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Ben's small bible of realistic multiplayer leveldesign
by Benjamin Bauer
"an article describing how
to make a multiplayer level
from scratch to the end for a realistic setting"
go to 'page 1 of the article "Ben's small bible of realistic multiplayer leveldesign"
I am writing this article to share
my personal experiences and opinions about realistic multiplayer level
design. Some of my old maps don't follow these rules and I made mistakes
myself, but I learnt from my failures and by sharing this knowledge with
you I hope you will make better maps without going through the same arduous
learning process.
You should have a basic understanding of level design and I`ll try to
explain everything as simply as possible. Experienced mappers, even if
you don't make multiplayer maps with realistic settings, should read it,
too, because you might find some interesting aspects you didn't think
about and as a good leveldesigner never stops learning you may well learn
something new. Personally, I am not limited to realistic settings but
that is what I've worked on for the last few years. The level design for
a sci-fi/ Wild West/ Stone Age/ cartoon multiplayer game with some tactical
elements and teamplay is very similar.
For anybody who thinks these rules/schemes might be too systematic always
remember: "You can only break the rules if you understand them in
the first place!", in this aspect it is very similar to the art world.
In this article, I'll explain how to make a multiplayer map from scratch
and then tell you how to improve it. At the end of the article we'll take
a look at different gamemodes/layouts and how they might affect the levels
design. As usual, I tried to write this article in an interesting fashion
and added a lot of pictures and illustrations. Please don't be lazy and
skip the examples, because I explain some important concepts in them.
When I talk about players and teams I assume they all have similar skills
and experience. It's not down to luck that hard-core gamers usually win
against noobs, but in a balanced teammatch if one side consistently wins
it might be because the leveldesign is bad and that is what I want to
talk about.
In general, the article is for team based multiplayer with fixed spawn
points. Deathmatch or teamdeathmatch with random spawns is not what is
this article is about.
When I first played multiplayer games I started
to think about why some levels are more fun to play than others. All of
my first MP experiences were maps made by professional designers. I started
to analyze them and I compared the good ones with the bad ones. When I
started to spend more time in the MOD community with maps from fans, the
most important fact of map design was proved: Gameplay beats everything!
Some ugly looking action quake2 maps were the most played maps on the
servers and the nicer looking maps were rarely played. I know that this
sounds a little too easy but if you think seriously about the maps out
there you will notice that most level designers care more about the aesthetics
than the gameplay of their maps. If you're thinking about professional
map design, the aesthetical quality of your maps is very important. However,
if you don't care about gameplay you shouldn't start a professional career
at all.
I have worked with a lot of different level designers, from absolute noobs
and MOD mappers to professional designers and some who just thought that
they're professional. A lot of them work without a real schematic system
and if they created a good map, more often than not, it was down to good
luck rather than skill.
It might be silly to explain these terms to an experienced mapper or gamer but I have noticed that everyone has different associations with these terms. So I just want to explain my interpretation of these terms so we are on the same level of understanding.
CQB:
CloseQuarterBattle; Even closer than short range; normally lots of cover; ideal range for shotguns or submachine guns; scoped weapons are useless; this game-play supports fast movement and reflexes.
Short range:
Similar to CQB but not so close; ideal range for shotguns or submachine guns; scoped weapons are still useless; supports fast movement and reflexes; maximum range to throw grenades.
Medium range:
Ideal range for normal rifles; shotguns become useless and submachine guns become weaker; scoped weapons start to become effective; from now on only possible to fire grenades with a grenade launcher; reflexes and movement are still important but aiming becomes more difficult.
Long range:
Snipers paradise; ideal range for all weapons with scopes; for weapons without scopes it's really hard to hit anything; normally only with a small amount of cover; you should have good aim instead of running/firing skills.
Stealth areas:
Areas where silent/unnoticed/tactical movement gives you a big advantage; normally with lots of cover; several dark spots to hide. You can move through the whole area without being seen by a camping enemy.
Roamers:
Players who prefer to be between the two; instead of real defense or assault; they need a lot of room and combinations of quick connections between the areas to react to the different game situations.
Rusher:
People who just want to run through the whole map
as quickly as possible; they want to reach the missiongoal as fast as
possible; surprise the enemy with speed/reflexes is their motto
Campers:
Most hated kind of player except cheaters; you can find them in all realistic multiplayer games so you will have to learn to deal with them; they prefer to hide/stay in real nasty positions until an enemy runs into their line of sight; prefer short and CQB situations because then they don't need a lot aiming skill, natural enemy of the rusher
Snipers:
Guys who prefer to run around in long/medium range areas with scoped weapons. It is a misconception that snipers are the same as campers because a smart sniper will change position after each shot, normally long range fights between snipers are more tactical, there are snipers who run around like rusher guys except obviously they avoid CQB/short range fights.
CTF:
Gamemode: Just for the few unworldly people who never heard about Capture The Flag. Two teams have to protect their relevant flag while having to steal the flag from the opposition. They can only score if they bring the enemy's flag to their own one which has to be in its home position.
BOMB:
Gamemode: One team attack and have to place one bomb at one of several spots which another team is guarding. They need time to place the explosives and until the bomb blows up (timer), the original defending team still has the chance to disarm it.
DOMINATION:
Gamemode: I use several variations of this gamemode in this article. In general you have to control of one or more areas/spots which you have to protect. You score regarding the time you hold them.
VIP:
Gamemode: One team has to escort a special player on their team to one or more specific point(s). The other team has to find and kill the VIP on his way to the rescue point(s).
go to 'page 3 of the article "Ben's small bible of realistic multiplayer leveldesign"
