Xander Clauss
MMOFPS & Open World Level Design
Quartz Ridge Camp
Located on the eastern coast of Hossin, the Ziggurat and Nettlemire Gardens are two similarly built levels that happen to only be attackable from two adjacent outposts, meaning you're conquering both or taking a long detour if you want to move up or down the shore. These two bases had much of the positional chaos controlled due to the minimum lattice connections, position on the edge of the map, and dense jungle terrain. As a result, vehicles and infantry can't access much of the back areas, creating a more predictable front line for defenders.
The Ziggurat
The Ziggurat was originally suggested in a tweet a player had sent me to put a temple outpost on Hossin. I almost immediately shelved the idea; getting the assets to make a big sandstone pyramid in the swamp was not happening at that point in time. The inspiration to actually implement a temple (without any additional art time!) came out of a sleepless night that lead to using a few pre-existing props on a slant, making a futuristic step pyramid. Far from the vine-strewn Temple of Doom I originally imagined, the Ziggurat's sterile grey exterior and glowing, nanite-based power sources hint towards the technophilic Vanu Sovereignty as its creators.
Primarily outdoors, the sparse overhead cover at the Ziggurat makes manning the integrated anti-air turrets a lucrative (and often necessary) endeavor, as well as splitting the air cover into two distinct aesthetic styles reflecting the lines between the attacker (natural trees in the temple garden) and defender (man-made buildings and canopies on 1st/2nd floors) areas.
Nettlemire Gardens
Nettlemire's base structure uses a pretty simple design focusing on two things; the flashy garden-themed cap point under the giant central tree, and the attacker/defender spawns arranged opposite from each other in a plus shape. The railed infantry platforms allow soldiers to slug it out without excessive vehicle interference, except on the edge, where they act as ramparts to allow siege defense gameplay. Around it, the outpost has plenty of sunken roads and tunnels for flanking routes and cover, intended for both vehicles and infantry.
The cap point area itself is layered and takes up much of the outpost's real estate to account for the game's large battles without getting too crowded. The garden also uses color coding in the form of its bioluminescent flora to subconsciously tell players they're on the 'blue side' or 'orange side' while they're under the outpost's primary landmark.
