Left 4 Dead Custom Content

[JustinM]

Now, I know my shit might not be as amazing as some of the things as others, but just tell me where you want to be attacked at and will be glad to do it...

How about a basketball court.

[TeacupBandit]

yeah fo sho. you should do something.

I know as soon as sdk is up for it i will be doing a psuedoAIPX level.

[jackelbeaver]

do.....a basketball stadium.  harlem globetrotters.

[Screw-on Hed]

no such thing as a "basketball stadium". pfft.

you should do a laser tag room.

[Butterguts]

all your stuff goes down at the "amusement park"
that's clearly the idea that needs to be done
and i'd be down with some level creation as well, just hit me up when you get into it

*Bonus Unlock*

Here's what i have for my character so far.

I'm going to be using Louis body set, so I made sure i was the correct size for his character, and I'm re-using his hands, so I won't have to make sure is intricate animations aren't butchered. That's also why the calves look a little small, to match his leg size.

It's whity thighty's and a scarf, cause it gets cold while killing zombies plus big puffy skate shoes... all in all, i'm excited to work on it, and am looking forward to how it turns out.

I'll be making a zbrush run on it sometime, when I'm comfortable that it's ready to move to that step.

[duoxan]

omg omg omg
so awesome

all your stuff goes down at the "amusement park"
that's clearly the idea that needs to be done

i think teddy was working on something like this, not specifically for l4d but i could see what hes got

[Augie272]

I would love to see that aipx level. Good thinking man, can't wait to see it.

A basketball stadium could be good, and the safe house of choice???

[orion]

Amusement park sounds perfect, and if it weren't for project scale/development time issues, that would have my vote. But in terms of scale I think Aipx would be great, plus the level design is already done for you.

Strange- if it were a people-shooting-people game, modeling your school would seem taboo, but since it's people-shooting-zombies- play ball. I would be glad to help make env props if you guys wanted some extra hands down the line.

[JustinM]

Strange- if it were a people-shooting-people game, modeling your school would seem taboo, but since it's people-shooting-zombies- play ball.

Yeah isn't that frowned upon (or not allowed)? I think it was diCo who was saying something about that a couple quarters ago having to do with the Columbine shooting and the game about it. I guess if it's zombies though, it doesn't matter. [or maybe it still does. (?)]


Nice costume choice Vern. Epic.

(The basketball court suggestion was a joke by the way)

[Augie272]

I know it was justin, but think about it. it could be an entire stadium and you have to make your way up/down levels to escape...maybe a mall...some Dead rising action...

[TeacupBandit]

thats why i said pseudo. It is not gonna be AIPX. i am gonna make up some name. If you remeber the whole counterstrike thing years ago. It will look like it and those who go there will know but the name and signs will be different. Want to avoid any trouble.

[orion]

Just a resemblance may be enough, I don't know. "This simulates a school shooting," and "This is simulates the zombie apocalypse" aren't really the same, but a scared Ai corporate lawyer would never see the difference.

Change all the guns to wacom tablets/people throwing computers :p But to be honest, maybe it's not a safe idea.

[Master_V12]

Do it. If anything happens, its good publicity lol

[Butterguts]

Chance of anyone ever seeing this level, and saying "hey, isn't that AIPX" or "I give a damn about this" are highly unlikely. If it's not in someones demo reel and doesn't have the AI logo, no one "important" will ever know, or care. It's not a school shooting sim, nor would it resemble it at all. The floors would have to be different for "playabilities" sake (No one wants to play hall after hall, room after room, those get skipped in L4D, people run right past them. The only resemblance I would see is it's a building... with a car garage and some computer labs, that was made by some AI students. Fits a whole lot of things if you ask me.

I'll agree, it's not the "safest" idea. But i don't see it ever being a big deal. Just from here on out call it the "SGDA Level" that should curb any resemblances from institutions for learning the arts.

*but an amusement park would be 186% better to play in. And it would look way sweeter... just saying

[Savory]

Is the level going to be a collaboration?  It would build faster, though no one would be able to use it for their demo reel.  Just have someone with the general idea request and compile objects into a pleasing design.

[Heart_Murmur]

I agree with the amusement park idea, I think that would be really rad.

[orion]

me too. Vern, mind if I greybox some level ideas (not sure if you wanted to do this)?

[TeacupBandit]

i think you should totally do a amusement park, and having other students like ourselves help is not a totally dumb ideas.

as for the SGDA level, i totally agree that it can get old fast so i havent completely decided how to fix that. Suggestions would be great on ideas for the level.

[Butterguts]

me too. Vern, mind if I greybox some level ideas (not sure if you wanted to do this)?

Have at it sir

[orion]

Cool, I'll mock something up soon.

some super early ideas (anyone take these if you want):

- level starts out on the second floor of a moving carousel -only working thing in the park (starting safe room would be in the control room in the center)


- players fight off a linear horde while running on the path of a wooden roller coaster. they could also be crawling up the sides, and there could be a falling hazard in places where the railing is gone:

(We can limit distance visibility by making it dark, and only putting lights in the park. If the players run on the coaster backwards- from end to beginning- the hills will be low and increasingly steep. When players reach one that's too steep, we could have them exit on a service ladder and continue on the ground. They can't run the whole length of the coaster or they'd end up back at the beginning.)

