Blog Archives

« Old de_dust_pcg Screenshots Flow: Keeping Players Happy »

The key to good outdoor maps (May 21, 2005)

My favourite maps are always set outdoors, usually at some prominant part of the day where shadows are king. Bright, bold sunlight in a map is something that can portray so much feeling. Looking at it today, boot_camp seems ugly, but I spent many mornings at home playing that map, simply because the sunligh in it typically matched the sunlight on those mornings. It made me feel like I was there, and added an aspect of realism that is otherwise hard to achieve.

So it's hardly a surprise that all my major maps, Dust, Cobble and Aldea, have been set outdoors. There's nothing more satisfying than mapping something out, setting up the sunlight, compiling it, running it in the game and actually feeling the heat of the sun and the coolness of shade. It's one of the first things I try to achieve, because I know, if I can get that far, my eyes and brain are being decieved enough for the map not to look too artificial. The brain doesn't just think "ooh, it's a little bright, lets feel happy", it considers how shadows are cast across structures too. The interaction between structures and lighting is what convinces the brain. If there is no interaction, that feeling isn't there, and I know something isn't right - maybe the design of the map is too artificial/out of scale/ugly or maybe I buggered the lighting up.

It's because of this that sunlight is one of the main factors that affects my initial impressions of any outdoor map. Lots of amateur maps don't get it quite right, and typically use sunlight as a method of lighting rather than a means to transfer atmosphere and feeling. These maps typically feel dull, grey and overcast - the sort of weather that is generally accepted as 'rubbish'. For a player, their brain relates to real world weather and transfers the associated emotions, and hence the map becomes 'rubbish' too.

People like nice sunny days, generally. They also offer level designers some additional room to play - the most obvious example being light and shade. It's fun, as a designer, to exploit the sunlight to create structures that players can use in a way they otherwise wouldn't be able to if it were night time or a very, very dull day. Lots of 'assasination' type maps in a variety of games use this very mechanism - the target has to go out into daylight while snipers hide in shade.

HDR should make everything a little more fun. Players will have to account for the adjustment of their in-game retina, and it is this adjustment that will directly affect behaviour and short-term strategy ("I'll wait here for a bit to adjust to the light before darting out into this street, unable to see threats").

So kids, lesson of the day: use sunlight.

« Old de_dust_pcg Screenshots Flow: Keeping Players Happy »

user comments

Jeremy at 14:22 on May 21, 2005

I totally agree, and HDR will mix things up hopefully. Now all we need is a game like Rainbow 6 to take advantage of those things.

that would acheive maximum reality.

x-gamer at 16:34 on May 21, 2005

I think HDR it's a good think .
but you need the correct hardware !!!

dave at 21:15 on May 21, 2005

Probably best people learn how to use sunlight effectively before delving into HDR though...

esky at 21:40 on May 21, 2005

Sunny maps are cool, but I think the problem with dimly lit maps is more that it makes the map harder to learn and easier to camp, two things which make it difficult to get accustomed to a level. I've always liked aztec with the lightning and grey weather, but then again I enjoy rainy days. I also always loved docks and backalley for their night time.

Since it's so hard to launch a good map with night time settings though, it would be nice to see the current CS maps recompiled with night time settings.

The zombie mod going around has the right idea, where maps are made pitch black to the point where turning up your brightness or gamma doesn't help, because there are just no light sources. That actually does get frustrating though.

Ideally, I'd like to see maps pitch black like that for the most part, but with lights in crucial spots - i.e. periodical street lamps under which you can see people, but pitch blackness separting them... so you can sneak around through the shadows. It would require quite some effort to pull this off right, but the end result could be really awesome if done right.

Of course it wouldn't hurt if Valve fixed the NVGs to be more effective, since they really hardly help in pitch blackness.

m0nKeY at 13:58 on May 22, 2005

Doesnt matter much to me about the lighting in maps, as long as they feel good to play and are not overly simple. I agree with esky that some dark maps are nicer, I also agree the NVGs should be fixed and not give such a large FPS drop, this would add a stealth element to CS which would be fun.

Atrocity at 20:57 on May 23, 2005

Well I like my share of nighttime maps, but I always try to add enough light and I NEVER have an area where there will be comeplete black, cause thats obviously bad.

The sunlight how ever I'm hoping I'm hitting right, here are 3 pics of my current map. Sun is key :)

http://atrocity.vertexninjas.com/mappics/photorealism0008.jpg

http://atrocity.vertexninjas.com/mappics/photorealism0010.jpg

http://atrocity.vertexninjas.com/mappics/photorealism0010.jpg

It's going to have a lot of light within the map and I hope to make it look very realistic, yet still maintain great FPS and be very fun.


These are currently not the most up to date pictures, cause the bridge you see is now the center piece.

Dave, you think this hits your sunlight styling?

mambodog at 18:31 on May 27, 2005

Don't forget, red skies look like hell/the apocalypse (see BF:V's The Fall Of Lang Vei).