[Map] Molenbeek (2km) [Concept/WIP]

[Barnard]

Name: Molenbeek
Location: Molenbeek, Brussels, Belgium
Size: 1km
Factions: French Forces vs Insurgents
Game Play Type: Infantry, Light/Medium Vehicles
Game Mode: INS

Minimap / Overview concept:

- Variation: http://i.imgur.com/oteBHwO.png


Backstory

A hypothetical and extreme setting of an uprising in the radicalized Molenbeek district:

The infamous Belgian district 'Molenbeek', known for being a jihadist breeding cell, has spun out of control. The Insurgents have managed to finance, supply and organize arms in tandem with recruits in the shadows of their community, effectively forming an armed militia.

They intend to launch a number of attacks to claim their part in jihad but are stopped dead in their tracks as National Intelligence finally catches up, too little too late. The situation being above the capabilities of police units the government calls upon their military forces to step in. The surrounding area is evacuated and quarantined as the army plans to launch an assault.

The Insurgents focus their troops and supplies to the Eastern part of the district, hoping to cross the Charleroi Canal in an attempt to launch attacks on the center of Brussels but are stopped at the waterway where the French Forces have decided to establish their operation in an attempt to counter the Insurgents' attacks. Knowing they are trapped they fight tooth and nail in the urban landscape.


TL;DR - The district Molenbeek has formed an armed rebellion. The Insurgents are trapped in a quarantined area. It is up to the French Forces to neutralize and clear the district.

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Map Layout/Dynamics
The French have their main base on the bottom right in a compound on the eastern side of the canal. The Insurgents have theirs in a block of apartments in the top left.

Being a densely populated area there are lots of buildings to position in. Not many wide streets or open spaces make it favorable for infantry-based Insurgent tactics. Though long continuous streets can be an advantage to the scoped rifles of the French Forces.

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Possible Vehicle Layout

French Forces
● Light Vehicles
- 3x Transport Truck
- 2x Logistics Truck

● Medium Vehicles
- 2x VAB APC
- 1x VBCI APC


Insurgents
● Civilian Vehicles
- 4x Civilian Car
- 2x Civilian Bomb Car??
(Seeing as they have managed to smuggle multiple sorts of arms it could also be potentially feasible to have explosives that could make an effective Bomb Car)
- No mounted vehicles??
(Might be too far-fetched for them to have built these. Looking into options to compensate the faction for this.)

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Map Creation
I would get started on making this map already but I have no experience with the BF2 Map Editor and I have to learn and study it from scratch first. If anyone is interested in helping make this map a reality feel free to contact me.

Current Team
Barnard


Map Progress





Some images for reference:
Points of interest
B12 Cache, Hertogin van Brabantplein:
http://www.bruzz.be/sites/default/files ... rtogin.png
http://www.bruzz.be/sites/default/files ... ntbuur.png
Maps (most recent 2014): https://www.google.nl/maps/@50.8495365, ... 56!6m1!1e1

J7 Cache, Gieterij Park (not many decent pictures of this location:
http://bomen-inventaris.irisnet.be/medi ... 150655.JPG
Maps: https://www.google.nl/maps/@50.8523669, ... 312!8i6656
-
GH2-3 Cache, Al Imrane Mosque:
-
A8-9, 'Apartment Park', Jean-Baptiste Decockstraat
Maps: https://www.google.nl/maps/@50.8518137, ... 312!8i6656

B9, Small Fenced Court
Maps: https://www.google.nl/maps/@50.8509502, ... 56!6m1!1e1

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REMINDER:
All of this is a concept/WIP. Any aspect can be adjusted and improved.
Feedback and suggestions are welcomed in the form of constructive criticism.

-------------------

Thread Changelog
# 1 - 21'5'15
-- Posted first concept rendition
# 2 - 22'5'15
-- Added variation minimap + images references
# 3 - 26'5'15
-- Added first progress + Team

Map Changelog
# 1 - 21'5'15
-- Set up Editor
# 2 - 26'5'15
-- First custom buildings drafts

[salutcestbooby]

Troll ?

[Mineral]

I think you first have to get into 3d modelling as we have 0 buildings that could be used here.

[Rabbit]

Nah, he can just a lot from OPK, POE and PRww2. Should be an easy first map.

[sweedensniiperr]

I could see this town/district layout could be used a sketch to make an insurgent map. But actually putting it in Belgium?

