Half Life 2:Deep Down

I've been rather quiet recently. Sorry about that. Theres a good reason for it though I swear!
Half Life 2:Deep Down is my new project and its more than well underway. I have one map complete with 3-4 maps to go.
A ModDB page is up here: http://www.moddb.com/mods/half-life-2-deep-down
The Concept
Take what I learnt building Daylight and expand on that to create a full HL2 mini episode. The mod will feature a fully functioning Alyx, a fully functioning Vortigon with custom voice, driving sections and some new NPCs (I hope!).
It will also feature locations from Episode 2 such as White Forest base.
Modding for Episode 2 is tough because you have no access to the code base. So anything new must be created via entities in hammer.
For example, I want a new NPC that uses a grav gun to pick up prop_physics entities and throws them at the player. Via code this may be reasonably simple to achieve, by finding entities that act in a similar manner (zombs hit prop physics objects at the player). But through entities, these kinds of behaviors can be very difficult to achieve.
It's always the way with my work, the more I play test, the more the content of my mod grows.
To keep this under control I've given myself a deadline of End Of July 2012 to release.
As a result I need to cull many of the less than great ideas I've had so far.
Anyway, please drop by the Mod DB page and take a look.

What I mean by Gameplay...

I was having an interesting debate the other day about HL2 mods and gameplay. My friend maintained that when people create maps for HL2 the gameplay was already set out for you (i.e. you have guns and NPCs) so it wasn't necessary for mappers to design their own gamplay.

I disagreed and here's why.

We've all played maps where you run through corridors and rooms and shoot a lot of bad guys. It's the bread and butter of the HL2 game however, if you take a close look at HL2 game these shooting sections are actually quite small and well designed.

The rest of the game is made up of very specific areas of gameplay designed using the elements of HL2 in very different ways.

Here's a simple statement of gameplay:
Shoot all the descending aliens before the reach the bottom of screen.

Thats a fairly simplistic view of space invaders but accurate as the main goal for the player.

Heres another one:
Kill all of the Striders before they reach the White Forest base.

Sound familiar? These two games are 25 years apart yet the core basics of what makes a game don't change. Both require the player to master certain skills, both put the player under increasing pressure, both get more and more manic as the pressure intensifies.

I would argue that in this respect, HL2 is no more complex at a basic level than Space Invaders.

It's this core idea of the game itself that is something often missed by mod makers but without it what do you actually have? I mean if you're attempting to design a mod then surely the first thing you should have in mind is the game itself?

Mod DB shows so many projects with concept art, music, player models, weapon models but if you try and find a simple, clear statement of gameplay, you'll probably come up empty. The content mentioned above may be stunning but it may as well be for a movie or some machinma if the mod team have no idea of what the game they are creating actually is.

Here's a related question...

Why is it 95% of movie related game titles are shit?

They have the artwork, the soundtrack and the story all laid out for them. How could it fail?

The answer is of course that these games are rushed out the door to coincide with the film release and virtually no time is spent developing the gameplay. As a result movie titles are usually at best boring or at worst unplayable (Iron Man on the Wii I will never forgive you).

So next time you begin to plan a map challenge yourself with this question.

Is there a game here outside of opening doors and shooting bad guys?

If the answer is no then I think you owe it to the player to try harder...

Creating Mapping Toolsets

I've been working on a new map series recently and retrying some mapping concepts that I started to explore a year or so ago.

The idea I had back then was that it was possible to create a series of map pieces that could be snapped together in any order you wished and rearranged at will. I originally used this idea when building a tunnel driving map. I created straits, turns, downward and upward sloping sections, junctions etc... I added prefabed lights to each section and a cubemap. Then I experimented with map layouts by simply rearranging the pieces depending on how it played.
It's a fantastic way to produce reasonable looking maps quickly and it lends itself to driving sections of games where the detail can be kept low as the player will most likely pass it at high speed.

The idea of prefabricating elements of a map isn't new but I do think it's underused by many mappers preferring to build and tweak as they go.

For me personally, I like to create a playset room for each map section I create. I make walls, floors, ceilings, lights, props etc.. all in one room and then use that as a pallet to fill out my map sections. Its like a style sheet for my map and makes the whole process of creating a playable, reasonable looking map far quicker. In addition, this process also lets me ensure that the little niggles with map details are dealt with early on. For example, if my light models are lower than head height I need to set the model to be non-solid so that the player doesnt get snagged on them when playing. If I were to paste this light all over my map before fixing settings like this, I could have over 100 lights to go fix afterwards. Very time consuming.

The best thing about a playset room is that it allows you to play around with the look and feel of your map without having to recomplile a huge area.

I highly recommend it.

Magnar Jenssen's mapping process...

The stunning work of Magnar Jennssen is legendary in the HL2 custom map community. His Mission Improbable Parts 1 and 2 showed what an individual mapper can achieve with enough experience and inspiration.

In the linked article over at World Of Level Design he talks us through his mapping process in relation to his Whoopservatory map (a favourite of mine just purely for the wonderful silhouette of the observatory with the crows against the nights sky... sigh...)

Hope this is helpful...

Here's the link.

Building Daylight... the VMF's for those that want them!

Hi All

I'm a forward looking guy. I believe in open-source, I believe in sharing what we've learnt.

So here are the valve map files for each of the four maps that made up my recent mod Daylight.

Pull them apart, learn what you can, re-use what you like!

I honestly don't care if I see any of the elements from Daylight showing up in other mods. Please use it all and enjoy it!

Map 1

Map 2

Map 3


Map 4
Hope you have fun with this.

