Custom Maps

First of all, I'd like to say I'm very thankful for the game we have and the amazing job GGG has done over the past few years, I don't suggest such a big feature thinking it's a necessity to the game. But as a huge fan of modding and someone who played Eastern Sun a bit too much, I was thinking from my own perspective how cool player-created content would be in Path of Exile. However, I know that due to the online-only nature of the game, things like custom items and abilities are straight out.

So my idea is - How about custom maps? We know that they can be integrated into an official rotation even in rigid competitive games like CS:GO or how some maps are added to Starcraft's ladder seasons. We also know it's possible to add custom maps in online-only RPGs such as Neverwinter Online without ruining balance, and MMOs typically tend to be very rigid in regards to player-created content, far more so than online action RPGs usually are.

While Path of Exile isn't an MMO, it is still online-only, and yet the team has shown initiative in giving players an impressive degree of customization. Hideouts are one of the most interesting implementations of player housing both in how it seamlessly integrate with the setting as well as in the amount of possibilities offered. It is a feature above and beyond what is expected from a Diablo-like Action RPG, and I've seen some MMO players begging for it for years in their favorite games.

I've been thinking then, what about a GGG-Sanctioned system to implement custom maps? These would be divided in:

A) A Room Editor, possibly using the engine we already have in place for editing hideouts, but slightly extended to allow for random allocation of doodads.
B) An API with some exposed functions for Lua scripting and global parameters (fog color, map level, etc).
C) Possibly an API or Editor to customize monsters and their actions.

The idea would be for players to be able to generate a custom random map, possibly tied to a portal in their hideout. The Lua script would give instructions as to how generate the map given required parameters pre-exposed by the game. This way you could generate your custom caves through a random walk algorithm or your own cellular automata function, similar to how maps like Promenade and Jungle Valley have clearly distinct generation algorithms.

There are many possibilities that come from this that could spice up the game. For example, much like we have Hideout of the Week, we could have a seasonal contest that adds the best maps created during each Challenge League as part of the next Challenge League, as part of a separate (maybe rarer) Maps tree. This would add an incredible amount of diversity to each league while maintaining a high standard in the game, since the maps would be picked up by GGG and we've seen from the hideouts of the week how creative and talented the player base of this game can be. While testing a map they wouldn't yield experience or items, but in the official rotation these maps would behave like any other.

Furthermore, I think there are many ways to extend (or limit) this idea without affecting GGG's current model. Unique maps with custom effects and modifiers designed by players would still be a separate thing, but I think there's also potential to extend custom maps functionalities to supporter packs too, such as being able to design or include custom textures or models for your map if GGG thinks that opening this functionality would be a bit too much. Alternatively, doodads, tiles and stuff available for your map making could be dropped to move the economy (and move some currency to the players who are not interested in map making), or bought from Masters like they're done now, to integrate this element with the game as is. There are many other ideas and features that could derive from this. As I said, the possibilities are huge.

I know it's probably a lot of effort and work to properly implement and integrate with the game, but I thought, as a huge modding fan, it was worth a shot to throw the idea out there. Thank you very much for reading.

So extending the concept of hideouts to player made levels...yes...that kind of shit affects more replayability than anything else you can come with.

That being said, it has a con: it can affect the build meta in unpredictable ways.

If anything like this made it to the game, you would be paying for it...through the nose.

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NeroNoah wrote:

So extending the concept of hideouts to player made levels...yes...that kind of shit affects more replayability than anything else you can come with.

That being said, it has a con: it can affect the build meta in unpredictable ways.

I think it can be also a pro, depending on the point of view. Different maps (and a different map tree) can add to the diversity of viable builds. But yes, I do see your point.