================================================================
Title                   : The Vale: Evelyn
Version                 : 1.2
Release Date            : 19th August 2022
Author(s)               : Paul 'fashahhh' Frechette
Email Address           : fashahhh@hotmail.com
Web Page                : https://www.unrealsp.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4549
Description             : Single map from scratch
================================================================


--- PLAY INFORMATION ---
Game                    : Unreal Tournament v4.36 with Oldskool Amp'd / Unreal v227j
Level Name              : Sp-Vale_Evelyn.unr / Sp-Vale_Evelyn_227.unr
Single Player           : Yes
Cooperative             : Yes (Only tested Offline)
Deathmatch              : No
Difficulty Settings     : Yes (Co-op players see below*), Hard difficulty is the way I intended this to be played.
New Sounds              : No
New Music		: Icy-1 By Frieza, The Vale 'Evelyn Version' originally by Frieza modified by Myself
New Graphics            : New textures by McFarrell
New UnrealScript        : No
External DLLs           : No
Known bugs              : See technical issues below

*[UT Only] Co-op players will have to change the difficulty setting by hitting tab and typing in the following 'switchcooplevel sp-vale_evelyn?difficulty=#' (where # is 0 for Easy, 1 for Medium, 2 for Hard, 3 for Unreal)


--- CONSTRUCTION ---
Editor(s) used          : UnrealEd 2.0
Base                    : None
Construction Time       : Started November 2005 in its original Icy Vale form


INSTALLATION
------------
[Unreal Tournament]
- Ensure Unreal Tournament is patched to v4.36
- Install Oldskool Amp'd v2.39 (included in this archive).

Extract:
All .unr files UnrealTournament/Maps folder
All .txt files UnrealTournament/Help folder
All .umx files UnrealTournament/Music folder
All .u files UnrealTournament/System folder

To play:
- Enable Oldskool Amp'd in the Mod menu.
- Select New Single Player Game from the Game menu.
- Select Custom Maps
- Select Refresh
- Select Sp-Vale_Evelyn and away you go!

[Unreal 227j]
- Ensure Unreal is patched to v227j
- Ensure all Files / Botpack Files are placed in the relevant folders listed below

Extract:
All .unr files Unreal/Maps folder
All .txt files Unreal/Help folder
All .uax files Unreal/Sounds folder
All .umx files Unreal/Music folder
All .u files Unreal/System folder
All .int files Unreal/System folder

To play:
- Select Game / New
- Select The Vale: Evelyn and away you go!

IMPORTANT: If updating a previous version, please replace SPVale.u with the version in this file as the wheel mesh is different.


HISTORY (CONTAINS SPOILERS):
----------------------------
This map started out as the icy vale map (entitled 'The Errand') from the Team UnrealSP mod Battle for Na Pali. On planning the map I was inspired by the many hikes I've done in the Lake District growing up. It was originally intended as the second map for the mod where the player would be given the task of leaving their hometown to return a crossbow to the hunter deep in the vale. The level started in a small cave and was essentially played in reverse of what it is today. You would traverse through the foggy blizzardy valley being ambushed by wolves (a new enemy) along the way and would eventually find the hunters cabin. At this point the weather would have cleared and there would have been scripted events of Skaarj aircraft flying overhead towards the hometown. Sensing danger the hunter lets you keep the crossbow and you backtrack towards the hometown.

After the shelving of BfNP it was to become a map for the Red Nemesis mod Residual Decay. At this point I replaced all the texture work with default textures so it could be changed to the RD texture work at a later date and added the fort. However, as time passed with no word on RD's progress, I decided that I wouldn't mind releasing it as a standalone map as I had done so much of the groundwork already.