I would really like to see french fighting insurgents on another map than Marlin ofc. (and DF...)

[rPoXoTauJIo]

One thing you'll have to consider is that you going to make full city map, which isn't working great in bf2 engine.
I am aswell would advice you to learn 3dsmax first, not because you need buildings for your city, but because you need to get a lot of very well optimized buildings(le make good lods).

Hue city concept was similar to your one, you may find some advices there aswell.

[Barnard]

+++ Added a variation minimap & reference images + info.

[quote=""'[R-DEV"]Mineral;2131151']I think you first have to get into 3d modelling as we have 0 buildings that could be used here.[/quote]
[quote="Rabbit""]Nah, he can just a lot from OPK, POE and PRww2. Should be an easy first map.[/quote]

Thanks for that tip. I can already see PoE having suitable buildings available

- http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mod ... /64436.jpg
- http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mod ... /64437.jpg
- http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mod ... /64434.jpg
- http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mod ... /64435.jpg


I was thinking these could be used as well for bigger apartment buildings:

One thing you'll have to consider is that you going to make full city map, which isn't working great in bf2 engine.
I am aswell would advice you to learn 3dsmax first, not because you need buildings for your city, but because you need to get a lot of very well optimized buildings(le make good lods).

Hue city concept was similar to your one, you may find some advices there aswell.

I see your point. Though the area is filled to the brim with buildings IRL I don't intend to do a precise true-to-life rendition because like you mentioned that would make the game run poorly, even though the map would still need a good amount of buildings to represent the actual city. Would that still be a problem for the engine?

EDIT: Would it better in that regard if I made it a 1km map?

[Outlawz7]

EDIT: Would it better in that regard if I made it a 1km map?

I was under the impression it already was 1km

Yeah 1km would be better.

Performance depends on quality of the models, their amount and view distance.
I don't have PoE2 but looking at the screenshots most of their buildings look to be nonenterable in which case you may have good performance due to low tricount but not sure how insurgency gamemode will work out with few spots to place caches.

I think you should place mainly buildings and walls first and then see if you have enough framerates left over to place small objects (sidewalks, signs, lamp posts, crates etc.)

[Barnard]

I was under the impression it already was 1km

Yeah 1km would be better.

Performance depends on quality of the models, their amount and view distance.
I don't have PoE2 but looking at the screenshots most of their buildings look to be nonenterable in which case you may have good performance due to low tricount but not sure how insurgency gamemode will work out with few spots to place caches.

I think you should place mainly buildings and walls first and then see if you have enough framerates left over to place small objects (sidewalks, signs, lamp posts, crates etc.)

I'll change it to 1km then. Thanks for the other tips, I will keep those in mind when starting on the map.

This week and the next I will be kinda busy but I'll try to go through the building objects to see and note down which ones could fit. On that topic, how do we have PR load these buildings that come from a different mod? Can it be implemented in the map's .zip?
Im assuming this way: Molenbeek\objects_client.zip\StaticObjects\_city\buildings

Do I need to contact the PoE team before using their models or is that not necessary?

[Rabbit]

Why not just make it a 4km? That is what is best for PR.

[Barnard]

Why not just make it a 4km? That is what is best for PR.

I see what you mean but because of the advice others have given so far concerning the huge amount of buildings and performance I will keep it at 1km.

---

Thanks to Keplar I'm able to show the first custom building drafts:

[Mineral]

Those statics need a lot of work but it's very nice you got somebody doing that. Perhaps get a separate thread for the statics to give them the right feedback that they need.

[Frontliner]

Though they're low quality currently, it'd be very cool to have Central European type buildings for map-making. And maybe some smaller ones for the WW2 team to portray bigger cities as well?

[Barnard]

Sadly the progress of the map has been halted to a degree because the 3D Modeller that was helping me has gotten himself banned. This was the last modelling update to the buildings:



I'm fiddling around with the BF2 Editor myself at the moment but any help, especially with 3d modelling, is definitely needed and appreciated.

[agus92]

The spirit of Darwin is taking over all 3D modellers... I say that we hire Tom Cruise and it's scientology cult to refute Darwin's theories, thus exsorcizing the forum.
That or we include a Lamarckian giraffe in Ramiel.

PS: sorry in advance for aby possible mispelling.

[Zeno]

The spirit of Darwin is taking over all 3D modellers...

May he rest in polygons