Post by Lap on Mar 21, 2009 22:30:48 GMT -5
One thing that I'm kind of surprised about is the lack of motion and mechanics in maps.
The simplest of motion can turn a mediocre or lackluster map into a very unique and interesting one.
Take for instance the following design created by Terminator.
This is a sound map design, but very simple. To add a little flair to it we can do something as seen below.
In this variation of the design there are only three bridges routes to the center. Every X amount of time the bridges would rotate to the next three players, allowing only them easy access to the center.
This could be done alternatively by having six bridges, but instead having three of them rise up, collapse or otherwise become inaccessible every X seconds/minutes.
If rotating pathways aren't enough for you you could also try having a rotating land mass or rim around it. This would lead to some extremely chaotic land battles where timing was more on an issue. Just keep in mind that buildings capture points and resource nodes will not move with the rotation. Building bases on a moving floating platform is impossible, and even if it were possible, it would end up with the base likely floating as the platform moves away.
Rotation isn't always the easiest thing to map, but there is one thing that is easy enough for everyone to do.
The timed opening and closing of doors is another thing to add to your maps. Consider the red gateways in the above picture. If half of these would open/close every X minutes it would allow the players without bridges another way to make a move (while also making the players with bridges think twice about trying to rush for the center prize).
This works equally well with tunnel and overpass entrances.
One way passages and drops are also a rarity. As an alternate idea for the example design above, the yellow lines could open one way drops onto the players who currently have bridges.
Also, lifts, whether they be for simply elevating units like an elevator or raising/lower an entire section of landmass are great additions. This can even be done with water in canal lock fashions.
Lastly, rising water or lava is a feature to think about. It's a bit more novel was then using doors to block off passages (or to simple make them harder to traverse), but it can also be used to wipe a landmass every so often. It'd be an interesting sight to see everyone try to abandon the middle or get to boats during the last 30 seconds before the middle of the map gets flooded.
There's also nothing stopping you from making a flood gamemode style map where the map continually gets flooded forcing people to higher and higher ground.
So before you release a map, think about if it would benefit from:
Make your maps dynamic! It's not very difficult to do and even if you add a single gimmick to your map, I can guarantee it will stand out and be more enjoyable. If you're that wary about it, it's not very difficult to release two versions of your map. One with the dynamic elements and one without.
Thanks for reading. Happy mapping everyone.
The simplest of motion can turn a mediocre or lackluster map into a very unique and interesting one.
Take for instance the following design created by Terminator.
This is a sound map design, but very simple. To add a little flair to it we can do something as seen below.
In this variation of the design there are only three bridges routes to the center. Every X amount of time the bridges would rotate to the next three players, allowing only them easy access to the center.
This could be done alternatively by having six bridges, but instead having three of them rise up, collapse or otherwise become inaccessible every X seconds/minutes.
If rotating pathways aren't enough for you you could also try having a rotating land mass or rim around it. This would lead to some extremely chaotic land battles where timing was more on an issue. Just keep in mind that buildings capture points and resource nodes will not move with the rotation. Building bases on a moving floating platform is impossible, and even if it were possible, it would end up with the base likely floating as the platform moves away.
Rotation isn't always the easiest thing to map, but there is one thing that is easy enough for everyone to do.
The timed opening and closing of doors is another thing to add to your maps. Consider the red gateways in the above picture. If half of these would open/close every X minutes it would allow the players without bridges another way to make a move (while also making the players with bridges think twice about trying to rush for the center prize).
This works equally well with tunnel and overpass entrances.
One way passages and drops are also a rarity. As an alternate idea for the example design above, the yellow lines could open one way drops onto the players who currently have bridges.
Also, lifts, whether they be for simply elevating units like an elevator or raising/lower an entire section of landmass are great additions. This can even be done with water in canal lock fashions.
Lastly, rising water or lava is a feature to think about. It's a bit more novel was then using doors to block off passages (or to simple make them harder to traverse), but it can also be used to wipe a landmass every so often. It'd be an interesting sight to see everyone try to abandon the middle or get to boats during the last 30 seconds before the middle of the map gets flooded.
There's also nothing stopping you from making a flood gamemode style map where the map continually gets flooded forcing people to higher and higher ground.
So before you release a map, think about if it would benefit from:
Make your maps dynamic! It's not very difficult to do and even if you add a single gimmick to your map, I can guarantee it will stand out and be more enjoyable. If you're that wary about it, it's not very difficult to release two versions of your map. One with the dynamic elements and one without.
Thanks for reading. Happy mapping everyone.