Dussander's map thread

[Dussander]

My partner and I plan to do a college-themed mission. I hope fllood doesn't mind if we use his progress summary as it's really useful:

 

Name: Work in progress

 

Type: an indoor building, maybe with a small courtyard in the front. We plan to include several floors.

Size: Small - 4-5 floors with between 2 and 7 rooms each.

AI: 'Professor' style AI, mansion-like guards, non-combatants.

 

Player Goals: depending on the main story going through, the laboratories within the school will hold technologically important information, as well as new theories which may be profitable to obtain. There may be a unique object to steal too.

 

Basement laboratories

 

Design: 0%

Geometry: 0%

Interiors: 0%

Gameplay: 0%

Fine Tuning : 0%

 

Ground floor - hall?

 

Design: 0%

Geometry: 0%

Interiors: 0%

Gameplay: 0%

Fine Tuning : 0%

First

 

First floor - classrooms

 

Design: 0%

Geometry: 0%

Interiors: 0%

Gameplay: 0%

Fine Tuning : 0%

 

Second floor - classrooms/communal rooms

 

Design: 0%

Geometry: 0%

Interiors: 0%

Gameplay: 0%

Fine Tuning : 0%

 

 

Third floor - staff rooms

 

Design: 0%

Geometry: 0%

Interiors: 0%

Gameplay: 0%

Fine Tuning : 0%

 

Campaign Setup and Testing: 0%

 

 

Ideas & Setting:

 

The college educates students of high society in the sciences. It is a place of learning, but it is not a dormatory. Students would go to the college during the day, so the college is quiet at night. As the college is for the upper class, there is a lot of expensive items lying around, so the college have employed security. Also, the lecturers tend to stay at work until late, so a thief may bump into them.

 

The idea is that the labs in the basement will hold the final objectives, so the idea would be that the labs would be the last place to go and would have the most security. In the lab there will be documents to read and items to steal. Perhaps some forms of magic? Access to the labs and secrets within is obtainable by visiting the staff/class rooms.

 

 

fllood's useful map categories:

 

Ideas and plans [25%]

Design [0%] - Setting, Inhabitants, Player Aims, Layout Sketch Plan, Entry/Exit Points, Player and AI Pathways, etc.

Geometry [0%] - Room Brushwork and Textures, Sky, Weather, architectonical Patchwork (Columns, Tunnels, Arches...), Beams, Grime, Doors, Climbables, Visportals, Location Entities Setup, etc.

Interiors [0%] - Trims and optical Patches, optical Windows, Furniture and Outfit, Containers, Lighting, Location Sound, etc.

Gameplay [0%] - AI, Monsterclip, Keys, Loot, Lockpick settings, Objectives, Events and Triggers, Equipment, Player Map, Shop, adjustments to Difficulty Levels, etc.

Story [0%] - Briefing, Readables, visual story Scenes, Conversations, etc.

Fine Tuning [1%] - Nature and Vegetation, Decals, Point Sound (Speakers), Decorations and minor Details, Secrets, Texture Touch Ups, Optional Objectives, Polishing, etc.

Testing [5%] - Balancing, Performance, Campaign Adjustments, Fixes

Edited July 15, 2011 by Dussander

[Springheel]

I'd recommend that anyone wanting to do an academic map should do at least a tiny bit of reading about historical universities so they have a better chance of fitting into the TDM setting.

[fllood]

glad you find my categories helpful Dussander

... actually they worked quiet well for me stayed focus so far.

 

My ground floor I'm brushing is about 16 areas/rooms (with 6 - 9 more to add for the lab & dungeon) and I found that is more than it might sound first (depending how much details you plan to put in). just say so that you're prepared for as you might well go into the 20's rooms as well regards your plan.

 

I guess your lab will be locked not to enter before getting some key (or similiar) from the staff/class rooms. Not all players like such keyhunt. However I will have a locked off area as well in my map you can also only get after been in the secret labs of my "nursery" - so quiet vice versa than yours . Actually I think "key hunting" it's quiet a valid - even sometimes necessary and even fun - mechanism especially in small non-linear maps, provided it's well used and not frustrating as of not logical or a too well hidden location of the "key" that opens an locked-off area.

 

You seam to plan not having any students around the time of taffing. And both Inventors and maybe even one of the nobles (for the fine arts) might work well as professors

 

Keep us updated.

Edited July 15, 2011 by fllood

[fllood]

The new hair Springheel just did might also come right in time for you for more proffessor/teacher variants Dussander.

Edited July 16, 2011 by fllood