A Brief Detour

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So that level I was working on? I finished it!





It's titled "A Brief Detour", and that says it all. It's a single player map for Half-Life 2: Episode 2, where you're separated from your squad, and have to venture through a Combine controlled apartment complex to meet back up with them.

Someone from the Interloper.net forums was kind enough to post a video playthrough - it's a little out of date compared to the most recent version, but it gives a pretty good overview:



You can download it at PlanetPhillip or Snark Pit. It's a featured level on SnarkPit right now, which I'm proud of. The reviews say it's really solid, "a nice little map", but short. I just wanted to make sure I could make a singleplayer level that was solid and polished, and I think I accomplished that. It took a few weeks of work, with lots of playtesting and tweaking. I learned a lot, and hopefully I can top it with my next project!

In other news, I'm still pumped about presenting Robot Revolution at the SXSW ScreenBurn game design contest on March 14th, I'll need to do a few more dry runs of the presentation in the next few weeks.

Far Cry 2 Map: Dogon Arroyo

Yes, another Far Cry 2 multiplayer map. I just really got into a groove these past few weeks, I really like this editor. It's amazing to be able to make believable outdoor environments so easily, the terrain tools and collection system make it a breeze.



This one is set in a canyon lined with the ruins of a Dogon village, the focal point being a natural bridge that links the paths running along the tops of the canyon walls.
Players have three paths to choose from: through the canyon and under the rock bridge, or along either side of the canyon walls.
Through the canyon is the fastest, most direct route to the other base, but there is very little cover and enemies on the canyon walls can rain down withering fire from the heights and safely toss grenades from out of sight. But, unless someone comes to the very edge of the canyon wall and looks down, you'll most likely stay out of sight. Also, the canyon floor is covered with grass, and can easily become a death trap if both ends of the canyon catch fire if a Molotov or two is tossed down.
Atop the canyon walls, there's cover from the Dogon ruins along one side, and just bare rock along the other, although this bare side is slightly sunken, and it's easier to stay out of sight from the other side of the canyon wall. It's a fairly simple map, very straightforward, with lots of action in one central arena.


As far as my thought process goes, I was originally thinking of the tunnel from de_dust in Counter-Strike - a sunken area with commanding points above it on either side. The raised balcony directly across from the entrance on the CT side makes it into a sniper fest, but hopefully having a way to cross over the tunnel in my map will balance this out. I just wanted to see if I could take that one element and make a map out of it, and I think it turned out well.

To download, search for "Dogon Arroyo" in the in-game map browser. As usual, I would really appreciate any feedback.

Far Cry 2 Map: A Bridge Between

Another map for Far Cry 2! This one I designed as a Capture the Diamond map from the start, and I tried to include an interesting central feature: the elevated wooden bridge that runs across the middle of the map, as seen in the screenshot above. This bridge helps to split the map between the two factions, and offers a risky but quick path across the map, and unsafe sniping spots, besides being a unique feature that hopefully people will remember, and a good central landmark. This map is a little tighter and more focused than Last Stop, my last attempt at a Far Cry 2 map, which I think had too much space between the spawns and objectives, so you should be able to get to the action faster in A Bridge Between.



One thing I noticed is there are sniping spots very near the spawns where the other team's diamond location is visible (on top of the oil tanks, and on top of the UFLL diamond building), which I think is alright. These sniping spots are very open with little cover, so they'd be hard to camp from, and there are plenty of alternate routes to and from the diamond, but not so many that you won't run into someone from the other team. The sniping spots make the player very visible, so you trade a good view for exposing yourself to fire from all over the map.
I playtested it a lot by myself, but I don't know anyone else with the game to playtest it with, so if you have any feedback, as usual I'd love to hear it. I'm confident that this is a better attempt than my last.


To download, search for "A Bridge Between" in the in-game map browser.

Far Cry 2 Map: Last Stop

Besides playing Mercenaries 2, I've finished a Far Cry 2 multiplayer level: Last Stop. It supports all the game modes (Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Diamond and Uprising), and is set in a valley hemmed by cliffs, with a railroad spur line running into it, terminating in an abandoned train station at the end of the valley, with a junkyard on the other side. It was designed with Capture the Diamond mode in mind.
As an aside, I really felt like working on maps with objectives for a change, as opposed to just straight deathmatch. Hence why the HL2:DM level I talked about in an earlier post didn't really get anywhere. As amazing a game Half-Life 2 is, the combat isn't all that compelling for me, with the gravity gun being the only unique feature, and that's more of a novelty than a core component of the combat. I just in the mood for making objective based maps, which Far Cry 2 has. Plus the combat feels solid, really tactile, like I'm actually sliding around in the dirt, tossing grenades and firing guns, it really succeeds in that respect.


Back to the map, I think I provided the right mix of cover and open space, with multiple paths to the objective and plenty of room to flank. I tried to keep the concept of "multiple paths" in mind, and I think I succeeded on a micro scale: from almost every piece of cover, there is more than one piece of cover that you can reach. You can brave the main road, out in the open with machine gun emplacements covering it from either end, or stick to the sides under the cliffs, using the long grass and trees for concealment. I was really feeling the train yard part of the map, and started by just laying out track and the station, and starting from there. The cliffs were added around the rail, kind of haphazardly, but I like the way it looks. I tried to leave openings so it seemed connected to a greater world, and wasn't just an arena. The warehouse end opposite the train station wasn't as inspired, but I think it works. I tried to keep everything spaced equally, positioning the spawns, diamonds and vehicles about the same distance apart for each side.


I haven't seen very many custom CTD maps with a lot of open terrain, and I'd love to try it out, but it's hard to find people to play with, and it's hard to get a map to stand out enough to get downloads, with clones of levels from other games taking the spotlight. But, I think I'm going to try another map, now that I'm settled into the editor, which is an absolute pleasure to work with. I only wish more level editors were more polished and straightforward to use. I really wish they would have released a single player editor as well, since Far Cry 2 cries out to be modded.

Search for "Last Stop" in the in-game custom map browser. I'd love it if someone wanted to host the map, so I could get some more feedback. Enjoy!