Far Cry Z-DAY - Zombie level design Thread

Hello ladies and gents!

A few days ago I published the news I'm working on a zombie singleplayer campaign in Far Cry 3, and I got a lot of positive feedback which I'm very happy with. I have uploaded a video showing the first mission (alpha stage) and I'd love to get some feedback on overall level design. Ideas for other missions are also welcome.

For those interested in this project please refer to my Youtube channel or follow the FC3 news page:
Moddb.com

Thanks in advance for your feedback and/or opinions!

Damn this looks really good. Nice work. As far as level design, I don't really have a lot to say except that there seemed to be very few zombies considering it (looks like) its a city?

Hey man thanks a lot This is a valid point, I may add a few more of them, and more corpses. However I dont want to make it too difficult to cross the street. And yes its a big city.

I agree with Decade_Design that you need more zombies. Yet I can understand why you don't want to crowd the first level.

My solution to this would be adding zombies in unreachable areas, maybe behind windows or behind bars, in lowered areas as you are walking on a ledge nearby. I think it would be really cool and scary for the player if there was a lot of zombies that is trying to reach up, letting the player know that there is a great threat yet never actually confronting it just yet.

Edit:
Secondly, I just want to mention how this whole zombie-tagging is explained in the game, is it any specific device or is it a "magical ability" for the player? Furthermore, how is this mechanic supposed to impact the gameplay? Currently I am a bit worried that all these tags placed over the zombies degrade an element that I really appreciate in zombie games and movies - the zombies may lack intelligence but you never know where they are or where they are going, you never really know where you have them.

It's hard to know just judging by the gameplay footage but from my current viewpoint I'd rather had something similar to the Motion Tracker in the Alien movies/games series but rather tracking sound than motion. So if the zombies moan or shambles loudly you'll get a beat on the tracker. This still gives the player the ability to keep an eye on threats, but it it's not failsafe.

Edited by: Sjonsson

Thanks a lot for you extensive reply! These are the kind of comments I appreciate the most.

Getting to your point, this is a good solution. I will surely be adding more 'distant threats'. The main reason why I haven't added more AI to begin with is the Dunia engine being very bad at properly controlling large amounts of bots. The more I add, the more performance diminishes. Point taken though, the final version will have more of them.

The tags and hud are unfortunately elements inherent to the Far Cry editor. It comes as a standard-issue feature to the ADS mechanic. I will be contacting some modders though, to see if they can customize these elements. In this video I tagged the bots merely to make it easier for myself to cross the street without having to redo the video multiple times. No tagging does indeed make it much more immersive.

By the way, fyi and entertainment, here is a gameplay trailer from one of the later levels:

Anyway thanks for the feedback, it helps me a lot!

Edited by: GC_Vos

With the whole performance issue, if you can you could maybe spawn and remove zombies as the player passes by an area with bars in example - that probably could do the trick.

That's the charm with modding, going around the inherent functions of a game and make something new, I don't the HUD is a huge problem but no tagging would clearly get my vote if it's possible. I'll look at the vid later!

I wish I could do that! There are no mods allowing for midgame AI spawns though. There are no trigger or logic mechanics in the editor. It's all very basic and automated. Modding is unfortunately not my expertise so I'm not 100% sure it's impossible. Maybe one of the modders can answer this? Fino maybe?

I do however divide the campaign into sections. So you need to load one map after the other. These are your save points/checkpoints. And I can add as many of those as I like, but obviously not after every corner.

In response to your comments about tagging...

This will completely disable the tagging feature. Courtesy of Fino's editor mod!

Edited by: GC_Vos

Alright, well as long as you don't have too long loading times that will be alright!

Wohoo, no tagging!

Editor loading times actually are lot more short than the original game's load times.

Edited by: GC_Vos

Are you using the Euphoria Engine because of its content, or is there another reason, why you didn't start this project on, let's say: CrySDK?

The thing is, you limit your game's potential exposure to the public, if it can only be played based on a game that not too many people may have (for mods). As far as I know, Ubisoft's proprietary engine was, at one point, based on Cryengine. What it does best, in my opinion, is draw large distances beautifully and detailed. So the whole idea of great outdoors and maybe an epic journey seems more logical than cringing everything into an urban environment.

IDk what your plans are, but maybe you could consider, using this engine for all your prototyping needs, and if the project turns out well to move to another engine and make it indie?

