Just a layout..

CrouchingHamster

<div class="IPBDescription">Spot the problems?</div>I've been doodling around in Hammer, thought I better post a proposed layout before I do any serious work..the whole thing exists only as a series of empty, connected boxes, so it can all be resized, stretched, moved etc fairly easily..

No vents or welds yet btw, r_speeds look like they'll be ok..

thoughts?

Freestyler

I think it could use some more resource nodes.  Also, I think the bottom two hives look a bit close together compared to the third one.  

Apart from that, it looks pretty good.

ChromeAngel

The white ringed areas seem to be redundant, with no particular reason for players to go there.  I suggest adding more hallways at the areas I marked in yellow.  The route between the 2 hives seems very short, you might want to move the lower right hive up and right a bit.

RhoadsToNowhere

I agree with ChromeAngel's suggestions for where to place some vents.  Because at the moment, it would be pretty tough for the aliens to travel between the upper hive and the two lower hives.  They'd pretty much have to go right through the marine base to get there, which would suck if they started with the top hive.

CrouchingHamster

Thanks for quick replies chaps..

Firstly, yeah, those bottom two hives are too close, but I have plenty room to expand it right and up. The yellow corridors:  yeah, thats a good idea too, they're going in..Once it's expanded out a tad, there'll be more room for a few resources..

A few of the redundant areas might get vents or something..hmm

Anyhow, all useful pointers.Ta.

Edit: Y'know now I look at it, theres a lot of dead space between some of the rooms..would that make using commander mode tricky? I suppose I can expand a few of the rooms or change the shapes to fix that..

ChromeAngel

Don't worry about having gaps, it's better than seeing too much in commander mode and having r_speeds rocket.

Trane

This isnt a specific complaint about your layout but a general complaint.  Everyone makes these crazy layouts, which are nothing like any human would ever construct.  Ussually rooms and hallways are next to each other, and the closest thing there is to empty space between walls is a courtyard.  I think mappers should really take in consideration how real building are designed when they make their layout, instead of random rooms connected by curvy random hallways.  This is even sillier when making maps that are suppose to be spaceships or stations.  Most of these layouts we've seen would be appropiate for some kind of tunnel system though.  I dont know, Id just like to see something that looks plausible every once in a while.  People, im sure, will say that realism kills games, but in this aspect i think they are wrong. You can have just as many hallways and rooms, but if they are designed more sensibly people will pick them up easier and the layout will make more sense.  Thats all.  Sorry to hijack your thread.  ON TOPIC - More resource nodes are needed like someone already said.  The general spaceing of your hives looks good but maybe you could change the layout so the 2 bottom ones arn't so easibly accesible from one another, possibly put a jet pack only route as that quickest one, or a whole bunch of doors you have to weld open.  Make sure to include alien only vents. Looks good otherwise.

RhoadsToNowhere

I definitely appreciate where you're coming from, Trane.  Despite the restrictions imposed by gameplay and engine limitations, I think the official NS mappers have done an outstanding job in making their levels not only look great and play great, but also look like they actually are facilities with some defined purpose, and this is something that I really, really like.  You've got things like the reception and processing areas in Hera, the airlock and atmosphere processing in Bast, and the bridge and engine rooms in Nancy to name a few.  So yeah, it may be difficult to do, but you're not alone in thinking this.

CrouchingHamster

I do agree to an extent with Trane..it would make more sense to have a realistic layout, and if I go ahead with this one, I'll at least do my best to make every area easily recognizable for the players..it was supposed to be some kind of colony..

This one is nowhere near "green light" yet, so I might doodle around, see if I can come up with a different layout that seems more logical, without sending the r_speeds through the roof...

I fancied having a go at a spaceship theme so I might have a crack at that too...

Meanwhile the yellow corridors went in and the b/right hive is a fair bit further away..

Anyway, ta for feedback all..

CrouchingHamster

An alternative sketched layout..better? worse?

What you reckon?

Moleculor

Too Symetric. Players will get lost, unless each half looks -very- different. Or the MS is on the far left or right, and the hives are on the other NSEW directions.

Skrift

Yeah, I´m not a big fan of symetricity neither. :/

Iden

Definatley, make the rooms distinct, however it's not quite as hard as it may seem.  The easiest route is to merely have different colors (lighting or enviroment) in each hive, (1 hive, 2 hive, red hive, blue hive, green hive [Dr. Suess is going to kill me.]) On the other hand you could also name it NS_maze <!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->

Players are very quick to pick up on even subtle differences in colors.  In RtCW's Destruction map there are two very distinct buildings on either side, and could of been called a billion different names.  However what do they call them?  Yellow building and blue building and they're only barely that color, very dirty bleak colors were used.

Just a suggestion though, others prefer to make them much more distinct.

And there's nothing wrong with symetry  <!--emo&;)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'><!--endemo-->

CrouchingHamster

I see what y'all mean about the mirror layout, it was going to be set on some sort of spaceship, with each of the rooms having fairly distinct functions..engines, medlab, bridge, docking bays, storage etc etc, so hopefully that would help players find their way..plus I was planning to knock out a lot of the lighting in certain areas, use of different colours , emergency lighting, damaged rooms/hallways etc ( as suggested above..^), maybe use coloured trim, signs on walls etc to help navigation..

What I'm trying to say is although the layout will be more or less mirrored, the contents of the level wont be..

does that make sense?

Anyhow, all comments welcomed as usual..

ChromeAngel

Are the welds to open or to close?

I'm thinking it might be tricky fopr the aliens to go form the left hive to the right hive without walking past the (heaviliy turreted) marine base (assuming the red dot is the marine base).  I would suggets adding another vent, linking the two halves at the bottom.

CrouchingHamster

I was thinking the doors to the south of marine base would weld open, the rest could be welded closed..

I see what you mean about some extra passages near the bottom half, that would open it all out a little more..make life a little easier for the alien team..

I imagine I'll add a fair few extra vents throughout.

Cheers peeps, it's hard to spot obvious things like this when you haven't played the game yet...