school assignment: western level (WIP)
polycounter lvl 18
I'm learning UnrealEd at school and our assignment is to create a western themed level... mine is called Dry Gultch and its a small western town nestled in between some plateaus... the entrance and exit of the town is going to be blocked by wagon barracades to hold off an army of indians. anyways here's what i have so far:
its still in the early stages, just testing out some static meshes I've made and playing with scaling... but of course any C&C is welcome
its still in the early stages, just testing out some static meshes I've made and playing with scaling... but of course any C&C is welcome
Replies
You are missing:
-catcus(s)
-mine shaft
-railroads
-barbershop, sherriff office,pony express,telegraph...
(a saloon by itself is just plain silly)
-WHOREHOUSE!!!!
-tumble weeds
-hitching posts, water troughs
I saw make the sky more yellowish-orange as if in a sandstorm or a realllllllly dry, hot day.
Ground texture looks like mud, not hot, dusty dry dirt.
and if you want to impress, replace that gun with a six shooter.
i love how you capitolized whorehouse hahahaha.
"Needs more of a western feel.
You are missing:
-catcus(s) ---definately.. its the only thing that grows!
-mine shaft ---nah, not for this piece... but mining equipment might be neat!
-railroads ---the town is in a gultch, no railroads in or out... only small rocky passages which are blockaded by piles of rubble to stave off a savage attack. (gunna put some arrows stickin into places)
-barbershop, sherriff office,pony express,telegraph... ---Sherriff, general store, gravestone maker, smith stable, are all going to be in this scene.
(a saloon by itself is just plain silly)
-WHOREHOUSE!!!! ---Upstairs at the saloon
-tumble weeds ---Not sure about that yet...
-hitching posts, water troughs ---In the works... prop building is my favorite!""
No old western town was build without a purpose, and most all of them were for a mining, a train came through that area, or there was a oasis (river, lake, etc). What is the purpose of your town's location beside "if it ever rains, we'll be completely flooded out" town?
A quick bit of history that could help shape your design:
Corraling up the wagons in a big circle for defense, would essential make a small fort in the middle of nowhere. The was important to early poineers surivial as crossing the vast plains and deserts of the US there really wasn't any cover from attack. One of the most important things was that they chained the wagon wheels together. This would prevent the circle of wagons from ever being broken. Some pioneers would find themselves trapped by a slow attack for weeks at a time. This was a standard tactic used to starve the poineers out.
Optically, I'd suggest that you learn about some basic principles of art. Don't underestimate lighting. And you should definitely get rid of those ugly brown blocks behind the rocks, and add a skybox
Cheers, Lugg
a couple blood splatters and scalp parts here and there would be another great touch.
cholden: Yeah, there is a story behind this town... its a mountain pass town thats a mining hub, however there wouldn't be any mines right in town as that would be a little unrealistic... the concept is that it is nestled in the middle of a rocky badlands-like area and is a supply hub for miners in the outlying area. The wagons will be stacked at the entrance and exit of the level, some broken and on their sides, and some barrels and crates will be placed in some of the gaps. This will serve both as a barrier for the level, and a reason that the town is closed off... the townsfolk piled whatever they could to hold off a massive indian attack from both sides... something like a sacred burrial ground being on the site or something.
there's going to be 3 buildings that can be entered and the rest will be able to be climbed on top of with boards and such going from roof to roof. My reasoning for making it this way, is that its pretty hard to come up with a logical boundry for a town which normally is placed on a wide open plain and has no visible boundries.
Luggage: I'm going to make a playable level, with bot pathing and everything....
if you read my posts, i stated that the lighting is just a placeholder to make sure textures look correct. and that the skybox is not in there yet, however it will be up before the level is complete.
Slayerjerman: i had already stated that i was planning on adding arrows stuck around the town in places... but tomahawks might also add to the look and feel...
Whoa there! You've obviously never been to a mining town. You see, I actually live in Colorado, where there are TONS of these old mining town IN canyon like valleys. I can drive up in the mountains RIGHT NOW and see the real version of your level. Those mines are EVERYWHERE. You can see them right in the towns, and in what appear to be random holes in the side of the mountains. If you want to change it for your own personal opinion, that's fine, but dont' try to call the realism card on someone who lives there.
"is that its pretty hard to come up with a logical boundry for a town which normally is placed on a wide open plain and has no visible boundries."
No, this is the difference between good level design and building a box around your level. It sounds like your problem is you do not seperate your scene from your gameplay. Level design is like building scenes for a movie set. Once you've locked down where your actors will be (gameplay layout), build a beautiful set where the camera will be looking (scene geometry player sees). It seems to me, you're just tossing objects in a box and calling it a level.
I made the specific choice to have rocky plateaus and barracaded entrances... my original concept was just to fense or wall the town in.. but THAT would be a cop out.
this class is a beginner level design class, and I had to beg my teacher to even discuss flow...
here's a top-down shot of my level so far. (nothing much has changed... i'm building more props atm.)
the green areas are where I'm planning to add buildings, tho i'm still deciding the size and what sort of architecture to use.
a quick closeup of my wagon showing scale...