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What is this? This is a thread dedicated to brainstorming ideas for a *possible* city RP map set in New York, Nobody is currently working on the idea, I am only making this so we can figure out how to make the map as good as possible. Who knows, I may end up commissioning it.
What I want from you is ideas for this theoretical map, what should the layout be? What aspects from other maps should be incorporated into this map? What aspects shouldn't be incorporated? How big should it be? What should the aesthetic be? What unique features could this map have? I want to hear your thoughts.
Ideas:
-Make the aesthetic accurate to the real-life city. The RDC is placed in a food court, the Nexus offices is an actual office building (it would be funny if the offices were depressing grey cubicles). It should be possible for players to see the world that once was.
-Keep map compact but also fun to explore, this has hopefully been done through the design I posted below.
-Make stores easy to see, I placed them next to the RDC, and then placed the RDC in the middle of the map, players can go through the RDC to reach the other side of the map quickly, while doing this, they will be able to see if stores are open.
-Incentivize vehicle travel, I think I managed to do this while also keeping the map small and compact. CPs can only reach the city by train or by driving an APC through a tunnel (they could also use a dropship in an emergency).
-Make fun places to explore, There are some neat places that could be made, like the freighter and warehouses players can work at or break into, the Sewers with trains that can run over players, the infested district filled with the undead, and the roofs of the buildings (players can only get to the roofs by breaking windows or by getting a buddy to boost them up a fire escape).
-Make the map fun for rebels, The map is covered with alleyways rebels can use to their advantage. These alleyways can be used as shortcuts from one side of the city to the other, but doing this is dangerous, rebels can easily hide and ambush any cop or loyalist that goes through these alleyways. Rebels have a great number of ways of getting around the city and running from cops, I did what I could to ensure the map did not have any choke points.
Current map layout draft:
Streets:
This is a map of the city's surface, I will now list the main features of the map and why they are here.
Public locations:
The Dock: A dock connected to a large freighter, it could be a possible spawn point for new characters (perhaps citizens arrived via boat?). You have a view of the Hudson River and the ruined Statue of Liberty from the docks, and if this is a spawn point, you will instantly know you are in New York just from the view from the dock.
Alleyways: There are multiple shady alleyways behind buildings that have hatches to get to the sewers, players can go through the alleyways in the center of the city to get to the other side of the map, but doing so is risky if you are a loyalist, you could easily get mugged or dragged into the sewers. The safer method of getting to the other side of the map would be to go through the food court, and by going through the food court you will pass by and view multiple stores, this makes seeing if a store is open easier.
Having these alleyways and sewer entrances around the entire city makes surviving and doing things as a rebel much easier. Because a rebel could theoretically be in any shady alleyway in the city, going through the alleyways as a loyalist is a risk, loyalists would need to take the safe routes that pass by stores, this should help stores get more customers.
The Foodcourt: The foodcourt is where the RDC is located, it is also the location of several stores and the entrance to the subway system. The food court itself is located around the middle of the main city, this is so players can go through it to quickly get to the other side of the city without having to pass through shady alleyways. Because so much foot traffic is directed through the food court, the stores here would see a large number of potential customers.
Residential locations:
Motel: The housing for the underclass, a crappy motel built right between a bunch of warehouses. It has a bar in front of it at least.
Apartments: There are two standard apartment complexes for normal citizens to live in, you can break the windows in the apartment buildings to get to the roof, and you could also break into people through the window if you shimmy across the side of the building.
Loyalist Hotel: A fancy hotel with red carpets, only loyalists and important figures get to own a room here, the rooms are much larger and the building itself is much taller, looking over the entire district. The windows here are also destructible, but the rooms are so high up it wouldn't be possible to climb into broken windows, though you could probably push someone out of a window into the streets below if you wanted.
Rebel base: A shady door in an alleyway in the worst part of town, this hideout was used by one of New York's many criminal gangs in the years before the invasion, because of this, it is very secure.
Worker only Locations:
The Freighter: A freighter connected to the docks, the freighter itself is off-limits to the public, but it could serve multiple purposes, the CWU could use the freighter to deliver or ship off equipment, the Freighter could be a place for players to sneak into to rob, the freighter could be a target for rebels to sabotage, or it could be a place to do events.
Warehouse 1: A normal CWU warehouse near the docks, this place will be the most likely location for work shifts, it will most likely have a backyard like the one found on C24_V3 and V4.
