Summary

In conclusion, the level I made was not exactly what I had in mind at first, the rough work I had was very different at first but the limitations of Unreal made it hard for me to do what I actually wanted.I learned a few things while completing this unit, the importance of pick-up and weapon placement as well as spawn point placement and I even got to practice a few things like how to guide players with lights and how to make players go where I intended them to go using different pathways and routes.

The feedback I received for the level was positive and people seemed to enjoy it, the only criticism I received was small and easy to overcome.

The level in general seemed to be a success, it was great practice for me and I got to try out and experiment with new things as well as play with different kinds of map types. Saying that, if I was going to make another level, I would opt to make a team death match, just to see the completion of a different type of game from start to end.

Peer Review 2

• 1.How does the flow of my feel does it work
  2.How do you feel about the night time and use of lights for navigation
  3.What changes could be made to improve this level (basically just give me your point of view
  
  
  Wayne+
  
  
  1 – Solid as a roooooooooooock.
  2 – Bit darkish perhaps? You could try increasing radius/intensity of your current lights rather than adding more – quick fix just adding more visibility but still keeping the effect you’re going for.
  3 – Floating unicorn ship carrying you from one base to the other. 6 redeemers. Seriously not too sure, it’s simple and small and seems to work – perhaps more higher / lower tier interaction but you already have that. What about teleporters/jump pads up and down just adding to the flow?
  
  
  Seems fine all round.
  
  
  
  
  Emma
  1.       The level plays really well, its small and easy to navigate through.
  2.       Maybe intensify the blue lights and red lights a bit, on some spawn points, it’s hard to see where you are but everywhere else, it’s really easy to see.
  3.       Just adding more guns I guess, the level is quite small so it doesn’t need any teleport s or anything like that, but you should make the level pink.
  
  
  Nick
  1.       The flow feels decent, could possibly do with a bit of work to avoid potential spawn killing but the layout of the level in general provides a reasonable flow.
  2.       Whilst the lighting would almost certainly be modified with more iteration, the lighting provides functional navigation and as such, affects the flow somewhat positively as of right now. The top section access by jump pads could also be illuminated a little more effectively.
  3.       Layout of weapons could possibly be tweaked to deter spawn camping/killing, though the weapons and health feel generally well placed when play testing against bots.
  
  
  The changes
  
  
  When looking at the flow of my map the consensus over all was that it worked well and felt really nice and people were surprised about how its flowed nicely considering the size, the only downside of this is that there wasn't any negative view brought to light that i could possibly look on changing.
  
  
  In terms of the lighting people though that it was nice change from the original level in which it was all lit by the directional light, the darkness made the lights stand out and helped to boost the navigation and flow of my map, I have looked at the negative brought to light by my peers and it seems although the only criticism is that the brightness of the base lights needs to be increased and there needs to be more lights for the sections of level 3 in which the jump pads take you too, I have since looked at this and mad both of the changes happen and in result I feel like its opened up more navigation in the level and a want to use these otherwise overlooked routes.
  
  
  In terms of my weapon layouts again I was happy to find out that there was no direct qualms with what was going on in my level except for a fear that players may try to spawn camp and kill which is a hard thing to prevent so I decided to, remove all health pickups in the level which mean that people trying to camp at spawns do not have access to a way to keep their life up or heal after damage and will eventually die and I don't think this change affect the map that much since I went for a very fast paced game of CTF.

Block Out Build Part 2

I wanted to now add my flanking method to create more dynamic game play, to set up this flanking style of navigation decided to add to crossing sections in the center of the map from corner to corner which had the right of each base leading to level two and the right leading to level 3, these began as simple ramps constructed using the BSP geometry tool, to add them in on adjacent sides this were connected to the previous side exits I constructed. these then became full walkways with walls and ceiling so that people didn't have easy access to shoot people while on the ramps as stated in my previous Peer Review.

As well as this I have since added in two tubes outside of the spawning bases as a way to make some ground in the courtyard while in cover as well as this I have decided to put a Armour piece in here to give a little defense for players who want to take the direct approach fighting through the most heavily defended choke point but the quickest way to the flag.

As for my level 3 at the top of my level this was hard to decide what to place in here because I had to make it worthwhile as this would be the longest route to the enemy flag and so to justify this there is a rocket launcher in both side of the room (one for each team and then a berserk power up in the center to try and help whatever player reaches it the ability to punch through the enemies defenses.

