Leigh

I'd love to go back to CA personally, holding out for a Level Designer role that isn't lead though. Hopefully soon!

That's pretty neat! Has that upped your polycount by much?

Good question casual reader! Continuing my tradition of seemingly being both prolific and scattershot in my approach to Level Design I've been working on two projects at once. Far Cry 3 Single Player Map The first is a second map using the Far Cry 3 editor. () While the editor is designed for creating multiplayer maps I thought it would be interesting and a challenge for myself to create a single player map. As such it's much more linear in approach with a set beginning and end and even some fun secrets along the way. Here is a walkthrough of the level to help give a better idea of how it actually works. http://youtu.be/UZIaPoXvOAo TrackMania 2 Stadium Lap As well as that, I've been working on trying to make a track in the Trackmania editor. I was aiming for a kind of hyrbid between the gameplay of Trackmania and the style of a Formula 1 track. As such it's not some crazy trick course but instead just a slightly exaggerated traditional track. Below is a video, however I'm uploading a more up to date version atm so I will replace it later! (EDIT: Updated and replaced!) http://youtu.be/XBDymA8JfKs That's pretty much it for now, if anyone has any feedback I'd be more than happy to listen. Thanks!

I'm posting my work here rather than in the submissions post because well, I don't feel it's finished and I also don't feel it's good enough. I had hoped to have all of last week and up until tuesday night this week to work on this but preparation for a job interview as well as some other outside factors have made that impossible. With that said here is what I've managed to achieve. As anyone who's been following my progress through this topic will probably guess this is my fourth of fifth almost completed map for this challenge (I'm actually losing count!) but while it is disappointing not to have finished something it has been a pretty good learning experience for me that will make a big difference in my work going forwards hopefully. This version of my map takes place in the middle of the ocean, 3 tall towers stand in close range of each other with only a few boardwalks and posts for tying up boats between them. I tried to keep the verticality of the map from previous iterations but also to add multiple routes and escape points from almost any part of my map. It was also the first map for this challenge I created which wasn't symmetrical and it certianly helped with keeping the sight lines from getting too outrageous although I'm sure some points could still be improved upon. I also spent some time thinking about routes for advanced players and included some skill jumps that would require a bit of thought and skill (hopefully) to get some of the better out of the way weapons and pick ups. ( I didn't actually place anything here, but a rare weapon pick up was intended for this hanging area) Another example are these stepping stones, it takes skill jumping to get across the gap between some stones, it can be used to go from one tower to the other avoiding most of the conflict above but falling into the water is instant death. Were I really ran out of time and I think it shows the most is in the lighting. As new as I am to level design I'm even newer to lighting a level and another few passes and some research on the subject would of helped a great deal. Finally a view from above. Overall I think this has been a good learning experience for me and I can take away a lot from it, including the following! * I need to try and stay away from using long, tall and thin pieces as often as possible, it's the quickest way to make my levels look boxy and unrealistic. I will try and work with a lot more varied pieces in the future to get the desired effect. * I need to break away from the grid a bit more. Everything I created except my first map was first drafted out in photoshop on a grid with each box representing 400 by 400 units. As such everything would always end up feeling very boxy again and it always added to some of the problems with sight lines I had in other maps. In future I should probably use the grid to start and get a base line for the size and shape of a level but branch out further as I get further into a project. (This map as it looks in my photoshop grid, different colours represent the three different floors) * I also need to break away so much from having defined 'floors'. Looking at other peoples work it seems that the height of a platform is simply decided by the context of it within the level, mine were pretty much set in stone before I ever opened Unreal and it leads to not enough height variation in my maps, which again leads to lots of line of sight issues. I might update this post later if I can think of anymore but for now that is my map. Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way, as always I'm still open to criticisms of my work as it'll only help to improve it. Also if anyone really does want to have a look around this level I can upload a video or maybe even the file itself later if requested.

I've applied, wish my luck!

