Mapping For DOM
Domination (DOM): Standard Unreal Tournament game type. Control points are scattered in a map; in the stock maps, there are 3 control points - but you can have more or less, depending on the type of map you are making. A team gains control over a control point by one of its team members touching it. Each team scores continuously according to the number of control points held. The first team to hit the score limit wins.
Just like mapping for any other MOD make sure you play enough DOM to know a good map from a bad one before you decide to make a DOM map.
Control points
The key element of a DOM map is of course the ControlPoints. A control point comes in three basic flavors:
- Points that are super easy to defend such as the lift point at "DOM-Gearbolt".
- Points that are very hard to defend such as anything on "DOM-MetalDreams".
- Control points that are just plain oddball like the Hall of Pillars in "DOM-Sesmar".
A good level will have a mix of atleast two types. Personally I don't like "Sesmar"'s "Hall of Pillars" type control point because you can't do anything with it. Clan play on this point involves one player from each team constantly translocating to capture it and scoring Telefrags on each other. Waste of time imo.
A lot of the rules from a good Deathmatch map apply to DOM maps. "Flow" is a very important thing. You should be able to get by from point to point on foot very easily utilising levels, shortcuts etc. However keep in mind that the TL is also enabled in DOM so design a map accordingly.
Control points should be in varied locations, and also, the locations they are should usually stand out as special. For example, in "DOM-Leadworks", every control point is in a very different type of location, but they can also be easily spotted as they are in places that stand out - a bridge, a room with lava to fall in, etc.
To add control points to a map:
Open the Actor Class Browser and select:
Right click in level and add. Position it as you would any actor, then go into the properties of it.
Open the submenu named ControlPoint and go down to PointName. Type in what you want the name of that point to be in game e.g. Top Platform. This will be the label used at the side of the HUD for the specific control point.
At the greenevent and blueevent, it means if you want an event to happen when a that colour team gets the control point.
PlayerStarts
Try to place the PlayerStarts in such a way that the distances to the three control points are more or less equal; this comes in handy when playing clan wars and people are usually assigned one of the points. Also try to place the spawnpoints away from the action; not only away from the control points, but also away from the main routes that lead from control point to control point. This decreases spawncamping dramatically. Don't forget to place a strong weapon next to the spawnpoints, so the player at least stands a chance when he/she attacks the control points. For a great example of good spawnpoint placing, check out DOM-Gearbolt. The main spawnchamber is on a low level, which isn't on a main route to travel from control point to control point. It is in the center of the map, so all control points can be quickly reached. The shock rifle and sniper rifle are in that same room, so players can grab a weapon and join the action very quickly.
As for all maptypes, z-axis is very important in Domination maps. A good map should at least have two, but preferably three, different height levels. For an example of good z-axis usage, check out DOM-Olden. The map has a good, open structure with wooden beams at a lot of different levels. It encourages the player to use his/her translocator more and it improves gameplay a lot, because attacks can come from anywhere.
Related Topics
- Mapping for DDOM (UT200x)
- Mapping for other Gametypes
- Topics on Mapping