Level Design Vid by Daz

Daz is a mapper, and a pretty darn good one by the looks of it. In this video he takes us through several iterations of a map he didnt finish explaining the lineage of each section, why he trashed some of it, things he's not happy with etc...
Its a really interesting watch if you have an hour to spare.

Recommended watching!!

View Video Here!

Got Mapping Feedback... how do I fix the reported problems???

You've issued your map out to your playtesters, they've played through it and attempted to break it in every way they could possibly think of. They may have even been nice enough to record a demo of their progress through the map so you can see exactly what they did.

Now you know the problems happening in your map, how on earth do you go about fixing them without having to rip the whole thing up and rebuild.

Well there are some fairly effective "sticking plaster" techniques we can use to turn a problem area around.

Problem: Player doesn't know where to go

Player direction is probably the easiest issue to fix as there are a multitude of directions tools that we can use to help them.

1: Light and Sound
A repeating sound with assocaited light is a sure fire way to get the players attention to a specific point in the map. Think a sparking wire or blinking lightbulb, a red light with associated siren. As long as the sound is timed correctly with the light the player should go straight for it.

Alternatively, remember that players will head towards light and away from darkness so brighten up the direction you wish them to go in.

2: Breadcrumbs

Place some pick ups along the route you want the player to follow.

Sometimes, when you place a barrier in front of the player, if they can't see any indication that there's a playable space on the other side of that barrier, the player can often assume that it's a dead end and that this is not the way forward. It's best to place a pick up (either health or ammo) on the far side of such a barrier so that the player knows they are supposed to continue on in that direction and set themselves to the task of how to move the barrier.

3: Lines and arrows and signs

In the real world we see player directions all over the place. One way arrows painted on the streets, exit and no entry signs.
Make sure you fill your map with these elements whenever possible to keep the player on the correct path.

You can also add more subtle direction. If in a sewer one tunnel has many pipes leading into it from different directions, the player will be drawn down that route. The pipes create subtle lines that urge the player in that direction. Think if it like swirling water drawing you down a plughole.

4: Railings and low walls

Small barriers can be very useful in guiding the player and can be thought of almost like the guides in a pinball machine. Players bounce off these and are slowley guided to their destination.

5: Follow that bad guy / good guy

A great way of demonstrating the correct path to a player is to have either a good or bad NPC head down it first. The player will naturally follow them.

Problem: The player doesn't understand my puzzle

This one's a bit more tricky to solve and often depends on how obscure you've made your puzzle.
Just remember that the player is playing a mod of a game they probably know quite well. In Half Life 2 for example, the original game set up rules to the world. Make sure you're puzzle fits within these rules first of all. If an object is often not breakable in the original game, don't assume the player will understand that it is breakable in your map.

Here's a few ideas for helping the player out to get past your puzzle.

1: Demonstrate the solution first
Depending on your puzzle, you can always demonstrate the concept first using an NPC. So if you puzzle involves moving between large moving walls you could show an NPC trying it and getting it wrong. This has the added benefit of communicating the danger of the area to the player too.

2: Add a hint that triggers after 5 minutes
A nice suggestion from my mate Philip.
If the player has not progressed after 5 minutes then they are probably reaching the point of quitting the game or noclipping on to the next area. Add some kind of hint to the map that fires at the five minute mark. Try not to use screen text but have some automatic action that occurs in the map to draw the players attention to the key elements they should be paying attention to.

3: Draw the players attention to key elements
Use some of the elements in the First section of this post (i.e. player doesn't know where to go) to draw the players attention to the important points of the puzzle

4: Provide an instructional video or diagram
If your puzzle is skill (running / jumping / shooting) based, you can have a lot of fun making an instructional video and then showing it to the player on a screen in the game. Add a cheesy american voiceover for additional fun... or just add an audio announcement instructing the player on what they should be doing. Alternatively, create an instructional diagram and post it on the wall for them look at.

5: If all else fails, ditch the puzzle
If you've tried all of the above and your playtesters still aren't getting it. Ditch the puzzle. It's not gonna work!

Problem: My firefights are over too quickly

This is often a problem where the area for the fight is too simply laid out, the player blasts through the enemy NPCs in seconds, as a result people are often tempted to simply add more enemies to add length to the gameplay, often though this is not needed. Here's some ideas that should add some longevity to your firefights.

1: Add more walls / geometry to your firefight play area
NPC's often operate best when they have a number of paths available to them. Add in columns and walls to break up the playing area and give the NPC's choices to make. They should be come far more interesting to engage for the player.

2: Add unbreakable glass windows to solid walls
If the player can see the NPC, and the NPC can see the player but they can't shoot each other, you'll find you create a dynamic cat and mouse game where both have to make a decision about which way to go to kill each other.

3: Add height and routing possibilities
Horizontal firefights are pretty dull. As in Multiplayer maps, always add a higher or lower path that NPC's and players can take to get the advantage over the enemy. Also, try and make sure that no area can be used as a sniper nest. Try and make every corner of the play area accessable from two differt routes.

4: Add lots of cover
A firefight with no cover is basically just a mexican standoff. The player will be lucky to survive at all. Make sure you add natural cover for both the player and the enemy. Make sure they can move from cover to cover without exposing themselves to enemy fire too much.

5: Make your play area a circle
Circular firefights are hugely more exciting than those designed in a horizontal fashion. The brilliant thing about a circular play area is that everyone can be flanked from one direction or another. If your heading left they can attack you from the right, etc... have a play with circular arena's and see what I mean.

I will continue this subject in a future post...