As I couldn't implement the weather and fog properly I made the decision to change the theme to the well tried and tested tropical theme albeit using the BfNP texture sets. I toyed with the idea of a couple of levels however I really wanted it to be just one large map (which has proved to be an absolute pain to optimise). I have had a constant battle with the node limit and had numerous bugs creep up every rebuild (I have literally lost count of how many times I have done a full rebuild!). As well as the snowy environment another sacrifice had to be made; it really pained me to do it but I had to cut the hunters' log cabin as it was too high on nodes.

The Skaarj labs area at the top of the tower was actually re-purposed from another level I started for a speed-map competition entitled 'Astrox'. This in fact started life as a Mercenary spacecraft in which the player had to escape. I also had the idea that the Astrox map was going to be a seperate level where the player would escape the merc ship and land in the sea area of the vale map but decided to scrap that idea due to time. The final Cave arena was originally the starting cave of the map albeit now massively scaled up.

There were a couple of areas I really wished I could have done if it wasn't for hitting the node limit. The first was Ska'keth's sleeping quarters which would have been adorned with Skaarj Artifacts and other scavenged trinkets. This area would have been in the hallway between the kitchens and the main sleeping quarters. The other area would have been a sub-level dungeon to the fort. The idea was you would have searched the dungeon but found that Evelyn wasn't being kept there however you would have released the captive Nali.

Finally, I wanted a slightly different story where the player is not simply escaping the planet so I went with a save your captured partner storyline. I didn't want too much of a backstory as I thought it would be more interesting having the player decide their own background.


GAMPLAY & CHANGES:
------------------
- Automag & Minigun now have their own seperate ammo.
- Brute projectiles are much faster and deadlier on Hard/Unreal skills.
- Keep your eyes peeled for the Stalkers!
- On harder difficulties, don't forget to use your seeds!