I also decided to make my map be dark like its night time so I could take full advantage of the lights in Unreal Tournament to create ways to shows players multiple paths and ways to navigate my level, this was a decision I was very happy with as it allowed the look of the map to be improved but just boosted the flow by directing the players to thing that would help them win the game like paths and weapons.

taking all these thing I had added into account I made the decision to not create wall around my level and instead allowed players to be able to fall to their deaths this just added something more to the game play as it was paced this meant they also had to be careful of themselves as well as the enemy.

Tutorial map and peer review

Tutorial

In this unit we must design a map for unreal tournament so to help us with this we have been asked to complete a tutorial on the VLE which consists of creating a map and developing the tools to create our own maps from scratch

Placing spawn points

when placing spawn points in the level you must make sure that they are in good places, so that they function properly and to add these i simply typed in start in the search bar for content this gave me an option to drag and drop a UTTeamPlayer Start from the menu into the world, a key piece of information to remember about this is that the blue arrow on the spawn is the direction the player will spawn facing when using this spawn .

Adding Weapons/Pickups

To add the weapon i simply when into the content browser and found the weapon base blueprint which can be done by typing its name in and then dropping this into the world once there it's as simple as selecting it and choosing a gun it will spawn from the details panel about this blueprint.

Jump pads

Jump pads are again simple just simply find them in the content browser and then drop them in to h world from here you can simply move the target for the jump and this will change the direction and location the player lands, with this in mind if the jump arc is bigger too it will mean the player will spend more time in the air so these changes could impact game play dramatically.

Creating geometry

To create geometry it's a little more complicated than dragging things in to the world from the content browser this time i was using the BSP geometry tool in which you must select a shape a cube in my instance then re size move and rotate it to place you want it to go and simply add geometry, you can then also subtract from this geometry to create more complex and unique shapes and can be used to create some good geometry for the map.

Adding Flags and two sides

I don't think I previously mentioned but this tutorial level was only one half so it must be duplicated by copying and pasting the whole map and adding it to its self to create a mirrored and symmetrical map which is perfect for CTF

Once this was done I needed to make sure the flag section of the map worked considering its a capture the flag map so I changed the values on the flags so that one belonged to team 0 and the other to team 1.

Peer review

In terms of the peer review cycle for this i felt it to be a little redundant considering everybody in class had the same map, and I just wanted to begin my map, but never the less I still part took in one in which it was stated that my jump pads were set to jump way to high and people were getting shot in mid air, I took this into consideration and then changed the targets so the landing zone was the same just the height of the jump getting there was lowered and this had an effect on the speed of the jump pad travel and meant players could be shot so easily in the map.

Peer Review 1

Peer review cycle 1

1.       In my initial build I have only 2 bases and a court yard this will increase soon but for now I just want to ask about the size of my map is it functional

2.       In terms of weapons are the one im currently using okay for this game mode

3.       Do you think I should add in a wall to try and help block shots fired across the map into spawn?

Darren

·         Running across the map I felt that the game was running fast which I liked but it was too fast so I believe the map is a little too small for the capture the flag map

·         You only currently have a link rifle and shock rifle which doesn’t really pack much of a punch for getting through the enemy lines so I would include a gun with more power like the rocket launcher

·         Yeah defiantly the spawn feels quite bare in terms of cover so this would be a welcome addition

Emma

·         I thought that the game play is fun on the map and is a fresh change from huge capture the flag maps were a failed attempt sees you running for a minute and a half to try again whereas this feels like your constantly playing

·         I like that there isn't too many different weapons in the level because it mean that the player isn't forced to make decisions on multiple ways to go because there's all these different weapons if there's not that many it keeps the fast flow you were going for, but I would maybe add one more type so you're not limiting game play.

·         yeah this could be a good addition or you could try to create cover inside the base so that the spawns can't be exploited.

