How can I make my starting area better?

[Dweller Dark]

So, I'm trying to work on a start area for a tech base map, but I could use some advice on how to improve it. Both from a visual and technical standpoint, if possible.

 

[baja blast rd.]

This is still pretty early in design, and you can go in a million directions based on what approach you want to use.

 

Are you building your map around a compelling setting or story? Then you might decide "what" the room is in the grander scheme of the map and make steps towards improving it. Perhaps it's a landing pad for the helicopter you might have arrived in, and you could design an "H" and then beacon lights. (The ideas I'm using are just examples and I wouldn't call them particularly inspired, so it's worth coming up with something better.) 

 

Are you building around architecture and theme? Then you might block out cool shapes for structures to place around this and go from there. Maybe you might decide that the ceiling is a hollowed-out dome, and sturdy beams are connecting it to the floor, which are inset with piping, and the floor has some pipe detail too. 

 

Are you building around combat concepts? Then you might imagine an encounter and build features to support it. Maybe we're going with a cluster of imps and sergeants, some cacos sneaking up from the bottom, so you might design some pillars for cover. Maybe we want hand out an early berserk and task the player to do some jousting with hell knights and pinkies, so you might place several crates around to create obstacles the player can get trapped behind. 

 

Are you building around layout flow and pace? Then you probably want to design more areas and seeing how those mesh before you commit to much work on any of them. 

 

(And there are other approaches. That is not a complete list.) 

 

What's more, the surrounding areas you design are probably going to have a big say on what ends up working in this region. For example your approach if the next area is a subterranean tunnel, disconnected from this zone, might be different than if you end up designing buildings that have windows monsters take potshots through. 

 

Regardless of what path you take, this room is early enough in the design process that I would focus more on creating new features and elements, than on polish and refinement of existing ones. Hopefully those four examples give some ideas of how you might go about creating. 

[Dweller Dark]

1 minute ago, rd. said:

This is still pretty early in design, and you can go in a million directions based on what approach you want to use.

 

Are you building your map around a compelling setting or story? Then you might decide "what" the room is in the grander scheme of the map and make steps towards improving it. Perhaps it's a landing pad for the helicopter you might have arrived in, and you could design an "H" and then beacon lights. (The ideas I'm using are just examples and I wouldn't call them particularly inspired, so it's worth coming up with something better.) 

 

Are you building around architecture and theme? Then you might block out cool shapes for structures to place around this and go from there. Maybe you might decide that the ceiling is a hollowed-out dome, and sturdy beams are connecting it to the floor, which are inset with piping, and the floor has some pipe detail too. 

 

Are you building around combat concepts? Then you might imagine an encounter and build features to support it. Maybe we're going with a cluster of imps and sergeants, some cacos sneaking up from the bottom, so you might design some pillars for cover. Maybe we want hand out an early berserk and task the player to do some jousting with hell knights and pinkies, so you might place several crates around to create obstacles the player can get trapped behind. 

 

Are you building around layout flow and pace? Then you probably want to design more areas and seeing how those mesh before you commit to much work on any of them. 

 

(And there are other approaches. That is not a complete list.) 

 

What's more, the surrounding areas you design are probably going to have a big say on what ends up working in this region. For example your approach if the next area is a subterranean tunnel, disconnected from this zone, might be different than if you end up designing buildings that have windows monsters take potshots through. 

 

Regardless of what path you take, this room is early enough in the design process that I would focus more on creating new features and elements, than on polish and refinement of existing ones. Hopefully those four examples give some ideas of how you might go about creating. 

 

My concept of the start area is pretty much what you said about the landing pad, with the beacon lights and everything. I added in the boxes to give a bit more clutter, but I feel like it could use a bit more near the entrance to make it seem like it was used up until whatever event happened. And I do want the landing pad to look old and rusted like it is now, though a bit more refined and tweaked.