Warehouse 2: A HL2 beta-inspired massive industrial complex suspended over a deep chasm. It can be used for certain work shifts (like trying to repair equipment while suspended over an abyss). There is an exposed sewer pipe that leads into this warehouse, players can risk jumping out of the pipe to try to get into the warehouse, but there is a risk they could fall to their death (this pipe could be blocked off if needed).
I'm thinking that a few interesting machines could be put in this warehouse, players could get to a control room to turn pistons on, and these pistons could push people from the platforms into the abyss.
Honestly, I'm just taking all of this from the warehouse on this map: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2687061109
Disposal warehouse: Located within the slums of the city, this warehouse is similar to the Disposal warehouse found on I17, workshifts can be held to dispose of waste in this warehouse, and a fire pit can be turned on to incinerate trash that falls into it, but if turned off, someone can jump into it to fall into the sewers. I think it could be interesting to have a hole on the surface players could put trash (or other players) into, this hole would lead onto a conveyor belt in the warehouse, the conveyor belt would lead to the incinerator pit. This is so players could throw away trash or dispose of corpses, giving them something fun to do.
CMRU: A tall hospital building with multiple floors, the first floor is a lobby, the second is a general treatment ward, and the third floor has a lab and surgical ward. There could also be roof access so players that somehow get to the roof of the building can break in from the roof. A heli-pad is on the roof, it can be used by civil protection and VIPs to get to the nexus quickly via dropship.
Stores / Misc:
(note that some of these buildings could be changed into something else, there are a lot of stores as it is, we could use this space for a different thing)
Foodcourt stores: Cramped kiosks that can sell goods to players passing through the foodcourt, it is easy to see if a store is open just by looking and seeing if anyone is standing at the desk, here's what the stores would look like as a reference:
Bars: Shady bars like the grizzly grotto from I17, no city is complete without a criminal-infested bar, we might only need one of these though, I might change one of the bars to a different building.
Stores: Two standard store buildings next to the CMRU, might change these to something else, I don't think they'd get many customers. One of these stores, the one in the bottom left corner, hides a rebel base directly below it. This store was once used as a front for a gang of some sort in the time before the Combine arrived on earth, the security features installed by the gang are still functional.
Restaurant: A loyalist restaurant next to the docks, you get to dine on fancy food while being able to get a beautiful view of the toxic leech-infested Hudson River.
Restricted areas:
CP 1: A repurposed building that serves as an outpost for civil protection, it contains a ration machine and a ladder to the subway below.
CCA Nexus: Getting to the nexus requires you to travel via subway/razor train, once you reach the nexus, you must walk through the civil protection wing to reach an elevator that takes you to the CCA section of the nexus. The CCA wing is normal as far as CCA wings go, the city administrator has a window that overlooks the entire city.
Infested areas:
Sewer pipes: There are two exposed sewer pipes that lead into the Hudson river, you can climb into them to go into the sewer system, keep in mind that the sewer system is flooded with spores, long term habitation isn't possible
Infested district: A zombie and xenian-infested district sealed off from the rest of the city, this is the main loot zone for the map. Keep in mind that this place is utterly infested by zombies, basing here is not possible. You can only get here by traveling through the underground. I may add a combined method of getting to this district, like a path from the nexus.
Underground:
Public locations:
Subway: A highly secure subway system connected to CP 1, the left subway track is restricted to the combine and leads to the Nexus, the right subway track is the civilian track. This place could be used as a possible spawn for new characters. The Food court is directly above the subway system.
Residential:
Rebel bases: Two rebel bases can be accessed in the sewer and on the surface, their entrances are well hidden. These bases are quite well equipped, seeing as they were used by some of New York's biggest gangs back before the war.
Restricted area:
Lobby: A standard office building lobby with a reception desk that will more than often go unmanned. There is a door to the Civil Protection wing, and two other doors that lead to elevators, these elevators lead to the CCA wing and the helipad on the roof.
Nexus subway track: To the left is a subway track with a boardable razor train, the train can be called from a terminal at the station or the nexus and can be controlled from the inside. You must ride the subway to reach the nexus, force fields in the tunnel prevent getting to the nexus on foot. Access to the razor train is blocked for most, you must have a combine biosignal to open the gate to get to the train.
Citizen subway track: To the right is a subway track that players can jump down onto to wander through the subway tunnel, though care should be taken not to be run over by the citizen subway that frequently moves through this tunnel. You can walk down this tunnel to enter the sewers or the infested district. If you see a train coming, there are a few side passages you can hide in so you don't get hit.
CP 1: A CP checkpoint built within the ticket-taking booth of the subway, CPs can go into this checkpoint to take a break, grab a ration, or they can take citizens into this checkpoint to be searched and interrogated.