- level ends in a house of mirrors maze, with the safe room being a break room for employees. It would be cool to do destructible glass for this, but that's a hefty order.


(we could alter this so it isn't confusing while still offering a cool context.)

We could block off paths with closed-curtain midway booths, throw a feris wheel in there, etc.


Scope would be our biggest problem. Amusement parks are often collapsible, which makes them modular. Still I'm having a hard time designing something that's the length of a normal L4D level, without being a whole lot of work.

I was thinking it would be dusk.

[jackelbeaver]

What we should do is think up interesting "themes" that could make for an interesting experience outside of a few generic park set pieces.  We could do various "parks" like disney world and universal studios have, each with different gimmicks.  Make part of the roller coaster collapsed.  You climb up the collapsed part and make your way along the coaster to a spot where you can get out.  By only using a segment of the coaster it should create a more natural sense of flow and direction to the piece.

As far as themes, we should like, have various little mini-park areas.  Dinosaur area - with anamatronic dinosaurs roaring all over, with lots of folliage and that sort of layout populating it.  A haunted house is defenitely something we should hit up on.  What'd be really great for giggles would be if in the "game area" we were able to script up some "minigames" like shooting the balloons or throwing the balls in the hole or the ring tossers.  Maybe provide some health and ammo for success?  This could create an interesting situation because three players would cover another player as he tries to throw the rings (e to pick up, left button to toss, just like with the fuel tanks) and net the group some medkits.

A water park segment might also be really interesting.  It'd also be great if we stuck a tram ride in somewhere to sort of give a runby of the park.  Basically we should think of 5 major acts to build around and we could have a really interesting level with alot of interesting encounters within the game engine that aren't in the real game itself.  I really like the amusement park idea and think it could be a real blast making and playing it.


Edit: Here's another idea: Maybe we could even use our "custom" models as set piece npc's within the park if that code is still in the engine?  (remember father gregori in the first half of ravenholm?)  It'd be totally rad to see myself get bit and turn into a hunter (especially since I plan to model myself wearing a very similar jacket I own)

[TeacupBandit]

That all seems a lot. Some good ideas, but I think your old creepy classic amusement park is great by itself. something that can be started now and put together when sdk is released. The animatronics idea is cool. will give life, but i picture power being out, so nothing would work. either that or everything should work. one or the other cuz i like things to make sense.

[Butterguts]

Well if the SDK works how i picture it working. You make a level and then it generates a .nav that the director works off of. They'll be "triggers" that "trigger" hordes in specific places, like the lift in "no mercy" or car alarms.

I know nothing about scripting for source, and i doubt any of us really do, so gimmicks and mini games wont' be easy if possible at all. (and I'm leaning towards the 2nd part)

A "level" to me in L4D is actually composed of 5 chapters, usually if you notice, each areas is different in setting and play style from the other areas, all leading to the finale. I found most levels offer different branches and paths to take, to separate players so they can be singled out and picked off, but at the same time never to far where it takes more than 5 seconds to get into eye sight of a friendly player. This allows for people to spread out in safe times as well, and navigate around witches and tanks.

I like the ideas of going through different sections of an amusement park in order to escape, but not "themes" just normal areas in an normal amusement park.

I like the fun house or haunted house ideas. Possibly a put-put golf coarse, and the areas Orion mentioned. But these areas would be parts of a chapter (be it a major part, if needed or appropriate), not an entire chapter, due to the fact that you want some variation in size and height scale to the environments (because ideally, i'd like this to be a vs. map as well)

(at Orion)

i dig the carousel, even more if it would actually work spinning, so when you come out on to it, environment spinnging and zombies would be harder to spot. I think it sets the mood for the level, and you know right off the bat your are in a amusement park due to this.

the roller coaster is a must somewhere, although scaling the tracks ( while should be in certain places) it really should only be in a few, maybe getting over a a fence or something. But the coaster will allow zombie players a field day in attacking from above and would be a really climatic event (like the corn field currently is)

House of Mirrors would be sweet, although, I don't know if reflections are even in the game, or if it could handle doing multiple reflections at the same time. Might kill the game, not really sure. But a good idea. Definite, if possible.

What you have laid out would be considered 1 chapter in a "level" but seeing the areas, I figure they could be broken up over the coarse of 3 or so chapters. Depending on who's helping and what not, I'd like to do at least 3 chapters, but a full 5 would be awesome.

[orion]

You're right, I don't know if Source can support that. Somebody should ask Dan.

For the sake of scope, I'd be concerned with planning for more than one saferoom-to-saferoom section of a level. It's so hard to get anything completed in a student project, especially if it's a collaboration. Though of course I'd love to see something huge, I'm not sure it's feasible. Maybe someone who knows more about L4d than I can talk about an appropriate scope?