Very badly I imagine, so I've started again (for a 3rd time!) ... it's a learning process for sure

Welcome Raste! Nice map as well! After seeing all the great work you guys have been putting up I decided my map simply wasn't good enough and I've gone back to scratch to try and create something better. I'm happier with it now than I was before but I still think it has plenty of issues, I seem to struggle from getting away from boxy rooms it seems! Here are some screenshots. The flag will sit in the middle of these ramps. From this angle you can see out into the main area of the level. The main area is made up of 3 levels, I've tried to make it look like two buildings connected by bridges, two on each floor. The top level bridge can also be reached by a jump pad from the basement and the middle level has a jump pad up as well. So yeah... Still not entirely happy with my work but I'm happier with this than the last level. Also the shortest time between the two flags is about 20 seconds, it's right through the middle of the level though with opportunities to be hit from almost anywhere else on the map, so it would be unlikely to be a successful route.

That's already looking pretty damn great. Can't wait to see more!

Hot damn... Right. Major changes for me tomorrow I think!

Ahh yikes ok I'll have to do something about that :S. It seems ok on my monitor but you've just got me worried about my monitor now I've got rid of all the railings in the level now. You guys are 100% right, makes little sense to have them in a UT level. I think my tragic lack of experience playing UT through the years might be starting to show here... :S

Thanks Chris. I've been putting the railings in just as a force of habit more than anything really I suppose. I will probably take the majority of them out tomorrow morning. Also by contrast do you mean within my lighting? I'm currently only focusing on it being visible for playing rather than closer to how it should look when finished, although again any points on this would be greatly appreciated!

I've done a bit more work on my level taking some of the feedback that was given (thanks again Beck!) I've pushed back the flag rooms so that the crazy short capture time (around 11 and a half seconds! :S) area little longer. A 100% perfect run from flag to flag is still only 17 seconds but it's such a direct route through the entire level that doing so without coming up against any resistance should be pretty rare. Here are some alternative angles for this... This shows the view through the old window near the ramps. Both ramps are still present. Yet another ramp has been added however to give yet more choices. I've also added lifts from the bottom floor to the middle floor on either side. Still debating if I should get rid of the middle bridge section all together though, it would drastically add to the capture time and force players to go up or down from the flag to get back to base. A view of the lifts from the bottom floor. And just for kicks, one from the top floor. Overall I'm starting to not like my level that much anymore. I will still submit it at the end of the challenge but I think I've already learn't a lot from it that moving forward I might do differently. Again your feedback would be appreciated and if anyone wants to see more video of it just let me know.

Hot damn just from your drawing that looks good. ... got me thinking about just starting again now. >_<

Odd. Not sure entirely why they've done it but I might have a poke around with it. Another tool to add to the cv I suppose!

