GRiNET

Great article. Really inspiring!

UPDATE 2017-02-13 Things are progressing albeit a bit slowly due to a lot of things in school and at the same time having a cold. The maps have been reworked quite a lot in this early phase and I have redrawn my topdowns to fit my new needs. A lot of the things I have been struggling with is the general space planning to make the environment feel right and be believable at the same time. I have noticed several times when running around that the maps became too linear and/or too articifial. But, a solution is in the works! Below I will post some alpha-stage pictures off the maps under spoiler headers. Comments and feedback are of course more than welcome to help me improve in my work. Remember, this is at an early alpha stage so this is the mere orangeboxing of the levels. I am going beta this week so everything will be changed more or less.

Thank you. I will look into this!

Hello everyone! LINK TO MOD: http://www.moddb.com/mods/aurora-reinstated Short introduction I am a level design student at The Game Assembly in Malmö Sweden. We were tasked to plan out 10 weeks to work on pieces for our portfolio, which should be launched on april 10th. The reason for this is to meet with game companies from around the world to aquire an intership which extends over the course of ten months and then hopefully begin to work there after internship completion. My plan was to make a small but well polished short campaign for Half-Life 2 : Episode Two. This because the HL-series if my favorite games of all times and because I feel comfortable to work in the Source engine. Making a mod consisting of three unique maps in this short time is quite strenuous, but I want to prove my worth as a level designer but also do something that I find valuable and fun for myself. The mod I had some ideas before I started and the one that stuck with me goes as follows. The protagonist in this mod is Adrian Shephard. He is reinstated in service by G-man at the arctic base where Dr. Judith Mossman is transmitting from, at the same time as the combine attack. By some unknown order from "higher up" corporal shephards services are now needed. Was the attack on the base an unforseen consequence or was it all planned? The Plot Being awoken right in the action Shephard will have no clue or notion about where he is, what the Combine are or what else have happened in the years following the Black Mesa Incident. The only thing he will know is that he will have to escape from the place he is finding himself in. The Setting Corporal Shephard is finding himself in an underground arctic military facility. Perhaps this has something to do with the Borealis, or Aparture Sciences. The Theme The theme I am going for is heavily inspired by Black Mesa. Most of it is underground and therefore it will be corridors, hangars and big warehouses. But it will also be in an outside environment. Since the building is built underground and it is built vertically, some of the rooms are built very large with high ceilings. The Maps I am building three maps to show my level design thinking and try to include as much of my ideas as I can. Without going in to spoilers to much the three maps will go as follows. Map 01 - The player will be introduced to the setting and conflict with foreshadowing combat scenarios between the rebels and the Combine. The player will at this stage be helpless and unarmed. This to set a mood and force the player to focus on exploration and getting to know certain game mechanics as interacting with the environment as well as the basic movement controlls. Map 02 - The player will be forced into conflice with the Combine. The first combat scenarios will be introduced as well as more difficult movement exploration puzzles. The player will also ascend closer to the surface as well as getting more insight into the complex he is finding himself in. Map 03 - The player will be experience the crescendo with a fast paced map filled with combat. To break things up there will be a segment where the player will get a break and slow down to focus on environmental exploration. This is the last map so here the mod will end. Problems Somethings I have encountered that I want to adress but can't. Some of the bigger ones are: To have G-man introduce the player in the beginning with real conversation. To have a custom dialogue with rebels and Dr Judith Mossman. Produce something epic within the seven week timeframe. Summary PROTAGONIST Name: Adrian Shephard. Role: Helping Dr. Judith Mossman. (Wishlist) Background: Former marine, was put in stasis by G-man at the end of the Black Mesa incident. (Opposing Force ending) REFERENCE Location: The Arctic Building keywords: Concrete & metal, military facility, merged/submerged in ice. Black Mesa. Environment keywords: Corridors, industrial, complex, bunker. Outside keywords: Open snowy areas, falling snow and restricted vision. Icebergs and ice walls blocking off the areas. Bunker/military base complex.

Oh shit. When this thread is the first thing you see in the morning..

Out of curiosity, who won best development blog?

Congrats to the top 10 and well done to all who participated, was great fun!

Hello, this is very interesting! I will forward this to my classmates.

For me I would go with these. Quake 2: space CTF map with all the teleporters and jump pads. (Can't remember the name at all) CS 1.6: cs_assault - this map was the only thing I played before I went competitive and I still love it. Dod: Avalanche A lot of the maps in "Return to castle Wolfenstein" were really good. Like the first tomb, the u-boat pen and the level where they introduce paratroopers. Call of Duty 1: The first russian mission when you come by boats.

