Epic Games & MapCore's Unreal Tournament Level Design Contest Discussion

Honestly I feel that is the biggest problem with it at the moment nearly all the finished maps are generic castles with nonsense layouts, UT wasn't really like that, quake was what had those kinds if levels. I definitely feel my level lacks some trick jumps and lifts, going to see how I can fit them in without completely fucking any aesthetic.

Quote from Vilham

1 hour ago, Vilham said: Honestly I feel that is the biggest problem with it at the moment nearly all the finished maps are generic castles with nonsense layouts, UT wasn't really like that, quake was what had those kinds if levels. I definitely feel my level lacks some trick jumps and lifts, going to see how I can fit them in without completely fucking any aesthetic.

This is definitely the case, but people should feel free to pull from DM_Outside for some sci-fi elements if they are not producing their own meshes for the level. Also keep in mind that not many people are working on environments so much as there is a crazy amount of people creating levels - so I think kit-bashing is going slower than perhaps is normal? Personally, my level aesthetic design will be closer to the "castle" type designs, but not quite the same, simply because that is what I have been studying recently for architectural inspiration and 3D mesh work in my spare time. However -- having said that -- there are definitely ways to make it "Unreal", even with a castle style theme (e.g., floating assets, glowing assets, steammpunk style with protruding pipes and electrical cables off of castle like structures, etc . . .). Free your mind!

Are we allowed to use purchased assets from the Unreal Engine marketplace in our levels?

Quote from Vilham

3 hours ago, Vilham said: Honestly I feel that is the biggest problem with it at the moment nearly all the finished maps are generic castles with nonsense layouts, UT wasn't really like that, quake was what had those kinds if levels. I definitely feel my level lacks some trick jumps and lifts, going to see how I can fit them in without completely fucking any aesthetic.

I'm not sure I fully agree, the original game had a ton of random environments that made no to little sense, that's UT. What ever comes across as exciting and over the top is good in my books. There is an entire futuristic set too, with a bit of creativity you can make it look different too, I made this recently using Outpost 23 assets,

We only have two environment artists on UT, so at this point it's about getting the biggest bang for buck out of assets so naturally things will look a bit "generic" normally you'd have at least 8-10 environment artists and a lot more time - Right now its about being as creative as possible to make the most of what we have, which is a part of the challenge.

I'm going to be using outpost assets for sure. I am going to attempt to make a futuristic looking setting while maintaining some relatable locations, think mirrors edge and Deus ex.I can appreciate that there aren't many artists.Part of my problem with the current aesthetics is that I don't remember (I'm sure there are a few) levels that were Gothic, the memorable ones to me were things like Morpheus, the vehicle repair shop, the sky scraper one, facing worlds, the giant sub bay, etc. The current levels feel very quakesk

Correct me if I'm wrong, isn't the feel of "place" a bit lost because there was such an accent on CTF maps? With their specularity, I think they immediately come up as "fake". That's why I think Titan Pass does a good job, by at least visually differentiate the two sides with different assets. Stuff you couldn't do in '99.

With this game mode, I get the feeling is better to have unique areas (to make instantly recognizable what weapons/items you'll find around) so I think there's potential to create something with a strong sense of place.

Quote from 2d-chris

2 hours ago, 2d-chris said:

I'm not sure I fully agree, the original game had a ton of random environments that made no to little sense, that's UT. What ever comes across as exciting and over the top is good in my books. There is an entire futuristic set too, with a bit of creativity you can make it look different too, I made this recently using Outpost 23 assets,

We only have two environment artists on UT, so at this point it's about getting the biggest bang for buck out of assets so naturally things will look a bit "generic" normally you'd have at least 8-10 environment artists and a lot more time - Right now its about being as creative as possible to make the most of what we have, which is a part of the challenge.

saw the Biodome recently, I don't watch the streams cos they are too long and don't have the time, but maybe was mentioned on the title or some page while I was looking up stuff after the contest came out. Congrats, looking good! What happened to the volcano map? (if is not clear I'm not keeping up with UT at all)

Quote from Vilham

43 minutes ago, Vilham said: I'm going to be using outpost assets for sure. I am going to attempt to make a futuristic looking setting while maintaining some relatable locations, think mirrors edge and Deus ex. I can appreciate that there aren't many artists. Part of my problem with the current aesthetics is that I don't remember (I'm sure there are a few) levels that were Gothic, the memorable ones to me were things like Morpheus, the vehicle repair shop, the sky scraper one, facing worlds, the giant sub bay, etc. The current levels feel very quakesk

We have a finished facing worlds in the game already

@blackdog we don't have the assets to art the level yet, and it would be a complicated/technically one to do, all be it fun. It'll happen eventually.