you made a static mesh out of some brushes or import a mesh ? if so, you need a second uv channel on it/them for the lightmap (Edit your static mesh, Window > Generate Unique Uv's) Thanks for that, I'd brought in an exported plane to use, deleted that and it seems to have done the job. Time for a quick update? Sure ok why not. I took the bridge on the top floor and decided to split it in two along the walls instead. I prefer it this way, it gives players on the middle level longer to take a shot at people on the upper floor and from more angles. I've also taken out the whole floor from the middle level and replaced it with a bridge like section that connects the two ramps. I might update the ramps to fit this better but I think this is a good change also, bringing all three levels of the map into the fight at once. The flag locations now also have an extra area on the left where the wall used to be. I was a little worried players could simply stick to the corner and cover all three entries to the room, so by taking out the corner and replacing it with a 4th entry it should keep people on their toes. It also gives players who enter via the ramp a second option of how to get up to the flag. The second ramp is however visible from the top floor so it's not a 100% safe route for them either! I'll probably hold off on updating in this post for a while now (or at least until someone else does :X) Any thoughts or feedback would be helpful as always though! Wow, I wrote you some feedback last night but I think I forgot to submit it! >_< But yes, like Sigma said, grab OBS and make a twitch account. You can then broadcast your work to Twitch and then export a video to YouTube. It will be much easier for people to give you feedback when we can get a sense of scale and how easy it is to move around the environment. Some things to consider: How many players is the map intended for? From the screenshots it look like it may be too small for a 5v5? (Again, hard to judge scale at the moment) What is the timings like getting from one flag room to the next? If this time is too fast then people will have trouble retrieving their flag before it gets captured. It's probably easy for players on the higher level to get down to defend their flag, but how long does it take for people to get up from the bottom level? Might be worth installing some elevators or teleporters? Do you plan on putting extra cover around the level? Do you have room to do this? What about cover for people on lower levels? People above generally have an advantage over those below, will you try to balance this? Are you planning any advanced routes through your level? For example, you can dodge off of a wall to get to a higher location. Some sloped walls can be "surfed" when dodged into, any plans for these? They could be quite fun when moving down in the level. There's gameplay videos of the above two points on youTube, I had a quick search but couldn't find them. Might be worth having a little dig for them. You've definitely got off to a good start though! I'll also be starting a map later this week or early next week. So you're definitely not alone, Leigh! Is it possible for us to create our own threads in the challenge forum? Or create a sub forum within the challenge forum. I think if everyone is posting their progress in here it will be hard for us to keep track and give feedback properly. Thanks for the feedback Beck, definitely gave me a lot to think about. I've uploaded a short video using the program you mentioned to youtube to help give the scale of it. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5scAzfaZCM (it's processing atm so the quality might be pretty low and my edits wouldn't of taken effect yet.) I timed the quickest route from flag room to flag room and it came in at 11.4 seconds. I'm guessing that's too fast. Even though I imagine the main route will always be very congested and could cause an issue for that best case scenario sort of run I should probably do something to fix it. I guess my options are to remove the bridge from the centre forcing people to go up or down to get back to base or to push the bases further away from each other and add more in between.... hmm, choices. As for cover in my level I had intended to do a pass further down the line adding in more cover options when I was happy with the general layout. I may have to hold off on that for a bit longer though. Also not really sure to do about cover for the bottom floor from attackers above. Finally I am contemplating adding some jump pads up from the basement floors to the walkways near the ramps on the middle floor. That should make it easier for those on the bottom floor to quickly get back up and protect flags. Thanks again for the feedback, I'll probably start my own thread in the submissions board soon rather than continue to spam up this thread :3

you made a static mesh out of some brushes or import a mesh ? if so, you need a second uv channel on it/them for the lightmap (Edit your static mesh, Window > Generate Unique Uv's) Thanks for that, I'd brought in an exported plane to use, deleted that and it seems to have done the job. Time for a quick update? Sure ok why not. I took the bridge on the top floor and decided to split it in two along the walls instead. I prefer it this way, it gives players on the middle level longer to take a shot at people on the upper floor and from more angles. I've also taken out the whole floor from the middle level and replaced it with a bridge like section that connects the two ramps. I might update the ramps to fit this better but I think this is a good change also, bringing all three levels of the map into the fight at once. The flag locations now also have an extra area on the left where the wall used to be. I was a little worried players could simply stick to the corner and cover all three entries to the room, so by taking out the corner and replacing it with a 4th entry it should keep people on their toes. It also gives players who enter via the ramp a second option of how to get up to the flag. The second ramp is however visible from the top floor so it's not a 100% safe route for them either! I'll probably hold off on updating in this post for a while now (or at least until someone else does :X) Any thoughts or feedback would be helpful as always though!

I guess I'm still pretty new so I might as well post! Hi everyone, I'm Leigh and I'm a Designer from the UK. After finishing my Interactive Games Design course in 2011 with a first *cough* boasting *cough* I went through the usual route of QA to work my way into a design department. I've just recently finished a year and a half contract working on Pokémon Art Academy for headstrong games in central London and after a brief time of unemployment I've decided to try my hand at Level Design as it's something I've always admired from a far and so far I'm loving it. At the moment I'm just working on my general Level Design skills in Unreal 4 as well as the occasional map for a pre existing game (such as my semi ok Far Cry 3 map) I'm also actively trying to find my way into a junior Level Design role as I think it's the quickest and best way for me to learn but they seem to be very few and far between at the moment. (Everyone wants intermediate and up! D:)

