STAGE ONE
The Maps inception
When designing this stage I wanted the player to alternate between having CQC indoor areas and having outdoor areas with three objectives where sites have cover that aid one side than the other.
LAYOUT SKETCH
After collecting enough reference images I sat down and created a first draft of what the map could look like from a top-down perspective on paper. This included drawing spawn positions, sites, corridors, sightlines, faster rotations, and all the relevant information I needed to get started in the engine. Something I wanted to hammer down was the lower and upper objectives were going to be closer to their relative team creating a sense of superiority for the respective teams and also breaking symmetry.
STAGE TWO
Blockout
Once in the engine, I did the first block out of the map using dev textures and blocky geometry. This step ensured the play area was not too big or too small. Simotuaniously as I'm blocking out the map My workflow during a blockout is usually systematically focusing on one area to make sure it functions well before moving on to another room.
After creating the block out and playtesting it. I went ahead and added textures to the world to see if my theme matched the map I had created and it did with some tweaking.
OBJECTIVE A
A is closer for the Americans than the Russians. This is to ensure they reach A faster and have superiority. During the level design of this objective areas of the contest will favor the Americans with better cover and better angles that do not expose them.
AREAS OF CONTEST A
These areas are where both teams will meet and contest. Since this is objective A the Americans will have better geometry for cover. If the Russians push out and into the American side of the objective the cover that was beneficial to the Americans becomes a hindrance for the Russians in the way of exposing them when they peak hard corners.
OBJECTIVE B
B is for the Russians and they are closest to the entrance to B. The area is split into two long hallways. The upper hallway features more cover and gives the Russians cover to retreat back to if they would be pushed back.
The lower hallway is designed for further ranged combat with light machine guns.
AREAS OF CONTEST B
Both hallways are areas of the contest and if the Russians push beyond B they will be met with less cover and cover
STAGE THREE
Prop placements
After updating the top-down draft as well as creating a blockout with added textures I now have a base for my map. From here on I begin adding in props, vegetation, navmesh, and finalizing the cube map. I progressively playtest while adding in props to get a feeling of whether the props fit the environment or not.
