1. This level uses my previously constructed 1st person platformer as a basis. All of the simple AI reactions and movers are controlled through kismet. Once this base is activated two large rings begin to rotate around the facility. The archway now serves as a portal and once the player enters they are transported off world.
2. This level is not designed for the player to figure out the objective just through play. The player would be aware of their objective(s) ahead of time. The player must reach the main base, set the self destruct(1) , which drops a force field(2), clearing the way for the player to escape through the portal (3).
4. The player has two paths to proceed to the base and activate the self destruct. The player can either proceed along the trench walls or use the tank to proceed down the middle. Jump pads give the player access to the trench walls from the guard houses. The jump pad paths are shown by the green lines.
3. The first view the player has of the off world level is of the same type of arch that they have just stepped though. At this point an energy field, constructed from a toggleable blocking volume, blocks progress in this direction.
5. Entering the guard tower the player faces their first enemy then may either take the lift shown behind this adversary or head out of the second doorway and make use of the tank.
6. If the player chooses to head up the tower there is another guard, a flashing red panel, and jump pad that will fire the player on to the trench wall. The panel when activated turns green for ten seconds, during this time the gate adjacent to the tower will be open then once the time is up close again and the panel will revert to flashing red. The use of the timed gates is required later in the level.
7. Should the player choose to take the more aggressive path and use the tank it will trigger the four enemies located at the two guardhouses on the first section of trench wall. These enemies will then run to the turrets and begin firing on the player. This is triggered by a touch volume around the tank.
8. A skilled player will not only be able to eliminate the first four turrets but also the next four prior to the tank being destroyed. There is a second set of four guards, two to a side, on the walls of the second section of the main trench. They will run to their turrets if the player drives the tank into the second section of the trench.
9. Should the player choose the more James Bond path they can attack the guards at their guard houses on the walls thus preventing them from entering the turrets. The enemies will exit the guard houses and attack based on distance from the player.
10. Below is the jump pad paths to the end of the trench. The second guard tower is the same as the first with an enemy on each floor and a panel to control the gate. Should the player make it all the way to the end with the tank they must leave it here as the gate it too small to for the tank to pass.
11. Once the player has cleared the second guard tower they are unopposed to reach the self destruct panel in the main base. This shuts down the barrier at the level start, starts the self destruct countdown for the base, drops a lift with a buggy to escape with and most importantly starts “The Final Count Down” by Europe.
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12. Not only does this panel trigger all the above but also a squad of guards armed with rocket launchers charges out from the side of the building. Should the player choose be in the buggy at this point there is a Link Gun in the area to repair any damage done to the buggy during the battle.
13. After triggering the gate the player can begin to make their escape as the time counts down. A tank will swing its barrel and fire once the player enters a trigger volume. A fast player can dodge the shots that the tank fires and a smart player can use the Avril Launcher (an anti-vehicle weapon placed in guard tower) to eliminate the tank before exiting with buggy.
14. If the player has eliminated the turret guards on the trench walls their last challenge will be to race to the second tower, open the timed gate and race down a trench to the portal.
15. To simulate an explosion from the base I used an animated static mesh and attached it to a spherical death volume. I used a counter in kismet to log out the time to the player console and at its conclusion moves up the mesh and volume. The top of the mesh/volume I centered on the main base to give it an appearance of a blast wave from the base. If the player does not get to the portal in time they will be killed by the wave.
16. The player is then transported backed to the portal station, their objective now is to eliminate two enemies and cross the bridge/power conduit and raise it using the panel on the platform.
17. Once the bridge/conduit is raised the portal overloads and exploding tanks begin to spawn in the air for the big finale. I used a set of spawn points to randomize the appearance of the tanks as well as varied the explosion times to give some texture the moment.