From the previous lesson, you should have some idea of what your map should look like. This could be a fully developed blueprint, or just a basic shape to work with. Core will allow you to make changes easily and quickly, so it can be used as part of the design process.
If you started from a Core Framework, you already have a the basic whitebox map that is generated with the Last Team Standing (or Deathmatch, etc). There are several different approaches for how to proceed from there, depending on how much you want to keep or delete.
Changing the default map allows you to keep all of the elements already in place, like spawn points, bomb sites, and the lobby barriers. This approach can save you time, but that will depend on how different your new map design is.
The design of Core Frameworks is fairly modular, so pieces can be removed or reworked without breaking the game. However, if you remove everything, this will create the additional work of adding back in the spawn points, lobby barriers, and the bomb sites.
The best way to approach creating a map from scratch is to save the essential useful pieces that will definitely be part of your game as templates, so they can be deleted but easily dropped back into the map later.
The first thing to save is the lobby space for each team. This includes team-specific spawn points, and the lobby barriers that disappear when the round starts.
Team 1 Lobby
.You can now delete these lobbies, and drop the templates back in once the map is ready.
The bomb sites, whether they are just triggers or Named Location objects, can also be a saved as templates.
Right click each one and select Create New Template from This to make templates for them as well.
The spike is already a template, but we have made modifications to it. To make sure those changes are saved, follow these steps:
You can now delete the Spike Equipment and Spike_Planted without losing your changes.
With the templates saved, it is possible to start building your map in the same project, deleting the default map. For testing purposes, it may be useful to start the map in a separate project, to allow yourself to test it without worrying about lobby starts and round times. You can then make a template for your map, and import it into the original project.
The Generic tileset provides the pieces that were used in the default map, and can be used in the construction of a new one. You can use any of the 3D object pieces to build the map, but keeping the design relatively blank will allow you to focus on the design of the space, and save the decoration step for once you have a balanced map.
The other advantage of using the Generic tileset is that the pieces are already scaled to the player, so you will not design a space that is too large or small to run around.
The time has come to start building your map!
Here are the essential components:
With a basic map finished, it is time to test!
You can use the Stop Watch template from Community Content, or any timer you have available to see how long it takes you to run through different points in your map.
Imagine scenarios where you need to move from one important point to another. What are a player’s options? Are they forced to chose the same way ever time, or can they be creative in their decision making?
It is essential to be clear about what places the player can and can’t go. Test the whole map, jumping around, to see if it is possible to get to any of the areas that are not intended as part of the map.
The final step should be to see how weapons work in your map. Add the weapons back in to your space and see what angles are possible to cover and shoot, and make adjustments according to what you discover.
To move a map from a separate project into your own, you will first need to put all the pieces of it in a folder. It will help if you label the parts before you do this to make it easy to adjust later. Creating subfolders for different areas will also help make this clear.
Close this Core project, and open the one with your game.
Work on a map is never truly finished. You are now in a great place to change it in the context of your game, so grab some playtesters, and get feedback on how to improve the player experience.
Congratulations on finishing your Valor-Strike map!