A Sight for Sore Eyes.

So this past week we've started the new module of spatial awareness, our task is to design and make a playable level for Unreal Tournament 2004. We began at the beginning learning the controls and techniques used to build a level in the editor. Whilst we were gettin to grips with the new package, i had a few ideas for my own level and started to jot them down. I am theming my research facility on a disused underground lab used for inhumain testing to create weaponary based in the 70's or 80's. I quickly blocked out the level to get a feel for how it would play and made some changes and re-sketched a plan for what i hope my final level will look like.

Starting with the basement level this will be a holding cell of sorts in a single large room. With an elevator in the far left corner for prisoner transport to the lab room linked to the level above. Some signs of a breakout or catastrophe however I need to conduct more research for this part.

The middle layer will contain a lab room, living quarters and the "main room" which will house some kind of tank system and the "water feature", although currently im uncertain exactly how these will look. All three rooms are connected by a corridor which links to the stairs and will have signs of major damage.


 The top layer will have another corridor running in line with the one below. Two main rooms here, the control room and some kind of office. The control room will have an almost bay window-ish feature protruding into the main room with a window into it. Yet more signs of damage with possible blast doors scattered on the floor and so on.


With my new spectacles perched on my conk I decided to model one of the staircases as i knew this was going to be a key static meshin the level. The handrail was based on a design id found from company website that uses standardised pieces that all connect together. I thought this a good idea, and like the shape and style, so i modelled each peice individually and then set about positioning them so they resembled a handrail.

Once id imported the handrail i tested it out and noticed the unreal character wasnt able to walk up the steps as theyd been spaced too high apart. So i am now in the process of modifying both the staircase and some aspects of my level to get a nice compromise. I may also have to remove the grating as it eats away at all the polys, and use an alphamap texture to produce it.