[JustinM]

A haunted house is defenitely something we should hit up on.

...the whole game pretty much is a haunted house, so actually making a haunted house would be stupid/pointless. Every house in L4D is a haunted house, by default. Come on now.


If mirrors work, that would be the coolest idea ever. You'd have to shoot up everything because you'd never be sure exactly which direction enemies are coming from and you'd be in a constant state of paranoia having to turn around after realizing you only shot a mirror.

[Decker]

A haunted house is defenitely something we should hit up on.

...the whole game pretty much is a haunted house, so actually making a haunted house would be stupid/pointless. Every house in L4D is a haunted house, by default. Come on now.

idk, I think going through a house where fake things pop out of the walls and the lights flicker and stuff would be pretty cool. Shit starts popping out and you empty a few rounds just in case it was a zombie because it's not a risk you can take. idk, I don't play L4D, so maybe I'm wrong.

[orion]

Source has no simple-script editor like Kismet. We could trigger animations pretty easily, but any complex scripting would require real, scary programming. Don't rely on it.

I wouldn't have a problem with giving some buildings power. It would let us do a moving carousel, and have lights on in a house of mirrors. Transportable amusement parks run on several generators- maybe some of them are off, or a lot of rides are just shut off.

[jackelbeaver]

Yes.  Cardboard cutouts popping out of corners would be a great haunted house segment.  If there are anamatronics I like the idea of them only just barely working.  sometimes they don't work while sometimes when you walk by they light up like crazy and play loud music that summons the horde

Edit: The haunted house would work doubly well if there are tons of breakaway walls for player controlled zombies to break through at thier picking.  (as well as adding to the unpredictability of the map) Some floors that collapse under you would also be neat especially for smokers and boomers.

[duoxan]

i think your mixing up a fair with an amusement park, and you should figure out which one your going to shoot for, because they are dramatically different
ive never heard of a collapsible roller coaster that you can move around, at least the one that i think your going to shoot for
fairs are modular and collapsible, because they move around and they are stationary
amusement parks stay put for years
places like lagoon or disney are parks

[orion]

You're right. I guess other than the collapsible statement, it doesn't change the design tho. I just don't want to get into the situation where 20 unique buildings are planned. The more things we could replace with closed midway booths, the better. Big buildings also make good walls like in that last pic.

[Master_V12]

you guys should make a tanker... metal gear 2 status... start of in the engine room or something, and move up to the deck to get rescued by snake piloting a chopper... lol, im just sayin

[jackelbeaver]

snake doesn't know how to pilot a chopper he'd just be in the cargo area throwing rockets at you while Otacon flies it.

[Screw-on Hed]

i like the amusement park idea. i am going to have to agree with ohlberg, we are going to have to section it off. i think the best way to do it is along the lines disney land does it. there is a whole section for "future world" and an area for indiana jones and pirates of the Caribbean and the basic disney stuff. if im not mistaken there is even and area dedicated to star wars.

NOT SAYING WE NEED TO INCLUDE THESE. what we should do is make each chapter unique compared to the last. switch between an indoor to an outdoor level. go from the common open area where the vendor stands are to the rollercoasters. eventually leading to a high place to be picked up (or a secluded place). open wide-spaced level to a compact hallway. just some suggestions.

these are just suggestions for the treatment (future world, indiana jones, etc.). but we gotta figure out the basics first. where and how the survivors are going to go from the safe house to the next safe house/pickup zone.

[MMG007]

i like how this is going and i hope to help. i like the amusement idea as well. parks are sectioned off by themes like jeff and ohlberg are saying.  i haven't played L4D a whole heck of a lot but it does have tight areas for panic, followed by open areas for blazing guns and zombie havoc. i would like to see the transitions from area to area by going thru the service areas of the rides where the machines are and restricted areas for employees only. amusement parks have offices that cant be seen by the visitors. thats something else to consider. 

[orion]

at this point, who thinks they'll want/be able to make assets for a collaborative level?

(I can do some level design over the break, but when my job starts next year all bets are off for me.)

[jackelbeaver]

I'd love to make some assets/anamatronics.  Also I love the idea of sticking pop out cutouts of the sgda in the haunted house

Also I think it'd really help if we did some overhead sketches to get the general layout before we move onto concepts and modeling.

[Maximus]

I would love to make assets for a SGDA level. I think it'd be a blast to do a large scale team project like that.

[Butterguts]

I'm thinking Amusment Park, not fair

Top down maps? Well there are tons of them already built, but just need a little tweaking for playability sake


There's an example

http://www.themeparkbrochures.net/mainmaps.html
And theres' a big ole' list full of more.

[Decker]

I'd love to work on this too. props and textures

[Butterguts]

new TF2 updates are coming soon

http://www.teamfortress.com/post.php?id=2096

*to all of those i play L4D with, we should take a break and make the switch for a bit, I miss TF2  :'(