Currently in Alpha status. Here's the DL link. See my post below this one (here)for more details about the maps current stage.
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Ziggurat is a deathmatch match designed for small to medium player loads (2-8 players). The premise is simple: a ziggurat with four stories (i.e. four blocks stacked on top of one another in decreasing size). Each floor above the first has a hole in it that gets bigger per floor.
Building a workable layout from this premise is not so simple. The main issue is connecting the lower areas with the upper areas so as to not have a constant downward flow. I decided to A) have an exterior to the ziggurat and B)have ramps and stairs in this outer area. It seems to keep things fluid from playing so far.
I built the map's basic geometry, added items, botpaths, playerspawns and lighting. Then I deleted the items, botpaths, playerspawns and some of the lighting in order to get a clear view of the layout again. I added two ramps for flow's sake and made a more detailed layout on some graph paper:
[screenshot]http://forums.beyondunreal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96129&stc=1&d=1216732077[/screenshot]
The circles are represent possible places to place some items. The arrows are ramps (direction arrow is facing is the upwards part). The circles with squares around them are locations for the better weapons in UT (rocket launcher, flak cannon, sniper rifle, shock rifle, minigun). The idea for those locations is that the farther away they are from main paths, the more likely they can be useful weapons (risk vs. reward gameplay).
I also drew a little matrix charting the amount of paths there are to get from one floor to another (also on the paper). Looking at it you can see the higher the floor the less ways to get there and the more ways to go to other floors from there, making higher floors good control areas. This does not take into account impact hammer jumping or acquisition of jump boots, but the amount of paths remains more or less in the same ratio even with these two boosts.
Currently there is a damage amp on top of the ziggurat that's only accessible via hammer-jumping or jump-boots. I want this map to have some 1v1 gameplay so I may cut out the amp and move the shield-belt up there.
Here are some screenshots. I highlighted doorways and openings and circled some powerups.
Front of the ziggurat:
[screenshot]http://forums.beyondunreal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96130&stc=1&d=1216732947[/screenshot]
The jump boots are in a very risky place to reach. Considering its importance to accessing the amp, I think it's a pretty good spot. I also am adding trim that outlines main pathways to weapons and items to hopefully guide the player in the right direction.
Back of the ziggurat:
[screenshot]http://forums.beyondunreal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96131&stc=1&d=1216732947[/screenshot]
The health vials might be too much, also I want to have the items on the ramps be more of an audio cue than anything as to give away the player's location, so ammo might be more appropriate to place there. There's a shield belt out of view that I point an arrow too, it is situated in a small ledge that there's very few paths to with the other parts of the ziggurat: a good place for a powerup that needs control.
Interior:
[screenshot]http://forums.beyondunreal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96132&stc=1&d=1216732947[/screenshot]
My main idea for this map was to have each floor have a hole in the middle that is larger the higher the floor is above ground. This makes it easy to move downwards and have a large degree of map control from the top areas, giving more incentive for players to move up there (along with the help of powerful items). I'm making sure not to place any health and not much ammo up there to keep it from being a camped out area.
The current weapon placement is as such:
4th Floor: Rocket Launcher and Sniper Rifle
3rd Floor: Minigun and Bio Rifle
2nd Floor: Flak Cannon and Pulse Rifle
1st Floor: Shock Rifle and Ripper
Health is in the back, jump boots are in the front, armor is on the sides, keg is at bottom level visible from every floor, and amp is up top only reachable by hammer-jump and jump-boots.
I should have an alpha release available either tomorrow or the next day. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
-----------------------------------------
Ziggurat is a deathmatch match designed for small to medium player loads (2-8 players). The premise is simple: a ziggurat with four stories (i.e. four blocks stacked on top of one another in decreasing size). Each floor above the first has a hole in it that gets bigger per floor.
Building a workable layout from this premise is not so simple. The main issue is connecting the lower areas with the upper areas so as to not have a constant downward flow. I decided to A) have an exterior to the ziggurat and B)have ramps and stairs in this outer area. It seems to keep things fluid from playing so far.
I built the map's basic geometry, added items, botpaths, playerspawns and lighting. Then I deleted the items, botpaths, playerspawns and some of the lighting in order to get a clear view of the layout again. I added two ramps for flow's sake and made a more detailed layout on some graph paper:
[screenshot]http://forums.beyondunreal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96129&stc=1&d=1216732077[/screenshot]
The circles are represent possible places to place some items. The arrows are ramps (direction arrow is facing is the upwards part). The circles with squares around them are locations for the better weapons in UT (rocket launcher, flak cannon, sniper rifle, shock rifle, minigun). The idea for those locations is that the farther away they are from main paths, the more likely they can be useful weapons (risk vs. reward gameplay).
I also drew a little matrix charting the amount of paths there are to get from one floor to another (also on the paper). Looking at it you can see the higher the floor the less ways to get there and the more ways to go to other floors from there, making higher floors good control areas. This does not take into account impact hammer jumping or acquisition of jump boots, but the amount of paths remains more or less in the same ratio even with these two boosts.
Currently there is a damage amp on top of the ziggurat that's only accessible via hammer-jumping or jump-boots. I want this map to have some 1v1 gameplay so I may cut out the amp and move the shield-belt up there.
Here are some screenshots. I highlighted doorways and openings and circled some powerups.
Front of the ziggurat:
[screenshot]http://forums.beyondunreal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96130&stc=1&d=1216732947[/screenshot]
The jump boots are in a very risky place to reach. Considering its importance to accessing the amp, I think it's a pretty good spot. I also am adding trim that outlines main pathways to weapons and items to hopefully guide the player in the right direction.
Back of the ziggurat:
[screenshot]http://forums.beyondunreal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96131&stc=1&d=1216732947[/screenshot]
The health vials might be too much, also I want to have the items on the ramps be more of an audio cue than anything as to give away the player's location, so ammo might be more appropriate to place there. There's a shield belt out of view that I point an arrow too, it is situated in a small ledge that there's very few paths to with the other parts of the ziggurat: a good place for a powerup that needs control.
Interior:
[screenshot]http://forums.beyondunreal.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=96132&stc=1&d=1216732947[/screenshot]
My main idea for this map was to have each floor have a hole in the middle that is larger the higher the floor is above ground. This makes it easy to move downwards and have a large degree of map control from the top areas, giving more incentive for players to move up there (along with the help of powerful items). I'm making sure not to place any health and not much ammo up there to keep it from being a camped out area.
The current weapon placement is as such:
4th Floor: Rocket Launcher and Sniper Rifle
3rd Floor: Minigun and Bio Rifle
2nd Floor: Flak Cannon and Pulse Rifle
1st Floor: Shock Rifle and Ripper
Health is in the back, jump boots are in the front, armor is on the sides, keg is at bottom level visible from every floor, and amp is up top only reachable by hammer-jump and jump-boots.
I should have an alpha release available either tomorrow or the next day. Feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited:
