Cesig Moreis

Developing a single player map, I have to say, is hard work.  Especially if you’ve never done one before.  Or at least, that’s what I’ve discovered about myself.

I spent literally months tweaking a single building (the one I said I’d wrapped up in the previous post), only to decide the quality sucked and remove it entirely. I’ve still got it in previous versions, and there were elements in it that I really did like a lot.  But the overall pace and experience within that warehouse wasn’t as good as it needed to be, so it got the axe.

I sort of hate doing that kind of stuff, but at the same time, now that it’s gone and I’ve changed direction, the map is progressing so much more quickly and fluidly.   As a celebration of sorts, I’ve attached two shots straight from the editor.  Notice the change in the red warehouse compared to how it was a few months ago.  It plays a lot better in this new version.

Also, please keep in mind that a lot of what you see in the editor shots is not detailed or polished.  I’m not at that stage yet.  So things will look ugly now, but get better once they’re polished.  Just take a look at Devious Methods for some idea of how it’ll turn out.  And there are a few placeholder buildings right now until the real ones are built.  But hopefully you get the idea.
One of the best things about making a map like this is it allows me to write a story for it.  I’ll go into some of the frustrations stemming from that in a later post.

Enjoy the shots for now.

So right now I’m at a point where I have to stop myself from mapping so I can go to sleep.  Progress is moving forward extraordinarily quickly right now, both in terms of ideation, and construction.

I haven’t ever developed SP puzzles before, so I’m fumbling my way through what I’ve got so far.  I’m basically working on a “turn the power back on” puzzle, but with a slight twist (hopefully).  I have to keep slowing down and planning out the next step in the puzzle, but I think in the end it’ll turn out well.

I imagine that it won’t be long before I can’t stop myself from posting a screenshot or two.