The following article comes from NetEase Leihuo Art Center, the author is Leihuo Art Center
The Ocean Map was originally introduced to you in the Blue Sea Tide 5th Anniversary Expansion Pack of Against the Cold, and was reloaded and reloaded today. We also take this opportunity to take you through the development process of this map, hoping to provide you with some references.
Author | silently
Scene editing of "Against the Cold".
Map creation is an important part of facing the player. According to the group portrait of the players, it is the meaning of scene editing to create their favorite scene maps, sort out all links and realize the closed loop, and finally give players a gorgeous audio-visual feast.
This time, I will review the whole process of creating the ocean map that was previously launched in "Against the Cold", from the initial conception of the DEMO, to the mid-term trade-offs, and then to the landing and realization of the later map, and completely summarize the problems encountered in all aspects of the creation of the ocean map, as well as the experience I have gained. At present, it is still difficult to find reference materials for MMO realistic ocean maps on the market, and our art and programming students have also gone through the process of overturning and restarting many times. I hope this article can provide some help to students who have creative needs related to marine themes.
First, the overview of ideas
Let's start with how the ocean map was born, why we made the ocean map, and how it gives players a different experience than a normal map.
When you think about it, everything comes into being.
A large part of the reason why so many people around the world are passionate about games is that games can make many dreams that cannot be reached in real life, including exploring many uncharted territories, such as the ocean.
The ocean is the yearning of countless people, because it is a place where we can break free from the constraints of reality, ignore the direction and terrain, and explore the boundless depths of the sea at will. This unknown world is full of endless possibilities and suspense, satisfying the player's insatiable thirst for exploration that reality cannot satisfy. In the game, players can explore together, overcome difficulties together, and experience unprecedented adventure fun.
The paths we have walked, the landscapes we have seen, the books we have read, the movies and TV shows we have watched, and so on, all come together to shape our unique worldview. As map editors, we have the opportunity to materialize this world in our minds and present it to more players. In the process, we continue to explore and innovate, incorporating unique ideas into map design. From building environments to depicting terrain, we've gone through countless overturns. In the end, we set a goal: to create a unique underwater world based on the worldview, combining various elements and creativity.
II. Initial Ideas for the Ocean
With this goal in mind, we need to consciously think about how to plan the next steps and how to build our underwater world from scratch.
Since January 4, 2021, we have begun to collect relevant materials, including the lost Atlantis, the unknown civilization under the sea, the lost ancient underwater city of the East, the many underwater ancient cities in the mainland, the ancient building of Zhangjia in "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" and "Notes on Tomb Robbery", the underwater ancient city of Fuxian Lake, the underwater ancient city of Qiandao Lake, etc., and began to prepare.
1. Collection of data
We have collected three main types of reference materials, one is documentaries, including the likes of "The Ocean", "Chasing Coral", "Shark", "Blue Planet", "Deep Blue" and so on. The second category is movies, such as "Aquaman", "Avatar: The Way of Water", "The Little Mermaid", "Jaws" and so on. The third category is photographic drawings, which are more numerous and can be collected on the Internet.
It is important to note that most of the photographs are distilled works of art, which are certainly not realistic, but reflect the underwater world that everyone imagines in their hearts. And the goal of our scene editor is to distill this welcome information.
2. Research and analysis
Then we collected the ocean maps in the current games on the market, and after research and analysis, they were roughly divided into two styles: fantasy and realistic. The fantasy style is more referential to "ABZU", "Tower of Fantasy", "Heavenly Oracle", etc., and the realistic category is more referential to "Horizon", "Sunken Land", "Man-Eating Shark" and so on. As shown below:
3. Conception and design
Then, from these collected materials, we extracted popular elements related to the ocean: such as the Tyndall effect under the sea that we like to shoot in photography, the most favorite images of chasing waves and storms and beautiful jellyfish swarms in documentaries, the unknown creatures that glow in the deep sea that we like to shoot in exploratory documentaries and films, and the dolphins that everyone loves (including the rare pink dolphin), and the sharks that you can't miss when you think of the ocean, and the submarine volcanoes that few people have ever seen. Shallow seas with highly saturated corals, seagulls full of seagulls, footprints and sandy beaches, fluorescent seas that only appear at night...... And so on and so forth. Once we've distilled these elements, we can systematically incorporate them into our design when we create the scene.
