GoldenEye 007 Nintendo 64 Community, GoldenEye X, Nintendo 64 Games Discussion

[bmw]

LAST UPDATED APRIL 8 2009 - From here on out I will put all screenshots in the first post of this thread so that I'm not constantly replying to it with new stuff.

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Not sure I'll go any further with this, but I was playing around in hammer today. Whipped this up in about an hour - I call it "Cabin Fever"



Kind of like a spring-time version of Surface.

Here it is loaded in-game with a few objects thrown in...



EDIT - I'm also trying to get the hang of using Nem's terrain generator. This thing is actually quite useful. I managed to create a basic river/mountain and import it into hammer and connect it to the back of my cabins.

Obviously this is a "rough draft" but it should give you an idea of what I have in mind here.



I think I finally have a rough level design now. The central piece of the level is an elevated "mountain" with a small pond/stream of water at the bottom. On all 4 sides of this mountain will be cabins. The mountain basically serves both as keeping framerates reasonable (by breaking up the level) and as a central overlook area - you'll be able to walk to the top.

Then on 2 of the 4 sides behind the cabins I'll have a river similar to the screenshot above. I may vary cabin design in each quadrant.



Ok I'm going to go with a large building in the middle. But I really want some water so it'll be surrounded by a moat (kind of like a castle, except, well...not a castle). Not sure how much more detail I'll put into these bridges but here is a basic wooden bridge.



....and some more screen shots. I've got a rough outline done for a central building and island.



I think I've finally got my groundwork laid for this thing...(now I just have to flesh it out)



Last edited by bmw on Sun Nov 28, 2010 2:31 am; edited 5 times in total

[Wreck]

Why do I get the feeling that a certain hockey-masked killer is hiding out in the forest with an eye piercing into those cabins...?

I like the idea of cabins out in the woods. It could make for a very unique and exciting multiplayer map, if you choose to move on with it. Maybe have four different "bases" in separate sections of the map. Each could have their own flag, coloured differently to help indicate which is which. Even put in some streams and little wooden bridges. Sounds like it could be really fun.
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[Dragonsbrethren]

Yeah, this map idea has a lot of potential.

[radorn]

Nice!
That ingame screen from inside a cabin has a certain Outrun feel to it, with the car and the palm tree and some blue in the background xD

[GERage]

Cool stuff! The theme of the level is very nice and the work you've done with the Terrain Generator is impressive. It's sure time-consuming to make architecture like that manually.

[bmw]

GERage wrote:

Cool stuff! The theme of the level is very nice and the work you've done with the Terrain Generator is impressive. It's sure time-consuming to make architecture like that manually.

The terrain generator is actually quite easy to use once you get the hang of it. I don't apply any textures to it within the terrain editor - I just export it to .vmf then open it in hammer and apply textures from there. I did everything almost exclusively with the raise/lower tool and the touch up tool. I might use the noise tool to vary up the ground a bit.

[Wreck]

Hey, now that river is really nice! Just be careful which of the (three?) water textures you use. Only two of them are actually set to animate. The one used in Complex (which you can't see normally, because the RGB was set all the way down to pure black) is static and doesn't look too great (possibly due to the way it was applied, however). Be sure that you get either the one from Dam or Caverns. You may also need to rotate the texture, incase the water doesn't flow in the right direction.

With those cars and palm trees, it makes this stage look less like a forest and more like a small village somewhere in Cuba. I'm enjoying watching your progress on this one.
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[bmw]

What are your thoughts on that central "mountain" structure? I'm not sold on it myself, but I need SOMETHING in the center of the level with considerable height to break up the level or else it will be way too wide open and suffer big time from framerate lag. I want either some kind of elevated ground to serve as an overlook, or should I maybe go with a tall building instead? Like some kind of shared facility that all the "village" residents use?

[Wreck]

What if this area is supposed to be a military outpost? You'd have a few different cabin-type barracks, as well as a main building. Inside, it'd feature multiple rooms. You could have a cafeteria, an office, a bathroom, and a briefing room. Each smaller cabin would be where the soldiers sleep and store their things. Since it's out in the middle of nowhere, it'd feel more secluded. That allows you to make use out of the natural surroundings, making it seem more realistic. They don't keep secret military training camps in plain sight, afterall.

I think I prefer the idea of a central, larger building, rather than any kind of natural structure. It'd keep things consistent, filling out the empty middle, and offering good coverage outside.

If you want an overlook, you could always allow access to the rooftop via a staircase. A ladder would be nice, but that's not going to work out too well in a multiplayer setting.

Speaking of ladders, it may actually be nice to put up a few guard towers, like those found in the Surface. Short ladders won't really effect gameplay, anyway. It's when they get taller that it becomes a nuissance.
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[bmw]

Wreck wrote:

Why do I get the feeling that a certain hockey-masked killer is hiding out in the forest with an eye piercing into those cabins...?

So should this be a nighttime map? I could just light up the cabins, the main building, and maybe put a few street lights out.

[DaronMalakianXVII]

I think you should try to put an underground passage from the big main building to either one of the cabins or just to the other side of the level.

I personall think that would be amazing simply because the framerate might be better and you could do cool things like blow people up from below or above.

The map already looks fantastic so that's really all I have to offer.
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[Wreck]

While I do like the idea of it being a map based in the dead of night, I think it might be wiser to keep it during the day. There's a few reasons for my feelings...

a) Lighting the map. You'd not only need to tediously set the RGB for every triangle, in an attempt to make things look darker, but you'd also have to deal with lights and shadow from street lamps. Not to mention you'd need to do the same with the clipping.

b) Dark maps in multiplayer. Comparing Surface i and ii, the edge has to go to the daytime version. It's a lot easier to see across the map and spot your opponents. It also just happens to look much better, too. Not to say that you'd ever go that dark and foggy with it, but it's a good example of the drastic change it has.

c) First impressions. It already feels about right as-is, judging by some of those shots. The idea of it being a battleground out in the middle of nowhere, with the sun beating down on you, gives it a cool vibe.
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[ryanoasis]

wow this looks really good and fun. yeah daytime i think is the way to go as well

[flopperr999]

May I suggest some kind of observatory or balcony or something at the top of the main building?

Looks great !

[bmw]

flopperr999 wrote:

May I suggest some kind of observatory or balcony or something at the top of the main building? Looks great !

What I do with the big building as far as windows and balconies really depends on what framerates are like. I don't think I'm going to develop that building any further until I get the rest of the layout done.

DaronMalakianXVII wrote:

I think you should try to put an underground passage from the big main building to either one of the cabins or just to the other side of the level.

Interesting idea. My only concern about that would be that the size of the level would require a rather long, possibly tedius passage. This would likely come in the form of a finishing touch if I go that route.