Nick

·         yeah the size of the map functions surprisingly well considering its tiny in comparison to other CTF maps

·         I think you should improve the variety of weapons

·         yeah this would be a welcome addition as the bots can easily just fire in and kill as players spawn

The changes

right so in terms of the map size from my peer review I found out that people for it was too small but they enjoyed it because of this so I'm going to make the decisions to increase the size but not enough to make the map a completely different size enough so that it takes an extra 5 seconds to run to the other base, this allows the other team some breathing room when facing waves of the team pushing for the flag and should make it just feel better but while keeping the size that people enjoyed so much.

iv decided when looking at the peer review that I could actually do with more variety of guns but because of my small level iv decided to only add one and that will be a rocket launcher, I did this because I believe the link gun rocket launcher and shock rifle combination covers all the bases in terms of weaponry I need for this kind of map and shouldn't make certain positions unbalanced or over powered.

Lastly iv decided to create walls at the entrance of the bases and bring down the roof slightly so that more cover is presented at the front as well as add in cover and room type things inside to create more cover to try and combat the problem that small maps can face which is spawn killings.

Block Out Build Part 1

Beginning my level I initially wanted it to be a quite small level for more compact and fast fights into each other's bases and a real struggle to capture the other flag, I began creating this using the tools learnt in the tutorial map which I have previously wrote about. my first tool to use and the one used for the majority of my level is the geometry adding and subtracting method so I initially created a giant rectangle of geometry using this for the floor space of my level, I wanted it set out as two opposing bases facing each other across a courtyard type situation with ways to flank and out maneuver your opponents by the use of its side exits going above the map and across to the other base providing another choke point and vantage point for enemies but this can also be accessed by the middle of the map by simply climbing some boxes if necessary.

So to begin all this creation I simply used the BSP geometry tool to begin adding in the geometry I want as I learnt from the tutorial map and using UDK, the base for this was one long rectangle with two higher sections that lead to the middle by a ramp, I did this to create easy access to the higher section as jumping up it would make the plays slower and they lead in to the middle because this will create the main fighting section for the map to take place.

Next i created a base shape just the bow geometry tool as this would house on of the team and all there spawn points and such once this was done it was simple case of mirroring it to get the symmetry I wanted for both bases i did this by copying and pasting the geometry created, i did this so that both the spawning team have their own base which is a lot more safe than anywhere else on the map as it has lots of cover and they can formulate there plans to take the enemies flag from here.

I wanted to tackle a problem which could be exploited and that is that the spawns could easily trap the other team if one team is stronger and can then potentially spawn trap the other team, so to combat this I have placed two side exits on both bases in the corner to the left and right of the main exit and this will hopefully combat this. 

Game Camera types in UE4

First person games

These games have become a staple for all consoles and pc’s for many years and always include a first person camera hence the name of a first person camera these have become a staple because the first person camera allows full control of the weapons accuracy and helps to improve reaction times and create a more immersive game.

Third person games

Third person games are typically used for the kind of game like an RPG or adventure or action game obviously there is other exceptions to this but the third person camera is placed behind the character and allows full or partial views of the characters body, this is used to help with navigation and spatial awareness in games an example of this would be climbing around in the uncharted games a first person view on this would not be great as you need to see your environments and have spatial awareness around yourself which you don’t get as much as you do with the third person camera.

 Flying 

The flying camera is essentially the third person camera but it allows for pitch and yew and is used in flying Sims like war thunder and sky odyssey.

 Vehicle

The vehicle camera mode’s again similar to the third person camera as it follows the car and keeps it in full view this also generally allows the player to switch between the third person view and a first person or cockpit view in which you can see the steering wheel and through the window this is done for immersion to give people the realistic experience of driving.

Side scroller

In terms of the side scroller, the camera stays adjacent to the character to give the play a view of the surrounding level since this plays a big part in the gameplay it makes sense to use this camera angle to allow the gameplay to shine because any other view mode would not work due to majority of side stroller’s being 2D which mean a first person camera would only lines side on.

Top down

in terms of a top down camera these are most common place for the top down shooters in which a character is seen from a bird eye view and can see 360 around themselves and is all about killing enemies usually in drove this mean this camera works out great because it gives you line of sight of enemies that other cameras just don't and allows you to be able to keep on the move without getting surround.

Twin stick shooter

Again the twin stick shooter is essentially the same as the top down camera whereas the top down camera can be used for other genres the twin stick shooter is well reserved for shooters as the title suggests.

Unreal tournament

For this unit I will be using the first person camera mode because it's the standard for most shooters today and as the brief asks for the level to be for unreal tournament which is a first person shooter game so to change this would go against the brief.

my level will try to be focused around the CTF game mode and I may dabble into the Death match game mode if I feel my level would be able to support it with changes.