Level Design 101 : Terra Firma - Vehicle Capture the Flag

Intro

   Welcome to Level Design 101! Today we are going to be taking a look at a Vehicle Capture the Flag (VCTF) map I made a few years ago called Terra Firma. This map was made in about a week a few years back for my Level Design 101 class. This was my first attempt at designing a VCTF map and therefore has some major issues and flaws in it's design. So with that in mind please understand that my knowledge of UDK and level design has vastly improved since the creation of this map.

Terra Firma

   The idea behind this map was to build a level on an alien planet that is in the early phases of being terraformed by a group of colonist traveling through space in search of a new Earth. The sky would be cloudy and gray while the ground would be barren and rocky. The red and blue team would be two competing factions fighting for control of this planet.

   With that idea in mind I set out to design the biggest map I had created. I made sure to build the entire map solely using the terrain editor inside of UDK. All the structures in the level are made out of either preexisting assets inside of UDK and BSP.

   Terra Firma is huge and is designed with vehicles in mind. There are a few different routes for players to take to reach the opposing teams base with one direct route leading straight to the opposing teams base in the center of the map that runs under the bridge through a valley.

   The terrain is rough and can be hard to navigate. Players are strongly encouraged to use a hover board when not in a vehicle. Running around on foot will leave you at a huge disadvantage.

Red base.

Central bridge.

Blue base.

The vortex over the map.

An outpost.

   Players must also be careful to avoid the large vortex that hovers over the center of the map. Any vehicle that gets too close will instantly be destroyed. This vortex was added to keep players from simply flying straight over to the other side of the map.

Vehicles

   There are three vehicles for the player to choose from. The first vehicle and most useful in navigating the rough terrain of the map is the Manta hovercraft. The second more direct vehicle is the scorpion dune buggy. It has a harder time navigating the terrain but her a powerful cannon for long distance encounters. The last vehicle is the Cicada bomber. This airship can fly over enemies and rain a salvo of missiles down on them.

   Vehicles are located all over the map. Players spawn near hangars and garages where vehicles are spawned. Cicadas are harder to find and are spawned on landing pads. Both bases have vehicles that can only be accessed by their respective teams. Any vehicle spawned outside of the base is neutral and can be accessed by anyone.

   Every player comes equipped with a hoverboard that can be accessed by simply pressing the "Q" key. The hoverboard can easily be combined with the jump pads in the level for quick speed boosts that will help the player escape danger.

Topdown of Terra Firma with a legend.

A clearer view of the terrain and paths.

Criteria
The level criteria is as follows:
- Spacing and Flow
- Cover Layout
- Lines of Sight
- Theme

No Clear Paths

Where do I go?

   As soon as the game starts there is no clear indication as to where the player is meant to go. The opposing team and flag is straight ahead, but there is no clear path. The only path clearly visible to the player is the direct path that runs under the central bridge.

   The direct path serves for an easy route for scorpions and mantas to take to reach the other side. The problem with this path is that it is just a big straight line! There is no way to change direction once the player decides to drive down this route. Making it an easy spot to be ambushed and attacked.

The only clear route in the game.

   The center path is essentially a valley that traps the player. It should have been made with a few different exits that lead to either side and lead the player to the vehicle depots on. As it is right now the center path does nothing but act as a direct route to the opposing team's base.

   Having a valley design isn't a bad thing if done correctly. If the valley is designed where there are ambush points on top and exits/retreat locations in the valley we could in theory design a very fun combat area in the map that will give players an interesting dynamic to play around with.

   Compounding these problems is the lack of any noticeable landmarks. Much of the terrain is just spread out unevenly, nothing on the map sticks out as something noticeable or useful. The central bridge is made to be something of a landmark, but the bridge itself is completely uneventful/useless. Noting of interest takes place on the bridge and there is very little reason for anyone to go there.

The bridge should be an important landmark on the map.

  With no clear routes but one and with the only real landmark on the map being completely useless. The problem with this map is that it wasn't built with the bridge or any landmark in mind. If this map was built with the bridge as it's centerpiece we would see every path/route flow into it, making it an important and essential area to control in the midst of battle.