We've also summarized these elements into four key words that guide our design
3. The construction process of the ocean
The construction process of the ocean is divided into six categories: DEMO planning, map production, effect follow-up, ecological improvement, sound customization, and interactive experience. They can be synchronized with each other, and sufficient planning in the early stage can give each link enough time.
1. DEMO planning
FIRST OF ALL, WE NEED TO MAKE A DEMO VERSION OF THE MAP TO TEST SOME BASIC EXPERIENCES, SUCH AS THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE DEPTH OF THE SEABED, UNDERWATER DISTURBANCES, OVERALL VISIBILITY, ETC. During our testing, we found some problems, such as the students in the program and art felt that our map could not completely replicate the appearance of the real ocean, because it might cause suffocation, dizziness, and vomiting. As shown in the figure:
2. Map making
After the demo was completed, we started working on the map. Because the completely realistic seabed is easy to cause visual fatigue, we need to make reasonable use of the 150X150 map, so we decided to divide it into different areas, give each area a different representative color, and do artistic refinement and reprocessing.
Regional recognition of colors: Distinguish colors according to different areas, which can improve the player's sense of orientation and the recognition of the area where they are located, so as to avoid getting lost. As shown in the figure:
3. Effect follow-up
Add bubble hints to the ocean to increase the sense of space and flow of the map.
Distinction between marine and subsea environments: Offshore and subsea environments can be distinguished by a variety of ways, such as color schemes, over- and underwater-based architectural details, light and view, sound, physical properties, and more. As shown in the figure:
The treatment of the longitudinal axis of the beach part: it is necessary to make the player feel as open as possible in a limited space, which requires us to do artistic processing of the lower part of the beach, rather than filling it according to the past. Originally, a 2D map was used to store grass information, but in this case, the grass only had position information, not height information. Now we use a 3D map to store it, and we can record the altitude information at the same time. As shown in the figure:
Undulation of the waves and shoreline foam: Wave scouring effect and dynamic foam effect are done on the coastline to increase the realism of the coastline, such as splashing of foam and fine foam flowing along the coastline. As shown in the figure:
Dealing with the boundary between sea and sea: Create a more realistic sense of immersion, and try to take into account the effects that the player sees in different states, such as floating on the water, floating and diving. This part belongs to the switching layer of the offshore and subsea environments. As shown in the figure:
Looking down at the bottom of the sea: In addition to the color in the underwater environment, you should also consider the gradient of the effect, such as caustics in the shallow sea, dark and mysterious in the middle sea, and bottomless in the deep sea. In the shallow and mid-sea halves, add caustics to add realism and movement to the map. Use the physical properties of the underwater environment to treat the boundary between sea and sea to create a more realistic effect, as shown below:
Simulate the treatment of sea depth: The effects of light in the underwater map are important to create a sense of realism and atmosphere. You can use gradient colors to simulate the refraction and scattering effects of light. Gradient from bright blue-green to deep blue to simulate the transparency of sea water and the scattering of light. As shown below:
4. Distribution planning
The underwater ecosystems of the marine map are classified, and different ecosystems have different environmental characteristics and biological communities, which need to be planned according to the characteristics. Large fish We chose dolphins, killer whales, humpback whales, sharks, characteristic monkfish, jellyfish, etc., as shown in the picture:
5. Sound customization
Based on the in-depth study of the music sound effects of similar games, we found the sound effect positioning that is closest to the theme with reference to "ABZU". For this map, we've divided the music into six zones, each with its own unique style and atmosphere.
The music in the sect area (above the sea) is melodious, quiet, casual and resort-style, creating a relaxed and pleasant game atmosphere for players. When the character enters the water, the BGM style transitions to a shallow sea area (with all kinds of small fish and turtles swimming), and the style becomes lively, relaxed, bright and pleasant.
The music of the jellyfish group area presents an aesthetic and romantic style, which complements the transition of the palace area.
The musical style of the shipwreck area is between the jellyfish land and the deep sea area, and tends to be quiet, with the keywords "time stagnant", "civilization", "history" and "ruins", giving players a deep sense of history.
Concerts in the deep-sea area give a grand, oppressive atmosphere and a sense of deep-sea fear.
Through this nuanced music design, we have succeeded in bringing the ocean theme throughout to create an immersive gaming experience for players. During the game, players will feel the vastness and mystery of the ocean to the rhythm and atmosphere of the music.
