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Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release)

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 7:03 pm
by Draconisaurus
Name: Draco Astreus
Position: Almost everything
Occupation: In transition
Age: 23
Listening to: the air conditioner



(see initial JPDS release here: viewtopic.php?f=46&t=8880 )

Well folks, it's now time for the third and final release of Jurassic Park: Dark Secrets. JPDS Trails! You can find it here. See the enclosed text file for installation and loading instructions.

I'm afraid I don't have the intro synopsis handy at this time, so have a look at the readme. Technically speaking, the starting position for JPDS~trails picks up at the location you would have entered from if you completed the bridge puzzle in Streams where you find a way across the broken-PV-style bridge, over the stream in the old forest. From here, the fight will be your own.

Again, Trails (and its two companion sublevels - HRS and Forest) is an incomplete level. You will find cool puzzles which can be done, and other puzzles which couldn't be gotten to in time. As said elsewhere, the puzzles in Trails would have led you back into Streams to retrieve an egg from that level and bring it back into this one, as part of the "easter egg hunt". There's also just plum lots to see in this level, as with the others. I'm afraid not as much time could be given to fine-tuning the AI, so it won't be as amazing as Streams. ;) The Hunters Camp, though, has several interesting things you'll want to check out...
HRS (Hillside Research Station) covers an area of buildings built into the side of the mountain which is intended to be InGen's initial Isla Sorna facility, built speedily and used until the MAJOR facility of the Embryonics Administration compound, as seen in Jurassic Park 3, could be completed, along with the Worker Village from TLW, both of which were going to be fully detailed in JP Dark Secrets..
Forest is the eastern-most stretch of JPDS's 4.1-kilometers-across terrain file, featuring several key locations amidst a foresty backdrop. Dinosaurs were plunked in at the last minute, to give it that feeling of liveliness, but have been almost entirely untweaked beyond basic scripts. But all puzzles present are fully functional and will lead to a level-end event, with plenty to see along the way. As with all my releases, folks should feel free to use ANY assets from my work, provided full obvious credit is given to me and the JPDS Team. So if you see something incomplete you'd like to "make more complete", have fun.

As for me and my life, I am moving very soon to Oregon. Like, this coming Sunday morning. I'll still be visiting sometimes but will probably not ever be an active member here again, and probably not make any more releases. Well... as soon as Tatu gets back here, he will be releasing the final JPDS~testing for me, which includes some behind-the-scenes material if I recall, and having the JPDS Conference Room opened up. One thing I'll note, I went ahead and just deleted my meshes folder from my computer without backing stuff up, since I don't anticipate re-entering the 3D modelling field. (I'm very glad to have made that "mine entrance" for Plains - a final testament to the 3D-graphic artistic level I've reached, very satisfying). So, I don't anticipate releasing a "lost models" package. Really, I made efforts to bring all models into JPDS in some form; the exception would be the unfinished EA interior, which I actually preserved in a level called "EA~test" and I DID save that, so that should eventually see release. I may also get around to releasing unused texture maps, we'll find out. Honestly people, the amount of new material in released JPDS levels should be enough to make a dozen new fan levels, so just stick with what's already ready-to-use...

I think that's all I have to say. It's been an interesting... what.. Dec. 2004.. six and a half years, being a Trespasser and working on JPDS bit-by-bit the entire time. Been full of ups and downs and quiet and drama but all vital parts of my path just the same. To think that it all started with a simple google image search that got me back into JP toys, and then through a friend there I found this site and combined my hobbies into game-design... WILD RIDE! I am now a creator of worlds. JPDS is so imprinted into my mind, I can journey through all these levels and remember all details almost exactly as they are seen ingame. Sculpting these worlds has built a comprehensive world-building mechanism into my mind which I feel will be useful in various other pursuits, I'm eternally thankful.
Will be checking in from time to time using a mobile device called the NOOKcolor, for the most part. Hopefully Tatu will be able to handle JPDS stuff when I'm gone - for now,
"Come on, son. Get us out of here."

~Draco

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 7:19 pm
by machf
Ugh... why do you keep making such *huge* releases? I already had to move the earlier levels to another computer to make space on my HDD... that's the main reason I haven't commented on them, as I don't use that PC too often nowadays.

