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Specific Layout Design, Inspiration and Execution

I made sure to put a huge amount of effort into the planning for Nexus. Planning levels beforehand saves a massive amount of time, and generally leads to much higher quality maps in all respects. It was a big intellectual leap to create the Pyramid Layout, but that was relevant only to the abstract layout of the most critical rooms (MS and hives). The more specific layouts of individual rooms and resource nodes, along with the entire web connections between them all, needed far more attention.

Having already planned for consistency by setting the entire map within and throughout a spaceship, I made a list of all the potential room types I could have, and brainstormed specific room layouts and inter-room connections. But before I would begin setting areas in stone plan-wise, I decided to study the other available NS maps in detail to determine their best features. Many maps feature one unique characteristic that translates directly to gameplay quality. Hence, I analyzed the best maps for inspiration, and applied the concepts to Nexus in my own fashion:

• For starters, I wanted to make the Resource Node distribution as fair as possible, while still maintaining the flair of asymmetry. Almost every NS map lacks symmetrical Res Node distribution, trying to balance the economics of the maps in other ways. Ns_Veil took a different approach. The mapper (Andrew Weldon) actually began with a perfectly symmetrical node layout, then hacked away bit by bit until he had an acceptably not-fully-symmetric layout. The competitive scene applauded Veil for this feature.
  
  And so, I began Nexus in a similar fashion. One may see that there is overall node symmetry, but with enough variations to make the casual player never notice. The West has the double resource room, whereas the East has Keystone and Railgun nodes; the rest of the nodes are either in hive rooms or directly down the center of the map [nexus and engineering].



• Ns_Tanith is one of the most favoured maps in NS. I believe this is directly caused by what I call the '5-5 Divide': the map is designed to encourage both teams to capture and defend five resource nodes each. Tanith does this via two specific chokepoints. As such, both teams tech up, the games play out longer, and generally end in a massive, epic battle. Tanith's Divide is problematic though, since only the north-eastern hive and the eastern hive are on the alien's side of the divide; if the aliens start with the north-western hive, the map plays out like any other.
  
  I attempted to implement the 5-5 Divide in Nexus, but in a better fashion. It was much easier actually, given the already symmetric res node layout, complemented by the Pyramid Layout. Instead of using specific chokepoints, I ensured balanced accessibility between each area of the map, plus other mechanisms, such as isolated areas (double) and accessibility 'highways' (view halls). The picture to the right shows the three divides that can occur, depending on which two hives the aliens have.



• Having a Double Resource Node room ('Double') in a map creates complications. Despite this, many players immediately cheer when they see that a new map has a Double, due to the elevated tension that such a room creates.
  
  
  • Ns_Tanith's Double is the closest room to MS for RTs, making it overly important for both sides.
  • Ns_Veil's Double contains the only res nodes not on the edge of the map, and are basically required by aliens to get more than three nodes from any start hive; furthermore, it is easily sieged from either side. This results in a too-important room that favours marines in the long term when it should really favour aliens.
  • Ns_Origin's Double is located in the chokepoint of the entire map, creating another too-important room, especially for the aliens. This room has a well-balanced siege, but it doesn't quite make up for the map-wide balance issues.
  • Ns_Shiva's Double is well-done. Placed right on the middle axis of the map, only one of the two nodes are immediately accessible; the other has to be welded. Hence, only the marines can initially cap both nodes, whereas the aliens must hold the room to deny the marines the two nodes. Given the location, it becomes a location of high tension.
  • The maps Ns_Hera and Ns_Caged removed their doubles because of so many complications.
  
  For Nexus, I wanted to create a properly balanced Double. I took the two West nodes for the location, and then decided to create a room that was 'easy to capture, but difficult to defend'. Using the Residential Block concept, I created a triple-tiered room with the nodes on the bottom, multiple vents, and multiple entrances. The Height advantage is what creates the desired gameplay, as the floors get tighter as they go up (leaving less room to lock the areas down), while both teams have access to the top entrances.



• Ladders and Elevators are an essential alternative to ramps and stairs in a vertical level. In NS, ladders and elevators are problematic for some of the alien classes, and their improper placement can instantly ruin the balance of any area. Ns_Origin had elevators at the siege location of one hive, which left the Aliens with a huge disadvatange; the elevators were eventually removed. Ns_Nothing still has elevators at each of its chokepoints, which are universally despised. Since Nexus had such a vertical element, four elevators were used in addition to dozens of ladders, but these were consciously kept away from areas in which they would hamper the gameplay.



• Ambush points are an integral part of NS mapping, and are basic in their design. They are simply areas where an alien may hide out of view from the marine, on a wall, ceiling or floor. The best ambush points are the ones that go unnoticed; behind a small pipe on the ceiling, a shadowy indent in a wall, a small hole in the floor. Nexus is teeming with ambush points, but would require a guided walkthrough to gain a proper grasp of their abundance. E.g.: Are there any hiding spots on the ceiling of Coordinate Mapping? (first angle here, then click image to the right)



• The largest alien creature is called an Onos, and is roughly a mix between an elephant and a rhino. Having such a large hitbox means that their movement can be restricted by small doors, vent-only access or a bad layout. Hence, Onos Access around the map becomes pretty important for a mapper to keep in mind. Ns_Origin is the most notorious map for this, as the Onos' need to go through either Marine Start or Double to get from one hive to another. Nexus has full Onos access to every part of the map, bar of course the vent system.



• Due to the nature of the Pyramid Layout, I saw a need for the marines to be able to access the far-south part of the map (engineering) without having to go through areas directly linked to the middle hive. As such, I created a sort of 'highway' straight down the middle: the two View Halls. These are separate halls that can see each other, are linked to both Nexus Mainframe and Engineering on each end, and then another room on their far sides. When looking at the overview map, the vertical aspect is not shown; a player in Chromo can only access the View Halls by first going through Port Shaft or Keystone Interface. This path not only works perfectly for its design intention, but also creates great visuals. Sometimes a Marine and an Onos will notice each other on opposite View Halls, and have a moment... before they decide how best to kill or avoid each other.

Although I have listed several concepts have been applied to the Specific Layout Design in Nexus, there are still many more that could be presented during a personal walkthrough.

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and Scripted Events