VERSION HISTORY
---------------
1.0: [21/6/20]
First public release

1.1: [26/3/21]
Change Log (Global) SPOILER WARNING:
- Cleaned up actor duplicates that could cause possible errors on startup.
- Set all triggered enemies to ATTITUDE_Ignore bHateWhenTriggered so that they don't wander or in some cases attack other enemies of a different type prematurely.
- Added [...] to all translator messages that show the name/details of the entry writer to make the translator events more uniform.
- Increased the agressiveness of all Skaarj Stalkers so they are less likely to retreat when first viewing the player.
- Added a small amount of hidden / hard to get ammo in various locations to further reward exploration.
- Set all books with a translator message attached to unmovable.
- Changed the starting locations of all modified enemies which teleport in. Also added blockalls to limit them wandering away from the teleporter.
- Added collisions to various crucified Nali monk statues & large boulders which were previously missing.
- Added an extra spawning Devilfish in the open ocean area on medium difficulty.
- Revised the the first two Manta encounters. Added long grass to the second encounter.
- Added a plant in front of the wall facing the steps down from the watch tower to stop players encountering an unfixable permanent BSP error.
- Added a small steel box behind the crates in the damaged house basement to prevent the player getting stuck.
- Added additional sea weed decorations to the shallows between the tower & village.
- Slightly repositioned the beckoning Nali due to issues with him triggering.
- The lamp in the loft area to Nali & Son's house can no longer be destroyed leaving a floating corona.
- Strange rug turning black error when entering Elder Adallai's house corrected.
- Slightly improved pathing to the bottom of sloped path leading to the cable car in the second valley area. The provoked Brute should take a more direct approach to the player rather the sticking to the path.
- Re-positioned the 2nd Gasbag on Unreal difficulty to the waterfalls area so that they don't get in each others way.
- Changed spawning Gasbag orders to 'Wandering' after activating the cable car so they are more ambient. Spawnpoints also adjusted.
- Added block player actors to the railings in front of the Crucifix at the bottom of the main tower and the railings between the kitchen & sleeping quarters which the player could potentially get stuck behind.
- Slightly tweaked the Nali chef's hidden translator message.
- Added missing sound effect to the light beam mover in the Skaarj Labs.
- Added alarm sound effect when deactivating the Hall of the Elders forcefield in the Skaarj labs to help warn players of imminent danger. Tweaked the translator message wording to better suit the situation.
- Raised the teleporter destination of the first Stalker encounter to avoid any possible spawning in exploits when standing on the spawnpoint. Distance view trigger also added in case Stalkers don't initially react.
- Revised the triggering of the Skaarj Troopers to the fort main atrium after the forcefield deactivation. Troopers will now be more reactive/aggressive towards the player. Also added an additional Trooper on Hard & Unreal difficulties.
- Additonal ambush points & ambush orders given to Skaarj Troopers in the Hall of the Elders to reduce them wandering prematurely.
- Changed position of the sniper rifle at the fort exit due to the Skaarj Sniper not triggering correctly in some cases. Added target pots / smashed pots decorations to give players an inkling that there's a sniper nearby.
- Skaarj Troopers are now triggered on the slope down to the Fort exit. Their starting points have also been revised.
- Added block monster actors to the top path of the valley between the fort & swamp to stop Skaarj Troopers jumping/dodging off the edge of the cliff and getting stuck.
- Re-positioned the stationary Skaarj Trooper next to the swamp so that it isn't as visible to the player & added ambushing orders so it is less likely to wander prematurely.
- Added additional distance view trigger to the standoff Brutes in case the player takes an unintended path towards them.
- Added an additional Devilfish to the river beneath the Fort Bridge & added a few more under water decorations which were missing.
- Added additional block monster actors to the final valley area next to the mine bridge to stop Skaarj Troopers from getting stuck in the corner between the bridge and cliff edge.
- Hidden Skaarj Infantry's weapon in the final valley changed from ASMD to Stinger on Hard & Unreal difficulties. Enemy has been re-positioned with distance view triggers when approaching. 
- Additional Skaarj Infantry added to final valley on Unreal difficulty.
- Slightly tweaked Lord Ska'Keth's translator message on the landing platform.
- Added additional steel boxes to the landing pad area to provide cover for the hiding Skaarj from a distance.
- An additional Skaarj Trooper emerges from the mine entrance on Medium dificulty.
- Skaarj writing to both sides of the mine entrance now use same texture which makes sense considering the translator messages to both sides are the same.
- The pupae in the flooded cave area have been repositioned to make them more responsive. Added ambushing orders.
- Improved pathing to the boss arena & removed the large rock near the forcefield, enemies should now use the sloped path more easily/often.
- Ska'Keth & Stalkers now spawn in due to it being possible to coax them out of hiding before springing the trap. Pupae also spawn in via creature factories.
- Ambushing orders given to Skaarj at final landing pad to reduce them wandering.

Change Log (Co-op):
- Co-op support added (Not tested online).
- Co-op Player Starts added to jetty.
- Added slightly more pickups for Co-op players in various locations.
- Added book with opening translator message on the jetty for Co-op players if the boat is still at sea.
- Added cable car return pad (green reticle) which will activate once one of the players has visited the cave under the waterfalls. This should prevent any frustrating trips back to the cave to activate the cable car for other players.
- Added teleporter behind the forcefield to the final boss area so that other players can access the arena once the forcefield is activated. Teleport destination is raised to avoid telefragging.

1.2: [19/8/22]
Change Log (Global) SPOILER WARNING:
- Various grammar & spelling corrections to translator messages.
- Thigh Pads changed to Armour Pads; sound effect changed to standard armour pickup sound.
- Wheel docoration meshes remade due to texture misalignments.
- Door to Nali & Son's house stay open time increased to help prevent a problem where the beckoning Nali would run into the closing door thus stopping the scripted event.
- Added an additional light source in the skybox below the suns which was originally missing.
- Various Grass/Rock mountain textures realigned / cleaned up.
- Combat styles of Stalkers increased to 1 so they are less likely to retreat, particulary in the final boss arena.
- Statue (1st on right) in the Hall of Elders repositioned due to the player being able to get stuck behind the crates & statue. Also added a steel box to block access under the statue.
- Bullet hole decals added around the Sniper Rifle at the Fort Exit.
- Final Skaarj Stalkers now use 'RipperAltDeath' reduced damage type so that they will be immune from Ska'Keth's projectiles on higher difficulties.
- Ska'Keth's reduced 'exploded' damage type changed to 0.25 Easy, 0.5 Medium, 0.75 Hard/Unreal. It was incorrectly set at 1 on all difficulties which meant he was completely immune to the Eightball.
- Corrected grass details to the final snowy area where they were below the terrain due to an earlier build.

