Oct. 11th, 2002
11:00am

Still trying to work out the specifics of the map in my head. So far what I think I'm going to do is make it a document/retrieve type map. In addition to that, there will be one dynamite optional objective to give access to a second route to the objective. What I think I'm going to do is make the primary fighting point be a single factory/warehouse/plant of some sort. Inside this building will be the documents (probably off in some side office). The axis will spawn either in the building (opposite side from where the docs are) or somewhere right outside/behind the building. In addition there will be two routes the allies can take to get to the building. The primary route will be a forward attack/straight up the street approach. Will be dangerous but quicker. There will be a second approach that the allies can take that will allow them to go through buildings to get to the main building. This will take a bit longer but will be much safer. I expect that these two paths will approach the main building from different sides. This will allow the allies to create a two-front attack, while the axis will be able to defend from a central point.

I've been doing some preliminary sketches of a layout but nothing concrete yet. To be honest, I suck at drawing and I don't do well with drawing out my levels first. I'm more of a "hands-on" kind of mapper. I will draw out a very, very rough idea of what I want so I can make sure the layout will not create any r_speed killers. This is important because if you don't do that first, you can end up with a map that is unfixable due to the fundemental layout.

11:15am

Got my first layout done.


First thing, the layout isn't to scale at all, its very rough. The center building will be fairly large and complex with multiple levels. Most of the side buildings will be fairly normal, except there will be the occassional opening in the building that will allow a gun fight (note the yellow arrows).
The primary allied path should be very fast, but dangerous. You'll be approaching the building head on and the axis should be able to setup a fairly strong defense. The green alternate route will be the longest path to the building. I don't expect it will see much traffic but it could be a good route to use if the axis have got the first two paths really pinned down. The blue alternate route is where the forward deployment flag will be. This route will allow the allies to spawn much, much closer to the building. The area where I have it will be a courtyard type of area, sorta like the forward flag in Village.

This is how I normally start my maps. What will be very interesting (even for me) is to see how the actual end map differes from this. If history is an indicator, you can expect the final product to be very different from this layout. :)

2:43pm

Been thinking about the layout of the building some. Couple thoughts. First, It will be a multi-level structure with the office containing the document on the second floor. The first floor will be the "workshop" area. I'm also thinking that the players will not be able to get on the roof. The reason for this is for r_speeds. To accomplish the layout I want I'm going to have to limit the range of visibility of the player. The other decision/trade-off that I'm making is that the majority of windows in the factory will not be see-through. Again, this is an r_speeds issue.

The next step for me that this point is to start building up the rough outline of the building. I've decided to start work on the central building because (a) its the main focal point of the map and (b) I don't currently have a good feel for size. I don't want to waste time building up my surrounding buildings only to have to move them to make room for my building. Once I get some preliminary work done on the main building I'll post up the map for folks to take a gander at it.

3:41pm

Been working on the rough outline of my primary building. Here it is. The only thing I'm worried about here is scale. When I'm doing this I don't worry about proper technique so don't start yelling at me about over-lapping textures just yet. :)

5:27pm

Did some more building. I've basically gotten the size of the builting about where I want it, along with a very rough layout of the interior. Here is the map as it stands now. Again, this is rough. Once I'm satisfied that this building is shapped and layed out the way I want, I'll simply select everything and caulk it. I'll also be doing much of this level in what I think is called the "caulk hull" method. Basically, I'll build the shell (i.e. hull) of the map in structural caulk and then go back and add textured detail brushes that sit flush with the exising structural brushes.

One last thing, someone was nice enough to email me some pictures of a local steel factory which provided me with some great ideas. Those pictures are here.