Vertigo Map Making

Black0ut1 edited this page on 2021-09-06

Originally written by feydk

If you’re interested in making a map, your first step will be to purchase a new creative world for 10,000 coins.

When making a map for Vertigo, there are some things you need to consider:

The size of the pool. The size determines how long the game will drag on for, if all players keep up with each other. So consider this carefully. If a couple of equally skilled players play a map with a pool of, say 15×15, it will take a considerable time to complete a game. For comparison, the default map uses a pool of 7×7.

The jump height. The higher up, the easier it becomes to move in the air, but it may also become more difficult to get a good aim. And don’t forget to take render distance into consideration as well. There is really no limit to the jump height. For comparison, the default map uses a jump height of 30 blocks (above the pool).

The decoration and surroundings. Basically, you can do what you want. You could make a colorful drop, an Olympic swimming stadium or whatever. But keep in mind there must be designated places for players to spawn, and there must be a way to spectate the jumps from below. Ideally players should have a clear view to the jumping platform from the spawn positions.

And a few rules: the drop area must be surrounded by barrier blocks or solid blocks so that you can’t jump “out”. The pool has to have water in it. Also check the relevant requirements in the sections below.

Before you start building, also consider the following requirements for map configuration, as they may have an impact on how you design your map.

Pool requirements
Must be square. Must have exactly 2 [BOUNDARY] signs (see below). Must have one [water] sign (see below). Must be one block deep.

The bordering blocks around the pool must use a material different from the blocks that are used to fill up the pool. See “Pool filler blocks”.

Pool configuration signs

You need to use 2 signs to define the opposite pool corners. Check out this image:

As you can see, this is the block below one of the pool corners. Attach a [BOUNDARY] sign to that block. Do the same for the block in the opposite corner, so that the signs define a cuboid for the pool. This is required to make golden ring spawning work. The signs are removed when the game starts. You also need to tell the game how much water there actually is in the pool. Do this simply by having a [WATER] sign with the exact number of water blocks on the second line. In this example it says 49, because the pool size is 7×7. This sign is removed when the game starts.

Pool filler blocks

As players drop into the water, the water blocks get replaced by solid blocks. You must define which blocks, using a chest:

Name a chest called [BLOCKS] and put it somewhere. It is removed when the game starts. Put in the blocks you want to be filler blocks. The game will choose a random one from the chest every time a splash is made. You cannot use the block(s) used for the pool border.

Jump platform requirements

You can make this pretty much any way you want, but you need to keep this in mind: every water block of the pool should be possible to reach when you jump off the platform. It doesn’t have to be a ring-formed platform like in the default map, you could also just have something like a diving board or similar. The platform does need to have some space so that players don’t involuntary fall if they are moving while being teleported to the platform.

Jump platform signs

You must define the position(s) to which players are teleported when it’s their turn to jump, by having [JUMP] signs. You can have as many of these as you like (the default map has 4, as you can see in the image below). I would say there has to be at least 2 blocks in front of the sign, but not too many either, so that players don’t spend precious time getting to the edge.

The game needs to know how to determine if a player actually jumped. This is done by making a [THRESHOLD] sign. This sign needs to be placed as high as possible below the floor of the jump platform. If that doesn’t make sense, consider this:

For reference, the chiseled block on top is the floor of the jump platform. If you use a single level jump platform, you can do the same as depicted. If you use a multi level jump platform, you have to find the lowest point and put the sign one block below. Don’t have too much of a vertical span between levels though, as that may affect the jumper’s ability to make the jump before time runs out.

Other configuration signs

The last requirement is to make [SPAWN] signs. I will refer to the Colorfall map making post on how to use these, as they work exactly the same in these two games. [CREDITS] and [TIME] signs also works the same as in Colorfall.

Testing your map

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