Wide Open Spaces and Uneven Terrain

   This map is huge! It was designed for 15 vs 15 combat and it shows. The major issues with this large design is that we have so many wide open areas that are just uninteresting, bland and overall pointless.

  This is very problematic when areas that become rocky and steep that they are nearly impossible to traverse on foot or even with the scorpion. These wide open spaces always leave the player vulnerable to attack. There is no rocks or any sort of cover for players to maneuver their vehicles around. This leaves them wide open to attack, especially from aerial vehicles.

Is anyone there?

Should've taken the manta.

   Most of the time the terrain just becomes an obstacle for the player to deal with. Most of the time the manta is the best option for traveling because it can ignore the rough terrain. Luckily this map is heavily populated with mantas. The cicada is a viable option, but it is a support vehicle and can not properly engage targets for combat.

  The map is designed specifically for vehicular combat but this is all brought to a stand still when players are forced to carry the flag back to base solely on the hoverboard. With the way the map is designed (wide open spaces for vehicles.) we end up with areas that become shooting galleries. It takes luck rather than skill for a player to return back to base.

  The map has no areas that gives players on foot or hoverboards any sort of advantage. The map should've been designed with this in mind. At the moment it just suitable for the manta and no other vehicle. This makes retrieving the flag a very tiresome chore.

Combat

Being chased by enemy vehicles while on foot is not fun.

   Combat is vehicle heavy and is played in the traditional CTF style of one team trying to steal the opposing team's flag while guarding their own.

  The problem with the combat is that is is uneven and at times lopsided. If the player is not in a vehicle they are at a complete disadvantage. As stated earlier, the lack of cover for vehicles and people is very noticeable. Combat therefore feels as a bit of an afterthought. There is no real though into how to approach the opposing team. No matter which way you go you're almost always visible. There is really no lines of sight on this map as everything is exposed.

   There are some large hills and mountains around the map but those do no good when enemies can simply fly over them while in the manta. The overall tone of the combat is boring because the design of the map just leads to rushing. Players don't spend time trying to controls the bridge or vehicle depots. Areas like that are barley even distractions. Combat is direct and boring, it doesn't reward the player for trying a new approach or tactic.

Good Theme Poorly Executed

  The theme of this map was supposed to be something along the lines of two factions fighting for control of a fertile planet. Sounds good? Sure does, but whats that? Yeah somewhere along the lines we ended up with a map that is mostly gray, distorted and has some questionable art choices.

Everything is gray.

what kind of structure is this?

   The problem here is that most of the shifts in terrain are done through the terrain editor. What should have been done is a mix of the terrain with art assets of rocks and buildings to make it stand out, to give the map some sort of contrast. At the moment it looks really gray, everything looks like it is made of stone.

 Certain structures, such as the blue/red base should have been built from the UDK assets to make them looks like man made structures. The terrain should be the only rocky looking thing in the map.

   You know you have successfully executed a theme when a player can identify it immediately. Think about your favorite map from your favorite FPS. It looks exactly like what the name is. For example, in Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 there is a map called "Terminal" and it looks like an airport terminal.

  Even with something as abstract as a planet being terraformed by two rival factions there are no clues or hints as to what this map is supposed to be. Nothing about this map makes any sense in terms of it's theme.

How can we improve this level?

- Define clear routes of attack
- Make the map a bit smaller
- Define landmarks
- Smooth out terrain
- Redesign map to make the hoverboard viable
- Add cover for vehicles and players on foot
- Add more color to the map
- Make the theme of the map clear

Conclusion

   Looking back at this map I can honestly say that I had a great idea but time constraints and lack of know how lead to something that was less than spectacular. Fortunately we can learn a lot from looking back on our past mistakes. I see now that this map had potential, but without a properly thought out plan the execution will almost be flawed.

- Danny Q
@Dannylv100

P.S. - I have one more of my old levels to be analyzed for Level Design 101. I should have the next blog post up in about a month or so. I would like to do a mail bag post where I answer game/level design questions. Please feel free to comment/ask questions. Thanks for reading.