Nexus RDC: The Civil Protection cafeteria, a place for the cops to take a break after a long day of beating civvies.
OTA: The OTA deployment room, not much else of importance.
Medbay: The Medical bay where wounded CPs can be treated.
Prison: A hall of prison cells located next to an interrogation room.
Stalkerization room: Instead of a pit citizens are shot and thrown into, amputation is done differently, players that are going to be amputated are placed in a pod, this pod is then lifted away out of view into a kill zone and the character is stalkerized off screen. This is more interesting and horrific than normal amputations.
Garage: An APC garage, the APCs can be driven out of the garage and through a tunnel, the tunnel leads to the infested district and the city. This route can be used by CPs in the event the subway is out of order. Considering this is one of the two main routes to get to the city, this incentivizes CPs to drive APCs more often.
Infested area:
Sewers: A sewer system filled with spores and toxic waste, this system connects to various places across the city, like the alleyways, the large warehouse, the disposal warehouse, the river, and the citizen subway track.
Generator room: A room filled with generators and some decent loot spawns, getting here is dangerous and requires a long walk down an active metro line. The generators could be a target for rebels.
Roofs:
The upper levels of the city aren't as detailed as the rest of the city seeing as they won't be as frequently traveled as other parts of the city, but it still has some features that are of note, such as:
-Bridges, pipes, beams, and catwalks leading from building to building. Wooden planks could be used to connect one building to the other, and they could be destroyed to prevent anyone from getting to a certain roof until the prop respawns on the next restart.
-A heli-pad on the roof of the Hospital, this can be used by civil protection to get a drop ship to and from the nexus. It could also be used to evac VIPs in an emergency.
-A fancy glass roof is above the food court, if more than two or three people walk on it, it will shatter and anyone on it will fall to the food court below.
-An active metro track has been built right outside two apartments, the noise of the metro would likely keep those living in the shoddy apartments awake at night. Players can break the windows of these apartments to climb onto the metro track, they can cross the track to get to other buildings. Players should be careful not to be hit by the train while on the track.
-On the sides of some buildings, such as apartments, are fire escapes, the ladders are quite high off the ground and cannot be reached without a boost. Players can either get someone to boost them up to the ladder or use a prop to reach the ladder. The ladders can be climbed to reach the roofs of buildings.
What I want from you is ideas for this theoretical map, what should the layout be? What aspects from other maps should be incorporated into this map? What aspects shouldn't be incorporated? How big should it be? What should the aesthetic be? What unique features could this map have? I want to hear your thoughts.
Ideas:
-Make the aesthetic accurate to the real-life city. The RDC is placed in a food court, the Nexus offices is an actual office building (it would be funny if the offices were depressing grey cubicles). It should be possible for players to see the world that once was.
-Keep map compact but also fun to explore, this has hopefully been done through the design I posted below.
-Make stores easy to see, I placed them next to the RDC, and then placed the RDC in the middle of the map, players can go through the RDC to reach the other side of the map quickly, while doing this, they will be able to see if stores are open.
-Incentivize vehicle travel, I think I managed to do this while also keeping the map small and compact. CPs can only reach the city by train or by driving an APC through a tunnel (they could also use a dropship in an emergency).
-Make fun places to explore, There are some neat places that could be made, like the freighter and warehouses players can work at or break into, the Sewers with trains that can run over players, the infested district filled with the undead, and the roofs of the buildings (players can only get to the roofs by breaking windows or by getting a buddy to boost them up a fire escape).
-Make the map fun for rebels, The map is covered with alleyways rebels can use to their advantage. These alleyways can be used as shortcuts from one side of the city to the other, but doing this is dangerous, rebels can easily hide and ambush any cop or loyalist that goes through these alleyways. Rebels have a great number of ways of getting around the city and running from cops, I did what I could to ensure the map did not have any choke points.
Current map layout draft:
Streets:
This is a map of the city's surface, I will now list the main features of the map and why they are here.
Public locations:
The Dock: A dock connected to a large freighter, it could be a possible spawn point for new characters (perhaps citizens arrived via boat?). You have a view of the Hudson River and the ruined Statue of Liberty from the docks, and if this is a spawn point, you will instantly know you are in New York just from the view from the dock.
Alleyways: There are multiple shady alleyways behind buildings that have hatches to get to the sewers, players can go through the alleyways in the center of the city to get to the other side of the map, but doing so is risky if you are a loyalist, you could easily get mugged or dragged into the sewers. The safer method of getting to the other side of the map would be to go through the food court, and by going through the food court you will pass by and view multiple stores, this makes seeing if a store is open easier.