Ok, I'll go first then! Obviously worth mentioning that this is still very much a work in progress type update here. I've decided to make a small CTF map for this challenge, after some research playing some of the older Unreal games for a few hours (any excuse really) I decided the best bet was to keep the map symmetrical, that way I could avoid cases of one side having an advantage over the other and it's also more in keeping with the classic feel of Unreal Tournament. After messing around in photoshop for a short while I came up with the following... A basement floor that sits below the main area and is connected by two ramps leading to the flag rooms. The central area is a long narrowish hallway with ramps up either side and pillars blocking line of sight. The ground floor, the ramps shown here actually lead up to the second floor. The bases and spawn points are seperated from the flags slightly as I thought this could be interesting rather than having to storm right into the enemies main area. The middle of the room has a lower section that may be flooded to waist height with water slowing down anyone who takes this route. As it's the quickest and most direct route it makes sense to me that it should also be the most dangerous. As this doesn't leave much of an area between the two flag points however I might come back to this later and spread the map out a bit. The thin area at the back of each base leads up a short ramp to a vantage point that almost directly over looks the other teams ramp and base entrance area. Both of these areas also have line of sight on each other as well, so if one team is being pinned in their base they can use the same tactic to stop the other team. Finally the top floor, each side contains a whole that players can use to drop down into the flag rooms which can be great for an ambush from either team as well as a good way of defending your flag at the last second. The bridge in the middle has line of sight down to either sides ramp area in the main room, and if the central area was full of water the player could easily jump down into it if needed. Finally here are some in progress screenshots. One of the bases entrances, pretty empty at the moment will probably add some obstacles or something soon or maybe expand it backwards some to make it bigger. Moving backwards from there you can see the ramp leading up to the second floor, currently it ramps up from the side as well although I might change this later by replacing it with a bit more wall to offer more protection straight out of the base. The doorway on the left leads to the flag area for this team. Pulled back even further now you can see the entire platform area of the red team from the blue teams identical platform as well as the two vantage points and the bridge running above. Inside one of the flag rooms, I was a little worried that someone could put their back to the wall here and defend it indefinitely but hopefully the ramp entrance from the left, main entrance from the right and the hole from the upper floor on the right should be enough to stop this being a problem? This shot shows midway down the ramp mentioned above, going up the ramp from here would take you into the flag room, while going down to the left will take you into the basement level and the extended corridor. In the far right of this shot you can see the ramp we just came down from in the screenshot above. This room is mirrored so that in order to make it up to the other teams side of the map you will have to cross right across the middle of this room at some point. Another view of this room. A view of the top floor after coming up a ramp from one of the bases and moving forward slightly. I made the area around the hole slightly lower down thinking it might make it a little easier for players to get down it without getting killed to quickly by people defending the base. This floor feels like it needs the most work to me though and I might simply rework the whole thing. Another view of the top floor this time showing the bridge more and a view down into the main area. Overall I think it's going ok so far, I would love to hear some feedback from you all though. My main concern is simply that maybe it's too small? Maybe it would work as a 4v4 map rather than anything much larger as it could just be chaotic. I'm also considering lowering the railings down slightly so players have more chance to shoot at each other or maybe removing some of them completely. I also think I will need to go through and add some general clutter like large boxes etc to break up the level a little bit. You may have noticed also that the lighting in the level seems a bit off. It's giving me a bit of trouble at the moment as while I might see this in the editor... (overly bright I know...) when you play the game the exact same shot gives you this... I'm getting this error when I'm building my lights which is probably the answer but I've yet to figure it out. Anyway, that's my mammoth update. I'd love to get some feedback from you all. Thanks!

