the map editor is nothing more than rumor and hearsay at best.”
That’s for sure.
It sure would be nice to have an official way to put maps in the vault instead of a “hacked together” program. And If I’m wrong as of this post, I apologize in advance.
May 31st, 2007 at 3:06 am
help->volunteer oppurtunities->map editor.
from gpgnet.
May 31st, 2007 at 5:05 am
Not hugely impressed by the map avatar/thumbnail display. Takes forever to load the images, which to me suggests it generates them each time from the maps themselves? It certainly doesn’t cache them, which would be handy. Still dislike the general GPG search mechanism which, when sorting by column, will only sort a page of results instead of all results. Shrug. I’m sure all the new stuff is cool though :)
May 31st, 2007 at 7:12 pm
what BS… release the friggin map editor already wtf.
June 1st, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Most mappers that already made maps using the unofficial mapeditor already stated that the mapvault is way more important then the official editor and i’m inclined to agree. A easy accesible way to distribute maps like the vault allows for much more support and use of custom maps.