Splitgate 2: The Lab
Maps built in The Lab.
1047 Games brought me onto Splitgate 2 because of my work on Brickadia. I was one of three engineers who architected and built The Lab, the game's multiplayer map creator.
Details
- Collaborative editing. Adapted the networked transaction technology we pioneered on Brickadia for a multiplayer WYSIWYG editor, so players could build maps together. On top of it I added object grouping, prefabs and an extended object data registry that let players name and package their creations. We even shipped a bunch of studio-made prefabs with the game.
- Systems architecture. Designed the editor's core systems with the other two engineers on the feature, and ran our own weekly playtest to check our technical assumptions. Most notably, I wrote a custom replication channel to send maps to players, after digging into the engine showed that "silent limits" stopped Iris RPCs from sending a large file in pieces.
- Multiplayer state and replication. Kept the shared editing state consistent for everyone in a session. Brickadia replicates the result of each edit, but The Lab replays the transactions themselves for everyone in lockstep, which made many messages much smaller for Splitgate 2's use cases. The catch was late joiners: they're first sent a generated transaction that builds the level up to where everyone else is, then play new transactions on top.
- Creator tools. Built the tools players use to make maps. Most notably, I built and owned a custom combined gizmo with four modes: a basic mode for simple single-axis moves and rotation, translate (planar and screen-space), rotate (screen-space) and scale (planar). Every mode works in local or world space, from the object's origin or its pivot, and there's even mirroring. Basically, feature parity with Unreal Engine plus more.
- Gameplay integration and delivery. Connected the creator with the rest of the game and carried it through to production release. I built many of the metagame menus that take players from the start screen into The Lab.
Also on Splitgate 2
- Game modes and movement. I implemented One In The Chamber and reworked character spawning and the game mode selection UI to support the map creator. I also worked on map features that move players, such as jump pads, conveyor belts, moving platforms and wind, so they work properly with player prediction, plus smaller features like the Spray ability.
- Console porting. PS5, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. I mainly worked on the map creator, but picked up console-specific bugs across the game too.