UDK LEVEL (FIXING AND ADDITIONS)

          Play testing session taken into account, I went back to fix, develop and refine my in progress UDK map. With the time limit being as constricting as it was, I didn't have the freedom to really take the map where I wanted it to go and make those dramatic improvements I wish I could of made (the scale of the large bases). However, regardless of these constraints, I still managed to fix some of the issues and make some additions, Take a look at the screenshots below and I'll discuss them later on in this hopefully small post.

UDK LEVEL - ADDITIONS
by Christian Whelan

The GIF is in the order of the additions I made to the map, so I'll start with the first image.

Considering the time constraint and therefore my inability to make any drastic modifications to the scale of the map, I had to find another way to make running around the map less of a chore every time the player dies. So, in order to do this, I added in jump pads in two places - the bridge and the small bases. Two on the bridge and one on each small base. The two on the bridge take the player to their corresponding large base, which in turn, creates a second entrance and exit in some sense, as the player can also jump to the bridge using the same method. The jump pads on each small base take the player to the base on their left-hand side. I believe these additions dramatically improve the map and pace of combat whilst still allowing players to roam near the 'Pit' if they so wish to.

The next Addition was the teleporting points - two within either large base. These teleporting points replace the bugged large jump pads that caused confusion for those in the sniper tower. Now, there is a teleporting point in each base's first floor that leads to their own tower and back. Again, this is a major improvement considering this was the reoccurring complaint in play-testing.

Another criticism was that player never fell to their death when they supposed to. A simple fix for this, was to add a kill box - I did this and thankfully it works.

Finally, and in theory most importantly, I added some coloured lighting in order to distinguish between sides of the map. Personally, I believe the map was too confusing and therefore lackluster in the visuals. Considering this map is designed to be a Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag map, it only made sense to make these colours blue and red (in classic Unreal Tournament fashion). Not only this, but these colours are contrasting and complimenting, allowing players to easily distinguish where they are, and in the team based modes, what team they are on.

       So in all. I believe these addition make the map what it should have been, even if the map itself is not what it could have been. Even so, I think I did a good enough job with the time, knowledgeable and experience I had. However, there where a few things I could (and on the most part, tried and failed) to add in to take the map even further - sounds, lighting types and materials. In terms of further improvement or considerations, I thin I could of thought about weapon, ammo, and vehicle placement a little but more, but I guess time constraints just got in the way.

Maybe on the next map!

NEXT POST: CHARACTER AND LEVEL DESIGN (THE CONCEPT)