Nice blog.

Why is the word "piece" set to look like a hyperlink but it's not?

What's the racial design for that building? Too slick and bright for Caldari. Doesn't have the normal coloring for the other races. Maybe it'll look totally different with final texturing.

Wouldn't you like to know! :P I was running around it yesterday. A really nice new outpost.

Lol. Go check the SI Outposts question in the outposts section of the map feedback forum. He mentions that this is the final outpost for the Research SI.

Wouldn't you like to know! :P I was running around it yesterday. A really nice new outpost.

When?

How do we know what the very important Surface Infrastructure pieces like the Research Lab look like? Can we have a list of structures and their proper names?

I hate to be negative, but the Dust 514 level designs are easily the worst I have ever experienced in more than a decade and a half of FPS gaming.

Marathon levels had better flow. Open-battlefield has never been done worse.

Again, I hate to be negative but this needs to be said.

• Cargo Hub = Orbital Artillery (The Caldari one with the big cannon with the rings pointing into the sky)
• Production Facility = Biomass (The big blue Caldari structure with the tall towers)
• Research Lab = Communications (The Gallente one that is green and has the single round tower)

List shamelessly stolen from this thread.

I don't agree, but I respect your opinion. Certainly these aren't the highly crafted multiplayer maps of Halo or CoD, but then, they're not supposed to be. They're supposed to be a general terrain with plug-and-play assets, textures, vegetation, lighting, and weather. And while these aren't the best maps I've ever played on, I don't think they are the worst.

Looks like a very interesting map, ripe for abuse for rooftop TAC-users/Snipers.

Beyond that, I honestly would love to see more 'fortress' style sockets like the large square building that was recently implemented (one with the objective inside on a catwalk). It's very fun to have a firefight inside of, though I have to say that players running up the corners to get on the roof defeats the purpose of it a bit.

I'm not opposed to seeing more cat-walk walls with over points that are incredibly defensible. In fact, if the Battle of Whisky Outpost (Starship Troopers) ever becomes a socket, I'd have a nerd-boner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPE00A6b9TY

Would work well for a 5-point map on one side, making it all the harder for the enemy to red-line the team. Definitely should only be for outskirt objectives though.

What's the racial design for that building? Too slick and bright for Caldari. Doesn't have the normal coloring for the other races. Maybe it'll look totally different with final texturing.

How do we know what the very important Surface Infrastructure pieces like the Research Lab look like? Can we have a list of structures and their proper names?

Weapons Lab?! Will we be able to actually try out weapons there?

In this case no. I mean you can run around and try out your fitted weapons haha. This was to answer though that we do have some idea of what these buildings are. Some story to them exists most of our design docs.

Not quite. We went to a bit of length ensuring snipers have a hard time here. Oh, when you play this map snipers. Definitely stay away from that power core.

Interesting approach. Any plans on re-introducing static Small Turret Installations as per Skirmish 1.0? Wouldn't mind seeing those in certain outpost locations. Those of us that remember them will remember that they were pretty cool =P

Wouldn't you like to know! :P I was running around it yesterday. A really nice new outpost.

We have functional ones yes, but we are at a budget limit at the moment. They should be back at some time but I do not know when.

Budget limit? CCP is broke? Maybe less free beer in the work lounge then haha

We have functional ones yes, but we are at a budget limit at the moment. They should be back at some time but I do not know when.

In this case no. I mean you can run around and try out your fitted weapons haha. This was to answer though that we do have some idea of what these buildings are. Some story to them exists most of our design docs.

Wouldn't you like to know! :P I was running around it yesterday. A really nice new outpost.

Are you guys looking at underground facilities on any future updates? (meaning this, or next year, would not expect you guys planning this features so far ahead).

Verticality is important, a cannon on a mountain with 4 entry points, or inside a underground facility with a 360 entry point.

Also, even if i am gallente, i want more minmatar and ammar structures.

How about a facility that is underground with the only access points being huge chimneys that are flush with the mountainside, prompting long skydives into the dark, rusted corridors of a long abandoned underground base?

