Chapters regarding textures and shaders to come. Sorry for the wait.This guide is potentially a work in progress and information in it may change with public opinion. I implore veteran mappers and players to contribute feedback and ideas that I can incorporate to this guide. Assuming I use anything that you say, you will be cited and credited. Picture references may or may not be coming.
Having read every Tremulous specific mapping guide that I'm aware of, I've noticed one thing that is common to all of them, and that is that they all seem to focus on the
nitty gritty little technical details of mapping. They tell you to clip your walls and floors so they intercept at neat 45° angles. They tell you to caulk the all faces of brushes that aren't visible to players, and how to properly hint and detail. But not one (don't quote me on this) has gone in to any great detail about how to make your map look good. Sure, most guides cover texture choice, and some even detail shaders and particle effects, but there are few guides to creating atmosphere. As pointed out by
knowitall666 (the name suits!), one such guide is available
here! So, without further ado, I bring you..
Plague Bringer's T R E M U L O U S Mapping Guide
The Aesthetics of Atmosphere (A Guide to Mapping Theory)
DRAFT ONE
All opinions and ideas in the following guide are mine and mine alone. I do not believe that there is one way to make a map atmospheric. This guide contains tips regarding choosing a theme and how to make your map come alive with that theme. This guide is meant as a helpful guideline to mappers.
Section One: Theme (The Basics)When designing a map, if you don't have a layout, or a physical or graphical concept, you at least need a theme. A theme is an centralized idea or a concept that (in this case) a map revolves around. Theme will dictate (in some cases) layout of your map and base locations, texture set, lighting conditions, and any ambiance you decide to add in by way of sound effects. Being set in the future, with two very distinct races, Tremulous offers many possible (and many cliched) themes. To list a few;
- Derelict cargo ship
- Abandoned science station
- Discontinued military establishment
- Civilian base
- Combat simulator
- Weapons facility
- Marine cloning facility
Of course, there are a multitude of themes that I didn't mention. I'm not going to do all of the work for you! When creating a Tremulous map, it is important to choose a theme that fits Tremulous. Although it'd be really cool to play on a map of an amusement park, it'd be equally as awkward. That being said, it is important sometimes to "think outside of the box, collapse the box, and take a fucking knife to it"
(Banksy - Wall and Piece) so long as you're reasonable about it. Of course, any map can look great, and with proper tweaking, can fit in to the Tremulous theme.
Section Two: Layout (A Little bit Technical)This chapter will deal with the layout of your map. It won't describe how to build and connect your rooms, but rather, logical places to put alien and human starting bases, the use of vents, hallways, and large rooms. When designing the layout of your map, you want to consider your theme, as it will dictate what types of rooms you will feature. Cargo ships will probably have a few large, cargo filled rooms, lifts, engine rooms, maybe a control core or crew quarters. Military bases will probably have a lot of hallways, mess halls, crew and staff rooms, and armories. Science facilities may have computer control rooms, computer core or databases, ventilation, medical/autopsy rooms, etc. After we've considered our theme, and what rooms we're going to build in to our map, let's look at our two races to determine where they'll end up;
Humans- Mechanical
- Limited movement
- Ranged
- Work well in open areas
- Like light environments
- Resistant to elements
Aliens- Organic
- Agile movement
- Melee
- Work well in claustrophobic areas
- Are sensitive to the elements
- Can function in the dark
Now we've got two lists roughly outlining the attributes of Tremulous' two races. The points that are italicized are inferences that I made based on science fiction stories and films for the sake of being thorough and interesting. With these two lists in mind, we can start to imagine the places that a human team or an alien hive would set up in ideal conditions. I would expect to find aliens in a dark, small, warm area. Maybe a boiler or an engine room? Ventilation. Somewhere accessible vertically since they are so adept in that field, and with plenty of exits for fleeing grangers. Aliens would never start a hive in a large open room unless there was no better option. Humans, on the other hand, would probably want to set up in a large, open room with good choke points available at the entrances (doors, perhaps). They would want a well lit area to assist in locating aliens, and a relatively flat and vertically small area to limit the abilities of wall walkers, marauders, and dragoons. When you're placing a team's base, analyze why they would be there on an aesthetic level rather than a gameplay level. If you really want to make the map feel real, make sure you add access points for both teams. Consider how they got to where they are as well as why.
Section Three: Lights and Sounds (Ambiance)We know what theme our map will take, what rooms we're going to include, and even where we're going to put our human and alien teams, but the map isn't finished yet! We still have to really set the mood. Good brushwork will only take a map so far. After gameplay (and arguably before), the thing that can make or break a map is it's mood. When considering lighting, it's important to think about theme, and where you are on the map. Perhaps, as a player nears the alien hive, the lighting will take on darker and more gloomy tones. Flickering lights may be seen, or lights that just don't work. Colored lights set a good mood near the alien base. Yellows and reds, I find, do the trick. Near the human base, lighting should be relatively bland. Whites with hints of blues or greens. Well lit halls and rooms. After all, the humans built where they did so they could see the aliens, right? Sound falls in to the same category as lighting. If there is a large fan room, there better be a loud fan noise accompanying it. Perhaps this could be near the alien base to drown out their grunts and yelps as humans wander past, unaware of the threat. Computer or engine cores can be accompanied by a light hum. Maybe an electrical buzz by reactors or power centers. Truly bringing a map to life is up to the lights and sounds department, but it's important to not go overboard and over saturate in either of those effects.
