killspree, on 22 January 2016 - 09:32 PM, said:
Are there any maps we can work on, maps that have no rights and can be converted for HD?
The one in your head! Seriously!!
Start by designing a layout. Try and imagine how the general layout would be played on each game mode. Would your layout work best as a CTF map? Maybe better as a bomb map?
Then try and find a way to balance each side without making the map symmetrical. You need to make each team have several places where they have an advantage, and several places where they are at a disadvantage, and usually one or two lanes where they are on fairly equal ground. Think about bomb placement. Make sure that the bombsite can be defended, but is not a fortress, same with flag locations for CTF.
Once you think you have a good layout, think about the atmosphere. What kind of environment do you want to convey? Go online and do a bunch of research. Find tons of images that match the aesthetics of the map you want to build, and look through them as you are building your map. Reference images are invaluable when trying to create an environment.
Then once you have a basic concept of the theme and the layout, build a very rough version, and test it out with some friends. It's through this playing that you will find places where players can snipe where they shouldn't, places that are too easy to camp in, and more.
Then once you are pretty happy with the basic rough draft, make it as pretty as you can. That part never goes away. You can always add more detail, and you are only done when you decide to be.
For UrTHD, converted maps will be nice, but its in the NEW maps that HD will shine. We need more new maps and new designs, and we need people like you and me to be the ones to make them!