I began to give the map more color and detail with ravines, docks and trees to give it the final Fjord feel I wanted. When the basic shapes were done I started to create some extra detail to the terrain. They gave me quite a lot of good feedback on places which could be reached with rocket jump, areas and cliff edges that felt mistrustful, distance and the target location of jump pads and items that felt too easy to access or too difficult to access for their worth. To not punish the player too much or trap them down in the hole I placed 3 different jump pads which send you to an edge on the fortress, the cliff side or to the other side of the map.Īs the new map was blocked out I made sure to test it with a few friends and other players for their opinion. This spot can easily be seen from almost everywhere on the map making it a gamble to take it. I started with some gameplay and video research on Reflex Arena and took notes of dimensions, player movement and map layouts. For example, the Rocket Launcher was placed in the middle of the map in front of the fortress. I was already familiar with Unreal Tournament since before and had already created a map as part of the school’s education so I had somewhat of what worked and want didn’t. In short, leading the player subconsciously. I made sure that each path was connected with two others with smooth bends but also designed after cliff sides and natural obstacles. I proceeded to design a new top-down with focus on path alternatives and flow between different areas. Creating a map that not only felt good gameplay wise but also had organic and natural shapes was a hard task in a game editor which had a tendency to snap in square shapes and forms.
Reflex maps are most commonly set in sci-fi environments and squared edges. The second problem I had was that I wanted the map to be organic with fjord cliffs or glacier like walls. Unless a path leads to a powerful pickup or unique area the paths are equally easy to follow and change too.
I realized that most paths quickly separate into 2 different paths.
The round shape gave the map a nice feel when it came to orienting and finding weapons but the flow was, just like the map, circular and during playtests, players mostly ran around in a circle with little choice of paths.Īs it was still early in the production I went into Reflex Arena again to see how they solved flow and how the official maps layouts looked. My initial idea and design was a circular map with a large ice floe in the middle with a Rocket Launcher. Map Layout Whiteboxing and Finished Map Comparison It took quite some playtesting both alone and online to make sure all cliff edges and open areas where accessible and easy to move through with all trees and asymmetric walls around. In most older games it is an exploit or bug but in Reflex Arena it is an intended mechanic.Īll corners, edges, and jumps have to be smooth and curved to make sure players can navigate without getting stuck or lose speed.Ĭreating a map in a natural setting with large rocks, cliffs, roots, branches and bushes without removing the natural feeling is a challenge. Bunny-hopping is a technique where the player time between crouching and jumping to increase their speed drastically.Weapons and its ammunition separated to different locations and sometimes placed were its hard-to-reach based on their potency and effectiveness.A map should be designed around speed and offer at least a few more open spaces for players to duel out on.All pick-ups such as weapons, health packs and ammunition should be placed for easy access without breaking the movement flow: No stops.This could be open corridors, jump-pads, lifts etc. All paths split off in 2 directions to prevent players from being trapped in corridors or tight spaces.All paths split but ultimately connect to each other.Weapons placed based on effectiveness/strength.Built from scratch based on sketches and whiteboxing.Can be played 2 vs 2, FFA or Team Deathmatch.
0 kommentar(er)