Change Log (227j):
- Unreal 227j version (with Botpack), removed Oldskool dependancy.
- Changed Nali & Sons door to open out due to IgnoreWhenEncroach functioning differently in 227j causing the Nali to get stuck.
- Removed light source from Stalkers as they were too visible in 227j version.
- Removed a decal to the Open UMS crate in the final vale area due to it not showing correctly.
- Added additional end-level teleports due to the teleport not triggering after activating the scripted event.


EXTENDED DESCRIPTION
--------------------
"The Vale: Evelyn" The search for your kidnapped partner leads you to the vale.


TECHNICAL NOTES/ISSUES
----------------------
- The beckoning Nali sometimes doesn't trigger. Out of numerous playtests this only occured once however it's proved difficult to replicate or find the cause.
- The map has been only been tested with the official S3TC textures enabled. Unofficial S3TC may result in obvious texture mismatches. Ideally S3TC should be disabled.
- Tested with Dohnal's OpenGL v3.7 and D3D9 V1.3.
- Older systems will have noticable framerate drops in the first area (227j version is markedly improved .
- Co-op only: There is only a single playerstart on the boat, the others will start on the jetty. It may be that no one starts on the boat in which case the boat will remain out at sea.
- 227j only: Please disable decoration shadows as they produce visual artefacts & make the map look awful due to the heavy use of meshes.
- 227j only: Map may not load in UnrealEd 2.2 due to indus6.utx wet texture error.


ADDITIONAL CREDITS
------------------
UBerserker for initial Playtesting
Frieza for the BfNP Music
McFarrell for the BfNP Textures
Hellscrag & Team UnrealSP for the initial blueprint and the Pan'thali, White Tusk & Stalker references from Battle for Na Pali


SPECIAL THANKS
--------------
I'd like to thank the following for helping me get this done (finally!)...

Team UnrealSP
Hellscrag
Mr. Prophet
Frieza
McFarrell
UBerserker
Buff Skeleton
Buggie, salsaSkaarj, KrullOr & Semfry for your additional comments which helped immensely with the 1.1 version
Kajgue, Aspide & Masterkent for help on the 1.2 version
Everyone at UnrealSP for your support
My wife for putting up with all the hours I've spent making this! (though I'm sure she didn't mind me out of the way)
Apologies if i've missed anyone out

And thank you all for your amazing response to the 1.0 & 1.1 versions.


FINAL NOTE
----------
I must say I'm so pleased to finally release a map to the community. Just having someone else play this will make all the hours spent making it so worthwhile. I've had so many tries in the past but nothing has ever been properly finished until now. Hope you all enjoy!


COPYRIGHT / PERMISSIONS
-----------------------
This level is copyrighted to fashahhh, 2020 / 2021 / 2022.

Authors may not NOT use this level as a base to build additional levels.

You are NOT allowed to commercially exploit these levels, i.e. put them on a CD or any other electronic medium that is sold for money without my permission first!

You MAY distribute this level through any electronic network (internet, FIDO, local BBS etc.), provided you include this file and leave the archive intact.

----------------------
UNREAL (c)1998 Epic Megagames, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.  Distributed by GT Interactive Software, Inc. under license.  UNREAL and the UNREAL logo are registered trademarks of Epic Megagames, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

