Its been a long time since I last updated this and the mod has neared completion, in this post I'll be going through the extensive changes that has happened to the map. For this post I aim to go over all the static mesh and BSP brush layout of the map, a separate post about the kismet for the map will be posted later.
The first change I added to the map was too add in the textures for the landscape outside the building. I decided that a rural grassy area would be suitable, as an urban area would not make sense for the building being built into the cliff side. I created the texture by going to the content browser can creating my own material, which I later apply to the landscape, this material is compromised of the textures available in the content browser. For this material I didn't include any normal maps for two reasons: either UDK didn't include it and that the time the player spends outside should be minimal hence I decided that it wasn't necessary. Once the material was created I needed to paint it onto the landscape, this was relatively simple as I only used a few textures.
The first change I added to the map was too add in the textures for the landscape outside the building. I decided that a rural grassy area would be suitable, as an urban area would not make sense for the building being built into the cliff side. I created the texture by going to the content browser can creating my own material, which I later apply to the landscape, this material is compromised of the textures available in the content browser. For this material I didn't include any normal maps for two reasons: either UDK didn't include it and that the time the player spends outside should be minimal hence I decided that it wasn't necessary. Once the material was created I needed to paint it onto the landscape, this was relatively simple as I only used a few textures.
Once the textures was painted onto the map I moved back to using BSP brushes to create rooms within the building which will house the puzzles which I implemented later.
The first room I added was a small cavern room on the left of the main building, this room will be the players first obstacle, as it contains the torch which is necessary for exploring the rest of the building. Due to this I needed to have the area pre-lit with lighting, I accomplished this by placing torches leading up to a ominous statue holding a torch. This room should reinforce the spooky atmosphere creating outside the building using the flaming statue heads off the side of the path. For the trap within this room I will talk about in the Kismet section.
The first room I added was a small cavern room on the left of the main building, this room will be the players first obstacle, as it contains the torch which is necessary for exploring the rest of the building. Due to this I needed to have the area pre-lit with lighting, I accomplished this by placing torches leading up to a ominous statue holding a torch. This room should reinforce the spooky atmosphere creating outside the building using the flaming statue heads off the side of the path. For the trap within this room I will talk about in the Kismet section.
The next section of the map involves the player heading into the basement of the building to re-activate the doors inside the building before being able to progress to the key. To do this I used BSP brushes to create a stair case that is hidden behind a fallen piece of rubble. For this room I aimed to use textures that would re-create a underground basement, which is why used metal and brick textures, also using different pillars to create an asymmetrical room similar to the exterior of the the building. The screen shots take are in the "unlit" view as this area is pitch black unless the has the torch or hits the power switch in the room.
The last room that contains puzzles is the second floor of the building, before gaining access to it will require the player to solve two pressure pad door puzzles. I implemented these as a method of keeping players away from the key, originally without the doors, if felt too easy to gain access to the key. After solving theses the player is greeted with a spinning statue puzzle, in which the statues need to face the correct direction to reveal the key. This area was pretty easy to create as most of the assets are just from the content browser and the kismet is the more complex systems here.
The final part of the map where the player is suppose to die, until some of my play testers showed otherwise which I will go into further depth later, is a small room where the player is locked inside and exposed to a firing squad. This was the intended end of the level but play testing proved otherwise, due to this I plan to add an escape route if players are able to survive the area.
This covers all the changes I made to the map, the next post will contain the intricate workings for the kismet that makes this map functional.