So I had an idea for a map in Gears of War, in the vein of Gears 1. The original concept was adding an NPC - the Berserker - into multiplayer to add a variable. I of course posted the concept on the Gears of War forums after reading a that a fellow user had the same idea as I did. This is actually the least controversial of my ideas I posted while on the Gears of War forums - most everyone agrees it would be a good map. To that end a few other users and myself started collaborating on the actual map in the Unreal editor that came with Gears of War (PC version), but eventually it came to a standstill because of other commitments and problems with the Berserker AI. Anyway, here's the design doc that kicked the idea off the ground, and the crappy MS Paint napkin drawing to get the base layout across visually.
Note that some experience with the Gears of War games will be helpful in understanding this, as I reference other maps often to communicate aspects of the different structures.
Now, the map will consist of a top and bottom side, and will be symmetrical in respect to the spawns being opposite to each other in large structure, but will be asymmetrical in respect to some geometry side to side (perpendicular to a line drawn from spawn to spawn) and smaller pieces of geometry. The map will be roughly the size of the multiplayer map Rooftops from Gears 1, though perhaps a bit larger, and basically rectangular, with the short sides being the back of their respective spawns. The "theme" of the map will be a barricade to a government facility, largely gray cement, in a courtyard and surrounded closely by large gray walls. The Locust wanted a straight line to the main building, and that's through the COG forces in the barricaded up courtyard. All of the cement structures are in a state of crumbling and decay, and the facility which was once home to the fresh human-locust conflict is now dead and abandoned, being searched through by a squad of Gears who happen to find another squad of locust troops. The ground is mostly covered with dry and pebbly dirt, but includes tiny sprouts of grass in areas, often around the staircases which (on both sides of the map, one right out of each spawn). The staircases consist of the same crumbly cement, but are seemingly better kept. Underneath the courtyard, from the stairs on either side, it is more what one would think of a past government facility. Drab and gray, although with darker tones than outside and more of a gloomy feeling, the walls are bare and rotted. There is old glass in places where windows would be, though it isn't old enough as to be yellow and grimy with age. At first glance it looks like it may have been a cafeteria where all the furniture was moved away or broken apart, with hallways leading to government agents' offices. The weather outside isn't completely sad, with rain, or fairly bright, with sun, but is late afternoon with a gray cloudy sky, although with no fog - the low level atmosphere air is surprisingly clear. Most of the color is the the subtle differences between blue-gray and silver-white-gray from the light, or the occasional slot of sky getting uncovered by the clouds for a split second. I don't really have a set name for this map, but because of my use of the word, I'll call it Facility.
The top is where each team of players spawn. Each spawn is a long and flat rectangle shape, one of the long sides acting as the back of the spawn, being the short side of the map's large rectangle. From each spawn facing the opponents' there are a few sets of cover in a row. The size of these blocks of cover are the same as the cover in front of each spawn on the multiplayer map Clocktower. The length of these blocks are about the size of the opening to the Boomshot area on the multiplayer map Gridlock, and the spaces between them just a little smaller, players being able to SWAT-turn between the covers. An overhead view of the map from the spawns would then show a large wall, just tall enough to not show your head taking cover (standing, not crouching) behind it in the smack center of the map, dividing the two spawns. The wall is of course broken down, having crumbled and collapsed over time, and so there are gaps in the wall. In some spots the wall must be mounted over, in some you may be able to look over it as if it were short cover but will not be able to mount over it, in some places the cover may be so low you cannot take cover on it but have a wider range of view, and in some you can walk or roll right through. Three major areas of interest in regard to the wall are in the center of the center of the map (there's a large hole from a blast that occured sometime in the past, although the wall is still high right up to the edge of the crater on either side) and two large cleared areas about the size of annex circles (maybe a little bigger) on both sides of the wall. For the COG spawn for example the cleared area on their side would be to the right of the gaping hole in the middle of the map. The clearing on the locust side of the wall would be to the COG forces' left. In the middle of each of these clearings there is a Frag grenade spawn, which cycles with an Ink grenade spawn. The other noticable features on either side of the map are four sniper towers (two on each side of the map). On one side the two towers stand side by side, and are tall enough to see over short cover on the opposite side of the center wall but not enough to see over high cover. Each sniper tower viewed from above is a square, the size of the towers on the multiplayer map Rooftops, and with the same defence - short cover in front and bars on either side, with no cover to the rear. Instead of mounting onto these towers though, becase of their height, there are short sets of stairs leading up them. From the COG forces' point of view, their own right side tower holds the Gorgon pistol spawn, which alternates with nothing, and on the tower to their left is nothing, which cycles with a Longshot rifle spawn.The Locust have those same spawns on the tower to the left and right, respectively, from the COG's view. Now, throughout the entire upper level, the courtyard, there is cover littered everywhere. High cover, low cover, long and short cover, all in various states of decay. There is no more than a few feet between any piece of cover, making the courtyard ideal for short range combat. One's line of sight should never be up to or past medium range unless they are back at spawn, staring across the center blast hole, at one of the Frag spawns, or on a sniper tower.
