Creating Multiplayer Maps for Singularity

Getting Started

Designing the Singularity multiplayer maps was a very challenging and enjoyable experience. The idea of balancing maps between two completely different player experiences (Creatures and Soldiers) is much more challenging than you would think. On one hand you have the Soldiers, who carry ranged weapons and have skills like the ability to teleport short distances, and on the other you have Creatures who are melee based and need to get up close and personal to bring the pain. We needed to create maps where the attackers (Soldiers) had waist-high cover and lots of “line of sight” along the main path in order to advance forward, but we also needed to create environments that gave the Creatures lots of full-body cover and alternate path opportunities that would allow them to sneak up on the Soldiers. It’s a fine balance between either side having an unfair advantage over the other. Needless to say, we had daily play tests to figure out what was working best for both teams in our maps.

Production

We began production of our maps by taking completed chunks from single player maps, which we felt would make interesting locations for MP, and stitching them together to form a much larger, progressive, multiplayer map. When we couldn’t find a suitable single player area to use we “blocked in” basic shapes and geometry to meet our needs, and then went back later to add art to those areas. Most of the single player maps we used were not wide or open enough to allow multiple players through their pathways so we immediately expanded and de-cluttered the play space in the maps to allow for up to 12 players to run around and fight. Examples:

As you can see we made some major changes to the single player areas to fit the game play needs of multiplayer.

Another issue we ran into with using portions of single player maps was performance. While the single player maps we used as a starting base looked artistically fantastic – we couldn’t afford that level of detail in our MP maps, both because of frame rate issues and because the asset clutter would often cause players to get hung up while moving around. The real challenge here was finding a balance between art and game play so that both could live in harmony. Ultimately game play came first.

“Extermination” mode maps

This mode was the main focus of our multiplayer team. Extermination’s premise is that of the Soldiers advancing through an infested sector of the island to clear out the Creature’s Nest. You will notice that nearly all of the Extermination mode maps have a vertical progression that leads the Soldiers downwards underground to give players the feeling that they were advancing down into the “hive” of the Creatures. In our Village map, for example, Soldiers begin out in the streets of an apartment complex where they work their way into a subterranean subway station and from there they make there way into the sewer systems where the Creature’s nest is located. As you progress you begin to see more and more of the nest’s influence on the environment until you enter the Hive itself.

Soldiers entering the second area of Origin Labs:

Each map is divided into 3 areas, and each area contains a beacon that the Soldiers must activate to further advance. We usually have one main large path that leads the Soldiers directly to these beacons with other side paths that allow for some flanking and ambushing. In each area we made sure to have at least one “choke point” where the Creatures have an advantage to hold back the Soldiers from getting to the beacon. These choke points are generally more open and have lots of places to hide and ambush.

Two Zek players ambush the Soldiers:

A Revert player attempts to stop a Soldier from capturing a Beacon:

Other game mode mechanics which influenced our map design were the strategic placement of health and spawner stations. Spawner stations are purposefully placed in side rooms off of or on the main path, so as the Soldiers move forward they can capture these stations and allow their team to spawn at that location. Areas that contain the spawner stations generally give a combative advantage to the Soldiers so they can hold that area and prevent the Creatures from disabling the spawners, but a smart Creature will always have the chance to sneak past and disable them – so watch out. Health stations will most likely be found near a spawner station but you may also run into them outside of heavy combat areas. Just make sure you watch your back when you use them!

Here’s an example of one area’s layout:

So there you have it – the shortened process of designing Singularity’s multiplayer maps. Now go get the game and come play some Creatures vs. Soldiers or Extermination mode online! We are planning a developer play-along soon, so don’t miss out.

Justin Dinges
Senior Artist
Raven Software