Can I make an Invasion map?

[Aberiu]

I've been playing Invasion these days and I like it, my only concern is that most part of the maps look like gigantic cubes without windows or cities with black skies, and this all is quite depressing. So I thought, what if I take one of the existing maps and decorate it a bit - add a skybox, make some static meshes etc. I was thinking about DM-TheEnd maybe.

The question is, am I allowed to do so? And if yes, is there any chance that if the map will turn out to be ok, it will be added to the server?

[Azarael]

I didn't know you could map. Go ahead.

[Aberiu]

Cool, thanks. I've never made any finished map but I have always wanted to try.

[Calypto]

Invasion favors simple, open maps.

[Aberiu]

So I started working on something. Gathered a few staticmeshes from another unfinished project, made a pair of textures and this is where I'm at currently:



I liked the idea that the original map rewarded players for leveling with the camping nest being accessible only with enchanted weapon, so I thought it would be cool to extend it a bit:



You can access the top area with quad jump, but if you want more cover you will need to enchant your weapon to get to the loophole under the roof (now you can actually get to both places with dodging and jumping but I was going to block the sideways inside).

What do you think?
I uploaded the map here, it's not even a beta, but I'd appreciate it if you take a look:
http://sta.sh/016kqpy79cl8

P.S. You will need Rocket character to run the map, I forgot to move her cubemap to myLevel.

[darkelf]

I love the futuristic look. Wish more people went for this look.

It appears to have all the attributes to make a good basic invasion map.

Also are you willing to let any of your custom static meshes/textures to be used in other projects by others? They are very nice.

[iRobot]

Are you designing it with solely invasion in mind? It looks like it might make a great freon map from those pictures.

Though obviously the lack of quad jump will be a hindrance.

[Aberiu]

Also are you willing to let any of your custom static meshes/textures to be used in other projects by others?

Sure, why not

[proof]

Im not very familiar with the important gameplay elements in these days invasion, just a few general mapping tips:

Unless its just a Mesh/Texture showcase, you want to avoid long corridors like that in Maps. As an overused but still good example look at the corridor with the bio rifle in DM-Ranking:
It is an extremly long corridor considering its a fast paced DM map, however Hourences didnt made it appear that long with a few simple tricks. He broke up the right wall with a /___\ shaped subtract instead of just having the small cube leading to the room to the shock rifle. Same goes for the left wall at the very end and for the ceiling in the middle. That way the player doesnt see the same meshes for wall/ceiling repeating again and again and again.



You might wanna do that with your corridor as well. You added already a small ramp but its not enough to break up the monotony of the corridor.

The scaling seems to be a bit much, too, when I take a look at the picture with the health vials and adrenalin. Id say the corridor is 1024 units wide which would be too much for a simple corridor in DM/Tam/Freon, if invasion players like that much space then its fine.

Also, small pickups like health vials, adrenalin and maybe ammo should be usually placed at spots where the players come across anyway. For health/adren this is usually right in the middle of a hallway and not at the side. This boost the flow of the map. If players have to go from one corner of the door to the other corner just to pick up a few health vials then the whole gameplay itself doesnt feel smooth.

The meshes and textures look good, just make sure you dont color your level just by textures too much already. Most of the color in a map has to come from lighting.

[Aberiu]

It's a remake of DM-TheEnd_V2 from the invasion server. The original map looks like this:



Basically a huge shooting range with targets shooting back at you :)
It's still more or less popular, as Calypto said - Invasion favors simple open maps due to the amount and size of monsters.
Though I agree on the corridor part, I'm not quite happy with it currently and I'll probably try to break the repetitiveness of the right wall somehow.