I'm trucking along with mine already (should I be putting up screenshots as I go?) but I'm using this material which is super useful. Thought you guys might be interested. http://www.tomlooman.com/download-auto-uv-color-mockup-material/

I'm in for this, seems like a good way to maybe push myself a bit although I don't expect to do well

Back again! I've still been practicing in UE4 and am getting into learning the blueprints system but I've also taken a short break from it and created a level in Far Cry 3. Overall I’m pretty happy with it but as always a first level in any editor is never going to be as good as it could be due to learning the restrictions and quirks of the tools. This map takes place on a small tropical island that has in recent years built a small helipad to have greater contact with the outside world. Now a large international company comes into conflict with a group of rebels from the islands only town as they attempt to take control of the natural resources of the island. The Rebels are held up in what used to be the islands church,with pews and other furniture quickly pushed out of the way to make room for a new command centre for the rebels. On the other side of the conflict the helipad and surrounding buildings make up the companies only safe ground, all flights off the island are cancelled, with the helicopter ready to go at any minute should reinforcements be required. For either side to truly own the island they will need to control all three major locations: The Village: A once small group of houses has become cramped over the years, forcing the wood and corrugated steel shacks to build closer together, and even on top of each other. Between the beach and the river it is only a matter of time before the local villagers will have to consider expanding into the jungle they cherish across the river. The Jungle: The natural heart of the island, known for it’s rough terrain and dangerous wildlife. The focal point of the fighting here has been focused around a small camping area. The Coastal Battery: A ruin from the second World War, it hides the islands dark history and has been left almost untouched since it was bombed over 60 years ago. As I mentioned above, overall I’m happy with the map. Finally to finish off here are some bonus shots, including the almost mandatory hidden sunken submarine! For players that find themselves swimming aimlessly in the ocean, a small surprise! The rebels aren't always fighting, in their downtime they appear to enjoy relaxing on the beach. A small island hides a weapon not found anywhere else on the map, swimming is unadvisable because of the sharks! Anyway yeah... that's it. Sorry it's a bit image heavy I got a bit carried away with my little story As always feedback is more than welcome. I'm thinking of uploading it soon or at least creating a video to show it off a bit better.

Sorry for the double post but today I decided to work on the advice Chris gave and instead used assets from within one of the UE4 example projects. I'm pretty happy with what I achieved, any thoughts on these? It's probably a bit too bright in places, and for those wondering it's supposed to be glass at the end that looks out into space but I've not quite figured out how to make it look like space out there yet. I've got stars but for some reason it only looks dark until I hit play. Something to work out tomorrow I guess!

Hey Chris, thanks for the reply It is definitely my goal to become a level designer now, although I'm sure it will take some time and I'm more than happy to put the work in. I had originally thought that creating all the assets myself wasn't the best idea but wasn't really sure of the best way to get my hands on some good quality assets to use within UE4. It's interesting what you say about what the purpose of the level is, I suppose for this one it was mostly about me learning the tools of UE4 and trying to stay close(ish) to a concept image but I think going forward I will definitely be looking more at the actual gameplay benefits of a level. Is it worth me carrying on this piece for now then? Or should I get hunting for new assets and try something else? Thanks again for the advice!

Hey Everyone, I'm pretty much new to not only these forums but also Level Design, it's something I've always been interested in but never really took the time to learn when I was working in general Design. However after losing my job a short time ago and a lot of discussion with a Level Designer friend of mine I decided that this was probably as good a time as any to give it a try. As such, I've been working on what is not only my first ever level in UE4 but my first level ever! It's still heavily work in progress at the moment, I keep switching back and forth between 3D modeling props but not texturing many of them (I'm hardly a 3D artist sadly) and then just basic level geometry, materials and some basic lighting. I'm working from a combination of these two concepts Although looking back on them now I probably should have chosen images with a little greater detail, as a lot of the props have been rough guesses at best. Anyway, without further ado here is my level. As I'm using this level as a learning piece I've not followed the concepts 100%, I've also hand painted the wall, floor and the wood on the shelves and barrels (another first for me!) Anyway, any feedback, general tips or advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks!

I really like where this is going! Sorry for the lack of technical feedback here but I'm only just starting to use UE4 myself and am completely new to level design as well. I look forward to seeing how this ends up and equally to you potentially releasing it so I can tear it open and learn something from it.