If there's a megathread for this kind of thing, let me know. I couldn't find anything of that nature.
Using years of Brood War terraining experience and blizzard's own campaign maps for reference, I'm developing detail-oriented terrain for campaign missions and I'm seeking feedback. I'll be posting screenshots of my efforts, along with a brief write-up of the biome and the intended effect of the terrain pieces. You don't need to be a cartographer to post feedback, either - I'm looking for any constructive input that will allow me to create great terrain. If I'm on the right track, I want to know that so I can stay on that track; similarly, if I'm doing something wrong, I'd like to correct that mistake as soon as possible.
Please let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from all of you.
Aiur - Lonely, overgrown temple
This out-of-the-way temple is perfect for a band of insurgent protoss to hide out. With nature enveloping the structure in the centuries since the Aeon of Strife, the location of this old shrine was soon forgotten by much of the Conclave, allowing trespassers and squatters to have free reign over the temple grounds.
The inspiration came from the desire to create a believable hideout for a group of dissident protoss. As they are a grim reminder of the loss the protoss race suffered during the Aeon of Strife, the Conclave is unlikely to have retaken many of their ancient temples, even centuries after the conflict's conclusion - but a lack of groundskeeping has come at a cost. The temple is overgrown, its effigies in disrepair and its foundations riddled with flora and fauna. While not quite a respectable place to call home, the shrine's central courtyard is shrouded in trees and old statues, creating a thick fog that further improves the secrecy of the region.
As this map is my current focus, I'll continue updating the thread with additional screenshots as I complete more areas. Thanks again for taking a look and seeing what I have to offer. I hope to use the feedback I gain here to improve my terraining capabilities. Cheers.
I'd like to write some detailed stuff on this, but I've been so busy lately I'm not getting to it. If you keep posting I'll be reminded though, and I will at some point.
I've placed numerous statues in various states of disrepair, and that remains on my list of priorities as far as establishing the theme of a broken, overgrown temple. I'm iterating on gameplay elements and how the terrain will allow those to manifest, but it's safe to say that the central complex will consist of some entrances into the temple itself (with the doodads implying that the majority of the complex is underground, and that you're simply on the surface). There will be lots of room to illustrate how ruined the locale actually is, especially since it'll be surrounded by a wild jungle.
As for the flags and banners, I appreciate this observation. I've begun adding flags to certain areas. It's just a shame that I can't apply my own decals to them.
Another recent focus of mine has been making sure that the transition from temple to jungle is as seamless and believable as possible. There's a lot of visual storytelling with the crumbling walls and statues, but I want to start off with clear borders where the temple was constructed, and then work my way backwards with the ruined, overgrown themes in order to create a realistic feel. In other words, rather than simply constructing an overgrown temple, I want to construct a temple, and then create the vines and the foliage and the ruins, so that it seems more genuine.
This is an example of where the temple starts to recede and the jungle starts to take over. There's a clear separation of where the temple was constructed, and where the jungle was left unpaved and untouched. My objective is for players to be able to 'see' how and where the jungle began invading the temple, so to speak.
Another concern of mine is performance. My computer is more than capable of running the game at max settings, but I'm unsure of how to properly optimise the map for gameplay, aside from upsizing doodads and using less of them in general. If any of my terrain draws any red flags for people who are more knowledgeable than I about such things, please let me know what I can do differently.
Thanks again to everyone who's posted so far. I look forward to everyone's feedback, just as I look forward to eventually releasing this campaign!
The main goal here was originally to provide an implied entrance into the temple, but I couldn't find any doodads that would suit that purpose. I'll continue looking and hopefully stumble onto something that I can use. Of course, if anyone has any recommendations, feel free to make them known.
looks good mate. you're putting a lot of doodads on the surfaces two cliff levels above where players will move around though, and with fog of war nobody will see them so you may be adding to your maps load time/polygon count for nothing. Unless fog of war is off in your map.
There will be revealers for areas where you otherwise wouldn't see the doodads. I'll do some testing in-game to see what areas need such treatment. Blizzard has a similar method in their campaigns.