Now right out of each of the spawns is a staircase which leads straight down into a corner, where the player turns right into a hallway. The hallway has windows along it which can be broken, seen past and such, but the rooms beyond the windows cannot be accessed. The first turnoff from the hallway is to the player's left coming from their spawn. Once he or she turns left off the hallway they almost immediately round a corner right and into a small room, the size of one of the rooms on the multiplayer map Gridlock, before one would get to one of the side towers from spawn, though perhaps a bit smaller. This room has a window then opening a view to a center arena, square in shape, with an oddly familiar gaping hole in the ceiling. The window is relatively clear and can be seen through, but is best blasted apart (there were already parts missing from the window, I swear) so the player in this small room can cover mount into the arena, or if likely needed, cover mount back into the room. If the player instead of turning left, off into this room, decided to keep going down the hallway, the next door would be to the right. This gives an immediate view of the room, and if the player would turn left they would see the center arena. Instead of a window and passable cover separating this room and the center one, there is high cover where the wall separating the two rooms should be on the left, and short cover on the right. It looks as if it was blasted into, like the hole in the main room's ceiling. This small room is relatively the same size as the other one, but has a Torque Bow spawn which alternates with a Boltok pistol. If the player did not want to move into either of these rooms, he or she could also just follow the hallway to its end, maybe even using some of the small short cover along the way, old desks and broken chairs, until they reach the end of the hallway, which also happens to be the entrance to the main room. The doorway was constructed - not blasted open - but chunk of concrete and steel have fallen into place as to create high cover on either side of the hallway.
In the center room, after a random amount of time, just like the avalanche on the multiplayer map Avalanche or the giant seeder (or is it a corpser? I never really did get a good look) on the multiplayer map Day One, a Berserker bursts through one of the side walls, leaving the wall behind it broken and in tiny little bits. Fire rages in the opening, probably from a gas line, thwarting any attempt to go to where the Berserker came from. The Berserker cannot be killed, though if you do enough damage to it that it would die in the campaign of Gears 1, it becomes stunned and falls to the ground before later getting back up and continuing its rampage. The same rules apply as they did in the campaign of Gears 1: The Berserker must be hit with the Hammer of Dawn first to be damaged, and after repeated gunfire, a frag tag, or second Hammer should do the trick to down it. Once it is hit the first time it moves faster. Those such things. Some things will be changed though. It will start its run faster than it would in the campaign (only enough to keep up with attacking anywhere up to ten players), and would target players based on other factors. It will be attracted to anyone revving their chainsaw or making such similar racket first and foremost, and secondly anyone who happens to have the Hammer, as they are the biggest threat. It will next in priority use its smell, targeting she who is closest, no matter the team. Of course the only way to bring down the Berserker is to drop the Hammer, so conveniently right in the middle of the center arena lies a Hammer of Dawn respawn, which does not alternate. Around the arena are small bits of short cover here and there, but most of it can be smashed apart by the Berserker (or moved around by), and is only there to provide split second cover from enemy fire. By the way, the Berserker is constrained to the main arena and the rooms where the Torque Bows spawn. It is unable to get into the hallway or the empty room opposite the room with the Torque Bow respawn.
Here's a quick visual I whipped up in MS Paint (lol) to show the basic layout.
Please don't take notice of an extra circle in the upper left hand corner of the topside map. It's invisible. You're just imagining it.
Retrospectively looking at this idea, I would change the map to maybe be a little larger so as to give it a more distinct layout rather than just "a bunch of cover everywhere", and I would take away some long sightlines. We can't have a sniper able to see the enemy spawn can we? That said there are ways that a sniper can watch an enemy spawn in Gears 1 that worked out relatively well, because of spawn protection and ample cover to get out of the spawn. The other main sightline would be the lower level, and some simple cover on the sides of the hallway (I'm thinking medical carts and cabinets as in the first level of Gears of War 2) can solve that problem while still giving some danger to anyone trying to flank from below. And the broken cover littered throughout the map's upper level would have to be enough to block any straight sightlines from spawn to spawn, though it isn't realy specified in the design above and wasn't completed when we were making the actual map.
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