[2009 03 01] my first ever attempt at mapping. i thought it would be fun and interesting to show the whole process from concept and sketches through to construction, development, testing and final. would be for my record, as well as show the process to others which is rare if non existent on our forum.
started out as a mutation of a different mapping idea and evolved in my head just a little more to give me my first couple of sketches. roughly a month ago.
basically i wanted to create a dynamic map and create a map that truly used water as a gaming mechanism. so i figured, dam [no pun intended] with the same water level on each side. wouldn't it be fun to have a competition to make your side hold the water and let the other's not have any?
i immediately started thinking of triggers. capturing CPs would increase water on my end or decrease on the opposing sides end. at the same time thought of having the ultimate CP at the river bed on either side of the dam and owned by the respective teams. increasing or decreasing the water levels now had more purpose and greater rewards [and punishment].
after debating for a couple of days as to what exactly the water triggers would do [since there are many possibilities to go about this] i settled on what i found to be the best solution. capturing a CP would increase on your end and decrease on their end makig it easier for you to get across your side of the dam and easier to cap the opposing CP [since there is less water to swim through and hold your breath under].
WATER SEASAW
basically the water starts at a neutral level for both sides [the solid blue line] capping either A or B will get a one level water change [green dotted line labeled 1] that is slightly higher for you and slightly lower for them. capping a second of the two water level triggers [whats left over from A and B] will get you a further one level water change to give you maximum water [and therefore easiest defense of your cap and easy access to dam] and minimum water height at opposing E like just puddles [making it easier for you to cap and harder for them to traverse to the dam
5 CPs
i pretty much decided before conception that it would be a 5 point map with 4 neutral middle points and one final opposing team point [yes technically 6, but 5 from a team perspective]. i only knew what 2 were so far: cp-e the final prize and cp-a the water level trigger.
i ended up with the concept section and concept notes.
- CP_A | triggers one level change in water for both teams.
- CP_B | triggers a second and final level change in water. levels are at their maximum. its a short drop from spawn to the water and a short climb up your side of the dam. the opposing team side is practically dry, with just puddles and now very easy to cap final cp_e.
- CP_C | didnt jsut want to have a cp for the sake of filling in my 5 cp slots so i created more reward for teams that endeavored a little more and bothered to go deeper into the dam but no punishment this time for opposing team. a bridge from spawn to dam top is triggered by this cp.
- CP_D | again. more reward for those that go even further. cp_c and cp_d are practically optional but help a team in capturing that final, surely heavily/stubbornly defended final cp_e. reward is an accelerated water tube valve that is triggered open and shoots you to be dumped out at base of opposing side of dam, infront of cp-e.
- CP_E | required to win the round. at river bed infront of opposing team spawn. remember going straight for CP_E is suicide. you and your team mates would drown before barely starting to cap.
all mid CPs are up for grabs in any order and ive planned for things like taking CP_C and/or CP_E before A or B. having the brdige extended before increasing water level on your end will make you risk being blown into a long drop down to the water and a long walk back up the side of the dam. but at max water level its a short drop [and possibly easy to get back on?]. as for the water tube its almost worthless if it shoots you to be under water on their end, with less mobility, weapon suppresion, and underwater turrets reigning hell on you.
even at this stage of conception i recognized the need to have niches carved out of the damn wall as well as the other walls [riverside and below spawn shack/bldg.
i've progressed beyond this already. done some research on dams to look for architecture ideas, detailing ideas, and gameplay mechanics oppurtunities. i've also gone further and started modeling while learning off of the VDC turorials and tf2maps.net's content. started researching how i can manipulate the triggers and outputs of source to get the desired gaming effects [hence my forum threads created ove rthe last couple of days].
i will make 3 more immediate posts in the next 2 days to bring update to where i am currently which is basic modeling along with screen shots. dont get your hopes up, its still very crude and experimental.
so tell me what you all think. would be nice to know. i hope i end up creating a very simple symetrical concept map with some interesting new mechanics and a fresh yet familiar setting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2009 03 07]
some sketches that showed the beginings of ideas like niches in the dam walls for turrets and snipers. what can also be seen is the decision to not have CP_A in the same visual line as any of the staircases going into the dam. that way any one team could not monopolize holding point A as well as a one of the entrances into the dam.