Quote from Mina Melfina

3 hours ago, Mina Melfina said: Are we allowed to use purchased assets from the Unreal Engine marketplace in our levels?

Bumping this! I would really like to know, since the rules say official content and user created content are okay, how are purchased assets from the marketplace viewed?

Quote from Sigma

7 hours ago, Sigma said: This is definitely the case, but people should feel free to pull from DM_Outside for some sci-fi elements if they are not producing their own meshes for the level. Also keep in mind that not many people are working on environments so much as there is a crazy amount of people creating levels - so I think kit-bashing is going slower than perhaps is normal? Personally, my level aesthetic design will be closer to the "castle" type designs, but not quite the same, simply because that is what I have been studying recently for architectural inspiration and 3D mesh work in my spare time. However -- having said that -- there are definitely ways to make it "Unreal", even with a castle style theme (e.g., floating assets, glowing assets, steammpunk style with protruding pipes and electrical cables off of castle like structures, etc . . .). Free your mind!

I'll have to check out dm_outside.

I don't know about you guys, but to block out my map I find that utilizing some basic models I've created from BLENDER allows for more concise shapes than relying on BSP alone. I find that more concise shapes actually alter what the final layout of the map will be - this Basilica started out life as a hallowed out octagon with a square walkway in another big room, versus an actual walkable roof....

Of course more final versions of the level will divide this Basilica up to be more modular, but as it stands the front is a ramped' entry while the rear leads to an elevator shaft (jump trick, people)... so there are actually 3 floors to this thing....

Quote from Sprony

1 hour ago, Sprony said: It depends. There's nothing wrong with purchasing but you have to make sure you are allowed to use it in a commercial product (kinda like this). Most of the time this isn't a problem. Just something worth checking out. In short, we don't care where you got it from as long as you are allowed and have permission to use it, it's all good.

Thanks! I have some asset packs from previous things I have worked on, so I figured I would check.

Quote from TheOnlyDoubleF

On 4/11/2016 at 11:50 PM, TheOnlyDoubleF said: I am

Team up with someone and then take all their cred!

I might be mistaken but I was under the impression that any assets you buy from the marketplace you can use in commercial products in perpetuity. Is there not a standard marketplace license?

Level still feels too large, have some spaces about 2000x3000, and they feel massive, but they aren't much larger than areas in the example map.Makes me wonder if it's due to the default fov in editor being 90. What's the fov in the normal game?My lack of experience with the new game is definitely making it hard to get a good feel for scale and metrics. I remember old school ut having very large open spaces in areas, whereas all the new maps I look at seem smaller.Just notice my map is remarkably similar to dm-liandri in scale infact, but seems off in ut4 for some reason.

Quote from Vilham

1 hour ago, Vilham said: Level still feels too large, have some spaces about 2000x3000, and they feel massive, but they aren't much larger than areas in the example map. Makes me wonder if it's due to the default fov in editor being 90. What's the fov in the normal game? My lack of experience with the new game is definitely making it hard to get a good feel for scale and metrics. I remember old school ut having very large open spaces in areas, whereas all the new maps I look at seem smaller. Just notice my map is remarkably similar to dm-liandri in scale infact, but seems off in ut4 for some reason.

there is a map scaler tool on the UT forums well worth using will save you alot of time to get a scale that feels good to move around in...

Quote from WarpSpasm

30 minutes ago, WarpSpasm said: there is a map scaler tool on the UT forums well worth using will save you alot of time to get a scale that feels good to move around in...

I'll definitely check that out when i get home. For anyone else:

https://www.epicgames.com/unrealtourname…ighlight=scaler

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding Phase One. How detailed the concept must be for that phase? I mean, I worked on something in Blender 3d that I intend to bring in UT as static meshes, but the objects are not well place, scaled or aligned correctly to each other. Does it matter? Because, I was going for a modular approach and scale things on the go. Take a look and tell me what you think.

The green things are model height references and, as you can see, the roofs for the hangar and the silo have not been added for a matter of clarity. (It will be an interior map).

Thx.

I haven't looked in here for a few months and I am happy you guys organize another amazing contest!

Who is going to judge? What's the prices? I also second Orion's question about status of the map in each phase. Shouldn't there be a separeted thread with all the rules?

Sorry but someone had to say it: Buying or stealing victory is forbidden in any contest whether it is a sport, chess, mapping or CS GO tournament. So marketplace and any non-custom models or textures as well as copied layouts and remakes should be out of the question. There are 2 ways for a designer: Either stick to the brushes and simple textures while focusing 100% on new and original gameplay OR learn how to make your own models while focusing 100% on new and even more original gameplay.

Nice Shades Master: Is this Maya?

Interesting huge scale concept, Orion. Maybe try doing some simple boxes in UT editor and exporting them back to Blender for scaling?