I am wondering what is good enough to be an FPS map?
//Protecting
I am looking for something that can protect players from enemy’s from doing more damage to them, or they can regain their health back. Is there walls? Barriers? Or something else?
// Terrian
I am probably going to use Terrain to build the layout or life style? I’m not going to use Low Poly, or textures, something that looks cartoony.
// Theme
What should the theme be? Should It be cloudy? Should it buy night time? Should it be day time? Should it be both Night & Day at the same time (Day & Night Cycle?) I don’t know. Let me know what the best theme is.
// Meshes
What meshes should I add into my map? Tress? Rocks? Let me know about this one.
If you have tutorials or links to share, please do! I would like to get some ideas.
The only thing that you should probably make alot of effort on is preventing Spawn killing, about day/night cycle you can make that as a option for the players.
On many FPS maps, there are lots of barricades for cover, there are places with advantage points(hills, towers etc.) Theme can be anything, really. If the map is gonna be outside, you add rocks, trees, hills and barricades(or anything that gives cover). If the map is gonna be inside something, it shouldn’t be clean. It should be destroyed or damaged. And again, lots of advantage points and cover.
I would say the most important attribute for a great map would be Replayability. In order to achieve this, I would think a map would need to be:
engaging to the player,
Avoiding Too much open / empty space where possible,
Utilizing more than one path option to reach objectives,
Balanced to play from any spawn location
So I think You should make the terrain look realistic, but don’t put too much terrain in your game, It will make it lag. For the theme I think you should make like 2 or 3 maps and each map can be like in a desert, small city, ship or a big old villa. I think making it cloudy and rainy maybe in one or two of your maps with day and night cycle, makes the game more realistic. And if you want to increase lag add like mesh cars, tree and other accessory that you design the map.
It highly depends on what type of an FPS you’re making. If it’s a CS:GO type of game, then there should be more open space and relevantly less camping spots. On the other hand, games like Arma III should have a varied terrain and protection spots are needed.
What is really important is to have a hot zone; a place that gets interest, and also what the players are going to be fighting for. This can be anything - the highest hill, sniper tour, largest building. Player cannot be lost on the map during the match. That place should also be visible without too much trouble while looking for it.
Another important aspect of making a map for FPS games is to avoid making spots that are just too OP. Many games completely forget about this step, which causes a lot of trouble when it comes to match balance.
When it comes to the map, you can build anything that you know would fit your game design. Steppes? Large mountains? Roofs of skyscrapers? Whatever comes to your mind, I am sure is going to be wonderful!
