CTF: Metro Interitum

Posted by Matheus Pitillo on May 21, 2012 in Life at VFS | 14 comments

Hey guys, how are you? Unfortunately, I barely have time to post new things around here. Each new term at school we receive a loads of new projects to do, and every week with less time. So, for the last time, I’m sorry. I don’t want to always start a new post asking sorry, so I hope you understand. But here I am now, and I want to present my CTF Level (Capture the Flag): Metro Interitum. First of all, this project was developed in team. In my case, my team was Pablo Ros. Thanks, man! 😀

For those who don’t know, Capture the flag is a common multiplayer gameplay mode – usually with team-based gameplay – in which each team has a flag and the players attempt to take the enemy’s flag from their base and bring it back to their own flag, to score. Compared to DeathMatch Game, as CTF Levels are not focused only in the killing aspect, this levels often feature more options of paths and even follow some important rules to make it a level with options enough to succeed in the capture for the flag.

To start the development of our CTF Level, Pablo and me did a sketch of the map that we were wanting to create. The idea was to create a Pos-Apocalyptical Subway Station for 24 players, with each base (red and blue) supporting one side of the station and one line of the train. We decided to create a 3 floors environment, with the first floor being the external area of the city, with the closed gates and the subway entrance, and the two other floors being the subway station and the access to the train. We decided that the flags needed to be in the second floor of each station, and that from each side, the player should be able to see the other team flag, in the other side of the station. For that, we opted to use a lot of glass materials and colours referencing the bases.

First Map Layout, without placements, paths or legend

Metro Interitum
The name Metro Interitum came from the meaning of the word Interitum in Latin, which means “destruction”. The Level was developed using UDK, and Pablo and me worked on it for something around 40 hours. Mostly, the first part of creating the walls, floors and environment took us one day. And then, the rest of the level we did in one weekend, working in full time, with a lot of coffees and darkness. LMAO. 😛

There is some rules that we considered during the development of this level:

• Level Identification: identifying the level by identifying the goals of it and how those goals are being achieved;
• Map Gameplay: designing a map that enhances the core gameplay which promotes complex strategies for the players, various styles of gameplay and leverage core gameplay. The players can identify that we add all kind of things in the level, requiring that the player sometimes needs to cover, run, jump, crawl etc;
• Hallways and Choices: One of the most critical rule for CTF Maps, we created at least 3 choices for the player to choose from, and between all of them, the hardest path to follow which contains the most conflict (the top outside area);
• Rooms: We tried to create rooms that give to the player at least 3 paths leading in and approximately 3 or more ways to get out. But for some specific corridors, we decided to create a hard and one way path, that the player needed to chose if it was a better idea to take a short path, and be able to be attacked, or to get the long path with more options of path;
• Creative twist: In our level what makes it different was the way that the trains are activated during the game. When captured the flag of the enemy, one of the trails and trains are activated, so the player needs to pay attention even more, to be able to cross the trail before be reached by the train. After took for the first time the enemy flag, the subway station will be always working on;
• Points of conflict: The players can identify POC in the first outside floor, in which there is the most powerful weapon in the top area of the tree, that is only accessible using the futuristic hand elevator. Another POC area is in the glass bridges, since the player needs to be very strategical to cross it without being trapped;
• Landmarks: besides the fact that we used lights with colours all the time, to help the player to identify where is his base, we also created two big structures using as Landmarks, with their respective colours, helping them to recognize their location.

For the Kismet, Pablo and me agreed to do something not so complex. I did the whole part of programming of the level, in which was just based in elevators to access new areas, some rotation movements in some objects of the level and, finally, the train movement and killing aspect. I related the capture of the flag with a Kismet Matinee of the train, creating also a zone around the train that if the players touch it, they automatically dies and the flag is returned. So, when someone from the red team captures a blue team flag, the blue train will activate and move around the level, following a path that enters in a portal, and return to the other side, doing the some movement forever. If the other team capture the red team flag, the red train is activate, following the same standard of the other train. The idea was to create an atmosphere in which the flag represents the energy of one side of the Subway Station.

To maintain what we were searching for, and even because of our choice to show everything around to the players, we decided to also create all the structures of areas that the player will never be able to access too. So, they can see by distance, through the glasses of the bases, that there is more stations in the areas below, with cables, tunnels, light, platforms, structures etc. All of this makes the level be even more realistic and convincing. We had a lot of fun to do this project, and also we loved the way each light was changing the whole atmosphere of the level.

And that was our first CTF Level. I really loved to be part of it. And now I need to be focused in the next projects, since we already had two more levels to develop until the next month. I will try to update the blog with more information soon, ok? Please COMMENT here if possible, and any feedback will be a great help for us. And for now, check this video that I recorded to show the level for y’all. But ignore the fact that I play really bad shooters. Hahaha.

Have a good week! Stay tuned in the website and comment! THANKS. 😉