TO LOCK OR NOT TO LOCK?
besides the decision to make all central CPs capturable in any order i debated whether i should have any CP locked after being capped.
well one thing i wanted to preserve was the yo-yo effect of the water levels. i thought it would be interesting to have one team tip the balance one way and still give theother team a chance to flip it all the way around. that was a core idea. i was worried that maybe this would drag on so much, but it would be a pity to take this expereince away if it players eventually learned the map and found inventive ways to try and hold the two A and B points after a coupe of swings back and forth.
i thought id leave it to testing to see how well the freeform goes. but a couple of days ago i had this idea to allow the swinging to go back and forth until one team was able to cap both A and B then they would be locked. seems like a good compromise. what do you think? i.e. if you capture A or B theres still a chance the enemy can turn things around, but if you eventually get both, they finally become locked.
till this point ive left C and D to be recapturable anytime.
comments???
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2009 04 01] RESEARCH
these are a few images i plucked off the internet that had to do with specific real life dam features that i thought would fit my map's mechanics.
JET VALVES
the first is of release valves from the dam. it was a pleasant coincidence to find that these actually exist, because if you look closely at my early section sketch, you'll find that i was playing with the idea of having ejection valves near caps B, C, and D. the idea was to have instant access to point E in case anyone wanted to taste the rewards of the respective trigger immediately or jsut simply jump to frontline action.
the next caught my eye because of its obvious resemblance to...yup...ctf_turbine's props. wouldn't hurt to use the same models here to theme up one of my cap areas...
finally, this one below explained the mechanics of a real life dam. it gave me a great idea [that was somehwat thought of already before i even saw this- see trigger result 4 in my section]: the water pipe could be used to take players from one side to the other. this could be a triggered opening of latches that allowed a player to be propelled to the other side. they would pass beneath one of the turbines, with no collision, but perhaps a quick view into that cap area [and a cool view from players AT that cap of people jetting beneath them]. the debate will now be: do i stick with my first jet tube path [spawn to CP_E]? or go with this one [your CP_E to enemy CP_E]? perhaps it will be figured out in testing when considering balancing for travel time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2009 04 03]
SCREENSHOTS
just the very beginnings of my modeling on this map [and ever]
starting off with the basics:
- dam with sloped walls and high enough to hold 3 double height floors internally.
- wall to close the map on each end
- spawn rooms above those walls
- displacement testing for canyon/riverside.
- all caps have been placed [although not visible yet because i still havent made access to them].
- HUD cap layout
SHOT ABOVE WATER. canyon side can be seen as well as dam itself. first prop idea in- trees. spawn room drop exit can be seen top left [not final layout of spawn exit]
SHOT UNDER WATER. CP_E red can be seen at the riverbed.
SHOT FROM OPPOSITE CORNER NEAR DAM. spawn can be seen at top right as well as CP_E red.
HUD CP LAYOUT
note the cool HUD layout! looks exactly like my schematic section.
WHATS IN PROGRESS?
working on the mechanics of the map. controlling the triggers and func_water_analog to get to specific levels while checking on who owns the other level-changing-CP is one hell of a puzzle challenge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2009 04 09] UPDATE
screenshots of some detailing and props at D that I know I want from the start.
CP_D turbine theme in progress
CP_B architecture in progress
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Really great idea, although I would hate swimming across the water, getting into battle and dying instantly, and having to swim all the way across. Basically just don't make the swim very far, or make an alternate walking route along the side.
thanks mtv. that is a concern for me. so im looking forward to testing. although im adamtn about keeping the water as the only route to and from the dam since thats the whole concept of the map. i will however play with the length. in fact i just shortened it today, but just enough so that any turret placed by a team whoes taken part of the dam top will not kill everyone that comes out of spawn.
i also need to be careful and not take too much liberties with the realism of the map. i.e. normally a dam would not have walls facing it on either end [or any end for that matter lol]. so cramming it too close would put me in danger of making it look like a glorified bathtub.
but your comment helped me realize that i was thinking of potential major problems ahead of time. thanks