Metz [Offensive]

Hey everybody!

First of all, I'd like to thank all the involved parties (New World Interactive, MapCore and Gamebanana) for hosting this contest!

I am not really comfortable showing off work at this early stage, but I still want to share my process of my contest submission Metz.

The level is set in the city of Metz, based on the Battle of Metz, happened in late 1944. The real battle started in the woods around Metz and involved massive german fortifications. I however cut this part and the player jumps right into the action of the battle inside the city. You can read more about the Battle of Metz at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Metz

The gameplay is designed to be a mix between close combat and long range sniping. The playable area consists of several rather straight streets with loads of walkable buildings next to them. The key landmark is the river Moselle, where the battle from capture point B to C will happen. Without further ado, here are some screenshots of my current progress (Warning: Heavy WIP)

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/JsT48lN.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/WYqYJE7.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/sFFQsWQ.jpg]

Cheers

Quote from Daruth505

45 minutes ago, Daruth505 said: Especially the third image currently, that view, that design... just looks great! I believe would bring great variety to each and every match. This is important to keep players wanting to play more. The different routes and angles players can utilize seems great!

Where possible i would add bridges across the map, where bodys of water lay. This is not needed, however is a personal favorite of mine.

Keep it up! - Daruth505

Thanks for the feedback!

The area around the river will be played, as stated originally, only be played in mid to late game. Attackers eventually will have to cross the river to get to the next objective. Therefore I want to keep the amount of bridges to a minimum, so defenders do not have a too many paths to cover at once. I might upload an overview of the current map later today, so you can get a better idea of where this is heading to.

Alright, time for some screenshots. I still have a few sections I am not 100% finished on Level Design wise, but I use the time when I get stuck and do some rough Level Art. Time is precious tho, and with the amount of people already quitting the competition I started worrying about wether I have enough time to work on the level besides my full-time job and other obligations. But I am still eager to try, even if I am not 100% content with the outcome.

Okay, less whining, more screenshots:

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/W3dWvJj.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/JECdP0G.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/m4ysLnB.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/APOYSG2.jpg]

Quote from Christian H

1 hour ago, Christian H said: Played this yesterday and had a lot of fun - it's obviously still in the early stages but I have a good feeling about the layout. The field that the allies approach from has a very epic feel to it, as does the whole map in general.

Only thing that feels is a little off is that some of the areas just feel a little too big and far apart, but I think that's something that will be solved as you add more detail and cover to the streets.

Thanks for the feedback. Currently the open field at the start is very unbalanced unfortunately. Axis can wipe a lot of players by a cleverly placed artillery strike. The approach to A is way too hard, but i am already working on it! The streets and open areas are something that I haven't touched yet since I focused on creating the side routes through the buildings. Therefore a lot of cover is missing of course.

Quote from okaycomputer

57 minutes ago, okaycomputer said: germans definitely need more exits from their last spawn outside C. too easy for americans to get into C and just camp their one exit

Absolutely. I was in quite a rush towards the deadline of the playtest submission. Therefore I just put the necessary things there and aimed for feedback for Objective A and B first. This issue will be addressed in the future. Thanks for pointing out!

First iteration of trying to fix the first zone:

Added a barn for a frontal push approach and more cover on both of the flanks

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/YmYxMEt.jpg]

Added a flanking possibility for the top floor of Objective A

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/GllkPM1.jpg]

The map on the workshop has been updated and will hopefully be updated on the public servers aswell: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/fi…s/?id=792840174

Cheers

That is it. What a ride it has been. Final update and submission has arrived!

I will write up a personal note a little later, but for now I will leave you with screenshots and links!

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/ZlkUXcS.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/c7Wp96Q.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/2cu1NaN.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/VxogOCq.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/bTz5bpU.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/3uz46Ye.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/j2T5Bps.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/F2P9DNI.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/o4ba3xP.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/9XMpCjK.jpg]

[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/2YTi1Pd.jpg]

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/fi…s/?id=792840174

http://gamebanana.com/maps/193374

Thanks to NWI, MapCore and Gamebanana for hosting this contest.

Thanks to everyone who gave feedback during the playtests and afterwards.

Thanks to April and Alex for supporting me invaluably. Alex also helped me with the Minimap. Thank you!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Okay, after all the Christmas activities with family and stuff, I finally find some time to write about my experience of this contest.

It has been a hell of a ride to be honest. It started at a very inconvenient time for me, but my wonderful girlfriend pushed me to buy the game and participate in the contest nonetheless. That is what I did and so I started getting back into Hammer, which I hadn't used in 3-4 years. It was tough to get back into the groove of a BSP-oriented editor, but at the same time I felt quite nostalgic, so I kept going on. Soon after I had a rough design and block-out of the level, NWI announced the playtests backed by a developer streaming the process. This has been invaluable since I was not very familiar with the genre and what is needed to make a good level in a game like DoI. I feel like organizing playtests is something that is really hard for single amateur level designers, since they do not have the time or resources to gather enough people on one server to play their level while struggling with the time pressure the contest puts on one naturally. Big thumbs up to NWI for doing this for the contestants!

When the final few weeks of the contest started and I already had some kind of idea what I will be up against in terms of competition. I figured I'd need some infamous crunch time. So about 16 days before the submission I went into full crunch mode. After working 8h in my regular level design job, I spent 5-7 more hours on this contest level. I kinda got to know what a life with two jobs is like. I highly respect people who are doing this. But soon after entering crunch mode, it was stopped by the announcement of the contest extension by more than a month, ten days before the original submission date. This felt terrible. I was already in the flow of working hard to meet the deadline and finally putting this to an end, when the goal was pushed farther back by someone else. Unfortunately it was pushed back to a time I actually happy to share with my family and to run some Christmas errands. I completely lost momentum by the upset and did not work on the level for 1 1/2 weeks.

When picking up work again I started slowly but got back into the groove pretty quickly. I decided to not make major changes on the layout and spend more time on visually enhancing the level in general. Loads of architecture research, detailing in general and here and there a small experiment. I had so much fun putting all the details into my level that I kind of neglected my time management. Therefore my map is missing a few features that I want to integrate at a later stage, in case the level is received mostly positively. Getting the final build out was a lot of fun tho. I am glad to see so many good competitors while being slightly disappointed to see some great levels from the playtests not meeting the deadline.

Ultimately I am very happy I participated in this contest and got a little out of my comfort zone. It was a lot of fun, I learned so much and I do not feel I wasted my time, even if I should not be among the winners. I am not 100% content with the level, but I definitely am content with the outcome of this contest for me. I finished something. And I am proud to be one of 16 people who managed to do so. Depending on the feedback I hope to receive on my level, I will either continue working on it and improving it or start something fresh with custom content. I already have some ideas and this contest really started an itch for me.

Thanks for reading, and good luck to everyone who entered to the contest! Great to see so many great competitors!