Cappadocia, is a game section prepared for the Exotic Place CS:GO Mapping Contest 2019 competition organized by Mapcore.org. The production and design phase, which started in June 2019, was presented to the players after it was published on January 25, 2020.
My Responsibilities
- Publication of the playable version of the project until February 1, 2020, which is the deadline.
- Designing a fair division for gamers
- To reflect the ambience of Cappadocia in a realistic way in the designed section
- Creating the necessary contents (material, model, etc.).
Contributors
- Ali Azem Taş - Department Design, Environmental Design, Material and Graphic Design, Sound Mixing
- Buse Çinte Azmanoğlu - Voice Over
- Mert Kandıra - Feedback
- Mapcore Community - In Game Playtest, Feedback
Used Programs
Hammer World Editor
Level Design
3DS Max + Wall Worm Plugin
3D Modeling, Physbox creation and export to Source Engine
Substance Designer
Creating PBR quality materials
Substance Painter
Creating PBR quality coatings for 3D Models
Adobe Photoshop
Some graphic design, manipulation jobs and quick conversion of image to 3D models
Adobe Illustrator
Some illustration works
Affinity Designer
Some illustration works and making pattern
Audacity
Montage and manipulation for sound effects
Hammer World Editor screenshot of the Cappadocia level
First of all, a preliminary research was made to determine that a clear section suitable for the theme of the competition can be designed. The point I pay attention to in the theme of the section I want to do is that I wanted to go through content that has not been processed before or that is very little processed in the game and community-made content. In the game and community-made content, I specifically avoided these two as they are predominantly Italian and Moroccan in origin. As my first thought, I planned a Maldives themed map. But then the following question came to mind:
After thinking in detail and doing preliminary research, I decided that Cappadocia would be a really suitable theme for the competition with its exotic structure and abundant reference resources.
Intense research has been done on the internet to determine exactly which part of Cappadocia will be located on the map. As a result of the researches, it was decided that the map was based on a hotel and a realistic theme was created for the players to easily watch the fairy chimneys and balloons. A design resource was created for the visuals of Cappadocia hotels on the map and ETS Tour website using Google Maps for inspiring space and environment design.
Cappadocia referance images
After the design resource, I made level’s layout design . The purpose of the layout design is to allow the map to have maximum competitive gameplay and fair play by both teams during the game.
Cappadocia settlement plan. The first three visual planned placements. The forth image is the current version
After the layout was planned, the rough lines of the map were started to be designed using reference coatings and models with Hammer World Editor. After 2 months of work, the rough lines of the map were completed, and special materials and environmental lighting were started. Deciding that the ambiance of the reference images would reflect the ambiance in the best way, I decided that the ambiance would best reflect the ambiance of the Cappadocia theme with a lighting at sunrise. For the most realistic and eye-catching lighting, many sunrise and Cappadocia sunrise images were examined and the environmental lighting of the map was created.
Cappadocia envinroment lighting
Cappadocia Map Logo
The logo adopts the same style as the logos used in the CS: GO game's maps. The logo featured fairy chimneys and hot air balloons. The sunrise, which is the basis of the lighting of the map, was also included in the logo as a gradient. The "Hittite Sun", which is the symbol of the Hittites, one of the important civilizations of Anatolia that dominated the ancient period of the region, was symbolized as the sun on the map. The patterns on the edge of the logo are the Hittite period motifs used on the map.
Paradise Cave Hotel Logo
Logo of the hotel planned for the map. All Cappadocia hotel, hostel and apartment names registered in both Google and ETS Tur were scanned for the name and the decision of “Paradise Cave Hotel” was made. The logo also symbolizes fairy chimneys and the surrounding angel rings.
A total of 91 materials were produced for the map. (except model skins). Substance Designer, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Designer programs were used for these. Care was taken to give the feeling that the actor playing the episode with the materials produced was in Cappadocia. The colors and motifs used are inspired by the reference pictures.
Some designed materials for Cappadocia project.
Another part of the map that I work intensely as well as the environmental lighting is the bath section. The historical Çemberlitaş Hamam and Kılıç Ali Paşa Bath were taken as reference for the bath section, which was previously planned as a part of the restaurant, but separated from the restaurant section by redesigning the layout of the section from the existing layout plan. In order to create a realistic lighting and ambiance, only the detail and illumination of the bath section was carried out for about 2 months.
Cappadocia Turkish bath level and referance images
A total of 494 new models were produced for the map. Some models such as hot air balloons, flags, wind chimes, and clocks are animated. Many models such as tripod cameras, glasses, plates, salt shakers, forks and knives were also physically formed. Some of the 404 models created were used within the limits Valve grants content producers to finish the project before the deadline.
Some modelling works for Cappadocia
The sound effects used were obtained from the site freesound.org soundimage.org and some sound filters were used for the game engine adaptation, assembly and ambience through the Audacity program. In addition, for the sound effect of the “overlock machine announcement” on the map, my friend Buse Çinte Azmanoğlu contributed a voiceover.
Working on the project with dedication 12 hours a day, the project was released as a beta version on January 25, 2020, one week before the deadline. With the correction update released on the last delivery day, critical errors before the competition were corrected.
Street level before and after
After 15 days of jury evaluation, Cappadocia could not be included in the announced “Top 10” list. However, it was included in the “Honorable Mentions”list by the jury.
The competition ended with the announcement of the winner in March, but Cappadocia continues to develop after the competition is over. The ultimate goal of the Cappadocia project is to provide players with a fair and competitive environment and will continue to receive support until all issues are resolved until this environment is presented for sure.
Gallery
