Disaster Survival - Mapping Guide

Bulletin Board
#1

So you want to contribute by creating a map? This is the right place!
But before you start creating a game you should know that we don’t accept every map! The game has a specific style and feel and we want to stay on course with that. So if you have a good idea, I highly advise you to talk to a staff member first or post it on the group board. If you get positive feedback from us, you significantly raise your chances of getting your map accepted!

Studio Setup:

  • Open Roblox Studio
  • Create the ocean
    • Start with the template “Flat Terrain”
      • Open “Terrain Editor” → “Edit”-Tab → “Replace”-Tool
      • Map Settings: Position 0, 0, 0 Size 2100, 512, 2100
      • Material settings: Source Material “Grass” Target Material “Water”
      • Click “Replace”
    • Alternative start with an empty map
      • Open “Terrain Editor” → “Edit”-Tab → “Sea Level”-Tool
      • Map Settings: Position 0, -24, 0 Size 2050, 63, 2050
      • Click “Create”
  • Mark the map-bounds (optional)
    • Create a new cube-part
    • Position = 0, 110, 0
    • Size = 600, 500, 600
    • These are the bounds of your map. Things outside the map probably wont be affected by disasters so try to avoid that
    • Make it partially transparent and lock it so you don’t forget to stay in bounds
  • You are good to go now! Remember to use terrain when possible and keep in mind that the disasters are heavy on performance. Especially on complex maps. So try to keep it simple! (terrain has almost no impact on performance)

Rules:

  • Of course only royalty free meshs, images and audio are allowed. This is a big point for us and any doubts about the origin of included material may force us to decline your map.
  • Every object (like parts, meshs and other stuff) needs to be under a single model named “Objects”. You are totally free naming and structuring things underneath that!
  • Destruction
    • Anchored objects are undestructible and therefore have to be CanCollide = False and Transparency = 1. No exceptions.
    • If you want to fix objects to the map, create a transparent/nocollide anchor object and weld your structure to it.
    • Organize your welds. Welding the southside of a house to the northside wont make sense and will result in weird behaviour on destruction. Weld objects together that would hold each other like a real connection so they can break realistically.
  • PlayerSpawn
    • A playerspawn is just a normal part that is named “IslandSpawn” and directly inside your map-model
    • PlayerSpawn-Parts must be Transparency = 1 and CanCollide = False
    • PlayerSpawns should be welded or anchored
    • You can have as many spawns as you want on your map. The game is teleporting players randomly between them
    • Have at least 5 spawns in game so people wont stack to far up each other
  • Script safety
    • If you’ve imported assets from the toolbox, check them for unnecessary scripts. Things like “FireSpreadScript” do cause errors in game and need to be removed.
    • Look for require() commands in scripts and remove them if in doubt. Also scroll around the script. They might be well hidden
    • Use our map checker to search for safety-risks on your map
  • If you want to protect parts from most of the disasters add the attribute “Disaster” = true
  • Absolute references to parts on your map have to start with “game.Workspace.Objects”

Disaster Survival Special Assets
There are some specific assets that we like to put on the games maps.
Some Examples:

  • SCP cards and doors for secrets
  • Collectable Disaster Coins
  • Elevator
  • Game Logo etc.

We’ve placed all of the important assets into one experience that is free to copy.
If you think something is missing here, contact us on our social channels or the group board and we look into it.
https://www.roblox.com/games/7140179834/Disaster-Survival-Mapping-Assets

Disaster Survival Map Checker (Not a requirement)
We have developed a plugin that helps you to keep your map clean and checks if it follows the guidelines. Just install the plugin by clicking on the link above, startup your experience and press the “Check Maps” button in the Plugins-Tab. Afterwards check the output-console for any warnings.
You can find further information in the plugins description!

Ok I’m done. What now?

  • Contact us over our social channels or on our group board → https://www.roblox.com/groups/10845471
  • We’ll ask you to give us permission to your experience so we can take a look and give you feedback
  • If everything looks good, we’ll upload your map to our testserver and give you access so we can test it together
  • After successful testing, we’ll implement your map with the next update and you’ll be honored as a contributor in the game

Packing your map for implementation

  • Create a studio-folder and name it like you want your map to be named (for example “Skull Island” or “The Lighthouse”)
  • Place every object inside a model called “Objects” and put it inside your folder
  • Save your terrain using this plugin → https://www.roblox.com/library/148042198/Terrain-Save-and-Load rename the new terrain-file to “Terrain” and place it inside your folder
  • That’s it! Your map is ready to be implemented into the game