question@crytek guys

[jeth]

This is a question aimed mostly at you Crytek guys, though others are welcome to answer as well.

While looking at a lot of the levels you all have created its easy for me to think "wow, I can never accomplish that" and get discouraged, though I know I can do good work if I focus.

A map such as battleground for instance (see pic below) is a very well designed map, and although it obviously took inspiration from the Tank level of Crysis, it still must have took a lot of time to put together.

How many people do you usually have working on each level? is it just one guy? Or do you have someone who does the terrain and textures and someone else who lays out the detailing etc?

Also, how much time would you typically have in a non-crunch time development cycle to complete such a level? (Either from nothing to final or paper design to final.)

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[-HP-]

Mmm, I could make a whole article on how the levels are made here at Crytek, or rather how they were made, since our workflow changed from Crysis 1 to Crysis 2, and it also changed slightly when we started new projects.

This happened for a handful of reasons, the main one being we adapt and want to avoid making the same mistakes, and the other one being the theme of the game, as the theme of the game changes you also need to change the way you do things, as you can imagine, Crysis 1 was very different to make compared to Crysis 2.

I think you're in that early phase of your career where you look at something and you get overwhelmed and you marvel at that piece as a WHOLE, like you look at a Crysis 1 level and say "holy fucking shit, every leaf, every pebble is there, the mountains.. it's all... HOLY FUCK".

Yeah well, if you actually go in the editor, and break it up, piece by piece, asset by asset, you see that it really isn't anything that special. Everything is being reused a lot and even tho it is hand placed, the placement tools are very easy to use and it's been done in a very smart way.

Same thing applies to 3D art, every looked at a badass character bust modeled in ZBrush and go like "man.. I will never be able to do things that good :(". That is a big lie, you just need to learn to analise and break up things. An artists doesnt create a bust out of thing air, he goes he in there and makes the base mesh, then he blocks it out, then he studies the shape then he starts to model the details, and so on and so forth.

I once read a quote by Will Smith that reads: When you start to create a wall, you don't say I'm going to create the biggest, baddest wall there every existed, you say, i'm going to lay this brick as perfect as it can be laid". Same concept applies to create environments for games dude.

Well.. that and the fact that dozens of people worked on it!

[2d-chris]

":2s3q4neu]Well.. that and the fact that dozens of people worked on it!

I really can't comment on crysis 1, but it's one hell's lot's work for allot'a really skilled people Once you have the bits of the puzzle everything fits into place really easily, the difficulty comes from discovering what the bits are made out of.

Don't let that put you off though, it's just the way AAA is done, nobody expects a personal or mod project to be like this!

[Ginger Lord]

Even when we were working on the console version of Crysis, it was 1 designer and multiple artists per level. Usually one to do the lighting, one to do the vegetation and terrain and one to do all the props. I have no idea how it was done for the original PC version however.

[FrieChamp]

Even when we were working on the console version of Crysis, it was 1 designer and multiple artists per level. Usually one to do the lighting, one to do the vegetation and terrain and one to do all the props. I have no idea how it was done for the original PC version however.

It varied depending on the mission but usually it was one level-designer (the "author") who worked with one or two 3D artists together who created the assets. When the layout and gameplay was pretty much final a special team came in to polish the visuals (painting decals, placing particle effects etc.). A commonly overheard phrase was "you can place decals all day long but don't you fuck up my AI! The crates stay where they are, those are cover objects!". We've never had lighting artists though... :derp:

[jeth]

Who would do the initial heightmap and surface texturing? The level designer?

[FrieChamp]

Who would do the initial heightmap and surface texturing? The level designer?

Yes.

[Steppenwolf]

While looking at a lot of the levels you all have created its easy for me to think "wow, I can never accomplish that" and get discouraged, though I know I can do good work if I focus.

Don't let awesome work intimidate you. When you have the talent and know how to use the tools it's only a question of patience and determination to make something similar.

Rome wasn't build in one day neither are nice maps. It's the end result of many interations. Learn to work like a painter. Start with the broad strokes then add detail layer by layer. Just never give up even if it takes months or a year to finish.