Edited by: SinKing

Euphoria Engine? This is not GTA, this is Far Cry 3, which uses Dunia. Far Cry hasn't been based on Cry Engine ever since the first Crysis came out.

There's one main reason why I'm using Dunia which is experience. I've worked with the Far Cry editor for many many years (ever since Instincts) and I already have dozens if not hundreds of assets for it. Switching engines at this point would basically mean starting all over again from scratch.

Additionally Z-DAY is not about gigantic open worlds and free to explore grassy fields. It's meant to be a claustrophobic, linear, streamlined experience with small to medium sized levels.

I've hardly used Cry Engine and I have no intentions to get into it. So unless I'd have another two years to produce this, I don't think switching to a different game engine is going to help anybody. The whole idea behind the project is to come up with interesting DLC and release it before a probable Far Cry 4 release around november 2014. So as much as I agree choosing Far Cry 3 limits the possible amount of players, it's also the foundation beneath the entire project.

Edited by: GC_Vos

I think that you should only ever switch engine if you encounter obstacles for gameplay or heavy graphics restrictions. You might want to reconsider whether you have any core features that just HAVE to be in the game and verify that you can do it - but you already thought about this I reckon!

Well I haven't encountered any gameplay obstacles so far. Object count is a little high on some of the levels but it runs just fine so far.

Here's an update showcasing one of the final levels. No shooting is involved, it's 100% set pieces. Further down the video you'll find I've added a new building to the opening level, incorporated some more details and changed/optimized a few things. Also note I've increased the amount of npcs.

Edited by: GC_Vos

Hey again!

Nice work, that is one huge fort! Just from watchning the video I think that you should actually remove some of the guards that are stationary and just standing still, the ones who stand in line, talking in groups are cool. I get the feel that the stationary ones are way to many, unless you completely disagree with me you might wanna try to remove let's say a third of them (to be clear, those npc guards that just stand still facing you), and see if that turns out better or not.

One final bit of advice, if I were you I would try to work out but one level first even to a polished state and then have someone playtest it - working on several levels before you actually know if your gameplay and level design works out can cause quite some regression in case they wouldn't.

Once agin, best of luck!
/ Stefan Jonsson

Thanks again for your feedback! I need it to stay sharp.

Do you mean there are too many performance wise, or from a realism point of view? I don't disagree with you in either case.

Don't worry about playtesting. Three of the levels have already endured closed alpha playtests by four or five different players. But you are right I should probably focus on one level at a time.

GC_Vos wrote: Euphoria Engine? This is not GTA, this is Far Cry 3, which uses Dunia. Far Cry hasn't been based on Cry Engine ever since the first Crysis came out.

-Yes, I meant Dunia. As far as I know the engine is somewhat related to Crytek products.

GC_Vos wrote: Additionally Z-DAY is not about gigantic open worlds and free to explore grassy fields. It's meant to be a claustrophobic, linear, streamlined experience with small to medium sized levels.

-Considering the engine choice, your options for creating stunning outdoors outweigh those of creating amazing indoors or crammed cities. That's what made me suggest a more "on the road" feel than the old "stuck inside city" scenario. It may feel fresh to set out somewhere with a goal and uncover new truths about the infection along the way.

Edited by: SinKing

Yeah you are correct Dunia is very much based on the original Cry Engine. Thanks for the on the road suggestions. Luckily only the first three or four levels take place in the city and the missions go into the open more and more once you reach the outskirts. Also while the levels are linear each of them do allow for many routes you can take which should improve replayability and freedom of choice. I try to find a balance between COD's Ramirez-go-here-go-there-simplicity and the open worlds possible with Dunia.

Edited by: GC_Vos

It's more towards the realistic point of view, like it feels a bit weird that so many guards are just standing around looking stiff, even though in reality there might be as many guards you have to reconsider which is the most interesting to look at and which brings the most atmosphere - having a guard stand attention or doing some kind of other activity? You might also want to reconsider if not one guard standing attention does the job equally good (or even better) compared to two guards.

This is a valid point. You are right too many bots will only accentuate the fact they are doing nothing. This is where the FC ige does show its limitations. I can't make an npc remove crates from a truck or script a helicopter landing. I kinda have to let the AI figure things out for themselves which, in this case, shows. But hey, the entire Far Cry campaign has AI staring at walls so I'm sure people won't be surprised they do the same here.

Anyway I will take this into account during further development...

Here's an update to the first level. A new building had been added. You can now go down the stairs or take an alternate route.

Edited by: GC_Vos