Thinking if it would be a good idea to release the Pens in an unfinished state (but over the past days, I've been working on it again, so better just wait).

Good luck with whatever you plan to do now...

(On second thought... maybe not... just in case you're planning to take over the world and enslave us all, then certainly I do *not* wish you good luck with that)

EDIT: Gah! Just as I feared... the download was interrupted before it reached 50%... I think the TresCom server isn't too stable.

EDIT2: Argh, and now a second time, this time because I ran out of free space on the HDD when the download still had some 20MB left...

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 8:46 pm
by Draconisaurus
ouch. better wish the good luck to yourself, rather! but thanks anyway ;) i guess there's a chance i'll be able to play fan levels at my destination on rare occasion, if it's a big enough release. damn, i never did finish Rescue...
and yes, with the large file size, i meant to release an optional split-up series of archives, but have entirely run out of time. maybe Tatu can cook that up for us at some point.

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 9:03 pm
by machf
Well, this time it finally finished downloading...

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 1:00 pm
by Deino
For me this release is not that huge))) I've a lot of free space here on my hard disk))) and the download was pretty fast and without any interruptions... I was lucky in this case)) :D

Draco, having all this accomplished you now can easily find a job in Elecronic Arts! :wink:
And finnaly THANK YOU for this new release!))

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:29 pm
by Microceratops
Downloaded it yesterday and been playing it a couple of times. I really like the two (three?) levels, specially the HRS one. Exploring those gigantic houses was as beautiful as exploring the Town level, my personal favorite one. And hearing all those "new" voice-overs was great, specially since I hadn't heard em before.

And... THE MUSIC! My God, this new versions of some of the classic Trespasser tracks were amazing! It's like you got Bill Brown himself to do them.

I haven't finished either of both levels but I really liked them, specially the fact that they are gigantic. A forest this wild, this unkown... You know the rest :P

Anyways, I have a question... Do you actually find your brother at the end of the levels or not? Just want to know because that single question is killing me! :lol:

Again, great levels! Will post a more detailed review when I have played them in a more complete form. And good luck with that moving! We wish you the best Draco, and you will be surely missed around here. Thank you for all your hard work all this years!

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 7:31 am
by tatu
Will get that forum open for the public soon, and release the last version of JPDS~Testing.

Good to see that all JPDS levels have been released. Hope everyone get some time to play through these awesome levels!

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Sat Jun 04, 2011 7:00 pm
by machf
Not right now, really...

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:56 am
by RexHunter99
I'm getting a bunch of random palette errors :/ they change everytime I play Trails...

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:26 am
by Nick3069
tatu wrote:Hope everyone get some time to play through these awesome levels!
I didn't get much time. I'll report as soon as I do.
RexHunter99 wrote:I'm getting a bunch of random palette errors :/ they change everytime I play Trails...
Sounds similar to the problem I had with the TC levels.

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 10:36 am
by Deino
RexHunter99 wrote:I'm getting a bunch of random palette errors :/ they change everytime I play Trails...
The same problem. It appears when the level are loaded for the first time. after restarting level it all looks right with palette and textures.
and there is another bug on first time loaded level: the main charactrer becomes invisible)) entirely) :o neither right hand nor any other part of her body are to be seen. looks like some kind of invisible mode))))

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 4:19 pm
by Microceratops
I'm having a little problem too: It seems the Camp Level isn't loading or showing at all for me. I think there's a file missing.
Is anyone here having the same problem?

Also, the end of the Forest level gives me a microsecond of a loading screen, but then nothing. It happens something similar by the alternate exit of the level, where a text appears and says that I should have the Pine Valley files in order to proceed to the next level.

Help?

Re: Draco - Monday, 30 May 2011 (JPDS Trails - final release

Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:19 pm
by tatu
Microceratops wrote:I'm having a little problem too: It seems the Camp Level isn't loading or showing at all for me. I think there's a file missing.
Is anyone here having the same problem?

Also, the end of the Forest level gives me a microsecond of a loading screen, but then nothing. It happens something similar by the alternate exit of the level, where a text appears and says that I should have the Pine Valley files in order to proceed to the next level.

Help?
Not sure about the level not loading. Do you have all files from the previus packages too?

About the other thing:
Spoiler: show
That's a secret ending to Pine Valley IIRC. Just a small bonus.