Having these alleyways and sewer entrances around the entire city makes surviving and doing things as a rebel much easier. Because a rebel could theoretically be in any shady alleyway in the city, going through the alleyways as a loyalist is a risk, loyalists would need to take the safe routes that pass by stores, this should help stores get more customers.
The Foodcourt: The foodcourt is where the RDC is located, it is also the location of several stores and the entrance to the subway system. The food court itself is located around the middle of the main city, this is so players can go through it to quickly get to the other side of the city without having to pass through shady alleyways. Because so much foot traffic is directed through the food court, the stores here would see a large number of potential customers.
Residential locations:
Motel: The housing for the underclass, a crappy motel built right between a bunch of warehouses. It has a bar in front of it at least.
Apartments: There are two standard apartment complexes for normal citizens to live in, you can break the windows in the apartment buildings to get to the roof, and you could also break into people through the window if you shimmy across the side of the building.
Loyalist Hotel: A fancy hotel with red carpets, only loyalists and important figures get to own a room here, the rooms are much larger and the building itself is much taller, looking over the entire district. The windows here are also destructible, but the rooms are so high up it wouldn't be possible to climb into broken windows, though you could probably push someone out of a window into the streets below if you wanted.
Rebel base: A shady door in an alleyway in the worst part of town, this hideout was used by one of New York's many criminal gangs in the years before the invasion, because of this, it is very secure.
Worker only Locations:
The Freighter: A freighter connected to the docks, the freighter itself is off-limits to the public, but it could serve multiple purposes, the CWU could use the freighter to deliver or ship off equipment, the Freighter could be a place for players to sneak into to rob, the freighter could be a target for rebels to sabotage, or it could be a place to do events.
Warehouse 1: A normal CWU warehouse near the docks, this place will be the most likely location for work shifts, it will most likely have a backyard like the one found on C24_V3 and V4.
Warehouse 2: A HL2 beta-inspired massive industrial complex suspended over a deep chasm. It can be used for certain work shifts (like trying to repair equipment while suspended over an abyss). There is an exposed sewer pipe that leads into this warehouse, players can risk jumping out of the pipe to try to get into the warehouse, but there is a risk they could fall to their death (this pipe could be blocked off if needed).
I'm thinking that a few interesting machines could be put in this warehouse, players could get to a control room to turn pistons on, and these pistons could push people from the platforms into the abyss.
Honestly, I'm just taking all of this from the warehouse on this map: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2687061109
Disposal warehouse: Located within the slums of the city, this warehouse is similar to the Disposal warehouse found on I17, workshifts can be held to dispose of waste in this warehouse, and a fire pit can be turned on to incinerate trash that falls into it, but if turned off, someone can jump into it to fall into the sewers. I think it could be interesting to have a hole on the surface players could put trash (or other players) into, this hole would lead onto a conveyor belt in the warehouse, the conveyor belt would lead to the incinerator pit. This is so players could throw away trash or dispose of corpses, giving them something fun to do.
CMRU: A tall hospital building with multiple floors, the first floor is a lobby, the second is a general treatment ward, and the third floor has a lab and surgical ward. There could also be roof access so players that somehow get to the roof of the building can break in from the roof. A heli-pad is on the roof, it can be used by civil protection and VIPs to get to the nexus quickly via dropship.
Stores / Misc:
(note that some of these buildings could be changed into something else, there are a lot of stores as it is, we could use this space for a different thing)
Foodcourt stores: Cramped kiosks that can sell goods to players passing through the foodcourt, it is easy to see if a store is open just by looking and seeing if anyone is standing at the desk, here's what the stores would look like as a reference:
Bars: Shady bars like the grizzly grotto from I17, no city is complete without a criminal-infested bar, we might only need one of these though, I might change one of the bars to a different building.
Stores: Two standard store buildings next to the CMRU, might change these to something else, I don't think they'd get many customers. One of these stores, the one in the bottom left corner, hides a rebel base directly below it. This store was once used as a front for a gang of some sort in the time before the Combine arrived on earth, the security features installed by the gang are still functional.
Restaurant: A loyalist restaurant next to the docks, you get to dine on fancy food while being able to get a beautiful view of the toxic leech-infested Hudson River.
Restricted areas:
CP 1: A repurposed building that serves as an outpost for civil protection, it contains a ration machine and a ladder to the subway below.
