Lyra Projects (Unreal 5) — Jason Vento: Level Designer

The Lyra Fissure Arena

Level Analysis

Gameplay

Project Goals

Build an original Multiplayer Arena in UE5 using the 3rd person shooter Lyra Project gameplay
Create an Arena for 6v6 Elimination with route flow and verticality in mind
Understand all of the limitations and affordances of player movement and how that impacts possible decision making. (Players can use a “dash” ability which has an inherently low cool down and allows for quick vertical movement, players could easily dodge to cover if it was readily available.)
Place cover in such a way that requires dedicated decision making from the player to balance the risks of being in the open with the reward of a pickup or good positioning.
Use natural landscapes to section off certain areas of the map to give different areas a variety of combat encounters. (The lower levels of the map offer a close quartered combat experience whilst the upper levels offer longer ranges and sight-lines)
Utilize verticality and minimal cover as a strength and a weakness for positioning
Include lanes on the extremities of the map to make transitioning between upper and lower levels more accessible to allow for more possible routes and means of flanking.

Build a Map that accommodates bots and highly skilled players simultaneously.

Since this level is built for play against players and bots. I had to ensure each major route through the map was accessible and well polished so that bots could flow through the map without excess herding (when bots travel together) and without snagging on geometry.

Also,

Bots don’t have movement capabilities like players, They can’t Jump or Dash and it restricts their movement to designated routes. This pushed me to set up spawns and pickups in a way that was balanced to not only spread bots out during the match, as well as to mind the timing it took to get from spawn to mid map on both sides for players and bots. To give more for players to master, I designed a few alternative routes that require skillful use of the dash. These routes offer a quicker alternative for jumping between key routes but come at the cost of vulnerability since the dash itself is rather floaty. Leaving the player in the air with decreased weapon accuracy for a notable amount of time. Because of this, Players can be easily dispatched if they prioritize these special routes over dealing with any enemies in the area.

Why I’m Working In Lyra

In order to further acquaint myself with Unreal 5 and designing spaces for multiplayer, I decided to use the Lyra Starter Game as a base framework to build levels and multiplayer experiences. The Lyra game is an excellent tool for rapid prototyping and playtesting any environments I create.

My main goals with these projects are the following:

Create levels that are built with the existing Lyra gameplay in mind from blockout to final iteration.
Create unique and novel levels that can afford moments for the gameplay to truly shine.
Gain a better understanding of match flow and objective play in a multiplayer setting.

The Lyra Tundra Arena

For my first project, I wanted to create a symmetrical level with strong map balance, pacing and flow

The map is built with the control game-mode in mind. Teams must battle for control over 3 control points to win
The building located in the center of the map acts a good power position for teams vying for map control. As whichever team controls the building can poke the other control points from a safe elevation and even use the teleporters in the base to move around the map quickly.
As the level is symmetrical, each side of the map offers a similar means of traversal and sight-lines afforded by the landscape. I opted for a Three lane structure of map design where each “lane” from the home base to the center base offers different sightlines and tools each team can use. Each team will have access to a high ridge housing their home control point, a rock field in the middle lane providing ample cover and some weaponry on the outside lanes for flanking and map control.
By using Megascans, this level can be created using high quality meshes that utilize Nanite for the most optimal use of Lumen. Outside of Megascans and a few choice Marketplace asset packs (Skybox, Water Splines, and Ambient sound) I only used meshes provided by the Lyra Starter Game. In particular, from the Expanse map.

There were a few constraints that I discovered while working on this project

World Partitioning in UE5 is still finicky with loading and unloading actors, Actors can be unloaded and not possible to delete in the outliner, since “unloaded actors” still show in game view I swapped to level streaming for this project.
The original goal was to create this arena for Human players, but it became clear that the experience would only likely be played with AI. Therefore, I constructed and altered various features to streamline AI pathing to keep bots flowing seamlessly throughout the arena. I kept spaces a little more open with little to no clutter in major pathways and ensured bots several routes they could take between objectives to disincentivize bots “herding” together.
Adjusted Pistol, Rifle, and Shotgun parameters to be much more forgiving and allow for battle at longer ranges

I learned much from this project as well!

Better workflows for building symmetrical layouts using a modular kit
More realistic Environmental Design using Megascans.
Knowing when to use shadows afforded by Lumen’s GI effectively without affecting performance.
To not be afraid of breaking symmetry slightly for the sake of aesthetic design, the central building looks too plain and blocky for my taste. For future Lyra Projects, I’ll focus on avoiding simple corners and boxy frames to break out of my comfort zone