2Floor
Last weekend was one giant experiment. Not only did we include a map created entirely from the much coveted Nested Prefabs, but we also added several 2-story maps! While the Nested Prefabs level was more a technical problem for us than a tactical challenge for players, it proved that our Unity 2018 upgrade was worth the effort. Generating levels and editing the objects within will become a much more streamlined process, which should substantially improve both map quality and quantity.
We received quite a bit of feedback on our 2-Story maps, which was critical, to say the least. We knew going in that things were going to be rough, and to little surprise, that’s exactly what our testers told us. To make second-floor maps playable in Due Process, we’ll need to solve the following problems: Navigation, Readability, and Level Flow.
While all of these problems are equally serious, Readability proved to be the most common complaint among testers. 2-Floor maps were painful to plan on, and even more confusing to traverse. While the map screen included a first/second-floor toggle button, figuring out which story an objective, door, or player was on proved very difficult.
Given that this was our first attempt designing a multi-story building, it's no surprise that navigating each level varied wildly. Paths from the Attacker truck to the objective were either too simple or overly complicated. Some levels had a staircase leading directly to the bomb, while others had no green entrance on the first floor, leading to confusion as to how to enter the building!
While we learned a lot from our Tester's feedback, it wasn't all quite so gloomy. The verticality of things like interior balconies or grand foyer rooms gave gunplay a refreshing change of pace. Unorthodox or complex strategies began to emerge, typically involving blowing up an interior wall to provide an elevated line of sight into a room below.
After Alpha weekend was all over, we walked away with a much clearer picture of what it's going to take to bring true multi-story maps to Due Process. Some changes are simple, others will take time to get right, but in the end, we think these are problems worth solving. Until then, the level-gen team has their hands full!
Gif City
Montawk does a sneaky
RedCommissar and Friends work together to defuse.
Soap makes this 1v3 look easy.
Chupa defuses, no matter the cost.
Yunkster becomes a one-man-army with a stolen weapon.
Carry On
With the team back together from GDC, production has gone back into full swing. We’ve got some upgrades inbound either this weekend or next, so if all goes well, we’ll have plenty to talk about! With the level-gen team hunkering down for their next big project, we gave our testers the opportunity (and unlimited wall charges) to send our prototype levels off properly: