Unrealman@ 2:19pm 06-30-2015 I have been trying to make city/downtown-based maps for years now, but I can never seem to get it right. It's always too blocky, too simple, or looks too shitty. How do you make sure your cities and downtowns feel natural? Not to mention blocking off the edges of the map, unique building shapes, indoor areas, etc.... Thanks for the kudos and that's a good question. a). To prevent 'modern urban buildings' from looking blocky, use walls that are 16 wide or less. For heavier structures like subways and parking garages use walls that are 32 wide or more. Most of the walls in DmSand for example are 32's because they're meant to look like old stone, brick and concrete structures. b). To block off the edges of a map, put a wall around it. More... DmRealCity, for example: Basically, begin with two or more big subtractions (the base) and construct the buildings as separate sections that are added together later for the final version. That way, you don't have to compile the whole map just to change one small detail, which saves a lot of time, and if something goes wrong it won't crash the rest of the project. Subtract a base and add a few buildings (solid cubes) as place holders to experiment with the size, scale and perspective of the city. These will be swapped out later with the completed buildings. Click to enlarge Add a PlayerStart, some lights, and test it out. Get a sense of how the map should "feel", how tall the buildings should be, how far apart they should be spaced, the width of the streets, how long it takes to run from one location to another. It's easier to slide these objects around until you are satisfied with the basic layout of the map. It also helps to add a human bot for perspective, how big or small does an object look next to it. Notice the wall around the perimeter of the base. (Block off the edges of the map). Everything above it will be textured as a Fake Backdrop, and will display whatever is in the SkyBox. To further blend the horizon, you can also add buildings to the Skybox itself like in DmFutureCity. Once the base looks and feels correct, all the other sections are made separately. Abandoned Hideout Car Wash Chemical Factory Fire Station Fuel Depot A basic 3 story Hotel with basement, elevators, fire escape, lobby, 3 rooms and VIP suite. This model is 1024h x 1024w. Ceilings are about 384h (nice and roomy) doors are 128h x 80w. Start with a hollow box. Add floors and walls. Subtract doors, windows and stair wells. I find it easier and faster to slide-around additions (the guts of a building) rather than using only subtractions. Add ramps so players can travel easily between floors. Stairs are okay too but increases the poly count. Use warm lighting (dark orange brown) for older brick buildings and cooler lighting (blue white) for modern steel and glass buildings. Transparent 2D sheets are added as windows. I hardly ever put solid doors or windows in a building because it decreases player’s "flow" and limits movement and accessibility. Hotel Loft with Shopping Cart Old Mill and Watertower Park Police Station Warehouse Office Buildings When all the sections are finished, add to base map and compile. The theme of DmRealCity is based on the video game "Sim City" which has hundreds of different cool little buildings and tile sets. I wanted to make an Unreal map where each tile was a separate and unique building that you can tell what it's supposed to be just by looking at it. Real City has 28 individual buildings including a subway system, sewers, water treatment plant and waterfront pier. If I remember correctly at that time I was making about 2 or 3 buildings a day which means it took about 9 days to make the buildings alone, and another few days to complete the base, sky box, vehicles and movers. This is a large wide open map that can accommodate 20 or more players and offers plenty of hidden semi-secret areas to discover and explore. It lends itself pretty well as a basic step by step explanation of the design and construction process.