CCA Nexus: Getting to the nexus requires you to travel via subway/razor train, once you reach the nexus, you must walk through the civil protection wing to reach an elevator that takes you to the CCA section of the nexus. The CCA wing is normal as far as CCA wings go, the city administrator has a window that overlooks the entire city.
Infested areas:
Sewer pipes: There are two exposed sewer pipes that lead into the Hudson river, you can climb into them to go into the sewer system, keep in mind that the sewer system is flooded with spores, long term habitation isn't possible
Infested district: A zombie and xenian-infested district sealed off from the rest of the city, this is the main loot zone for the map. Keep in mind that this place is utterly infested by zombies, basing here is not possible. You can only get here by traveling through the underground. I may add a combined method of getting to this district, like a path from the nexus.
Underground:
Public locations:
Subway: A highly secure subway system connected to CP 1, the left subway track is restricted to the combine and leads to the Nexus, the right subway track is the civilian track. This place could be used as a possible spawn for new characters. The Food court is directly above the subway system.
Residential:
Rebel bases: Two rebel bases can be accessed in the sewer and on the surface, their entrances are well hidden. These bases are quite well equipped, seeing as they were used by some of New York's biggest gangs back before the war.
Restricted area:
Lobby: A standard office building lobby with a reception desk that will more than often go unmanned. There is a door to the Civil Protection wing, and two other doors that lead to elevators, these elevators lead to the CCA wing and the helipad on the roof.
Nexus subway track: To the left is a subway track with a boardable razor train, the train can be called from a terminal at the station or the nexus and can be controlled from the inside. You must ride the subway to reach the nexus, force fields in the tunnel prevent getting to the nexus on foot. Access to the razor train is blocked for most, you must have a combine biosignal to open the gate to get to the train.
Citizen subway track: To the right is a subway track that players can jump down onto to wander through the subway tunnel, though care should be taken not to be run over by the citizen subway that frequently moves through this tunnel. You can walk down this tunnel to enter the sewers or the infested district. If you see a train coming, there are a few side passages you can hide in so you don't get hit.
CP 1: A CP checkpoint built within the ticket-taking booth of the subway, CPs can go into this checkpoint to take a break, grab a ration, or they can take citizens into this checkpoint to be searched and interrogated.
Nexus RDC: The Civil Protection cafeteria, a place for the cops to take a break after a long day of beating civvies.
OTA: The OTA deployment room, not much else of importance.
Medbay: The Medical bay where wounded CPs can be treated.
Prison: A hall of prison cells located next to an interrogation room.
Stalkerization room: Instead of a pit citizens are shot and thrown into, amputation is done differently, players that are going to be amputated are placed in a pod, this pod is then lifted away out of view into a kill zone and the character is stalkerized off screen. This is more interesting and horrific than normal amputations.
Garage: An APC garage, the APCs can be driven out of the garage and through a tunnel, the tunnel leads to the infested district and the city. This route can be used by CPs in the event the subway is out of order. Considering this is one of the two main routes to get to the city, this incentivizes CPs to drive APCs more often.
Infested area:
Sewers: A sewer system filled with spores and toxic waste, this system connects to various places across the city, like the alleyways, the large warehouse, the disposal warehouse, the river, and the citizen subway track.
Generator room: A room filled with generators and some decent loot spawns, getting here is dangerous and requires a long walk down an active metro line. The generators could be a target for rebels.
Roofs:
The upper levels of the city aren't as detailed as the rest of the city seeing as they won't be as frequently traveled as other parts of the city, but it still has some features that are of note, such as:
-Bridges, pipes, beams, and catwalks leading from building to building. Wooden planks could be used to connect one building to the other, and they could be destroyed to prevent anyone from getting to a certain roof until the prop respawns on the next restart.
-A heli-pad on the roof of the Hospital, this can be used by civil protection to get a drop ship to and from the nexus. It could also be used to evac VIPs in an emergency.
-A fancy glass roof is above the food court, if more than two or three people walk on it, it will shatter and anyone on it will fall to the food court below.
-An active metro track has been built right outside two apartments, the noise of the metro would likely keep those living in the shoddy apartments awake at night. Players can break the windows of these apartments to climb onto the metro track, they can cross the track to get to other buildings. Players should be careful not to be hit by the train while on the track.
-On the sides of some buildings, such as apartments, are fire escapes, the ladders are quite high off the ground and cannot be reached without a boost. Players can either get someone to boost them up to the ladder or use a prop to reach the ladder. The ladders can be climbed to reach the roofs of buildings.
I would love feedback on this map layout, and I'm looking for suggestions and criticism on the idea so I can make the layout as good as possible.
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