Map Features/Designs/Interactivity

[Tidenburg]

Papa Skull are you making this level on UE now?

[Farley4Fan]

No I am not creating this because I lack the skill and equipment lol

But I do have ideas, and if you guys want to take this idea of a map and run with it then that's fine by me.  Of course you would make changes to it.

I am pretty much just drawing it on photoshop to give you guys an idea of my vision of how maps could work in PS, considering the power of the unreal engine.

[VaNilla]

I'd go with the jungle map anyday :D, plus the circus one would be VERY intresting :P, imagine if just for laughs there was a button which could make a large clown face do a devious laugh to scare Spys/Mercs :D.

[Tidenburg]

Im doing a kinda variation of your jugnel base papaskull. I was originally doing a polar base in jungle theme but then I saw your idea and i'd already done a tower in the middle so I kinda implemented a few of your ideas aswell.
Don't look at the textures because I had to choose from the SC ones and they weren't really what I needed, I'll photoshop some later.

this is what it would look like from the merc spawn, except there would be a light on their spawn building.

You should be able to see the lamps lighting the winding path to the spawn area.

You didn't really elaborate on what was in the tower, as you can see i've gone for a warehouse theme because it would be a cool thing to have like a store house (hence the forklifts downstairs) the other tall building would be concrete but the rest would be wooden like the merc spawn. I like industrial v jungle.


The forest is not even partly done yet. I'm going to add more trees and shit as I go along.

Obviously if you don't like it then suggest what I could do or if you don't want anyone else designing your map then I'll scrap it :)

BTB this is like my first map and i'm still learning as I go along, so that explains why the path is all squared off ;)

[Gawain]

it looks kinda big in the inside.

the only thing i like about papaskull's suggestion is the idea of a forest/jungle between little camps with objectives, which offers totally new possibilities for gameplay and interactivity. heck, you could even climb from tree to tree, blow up trees so that they topple down, set a fire in dry gras (maybe via bomb objective) creating lots of smoke, etc. the only map with a (bad) forest is orphanage, and it's not between the objectives, it's between spawn and objectives. additionally, changing lightning/weather plays a bigger role outside of a building.
there are many things i don't like about papaskull's map suggestion, eg the vents, a single central camping point and the symmetric layout. but i really hope someone grabs the concept of the jungle/forest location.  :o

[Tidenburg]

I've made it all industrial now because it make the buildings easier to find when your a merc.
I'm not going to add the vents because it means spies can manovere to quickly around the map and putting the mercs on a wild goose chase. It's not going to be as symmetrical either, im just taking papa skulls concept and altering it.

[Tidenburg]

About the tower being big inside. I wanted the tower to be a central point on the map which you could see to know where you are so the players don't get lost to easy. The problem is the verticality issues which come with making soo many levels. I may reduce the height but i'm not going to fill the empty space because mercs will find it hard to reach the top quickly (somthing I kept in mind when creating it). I'm nearly done on the merc spawn building, it's like an office downstairs and a presentation room upstairs. There are windows but the spy will not be able to get in though them obviously ;)

Any other comments on the pics i've already shown? I'd prefer to change now rather than later!

[Gawain]

you could build an elevator in the tower. could be pretty interesting if connected to a generator. it could get stuck if the power goes off while someone is taking a ride...
btw, if you want some inspiration for a big map, clarity soft is a good approach. i'm still convinced that clarity could be made really awesome with some little changes and every distance (x,y,z) reduced by ~20%.
the real hard thing in your map will be making the forest/jungle well-looking and interesting and balanced for the gameplay.

[Tidenburg]

Argh im trying to add an elevator but whenever I click intersect the editor crashes randomly :(

[Gawain]

btw, you probably need some broader trees and bushes for cover.
if you want a theme for the tower, how about a huge water tank with an observation platform on it + some satellite dishes on the roof?
i suggest a layout with 3 buildings so that the jungle/forest between them is part of the gameplay. for example:
-tower with elevator and observation platform. bomb objective: satellite dishes; disk drop zone nr.1; 1 laptop somewhere in the tower or on a bridge between two buildings
-generator building (hack panel; cuts off electricity for elevator and most lights on the map) with servers in the basement: disk objective
-small office building with only one floor: 2 laptop objectives and nearby heliport: drop zone nr.2

[Tidenburg]

So do you think the tower should be a building or just a water tower etc?

[Gawain]

found this on the internet, maybe you could use it as reference:
http://www.rwbilder.de/frame/Themen/2000/Juni2000/Wasserturm/Wasserturm_22.07.2000_01.JPG

[Succubus Dryad Of The Undying Comet]

Cool building.

[Farley4Fan]

I was thinking of a tower reminiscent to the polar base tower.  About 4 levels high, a roof, stairs, a working elevator, and ziplines leading to other objectives.  It would just be centered.  It wouldn't be a totally useful camping point either.  Why?  Because it doesn't let you cover the other objectives, the only way out of the tower is the bottom for mercenaries.  You can snipe, but if a spy gets passed the tower point unseen, then he can easily get an objective depending on what the other merc is doing. 

The only way you can be successful on this map is NOT camping the middle tower.  It wouldn't be that easy to snipe in the forest.  Of course if you camped the middle tower then they wouldn't be able to get the bombing objective that easily.  But, there are 4 other objectives and they only have to get 3.  The 4 objectives would be tough for one merc to guard especially when the bases are seperated like they are.

[Gawain]

on a balanced map, you usually have 2 more objectives than necessary to finish the mission (=> 3 objectives left in the end with 2 mercs covering them => 1 objective always uncovered).