The southeastern courtyard is overlooked by statues that, while old, remain intact, for the most part. Nature has begun eroding both them and the natural cliffs that reside beyond.
A recent installation, this landing pad serves as a dock for any of the dissident faction's vessels.
One of the two canals that run underneath the temple grounds has been claimed by nature, although the water contained within still flows.
This structure houses the entrance to the underground. If the door still had power, it would allow travel throughout the bowels of the temple.
I'm still iterating on certain doodad selections and trying to figure out pathing/performance, so as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!
Church and I have completed a new area of the map - a distant shrine more thoroughly enveloped by the thicket.
On the approach to the shrine, a riverbank gives life to the jungle
The shrine itself is pictured here - a once-great place of worship that has fallen into ruination since the Aeon of Strife.
A direct shot of the shrine.
Worth noting, too, is that the lighting was changed between the last set of screenshots and this set. It's a cloudy day in this part of Aiur, what with all the rain, and we wanted to represent that more directly with the lighting. Please leave any feedback you have for us - we look forward to hearing what you have to say!
Now that I've actually been able to take a closer look, I find that there's actually fairly little to say for me. There's great textureplay, the terrain makes sense for the location and backdrop it is placed in, there's amazing decorations in the non-pathable areas... it's pretty much what you want from good terrain. The only tiny point of improvement I could give is that the terrain borders/edges could be slightly improved in some sections to make it clearer to the player where he can or cannot go.
One thing I just thought off, actually, is perhaps the concept of compartmentalizing things a bit more. We can't see the whole map here, but from the Aiur (yellowish) map I'm getting a bit of a "while everything looks good, it's somewhat identical" vibe. One way you could really lift the quality even higher is by terraining certain sections of the map in certain ways. Make the players' base an abandoned shrine. Have more leftover Zerg infestation towards the opponents' base. Perhaps one area has a vespene leak that has killed the plantlife in that area (and perhaps this could tie into a sub-quest). Right now, it's mostly all just "aiur overgrown/deserted temple".
Thanks for the feedback! A couple of quick notes that might answer some of your concerns.
- There is only one map we're showcasing here. The first set of screenshots were before a lighting change, as I denoted in the most recent post.
- Compartmentalisation is something we're working hard to set into effect, with the biggest biome changes being the lush, unchecked jungle versus the ancient, forgotten temple. There is some overlap, what with the jungle leaking into the temple, but we've taken note of the lack of overall visual variety and decided to remove or downscale many of the trees that were in out-of-place areas (such as the aqueducts), reserving such large indicators of wilderness for the jungle regions of the map.
- As this campaign takes place centuries before the Great War (and additionally changes much of the protoss race as a whole, lore-wise), there is no zerg presence on Aiur. You make a case with the vespene leak and other environmental effects - we are already experimenting with canals and large-scale environment changes that help the player to identify a particular kind of aesthetic with a specific quadrant of the map. A vespene leak would be unlikely given the low tech level of the region, but it is not out of the question for future maps, and more modern threats to natural order will likely take a forefront in later missions.
I hope to have a more complete and up-to-date set of images to showcase the main sectors of the map once we've completed more of them. I will continue to update this thread, as I have been. And in case you missed it, you can check out some trial-run voice acting I created for this mission's in-game mission primer here.
Thanks again for your feedback! I hope you'll have even more to say once we release the campaign as a whole, whenever that may be.
If there's a megathread for this kind of thing, let me know. I couldn't find anything of that nature.
Using years of Brood War terraining experience and blizzard's own campaign maps for reference, I'm developing detail-oriented terrain for campaign missions and I'm seeking feedback. I'll be posting screenshots of my efforts, along with a brief write-up of the biome and the intended effect of the terrain pieces. You don't need to be a cartographer to post feedback, either - I'm looking for any constructive input that will allow me to create great terrain. If I'm on the right track, I want to know that so I can stay on that track; similarly, if I'm doing something wrong, I'd like to correct that mistake as soon as possible.
Please let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from all of you.
Aiur - Lonely, overgrown temple
This out-of-the-way temple is perfect for a band of insurgent protoss to hide out. With nature enveloping the structure in the centuries since the Aeon of Strife, the location of this old shrine was soon forgotten by much of the Conclave, allowing trespassers and squatters to have free reign over the temple grounds.
