de_santamarta [WIP]

[Freesh Milk]

A map set in the heart of Santa Marta, Brazil; the colorful favela's. The concept is to meld the natural elements of the hillside, with the bright and fun building's of the local area, mixing in local culture and a third element (using artistic license) to bring lore and reasoning for the map's existence.

My Goals:

• To  bring elements of maps across all FPS' that I enjoy, into something fresh and new. I do not want these features to be obvious, but rather comparable when pointed out.
• Create art that is both fun, beautiful and exciting, but also clear and gives a real sense of where on the map the player is.
• Allow this project to stimulate my love of problem solving.

Concept art and reference to follow.

Enjoy

Freesh Milk.

[Freesh Milk]

An initial sketched/painted/photoshopped layout. A basic structure to work from during grey blocking.

 

Edited September 11, 2019 by Freesh Milk

[Freesh Milk]

A collection of reference images.

[Lefty]

Hands down probably one of the best layout sketch I've ever seen. Best of luck and great choices for location to get vibrant colors.

[Wintrius]

This is some very nice concepts going on. I do however suggest that you attempt to maintain the color scheme to be somewhat consistent and have around three main colors. That's just a recommendation so the color doesn't look all over the place. I like the incorporation of elevation also. If Favela were to ever be remade, I'd imagine it'd be somewhat like this.

Overall, this is a pretty awesome theme. I can't wait to play this. Good luck!

[Freesh Milk]

2 hours ago, Wintrius said:

This is some very nice concepts going on. I do however suggest that you attempt to maintain the color scheme to be somewhat consistent and have around three main colors. That's just a recommendation so the color doesn't look all over the place. I like the incorporation of elevation also. If Favela were to ever be remade, I'd imagine it'd be somewhat like this.

Overall, this is a pretty awesome theme. I can't wait to play this. Good luck!

Hey, cheers for the advice! Had thought this might come up! It would be super easy to over-colour the map and have it be too busy for sure! Im hoping to maybe just stick to yellow and green on the favela like buildings as they are similar enough. Time will tell I guess?

[Freesh Milk]

Workshop Link & Update Log: Workshop link and a continual update log will be found here.

Workshop Link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1860858538

Update Log:

13th September 2019 - Super simple, mid only grey-box added to workshop. No bombsites yet. Testing started to try and form opinions on width and height of spaces, as well as their 'fun' factor. Please feel free to give any feedback

25th September 2019 - Rough layout and lane set up added to workshop. Testing distances and width of lanes/connectors.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Freesh Milk

[Interfearance]

    It is difficult to modify areas separately and see them together. You might find weird sightlines forming, and the map could also end up feeling like a bunch or separated areas.

    As you probably know, the classic process is to make the whole map and then make all the areas fun and balanced through personal observation and then playtesting.

    The reason this tends to work better than mapping in a modular fashion is that you can see how areas transition into each other more easily, and create a map that feels more natural. 

    This method can certainly work, but is it worth the risk? Also, the concept looks cool, and I think you can pull off all the colors if they are not too strong.

[a Chunk]

Patch-working multiple ideas together to create a map is a legit concern. It rarely turns out well, to be honest. It looks like a fair amount of thought has gone into this already though.  And anyway, there's nothing to lose.  It's not like someone is going to send you a bill if you end up making a bad level. That's never happened to me and I've made my fair share of bad levels.    Plus, I really just enjoy watching people stretch their comfort zone, and try out unconventional map styles and design approaches.  All of that makes for a better designer (assuming there's already a basic level of understanding in place).

The worry with the colors is obviously orientation.  There are plenty of ways to assure that won't be an issue though.  One of them is what you've already suggested - sticking to a limited number of colors.  This allows you to then have a small number of buildings that are colored differently so that they really stand out.  Or, you can go the route of using many, many colors, and then use other tools to aid with orientation.  The sun or moon, mountain ranges, ocean, distinct architecture or shapes, etc.

Overall, this looks like a very cool concept.  I'm curious to see how it turns out. 

[Freesh Milk]

Hi all, thanks for the feedback. Have slowly been adding lanes etc to the map. Current workshop state is incredibly rough, and mostly for internal testing with friends but does include a more overall idea now. Map has progressed quite a lot since then, as new ideas and other factors have come in to play. More connectors and more established areas.

This being said I am hoping to upload a fully functional grey box of the full map by the end of the coming weekend for feedback.

Discovering that the way workflow in my job works, is different and less efficient for mapping. It is allowing be to problem solve differently though. So hopefully each new revision is cleaner and clearer for you guys than it otherwise would have been. Tricks of the trade

[Freesh Milk]

Have updated the map on the workshop. Should go live over the coming days. This version is quite old though. Have already moved far past this, and plan on getting another version out ASAP. Would be interested to hear what people do and do not like about it though. Cheers.

[Freesh Milk]

Version 1 of grey-box in the process of being uploaded to the workshop now