using photoshop, i had tried starting with concepts for one map but had lost interest in making it.
i sketched out a payload bridge arrangement that had come to mind:
i tried blocking it out but floundered once i built past the planned areas.
here i drew out props i wanted to make, on separate layers, so i could build concepts with them but, ran out of steam:
i named my latest map strain, based on the approach i used to define its layout.
i first generated a list of basic layout possibilities, using dots as rooms and lines as routes:
then applied rules i made up to eliminate layouts from the list.
rooms with more than 4 routes were scratched:
layouts that cannot be solved using only flank routes are removed:
applying all the rules left me with a couple of options:
i ended up picking one that had been eliminated but, it was one step removed from the more interesting of the two that had remained.
taking it, i toyed with the arrangement using another abstraction:
i picked one of those and decided to run with it and create a more traditional map layout.
using the brush and grids can yield clean lines that can be drawn out quickly. i wasn't paying attention, so it did create a boxy layout. lesson learned.
the grid allowed me to build its layout 1-to-1 exactly. having gone through this approach, i have a reference point for how big space are versus in game and can use that when planning a layout. i think the more i use this approach the more familiar this relationship will become.