The inspiration came from the desire to create a believable hideout for a group of dissident protoss. As they are a grim reminder of the loss the protoss race suffered during the Aeon of Strife, the Conclave is unlikely to have retaken many of their ancient temples, even centuries after the conflict's conclusion - but a lack of groundskeeping has come at a cost. The temple is overgrown, its effigies in disrepair and its foundations riddled with flora and fauna. While not quite a respectable place to call home, the shrine's central courtyard is shrouded in trees and old statues, creating a thick fog that further improves the secrecy of the region.
As this map is my current focus, I'll continue updating the thread with additional screenshots as I complete more areas. Thanks again for taking a look and seeing what I have to offer. I hope to use the feedback I gain here to improve my terraining capabilities. Cheers.
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
Here's an updated shot of the base in the first image.
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
A shot of the temple's northwestern courtyard.
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
I'd like to write some detailed stuff on this, but I've been so busy lately I'm not getting to it. If you keep posting I'll be reminded though, and I will at some point.
Well..it looks amazing! The fog and hanging tendrils give it a very life-like feel.
Maybe some dissident flags around the base. I seem to remember lots of flags in the Protoss temples.
I think if the temple is "abandoned" there would be more cracks in the surfaces.
Any statue doodads that are broken or missing pieces?
Look forward to playing this campaign!!
Did blizzard made these :O
Very nice!! Good work
Custom Campaign initiative StarCraft: Pandora , StarCraft: Replicant
Thanks for the feedback, everyone.
@Mozared: Go
You'll see me continuously update this thread as time goes on, so there's no rush.
@Hockleberry: Go
I've placed numerous statues in various states of disrepair, and that remains on my list of priorities as far as establishing the theme of a broken, overgrown temple. I'm iterating on gameplay elements and how the terrain will allow those to manifest, but it's safe to say that the central complex will consist of some entrances into the temple itself (with the doodads implying that the majority of the complex is underground, and that you're simply on the surface). There will be lots of room to illustrate how ruined the locale actually is, especially since it'll be surrounded by a wild jungle.
As for the flags and banners, I appreciate this observation. I've begun adding flags to certain areas. It's just a shame that I can't apply my own decals to them.
Another recent focus of mine has been making sure that the transition from temple to jungle is as seamless and believable as possible. There's a lot of visual storytelling with the crumbling walls and statues, but I want to start off with clear borders where the temple was constructed, and then work my way backwards with the ruined, overgrown themes in order to create a realistic feel. In other words, rather than simply constructing an overgrown temple, I want to construct a temple, and then create the vines and the foliage and the ruins, so that it seems more genuine.
This is an example of where the temple starts to recede and the jungle starts to take over. There's a clear separation of where the temple was constructed, and where the jungle was left unpaved and untouched. My objective is for players to be able to 'see' how and where the jungle began invading the temple, so to speak.
Another concern of mine is performance. My computer is more than capable of running the game at max settings, but I'm unsure of how to properly optimise the map for gameplay, aside from upsizing doodads and using less of them in general. If any of my terrain draws any red flags for people who are more knowledgeable than I about such things, please let me know what I can do differently.
Thanks again to everyone who's posted so far. I look forward to everyone's feedback, just as I look forward to eventually releasing this campaign!
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
I've completed some work on the complex.
A close-up shot of the first structure.
And the second.
The main goal here was originally to provide an implied entrance into the temple, but I couldn't find any doodads that would suit that purpose. I'll continue looking and hopefully stumble onto something that I can use. Of course, if anyone has any recommendations, feel free to make them known.
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
didnt scbroods make an entire searchable doodad list? i think its in the wiki or in the assets section.
Wasn't able to find it upon a cursory glance, but I'll sift through the list that's available in the editor until I find something that sticks.
edit: http://www.screference.op74.net/ seems to do the trick.
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
That's actually his website. Same resource, different mirror :D
@Pr0nogo: Go
looks good mate. you're putting a lot of doodads on the surfaces two cliff levels above where players will move around though, and with fog of war nobody will see them so you may be adding to your maps load time/polygon count for nothing. Unless fog of war is off in your map.
