Multiplayer Map & Game

walklikethis

ey hey hey, so im just gonna show what have so far going towards my final year project. (big up university of Hertfordshire)

So my final project is based around a single multiplayer map (not named yet) which will be part of an (unnamed so far) multiplayer fps game. Now.... before everyone goes mental and says cod noob or whatever.... i will be publishing a document along with it (at the end), as well as a short film (documentry style) as my final film. The idea i have is something i don't want to talk about just yet, but will take full advantage of the emerging e-sports scene, something that is blowing up and becoming far more mainstream/ accessible.

So.... the map itself will be set on a Caribbean styled setting, based in a port/ fish factory. The map will be set up for FFA, SnD, CTF, Domination and a new game mode i have been conceptualising called Tag Team, which because i don't have access to the necessary tools i cannot test or anything of that nature, so for now it is a concept, but i am keeping it in mind while i design the map.

So this is the map so far:




So as you can see i have planned the rushing routes as well as the placement of key objectives. like flags, bomb sites and domination. you can also see on the right hand side a key which corresponds to the areas on the map with particular themes such as the fish factory or bar.

Here is a slightly updated version as well as a quick paint over i did...





Ok so you can see that it is based more on smaller, fast paced combat. Which you will probably notice is very COD like, as are some of the game modes. However, what will help differentiate the game from cod is the way it is set-up, run and managed. The way clan searching works, rankings, competitions and leagues. Will help draw the player in. No 25 killstreaks, no crazy ott perks just pure gun play. Customization will be there, but will be discussed later.

so a lot of this is theory and concepts as you can see, but ultimately the map well help me express how gameplay will work and key design choices made about the map that express how people play the map.

Will keep this posted with screens as i progress through out the year, and will help serve as a catalogue for progress at the end.

Please ask questions

Thanks, Rob

walklikethis

So thinking about the best way to do decent terrain...

For the most part it will be made up of a series of 512 tiling textures, but i will be dotting around more interesting terrain sections. The terrain system in cryengine although looks like it could be good, is rather clunky. so i opted for doing it in sections of 1k textures. Here is the first and is based off the concept above. It is quite high poly if i am honest, im sure i could have cut down the number a bit. However, i wanted to test it all out to see the work flow and final result. For future segments i will cut it down most likely, or revisit it at the end.

I used Meshlab to help bring the high poly down, which im sure is not the best practice either, creating your lowpoly geom yourself i can see is the most efficient way, but can be tough for some of the more organic shapes, especially when "topology" is not really considered.

here is the result:

Also, the lighting was a little messed up on the pipes... this seems to be an engine thing rather than my model as far as i could tell. We will see once in cryengine.

chrisradsby

The map feels tiny to me, depending on the player-count you might want to have some more basic blocking out before heading into art. A full-team playing and them giving feedback regarding the pace of the map and if it's too tight. You also need to make sure the map is balanced for both teams with domination and capture the flag etc. It's almost always best to get the times down for each playmode, so you know how long it takes to run around the level and to the objectives.

As for art, I'd say keep to power of 2s for the whole map, It'll make it easier for you to figure out how much you need to tile something. Like if you have 1 512 texture stretched over 4 meters. ie It tiles every 4 meters.

Then you can measure that with the rest of the terrain and other textures and props you need.

walklikethis

Thanks for the feedback chris,

as for the size, i know what you mean and yes it is a pretty small map, but it is designed for 3v3 games, not 16 players like call of duty or battlefield, as for timings... have done just that and i am still working out optimum spawn points so that is is equal in time.

And thanks for the idea about keeping it to the power of 2, will be sure to keep this in mind. My only issue i have at the moment is that when i export from maya using Cryexport function, it will not let me export until the uni of measurement is cm.... which is a bit of a pain, but easy enough to work around.

Thanks, more updates coming soon to crit.

walklikethis

Hey, so just doing a little update.

Things i have done. Tested out some blending methods between the tiling 512s and the bespoke terrain. I did this using the actual cryengine terrain as well as a series of Decals. I also got the roof in, which looks super tiling, but will break it up with geometry as well as perhaps a couple of decals.

I also have changed the map slightly to include a raised are to the left (in the image).... this will mean that players can get on top of the fish factory easily. Its a powerful spot, but is in plain sight... so will help limit its use.


Here is the screen shot:

and here is a paint over to help visualizewhat i intend to do:



thanks

walklikethis

Ok so since i last posted progess as been steady but slow. Small things here and there. Still a lot of planning being done in terms of layout and construction to maximise full textures. Been snooping around CS: GO.... its awesome btw... and looking at the textures there. It has given my quite the food for thought and has solved a lot of my problems. So i am still working on the exterior of the fish factory. The problem is that i am building it without any scale.... which is a pain in the arse and i only have my self to blame. However, i learnt the lesson now, trying to do this modularly. haha. What i have done though is make the grating for the top section as well as the double gates inspired by deDust2 from cs, css and now CS:GO. Keeping everything to a 512s or below apart for some more bespoke pieces.

Anyway. So here is a concept of the bar area. Still things i will add that i haven't drawn like cables, pipes, tables chairs parasol and all kinds of goodness.



and Interior:

walklikethis

quick update. Here are the double doors, i know it is really obvious that they repeat.... but i got some sneaky tactics to combat that down the road . I get that i am not getting much feedback or comments because there isn't that much going on in terms of show able models, wires or textures. But any kind of feed back would be appreciated. i dunno. Here is the screen:



also i think im gonna redo the sign on the right hand side... looks a bit rubbish.

Thanks

walklikethis

One of the bigger stand alone assets going so far. Thought i would share and that. Info is in the image. Crit welcome. Also all textures were created by myself.... a couple of stock concrete textures to help... but yeah you get what i mean.