Locations in World of Warships (World of Warships)

Creating locations is one of the most exciting processes in game development. It combines the subtle technical calculation of game designers with the creative approach of artists, providing players with the most exciting and rich gaming experience.
If you look at the map development process in a simplified way, then it consists of a preparatory stage and a development stage, in each of which several fundamental steps can be distinguished.

Game design

The life of a new map begins with the game design department forming the basic technical foundations of the level: its geometry, landmarks, and characteristic features. This is the skeleton of the future map, it shows the structure of the level and marks the key entities: straits and islands, hills and shoals, interactive elements with their own gameplay features - shelters and bases.

At this stage, game designers determine the requirements for the card and decide what kind of emotional charge it will give the player. Getting to the location again and again, he must each time receive a unique gaming experience and a variety of tactical opportunities.

Scene

The setting is selected for the specific needs of the level - the place of action and the atmosphere of the map. In World of Warships, it basically comes down to choosing one of the 16 geographic regions into which the developers have divided the planet, with features characteristic of each of them. The main events of the game will take place at sea, but it is the saturation of the landscape with details that will help create a special atmosphere and revive the monotonous landscape of the open sea.

Concept art

After choosing a scene, the artist studies its appearance in detail, determines the features of the landscape and its characteristic geometry (which can later also affect game design and gameplay). Armed with information and including imagination, the artist draws up concept art, consisting of found photographs of the area and his own sketches.

Content map

The next stage is the maximum detailing of the concept art. The elements of the landscape we need and their number are selected and a map of the necessary content is drawn up, giving a visual representation of the final form of the location.
Due to the climatic features of the chosen setting, the number of environmental details (stones, rocks, trees) varies greatly, and the set of textures is unique each time.
When the content map is ready, the team starts developing the level.

Terrain Geometry Detailing

This stage in a professional environment is called Hi-Poly modeling. It uses programs that step by step generate and detail the surface of the landscape, which allows you to get a very high-quality result. If necessary, the resulting geometry is brought to the desired result by the artist using tools such as Zbrush or Mudbox.

Texturing

This stage determines the color component of the location areas, and also helps to achieve the desired degree of texture and realism due to masks taken from height maps. By nature, this may be a rocky surface, sand, areas with vegetation, snow slopes, erosion, or other elements corresponding to the characteristics of the selected area.
At the end of the stage, small textures of grass, sand, earth, a stone texture pattern and other tiny elements are added, which are included only upon closer examination.

Adding props

The map is almost ready, and it remains only to diversify its appearance by filling the game world with natural elements and structures, which are called props in the world of game development. Turning to geographical references, level designers bring the map to life: they set up rocky fences, plant trees, scatter stones, and build buildings. The largest objects that are noticeable to the player are taken into production, and heterogeneous elements are grouped into whole compositions that will be noticeable even against the backdrop of giant ships.

Special effects and touches

At the end, the finished map is given into the hands of other specialists who set up realistic water movement, sound and light, as well as add special effects and various interactive elements, which will become more and more over time.
It is the last stage that allows you to breathe life into the maps and becomes the final point on a long journey of turning the efforts of a large development team into a unique game world of World of Warships.

Result
If ships are the heart of World of Warships, then game cards are its skeleton. Maps stitch together physics, gameplay and game mechanics and create a unique atmosphere that completely immerses players in sea battles.