Far Cry 3 Single Player Level Breakdown.

The thought behind this level is that it could fit into a short single player DLC for Far Cry 3, as such it tries to tell a whole story through set dressing in just a single map. I also wanted to focus on using assets from the main game in slightly different ways to signify that this was a different location as well as to test my ability to think 'outside the box' (sorry) when it comes to using props and meshes in creative and unique ways they may never have been intended for.

The level takes place on a small island and the player must reach the end found at the top of the compound.

The player starts on the beach, turning around will not only show them the end goal of the compound but will reward them with an extra weapon pick up in the rowing boat they arrived on the island in.

As the level evolved it became apparent that certain changes had to be made in order to make the level more interesting.

The beginning of the level presents the players with a choice now, before they had to cross into the Pirate controlled cove and get into combat. Now however a path leading up the cliff on the left presents an opportunity for players to sneak through this entire section if they chose.

Before:

After:

It was also important to make sure the player was aware of this choice, and as such I used a rock formation on the beach that would hopefully force most players to funnel through it, giving them a view of the paths that I had designed specifically to make them aware that one would lead to obvious combat while the other might not.

During my playtesting of various friends and family (Thanks to all those who were my guinea pigs!) I always asked after they had played the level if they were aware of any conscious choices they were making and all agreed that they had chosen to either go up and sneak around or that they had wanted to get into combat and took the more direct approach.

An extra area of rock was also added to the path winding up from the cove with a radio tower. Radio towers play a large part of the main Far Cry 3 campaign and as well as adding some variety to the level by including some climbing it also rewards the player with a better view of the level and a sniper rifle for their troubles.

The Jungle path that followed was replaced instead with a small village. I felt it helped to keep the pace of the level up as the Jungle area was too easy to become lost and bored in. It also helped me to add more character to the level with more opportunities for prop placement.

Before:

After:

The compound itself was also changed somewhat. The front gate was closed and multiple routes have been opened up to the player by climbing over boxes and some walls. Giving them the option to sneak through the compound and to pick off enemies one at a time.

Before:

After:

The next change that became apparent was the need to increase the verticality of my level. At this point most of the gameplay took place on ground level with the exception of the Pirate Cove which really stood out as a highlight because of this.

To fix this problem I added multiple ladders to the map and routes above rooftops in the jungle area as well as a raised walkway through the middle of the compound. I also gave the player access to things such as the thick large compound wall. They can run around up there, jumping onto rooftops and into buildings from above as well as climbing up the numerous watch towers along the routes for a better vantage point. I really think this helped to make the level feel more complete and varied.

Before:

After:

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the result of this level. I came across some pretty obvious limitations creating a single player level in a multiplayer focused editor but I was aware of these going in and tried to work around this problem as best I could.

Far Cry 3 Single Player Level.

It's been a short while since my last blog, but I've been busy working this whole time I promise :P

The deadline for the Whitebox Challenge over at Mapcore has been and gone and while I completed my map(s) on time I didn't submit any as I wasn't happy with the quality of them. Having said that I made a lot of progress as a level designer during this process and learn't a lot that will be helpful going forward, plus I always enjoy working to a deadline, it's a good way to stay focused and challenge yourself.

More on those later, I may post some updated screens from the various maps if I can be bothered to do a large scale break down but for now I have a second Far Cry 3 map to show!

This time I was focusing more on creating a single player guided experience for a level, it's still work in progress but I'm happy enough to show it off now.

The thought behind this level is that it could fit into a short DLC for Far Cry 3, as such it tries to tell a whole story in a short time frame and I also wanted to focus on using assets from the main game in slightly different ways to signify that this was a different location.

The player starts next to a small wooden boat on the beach, turning around they can see the compound they need to advance on although it should be clear that the cliffs are too steep and they will need to find another way.

Continuing round the beach brings them to their first obstacle, a make shift pirate dock in the cove, the player will have to fight their way through this, crossing the rope bridges to reach the other side.

Once this is dealt with they make their way up the coastal road and past an old watch tower. They can climb it for a better view of obstacles to come and maybe even some different weapon choices. 

After this comes a small village in the jungle, this area is still heavily WIP. 

Walking through the village leads to the top of the waterfall that runs over the pirate cove below.

A make shift bridge made of planks and barrels keeps your feet dry as the player walks carefully across. On the other side can be seen an old depot and the first signs of the base you are looking for. 

A short off road journey follows through the jungle, stepping over stones, roots and plants.

 Climbing over fallen trees the player is lead out to the first view of the enemy base. 

The base itself is rather large, so here are just a few screenshots to give an idea of what it's like. 

Overall I'm pretty happy with how this map is going, it's pretty much finished I just have a few final touches to add. I made a conscious effort to try and tell a story through this map, and I like to think that every object is only there because it needs to be and because it adds to making this level feel like a real lived in world. 

Finally as always, one waterfall wasn't enough for me so off the beaten path players can also find..

Thanks for reading!

Something from the back catalogue...

Something from the back catalogue here.

During my time working at The Creative Assembly in 2012 I took part in using the in house level creation tools to make a map that was then chosen to become part of an official pack of six maps to be selected to launch Shogun 2's Steam Workshop. I'm still happy with the map now although looking back on it I can already see things that I would of loved to improve or change. Here are a few screenshots of it.

For anyone interested in having a play you can subscribe and download the map here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=96995237

Mapcore Unreal 4 September Challenge Part 2

I took about a three hour break before I literally couldn't keep away any longer and came back to working on my challenge map. I took the main bridge out and replaced it with two that run along the walls, I think this is much better this way as it allows both teams quicker access to each others flag rooms via reaching the drop down points quicker. It also allows people on the lower floor a better view of the players above and more chances to take a shot at them.

I also removed the floor from the main room and replaced it with a bridge that connects the two ramps. I think this works much better as it brings all three floors into the conflict makes the level also more visually interesting.

One of my main concerns of the map earlier was that the flag points might be too easy to protect. Simply put your back against the corner wall and you could cover all three entrances to the room. To counter this I added an extra room where the corner used to be and a secondary ramp that connects to the original ramp. This gives the defender no real perfect place to stand and camp and also the attacker a second option for entering that room.

The secondary ramp is also visible from the top level however, to add more options for the defenders also.

That's it for today, overall I'm pretty happy with my progress in this challenge and hopefully by the time I submit I can have something truly exciting!

Mapcore Unreal 4 September Challenge Part 1

Starting my journey into Level Design has been fun challenging, it would however have been much more challenging without the help of the fine folks at www.mapcore.org.

As such I decided to take part in the current challenge hosted on the website which is to build a Unreal Engine 4 white box level.

I started by doing some "research". Research basically being an afternoon of playing Unreal Tournament (It's tough work you know? :P) and after that decided that the best thing I could do for this challenge would be to make a symmetrical capture the flag map. 

The map takes place over three floors as follows.

The 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 separated 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. 

When all three floors are put together it should look like this...

And hey look... it does!

Here is 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.

Here is the bridge across the top room, I'm thinking about changing this to two bridges along the side of the walls though. Maybe in the next update?

 Overall I think it's going ok so far, 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.