Hierarchical area of sound effects: Distinguish the background music according to different areas of the scene, increase the appeal of the map and the sense of substitution of the player, and integrate sound and picture.
6. Interactive experience
With this new map, we're giving players a new experience that's different from the past. Seagulls on the beach, if they get close, they will fly away, and if the protagonist leaves, the seagulls will fly back after a while, and there will always be a few that are not afraid of people staying near the player. Crabs on the beach will speed up and run away when they get close. There are three kinds of crabs, and one of them also satisfies the pink crab that my sister wanted in the experience test. As shown below:
Footprints on the beach, you can step on the pit, you can graffiti. There is also the dodging interaction of kelp leaves, as shown below:
Wherever the protagonist swims, schools of fish follow and surround for a distance. As shown below:
Schools of fish will follow and surround the protagonist. Jellyfish are different, because many jellyfish are poisonous and cannot be touched, so in order not to mislead the player, we made a mechanism for jellyfish to avoid a short distance when they get close. Picture 1 is our jellyfish mount, and picture 2 is the disappearing her, the moon jellyfish.
Players can meet fantasy pink dolphins, or they can take the manta ray bus and go on an adventure under the sea together. As shown below:
Players will also encounter sea turtles, ride sea turtles, and be followed and watched by curious angelfish. As shown below:
Players can be a spectator of this marine world, watching the sharks chase and hunt for fish. As shown below:
Hunted player experience: Be a bystander while also being aware of your own dangers. We've done a mechanic that will summon sharks when we get close to the border area of the map, and if you don't leave the area before the end of the reading bar, you'll be swallowed by the shark and resurrected on the beach. As shown below:
Fourth, the final presentation of the ocean
5. Test experience and trade-offs
Finally, we need to test the playability and balance of the map, improve the reuse rate of resources, and optimize the performance and smoothness of the map. We have also summarized some of the experiences of this test and share them with you:
Rigid body accuracy: Complex rigid bodies can cause rendering pressure, so some rocks under the sea were selected to reduce the accuracy of rigid bodies.
The open area of the map: The large depth map is more complicated, so in order to avoid the risk of freezing, we divided the map into one phase and two phases, leaving time for the program to test and optimize.
The number of animals and plants: Among the 210,000 types of organisms under the sea, dozens of representative ones are selected according to the large, medium, small and color silhouette recognition, and different color sizes are given to improve resource utilization.
Richness of models: In the limited duration of the project, it is not possible to craft every model, and complex details can be exported separately and arranged in corners and important areas to change the architectural silhouette.
Here are some of the more important issues encountered during editing and testing, and how they were resolved:
Multi-layered complex terrain: Multi-layered terrain under the same Z axis, the rendering pressure increases, and we have done special processing of lattices under the terrain. The vegetation reading coordinate point has also been changed from XY to XYZ.
Performance Overhead Optimization: Based on the QA heat map, continue to check what can be optimized, such as vegetation density, mob density, real-time shadows, number of NPCs, and so on.
Character underwater rendering: Including issues such as translucent fashion, in the same map, the character lighting needs to be completely separated.
Waterproofing of undersea buildings: The large glass of the building sunk underwater, looking from the inside out, needs to have water, and looking from the outside to the inside, it needs to have no water, and all the effects done under the sea need to be eliminated in the building.
Once these issues are dealt with, our creative process is basically over.
Of course, paying attention to the effect and feedback after the launch is also a very important closed loop in design. These feelings and suggestions can be used for the next map creation.
As Jianghu designers, after the launch of this map, we have not stopped exploring, but have been thinking about the shortcomings of the creation, and testing a variety of possibilities for improvement: how can we adjust to make this map better?
At the beginning of this year, we finally put our ideas into action, made the following iterations of light and shadow, made the player experience more realistic, and officially launched a new version of Ocean on April 25th. By the time you read this, you'll be ready to play the game!
Before optimization
The new version is optimized
6. Summary
Through the whole process of creating the submarine map, we have accumulated a lot of experience in the art major, and we also have a lot of other insights.
For example, reading and watching more movies and TV shows can help us better maintain aesthetic sensitivity, in addition, we need to communicate more with players to understand their real thoughts and preferences in order to better meet the needs of users, and finally, we should pay attention to the cutting-edge technology trends in the industry and always keep learning.
I believe that through our continuous exploration and accumulation, domestic games will become more powerful, and one day they can reach the top of the world and win the love of players around the world.