HL2DM - Triage Center

    Hi guys,

    Here's my new HL2DM map - Triage Center

    DM-Triage Center - An abandoned hospital converted to a triage center by the resistance.

    Currently the location has been compromised transforming this place from a place of healing to a place of killing, however

    the structure still retains tons of supplies making it a constant looting target for both combine and the resistance.

    The map layout is rather symetrical however the item placement is not. It should support fast gameplay with lost of ways to get back on your feet.

    It also has a small area hosting two charges at the bottom of the map.

    This version does not contain any visual candy, instead trying to provide a focus on gameplay.

    Currently it can be found here:

    - http://hl2dm.gamebanana.com/maps/173146

    - http://www.gamefront.com/files/23097845/TriageCenterV1_rar

    I don't think you are going to get any feedback for the map this early stage. It looks like just a simple room with cover.

    The reason it looks like a simple room with cover is because I want to focus on optimizing gameplay before focusing on the art, however in what state should a map be in order to for any relevant feedback to be provided?

    At the moment it looks like a small room with a few walls, as WhiteDevil said.

    I've never really played HL2: DM but to me the map seems too small. Would there be enough room to use the rocket launcher properly? Will there be enough room for players to navigate around once you've added props and such? It seems very open in some places too. What else do you plan on adding in terms of cover? I can imagine people with revolvers and crossbows having an easy time picking people off in the open areas?

    The height variation is a plus though!

    A good rule for blockouts like this is you should be able to pretty much guess what the environment is before any art goes in and before anyone has described it to you, if it's going to be your main workflow. If you hadn't said it was a hospital I don't think I would have guessed that. Being able to tell even from basic shapes and lighting what something is and how it feels goes a long way. Just as an example, it's supposed to be a triage hospital but there's no real recognizable shapes or familiar elements that immediately point to that. I can't really tell hallways from rooms as everything is very much equal in size, there doesn't appear to be any doorways, etc. Also the ceiling is completely open with no signs of destruction so either you just haven't done any work on that section or your hospital doesn't have a roof. This compounds the problem a bit with the env_light illuminating everything like it's an outdoor level, which will probably further throw people off as to what the level is supposed to be.

    This is often why I find building strictly in blockout form from the beginning to final layout problematic as many of the bigger problems that need, or at least should be solved from a design perspective (scale, spacing, cover, size, etc) aren't really, and you often end up with a bit of an unrecognizable collection of rooms. Not that this workflow can't work, I just find it rarely does. Maybe try defining one section of your level to a point that anyone unfamiliar with it could sit down and know immediately what it is.

    I hear it a lot that a level should be perfectly laid out and playable and final and untouchable before any art goes near it but that's a bunch of bullshit. And I'd say always has been. Lighting and texturing and colors and shapes impact a level just as much as the broad layout and structure laid out by the design. And you're inevitability going to want to change and adjust things as you further develop and play the level so fixating on an early design always seems like a trap. If there are too many words here, too late you read it all.

    Hi guys,

    Contrary to the initial reply to this email, it seems I got a lot of feedback on this basic layout and that is great.

    Don't worry Erratic, you said more about level development then I could have guessed on my own, so that for me is the best feedback there is.

    Next Iteration will have the following changes:

    - I will attempt to add more shape to the rooms, maybe make it bigger, and add doorways, cover, landmarks and other stuff.

    - I will try to balance the weapon placements and weapon selection.

    - I will Change the location of the two chargers since they seem to have less gravity for the player due to the large amount of HP/Energy that I placed around the level

    - Add lights to support the theme.

    - Reduce skyline.

    Regarding the Level playability in its initial stages, I think there is a difference between how professional production and community mapping works:

    - Production costs money and things need to be structured somehow in order for it to work, so game play comes first and it needs to remain fixed; however it is pretty clear that it rarely works out like that and many changes in the iterations will change the way the map feels and plays.

    - Community LD doesn’t cost too much money, but it costs time and you get the liberty to do whatever you want, however in order to clear some of the clutter in your maps you need to make it appealing to people playing the game, so they would play your map and "bitch" about it so you can fix it.

    Correct me if I am wrong, I am trying to get the hang of how each process works.

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