This does sound disturbingly bad, a shame really to hear this. Could you give some example on how the main purpose have shifted that made it feel so bad to work on? Which priorities where changed so massively and was it in a late state of production?

But why is that? I don't understand it really. What did you do on it? I liked them, it could get a bit tedious yes but I mostly thought it was giving me a cinematic feel. I have to say I prefer this over Darksiders combat any day! I certainly understand that, that is why I took the time to explain. Yes, it was the post about Crytek and their probable bankruptcy that made me pickup the game. Sorry for opening a new topic, didn't notice the other one. Also sorry for late answers, christmas and all. You are right about Thief, I have to change my opinion on that. I loved the first thief, just didn't remember the name..

Interesting! I don't feel you on Thief, Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Perhaps the old thief but Half-Life, nothing beats it! Zelda I've never really touched so I cannot say for sure. What do you like/dislike about Ryse specifically?

Well, both. Overall and in this genre. What genre do you prefer and which game is your personal favorite?

@blackdog I am not "trolling" at all. Masterpiece in regards of its genre of course. It isn't even close to, for example Half-life 2. But to say it's tossed around easily is an exaggeration. I wonder what you think @dux would be considered a masterpiece then, since your standards seems to differ so heavily against mine.

Hello everyone. I bought this game yesterday and completed it today. I didn't buy it before since it was xbox exclusive and after that I didn't own a game controller. However, I thought the game was a blast, a real gem. I can not see why this game got so much flak! It is beautiful even compared to todays standards, it has an impressive flow in gameplay, game mechanics are great and intuitive, (for example the testudo mechanic), level design is great and voice acting and animations are on point, Playing this game with the Quick Time Events was not as boring as I first thought it would be. It felt really great and I got a cinematic feel to every combat situation. I loved this game and altough the story was "generic", I really enjoyed all of it. Is it only me that enjoyed this game or what are your opinions on it?

Yes! But I have solved it now. Had to put it in materialsrc too for some reason.

Hello everyone. My overview is purple & black texture ingame, what is wrong? I have followed the tutorial about level overviews from valve dev community. https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Level_Overviews

Yeah, Doom hands down. The ending was really great too!

Thank you! I will look into it!

To integrate all classes I've had certain things in mind when designing my map. I've thought a little bit about rock-paper-scissors and how this combat triangle can influence this map from a gameplay perspective. Let's delve into the classes and see how they can influence gameplay. Sniper - Strong class with good view distance and the possibility to take out high value targets like mounted machine gunners without being exposed themselves. Cons are low fire rate, low ammo and static movement, meaning you cannot run around and pray and spray, instead you are forced to stay low and really check on your team and help them. Machine gunner - Strong class with decent view distance and the possibility to take down a lot of enemies when in the right spot. Aside from killing machine gunners have the abilities to pin down enemies and suppress them when their own team is pushing forward and going for the capture. Cons are static movement, high reload times and low/medium ammo. All other classes - Strong because of their mobility and ability to outflank said classes. Cons are never the same for these classes but instead they are depending on how the game is playing out. A rifleman or assault will almost always win against an unmounted machine gunner or a sniper in close distance sniper. Yes there are small arms to give these classes a more fair fight but still it doesn't really matter in the long run. This view from the center building in the Axis natural point makes for a great sniping spot since it is safe and it is looking through the middle of the map to this view for the allied team. Both these spots are great for sniper battles and they are great MG-spots for defending the natural points for both teams. Depending on who is pushing back who either team can change the role of sniper/mg, this promotes a fair symmetrical and dynamic gameplay which is always shifting. If axis is getting pushed back this is now an MG spot while on the allied side it is an sniper spot and vice versa. Regarding the middle point I've told you in the previous post about the MG positions. Those are great to mount up, if possible and will pin down the enemy and once the guns are up they will be hard to take down by normal fire. To counter this I've made attractive spots for snipers to take out the MGs. Of course, there must be a risk involved in having the advantage of taking out high value targets from high range and it in this case it is almost every time the exposure of your body. To deal damage you must wait for the right time and take them out quick before you have been counter sniped. This spots in the following screenshots will explain. For the allied team, these two spots are very exposed but still very deadly if the sniper opts to show up in the right movement and kill the MG. Since the spots are fairly obvious to the players you can perceive that there will be a sniper or an mg since the spots are too valuable to ignore. Except for the building above mentioned earlier this is the second really great sniping spot for the axis team. Wide field of view but still not a lot of cover. A simple grenade, stray bullets or another sniper will easily take you down. Well, this is all from me. I hope you have had an interesting read and that you've enjoyed my map. I am still looking for feedback and criticizm so don't hesitate to contact me if there is anything you would like me to know. Thanks for reading. GRiNET

