Engineering level design

[taxi_evil]

I tried to put this in the right place, I don’t start too many topics

This is a question for any level designers out there who are better than me (that would be everyone here then): when designing levels, do you ever think about how they would stay up in real life?

I started studying civil engineering in september, so I spend a lot of time looking at fun old things like construction materials and structural design. I’ve been wondering if thinking about this kind of thing and incorporating it into your level design makes it appear more real? Or is it more likely to get in the way of gameplay? Maybe people would subconsciously accept the level as more believable?

Its a bit rambling, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, especially anyone who thinks about this kind of stuff

[RandomSpoon]

OmahGawd.

Sorry to derail your thread on the first reply, but i started civil engineering this year, and i am at uni in devon :fffuuu:

(Are you in plymouth by any chance?)[/SIZE]

—Back on Topic—

I can’t really respond to your post as i don’t map too much (at least atm), but when i do, i try and make any structures within look ‘feasible’ (i.e. i will tnormally look for reference pictures of what i’m building, ec.). I realise that doesn’t really help but i wanted to write something other than “OMG U R DOIN TEH SAME COURSE AS MEH!!?!”

:retard:

[Mangled]

The answer is absolutely. Personally when I’m designing levels I take a lot of things into consideration…

For instance wall thickness depends on what it’s supposed to be made from. If it’s an outer or supporting wall it will be thicker than a wall simply for dividing two rooms. The best mappers always use real life references from photographs, or buildings they know.

[taxi_evil]

@RandomSpoon

OmahGawd.

Sorry to derail your thread on the first reply, but i started civil engineering this year, and i am at uni in devon :fffuuu:

(Are you in plymouth by any chance?)[/SIZE]

—Back on Topic—

I can’t really respond to your post as i don’t map too much (at least atm), but when i do, i try and make any structures within look ‘feasible’ (i.e. i will tnormally look for reference pictures of what i’m building, ec.). I realise that doesn’t really help but i wanted to write something other than “OMG U R DOIN TEH SAME COURSE AS MEH!!?!”

:retard:

Yeah, I’m at Plymouth university, first year civil and coastal engineering. Just to prove it, had Dave Easterbrook first thing this morning for stad

[RabidMonkey]

Yes. Especially when designing levels that are meant to mimic the real-world (and even in other cases such as alien or futuristic architecture), making sure that they are correctly planned architecturally and structurally is very important to making it feel ‘real’ (since a 100-ton concrete platform can’t float, or be supported by a 2 inch thick steel beam in the real world.)

You have to keep a balance with gameplay, though; when the realism starts interfering with the level and making it play poorly, you might have to make some concessions. Gameplay should be first and foremost. You would also need to take into account engine limitations and functions which may get in the way sometimes as well (if I make these walls the same thickness, then it will result in a cleaner leaf split, as opposed to making them separate thicknesses which is more realistic, but results in a messy portal file, etc.)

As the previous posters said, the best idea when working on levels is to seek out reference! I would advise starting an archive folder for any and all reference material you find, to use as a starting-off point when designing something, or to return to if you ever get stuck or need more ideas.

[RandomSpoon]

@taxi_evil

Yeah, I’m at Plymouth university, first year civil and coastal engineering. Just to prove it, had Dave Easterbrook first thing this morning for stad

Haha, awesome. Small world, eh?

I think you’re probably on a higher CivEng course than me (i’m on BSc), but if you ever see a skinny-lookin, bespectacled guy wearing a black leather jacket/hoodie, and bright blue shoe’s, that’ll be me

[taxi_evil]

I’m on the Meng, so if you see a guy wearing a pair of polished boots and looking confused thats me.

Its interesting to see that people do take this into account; I suppose some of the best environments are those that you can accept as so convincing you wouldn’t give them a second thought. All in the detail, eh

[JeffMOD]

I don’t usually have to take this into account, (I do mostly indoor maps/buildings that aren’t above ground level) but I do use supports and such when it makes sense for the athestic part of the level; A large room in an office building would probably have supports somewhere, while a small-ish hallway in a metal space station would not.

[Fungus]

Slightly off topic and it might warrant its own thread, but where do mappers better than me start when they make maps? not like planning/sketches, but the first steps in hammer.

[Acristoff]

I try to keep that balance between realistic and fun, but in games where realism isn’t as important I tend to put it lower on my list of priorities while map-making.

[hercule_poirots_nuts]

i tried tto make my flat in hammer to figureout howw to use it again and i couldnt get the scale right and gave up after a bit. pretty sure i was good at this stuff when it was called worldcraft but i guess it went withh my last babby teeth

[Dillxn]

@Raminator

Rough out the entire layout of the map with placeholder dev textures (most people call this orangemapping or whiteboxing). You want all of the dimensions to be more or less what you expect (corridor widths and lengths, floor areas for rooms, etc.) and then get all of the crude functional gameplay in (NPCs, a rough nodegraph, doors and elevators, etc.) so you can start testing it, because it’s a lot easier to change things around at this stage. You don’t want to spend a few weeks lighting and detailing your map only to find that you have to redo huge chunks of it because it doesn’t work or it’s not fun.

This.

Also,

@hercule poirots nutsack

went withh my last babby teeth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_RaPOOVX1Y

[Jack]

The second caveman sounds like a Protoss Zealot.

[Master_Chef]

I make my maps realistic looking, but with unprotected explosives in dangerous places and puddles with electrified cables snaking into them. Similar to Half-Life.