<Click Here> To See My Epic Single Player Campaign (LifeForceCampaign.com)
@Mozared: Go
I figured as much. He's got a good resource - it's already helped me revamp the central complex a little.
@Bilxor: Go
There will be revealers for areas where you otherwise wouldn't see the doodads. I'll do some testing in-game to see what areas need such treatment. Blizzard has a similar method in their campaigns.
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
With more work comes more screenshots.
The southeastern courtyard is overlooked by statues that, while old, remain intact, for the most part. Nature has begun eroding both them and the natural cliffs that reside beyond.
A recent installation, this landing pad serves as a dock for any of the dissident faction's vessels.
One of the two canals that run underneath the temple grounds has been claimed by nature, although the water contained within still flows.
This structure houses the entrance to the underground. If the door still had power, it would allow travel throughout the bowels of the temple.
I'm still iterating on certain doodad selections and trying to figure out pathing/performance, so as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
Needs more easter eggs.
References to: The simpsons, rick and morty, Warcraft, and power puff girls.
No thanks.
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
Church and I have completed a new area of the map - a distant shrine more thoroughly enveloped by the thicket.
On the approach to the shrine, a riverbank gives life to the jungle
The shrine itself is pictured here - a once-great place of worship that has fallen into ruination since the Aeon of Strife.
A direct shot of the shrine.
Worth noting, too, is that the lighting was changed between the last set of screenshots and this set. It's a cloudy day in this part of Aiur, what with all the rain, and we wanted to represent that more directly with the lighting. Please leave any feedback you have for us - we look forward to hearing what you have to say!
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter
Now that I've actually been able to take a closer look, I find that there's actually fairly little to say for me. There's great textureplay, the terrain makes sense for the location and backdrop it is placed in, there's amazing decorations in the non-pathable areas... it's pretty much what you want from good terrain. The only tiny point of improvement I could give is that the terrain borders/edges could be slightly improved in some sections to make it clearer to the player where he can or cannot go.
One thing I just thought off, actually, is perhaps the concept of compartmentalizing things a bit more. We can't see the whole map here, but from the Aiur (yellowish) map I'm getting a bit of a "while everything looks good, it's somewhat identical" vibe. One way you could really lift the quality even higher is by terraining certain sections of the map in certain ways. Make the players' base an abandoned shrine. Have more leftover Zerg infestation towards the opponents' base. Perhaps one area has a vespene leak that has killed the plantlife in that area (and perhaps this could tie into a sub-quest). Right now, it's mostly all just "aiur overgrown/deserted temple".
Thanks for the feedback! A couple of quick notes that might answer some of your concerns.
- There is only one map we're showcasing here. The first set of screenshots were before a lighting change, as I denoted in the most recent post.
- Compartmentalisation is something we're working hard to set into effect, with the biggest biome changes being the lush, unchecked jungle versus the ancient, forgotten temple. There is some overlap, what with the jungle leaking into the temple, but we've taken note of the lack of overall visual variety and decided to remove or downscale many of the trees that were in out-of-place areas (such as the aqueducts), reserving such large indicators of wilderness for the jungle regions of the map.
- As this campaign takes place centuries before the Great War (and additionally changes much of the protoss race as a whole, lore-wise), there is no zerg presence on Aiur. You make a case with the vespene leak and other environmental effects - we are already experimenting with canals and large-scale environment changes that help the player to identify a particular kind of aesthetic with a specific quadrant of the map. A vespene leak would be unlikely given the low tech level of the region, but it is not out of the question for future maps, and more modern threats to natural order will likely take a forefront in later missions.
I hope to have a more complete and up-to-date set of images to showcase the main sectors of the map once we've completed more of them. I will continue to update this thread, as I have been. And in case you missed it, you can check out some trial-run voice acting I created for this mission's in-game mission primer here.
Thanks again for your feedback! I hope you'll have even more to say once we release the campaign as a whole, whenever that may be.
My YouTube | My SoundCloud | My Twitter