(6p) Heart of Darkness [WIP]

[Ira Aduro]

Very much a WIP. Like Dead of Winter I'm going to try and 'blog' as I work on the map. This time I'm making a seriz buzness™ map, unlike Desert Sands. I'm also going to hopefully nail down a design formula I can use to streamline map creation. Sometimes the most frustrating part of mapping is starting without a clear plan and getting bogged down. This time I'm going to have a clear plan and layout before I lay down the heightmap. Currently my formula is:
1) Sketch out basic map layout including req, power, VP, HQ placements.
2) Create heightmap
3) Create camera grid
3) Place req, power, VP, HQ
4) Test for balance
5) Sketch out cover
6) place cover and buildings
7) Test for balance
8) Lay down terrain textures (texture layers)
9) Lay down all other objects
10) Lay down splats and splines
11) Set fog and skybox
12) Set lighting
13) Set any special fx
14) Package

The basic idea behind this map is a mesa in the clouds with a temple in the middle of the map. The temple has a dark secret though, it is being Tyraniformed (is that a word?).

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1) Sketch out basic map layout including req, power, VP, HQ placements. - DONE
http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/1079/heartofdarkness.jpg
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2) Create heightmap
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3) Create camera grid
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3) Place req, power, VP, HQ
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4) Test for balance
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5) Sketch out cover
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6) place cover and buildings
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7) Test for balance
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8) Lay down terrain textures (texture layers)
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9) Lay down all other objects
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10) Lay down splats and splines
------------------------------------
11) Set fog and skybox
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12) Set lighting
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13) Set any special fx
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14) Package

[Screw loose.]

I like the methodical approach! :) Similar to the way i do things, although i merge 3, 4, 5 and 6 together.

Since its a mesa (?) i assume you're using the desert tileset. If found that the objects in the desert file (d_objects and d_terrain) aren't particularly great, and its difficult to make them work together. Though i have no doubt you'll pull it off.

Will keep watching, good luck.

[Ira Aduro]

Sorry it's technically a plateau and I'll be using the jungle set.

[Imperial Honour]

Alright sounds awesome. I just wish the World Builder would stop being a pain in the neck for me again and work properly like it did for one map I actually manage to sucessfully make and then save&burn :(.

Looking forwards to this though.

[chicken corpes]

well im really shit at map editor i dont even no how to place rec,power and vps. im just glad there is still hope and i will love too play this map!

[wildcat]

interesting :P Although I tend to first place game play objects, throw in impass terrain to simulate cliffs and test to see how it works before actually working on the heightmap :p

[Ira Aduro]

Just a little update. I've got the heightmap in and layout ready to go but I'm waiting for Relic to allow drag and drop install of maps like they have in CoH and DoW1. Right now it's simply too hard for most people to play custom DoW2 maps.

[Ira Aduro]

Well that's not balance, per se. That's testing for too much or too little req income.

[Ira Aduro]

I just play a few rounds and see how the req income is. But after playing it for a while you can figure out the number of req/power points needed for the kind of play you want.

[Ira Aduro]

Well that's actually not a bad thing. Otherwise one side could gain so much req that they can not even worry about map control and just crush the other side. Anyways, this isn't the thread for that kind of discussion.