Hello everyone! Next big update is here after a big break off the grid. I've had quite a lot to do and I am proud to say that Heidel will be going Gold this following week. The struggle is coming to and end and I am proud to see my product take shape. No matter how it goes in the competition, I can say that I now have completed constructing a map from the planning phase to final production. It has not been easy but it's been great fun and I have learned so much. That alone is worth a lot to me. Well, enough with the pats on the shoulder and on the the post! Since the last update I have made a couple of big changes. In the previous post I told you guys about the remake of the map. I hadn't stayed very well on the grid and it hurt me pretty bad after constructing my final buildings. I had to remake the map and in the same process I decided to tweak it with the feedback and input I got from playtesting as well as my own thoughts. A designer is never completely satisfied but they should never be afraid to test new things. This is how the map is looking right now. The general layout have stayed true even though the massive rework. The only thing that is heavily modified is the center point that before was on the bridge in the middle. Now there is no water at all and a second bridge has been added. I am greatly satisfied with this change since it has opened up a lot more gameplay possibilites and added to a more dynamic gameplay than I had before. Now there are more flanking possibilities and the point in the middle is both harder and easier to take than before and I'll explain why later. The spawns have been added and timed correctly to be equally fast for both teams to reach the point in the middle. This is the current Axis spawn, it's final all except a possible 3D skybox behind them to remove the horizon-line and add to the city-feel and mood. This is the final Allied spawn. Here we can see the temporary point of advancement for the allied team trying to retake the crucial anti-air gun positions located in this part of the town. This is the Axis natural point at the final stage. I've added a bit more cover change the strategic possibilities for the defenders as well as the attackers on this site. Overall I am pretty satisfied with this one and it plays pretty well. This is the Allied natural point at the final stage. Added quite a lot of debris and other graphical flavor things such as a burning flame in the destroyed vehicle, cable lines and overlays to convey the feeling of a battle. Cover wise there have been minor tweaks to the site to equalize the advantage for the defending team and the attacking team from different perspectives. This is the current middlepoint in its final stage. It has plenty more cover and its playing quite a lot with verticality. I've put up sandbag covers for both team so they can flank and outmaneuver each other. A grenade thrown with the right speed at the right angle can reach behind the other teams' sandbag without hassle, taking out plenty of players or providing good smoke to disorient the enemies or cover for a rush down the hill to capture the objective.This point requires good team composition and cooperation to capture. Players are always out in the open also so they have to quickly pull back, get inside the houses or rush down under the bridges when the artillery is firing, but to use the binoculars to call down artillery is dangerous as the officer will be greatly exposed. When designing this map I wanted to make use of all the different loadout classes. I have noticed that during some of the maps I've played, but fan made and official machinegun and sniper is seldom used. At least not to that extent which I would like to see. So in my map I was aiming to bring all those classes together and not just the standard, officer, assault and rifleman/enginneer class. Therefore I have added these high-value points for machine gunners on both map to pin down the attacking team that are trying to push and capture the low ground point. This is the view from the axis team if they are trying to push and capture, and sure there are cover to hide between but you are never fully covered. This is purposely made to make the player feel vulnerable and exposed and when there is raining down machinegun fire at you will your teammates are dying both left and right, artillery is firing and grenades are exploding in front of you, this point really captures that moment and feel. This is the same view for the allied team and they are equally exposed and vulnerable. As level design flavor to implicitly tell the player where there are good MG-nest spots I've laid down a lot of bullet decals beneath the windows as seen in the screenshots below. Of course the spots are mostly obvious to the eye but still, it's a minor detail to emphazise this. I've also propped out and dressed my level with decals, props and overlays to sell the environment more. Me personally really love telephone/power lines as I think they are great to tell the player where they should go but also where the boundaries of the map are. In my map I've "sealed" off the middle section with the power lines, building a sort of box where there playable area is. Another thing that isn't obvious at first but as a player you will probably understand it anyway. Here are some pictures with lighting, and props to flesh out the city and environment as a whole. Due to uploading restrictions of 5MB I will continue this post down below.

Nooooo. I really had high hopes for your map! But I understand your decision and wish you goodluck on your new project!

Hello! Some WIP for the HL2-campaign school assignment. Added lighting and dressing to the level as well as several gameplay changes.

Great read! Generally I think developers should try and elaborate more on this. It would be interesting if we began to see much bigger gameplay changes and tweaks for a more dynamic level design. Say for example that you could unlock bigger sections in a level like a whole street or building. That would be tougher to balance and it would change a lot regarding gameplay but I think it could be worth a shot. The only thing that is really sad which cannot be integrated in this is the heavily scripted events and/or story set pieces.

I went to my headmaster and asked for the blueprints of theschool which the janitor had. He was very suspicious when I asked for it.