Whether you're fighting in close quarters in tight corridors, climbing to the top of buildings to get a better sniper perch, or doing doughnuts with your LAV in a cargo bay, all of the Outposts in DUST 514 were created piece by piece as part of a broader level design. In his new dev blog, CCP LogicLoop explains how the level design team approaches this important task.

Very interesting to get a glimpse of the level/map creation process :-)

I have to say, though, that I think your maps department should really put all their effort into cleaning up your current maps before creating any new ones. No restructuring needed - the level design itself works well for the most part. But - and this is really important - the whole game experience of Dust gets marred by the constant movement problems caused by the maps.

A few examples:
- There are several places where players grind to a halt instantly, even if there is nothing visible blocking the movement. The most annoying one that I can think of now is in Manus Peak (I think - the one with the jagged rock spires poking out of the ground), behind the rock spires more or less directly east of the A objective. Try starting at C, go south-ish and then sneak up on A behind those spires and you can't miss it.
- Likewise, when running around many objects, I tend to get snagged on corners if I skirt them too closely. Very annoying. Rather than stopping the player completely, the corners should let you slide along the wall, possibly slowing the player down a little. A dead stop just breaks the whole game flow, and will often lead to an infuriating death that feels unfair.
- In narrow passages, there isn't really any way to tell if you'll be able to run through it problem free or if you'll get stuck. There are lots of places that look like you should be able to fit through without any problems, but turns out to stop you. Then again, some places look too tight to squeeze through, but are traversable without a hitch.
- Sort of similar to the previous point, there are several places where you'll get stuck on ridiculously low obstacles. Example: in the A, B , C, D map where one side starts closest to A and B and the other starts closest to C and D, the roofs around objective A have a low, raised edge around them. This edge isn't even as tall as a step in a staircase, but still isn't possible to get onto without jumping. Similarly, around the holes in the roof on the big complex that sometimes contain B on the jagged-rock map (Manus Peak?), there is another low edge. I've died several times there while trying to evade someone's shots, just because this puny, 10 cm tall edge was too tall for my super-soldier to step onto. Very annoying.
- Traversing inclined terrain is often a real pain. Falling speed seems to vary wildly, so sometimes I spend a whole second falling down 1 meter or less, but get the damage associated with an actual 1 second fall. Also, whether I can climb a steep hill or not seems a bit random, regardless of how much stamina I have.
- Within the first minute of my first play experience with Dust, I bumped into one of the consoles in my quarters. My avatar started jiggling up and down wildly until I moved away from the console again. Oh well, the game is in beta, I thought. Sadly this problem still persists at several spots in the maps, and is especially annoying and immersion-breaking when it happens when I try to line up a shot on a distant enemy.

Fixing these things are way more important than adding new maps. I realize the work associated with it is pure drudgery and nowhere near as fun as designing a new map, but it has to be done. Seasoned players have learned to avoid these pitfalls to some extent, but they still detract greatly from the game. And I'm absolutely positive they're chasing away new players on a regular basis.

Could you elaborate on the budget?

Polygon budget? Actual financial budget? Maybe we players can help propose some ideas to help?

This is what I tweeted about - We're quite appreciative of any background info you can provide for the designs.

Why does stuff look the way it does / functionality and relation to other buildings surrounding it. Already mentioned during Fanfest that you guys are looking into making relations between large slots and smaller slots.

..............................................................................TEMPLAR RENEGADE11 IS CHEATING HE WASWEARING CALDARI GEAR WHEN I KILLED HIM TWICE WITH REMOTE EXPLOSIVES THATS CHEATING GUYS

Logic loop becoming favourite dev. Any hints on when amarr style building will come in?

I hate to be negative, but the Dust 514 level designs are easily the worst I have ever experienced in more than a decade and a half of FPS gaming.

Marathon levels had better flow. Open-battlefield has never been done worse.

Again, I hate to be negative but this needs to be said. Learning to move through these maps is an endless chore of memorizing dead ends and which stupid little bumps will bring you to a dead stop unless you plan ahead and blow half your stamina jumping over them. Pretty much the polar opposite of good FPS map design.