Reactor V2 A6

I'm still mostly watching how D plays at the moment, but I need more testing before I do any sweeping changes. No screenshots this time; most of the changes are small enough that you can't really see them.

Changes to Blu Spawn:

• Adjusted some things to make the path towards A more obvious.

Changes to Red Spawn 1:

• Rotated spawns to face A even more at the start of the round

Changes at A:

• Fixed a stuck spot
• Adjusted some cover
• Rebuilt the interiors of the buildings leading up to the point
  • These should feel better to move though, and give Red a bit more room to defend with if they try to hold the sniper deck across from where they spawn.
• Fixed some missing overlays

Changes at B:

• Smoothed out a sharp corner near Blu spawn to make the area feel larger and flow a bit better
• Clipped the roof of Blu's spawn exit

Changes at C:

• Made the upper medium ammo pack into a small
• Lit the upper walkway a bit more
  • Both of these changes should make the sentry spot up there a bit easier to deal with
• Red spawn times now change from 7 to 8 when C is capped
• Tweaked cover around the point to block a sightline

Changes at D:

• Increased the jump to last by 32 units
  • This should make it harder for Blu to reach the point early on
    
  • All classes other than Scout need to crouch jump to make it now, and you have to do it perfectly if you want to make it. Heavy and Soldier can no longer make the jump.
• Added more railings to the point

Overall Changes:

• Improved lighting in some darker areas

While I didn't play in the test of A4A, results were promising. I like Red's new starting spawn, A and B are closer to working, and I like how C looked like it was playing as well. I'm mostly going to leave them alone with some minor tweaks this time and focus on D.

Red's defenses at final are awful, and it's easy for Blu to camp Red's spawn after C. I'm hesitant to gut final completely, so I've just tried to repair what I have. If it's still not enough I do have plans for what else I can try, but it requires significantly restructuring large portions of final.

Changes at A:

• Made the cap zone smaller
  • This should help with Red's defense, since Blu has to commit to pushing around the corner onto the point

Changes at B:

• Removed the small health pack near the point
• Removed the crate that could be used to get up to the point
• Increased cap time from 20 to 22
  • All these changes should help Red have a bit more time to contest/hold/set up during the A-->B transition

Changes at D:

• Removed some supports at final, and made the rest smaller
• Replaced the supports on the point with non-solid cables
  • These changes should help make the room feel a lot less claustrophobic, and easier to fight in
• Added a railing to the final platform
  • This makes it so it's harder to make the jump to final early as well. Heavy will need the GRU to reach it now!
• Flipped the B/C bridges back to how they were in V1
  • The A bridge extends after B now, rather than the C bridge
  • This is to push Red defending from a different direction, and allowing Blu to attack from that direction earlier instead of having to pass directly past Red's final spawn
• Fixed some visual issues with the bridges
• Increased bridge speed from 10 to 15
• Lowered cap time from 35 to 30
  • I over-corrected last version, this should be a lot better
• Fixed an exploit where you could hide buildings behind the door to Red's first spawn before it closed
• Opened up the small diagonal staircase into usable gameplay space
  • Final is more symmetrical again, but I'm hoping that's not an issue now that routing is different
• Rebuilt Red's final side, notably expanding the A-facing spawn exit area
  
  • This now has high ground over the point, which closes after C is capped
  • There's a bunch of sightline issues with this spot, but it's better than nothing so I might as well test it
• Modified cover and pickups around the point

Changes at Red's Final Spawn:

• Lowered the D exit again, but kept the same spawn layout
  • Red's upper area at final was leading to spawn camping from Blu, so I'm lowering it back down

Overall Changes:

• Small details here and there

• Fixed being able to swim outside the bounds of the map
• Fixed being able to touch the teleport brush from outside Red's first spawn, which allowed Blu players to get into Red's final spawn
• Didn't pack the broken .nav this time!

Changes to Blu Spawn:

• Fixed a gap in the func_respawnroom that allowed building inside the spawn
• Changed the paint can to not be marked as debris, so shots move it in addition to explosions
• By popular demand, you can now go swimming in Blu spawn
  • There's a ladder to help you get out once you are done
  • There's truly instant respawns in the water as well

Changes to Red Spawn 1:

• Rebuilt the spawn
  • Players spawn directly in front of the chalkboard now
  • D now has two doors and a window, which should reduce camping
  • The entrance into B has been moved slightly
  • Players now spawn facing A until it is capped, then they spawn facing B

Changes at A:

• Removed the ammo box near Blu's spawn
  • Red was using it to camp
• Replaced said ammo box with a new prop jump up to Blu's upper exit
• Stacked a box and a plank on some barrels near Blu's spawn to block a sightline
• Added some more space on Blu's side of the area, including a new building
  • I'm hoping this makes the opening more fun for both teams, and pushes Blu further to the outer flank

Changes at B:

• Expanded Blu's space at B by adding a new room to the side
  • Hopefully this extra space will let Blu push out a bit better
  • This may turn into a new route in the future if this isn't enough
• Red's spawn exit into the area has been moved back further into the base
  • This is intended to make Red hold further back in their base, rather than pushing forwards and camping Blu's spawn exits
  • This also stops the sightline from Red spawn directly onto the point

Changes at C:

• Replaced the boxes with some temporary walls
  • I wasn't a fan of Blu being able to hide behind them for cover, nor how much space they took up
• Increased lighting on the upper catwalk
• Added a medium ammo pack to the upper catwalk
  • This should encourage engineers and snipers to use it more, which was my original intention for the catwalk
• Improved the steam vent/launch pad
  • Increased size
  • Improved visuals
  • Added a sound when players are launched
  • Vent now also enables when Blu starts capping, since people seem to miss that it exists
• w i d e d o o r
  • Made Blu's entrance ridiculously wide
  • Also gave Blu some weird highground in the B-->C connector room. It's real awkward but it might work?
• Added a new gate to the B/C/D connector to prevent entry into the C-->D connector until B is capped
  • This is to prevent Red from setting up in the new highground in the C-->D connector early

Changes at D:

• Increased final cap time from 25 to 35 to match Steel
• Narrowed the bridges back to how they were until V2 A2
• Expanded the area near Red's final spawn exit on the A side of the Reactor
  • This should let Red hold from here easier if they want to
• Reworked Red's first spawn exit into D
  • In addition to the changes mentioned above, there's now a really big door that closes once the spawn moves, which should make it very clear that you can't get in anymore

Changes at Red's Final Spawn:

• Added another Resupply Locker near the C exit
• Tweaked the triggers on the D Blocker doors

Overall Changes:

• Brightened dynamic shadows slightly
• Small details here and there
• func_detailed some things that really should have been from the start
• Added cubemaps to locations that were missing them
• Increased cubemap scale in key areas
  
• Lighting tweaks
• I was doing experiments with adding proper bot support and accidentally packed a broken .nav, please ignore that

Last test was really useful, let's see how this one goes.

Changes to Blu Spawn:

• Flipped the direction you spawn in, so you no longer have to do a 180 to leave

Changes to Red Spawn 1:

• Shortened exit to A
• Rebuilt sections to better direct players to A
  • Getting to A is also much, much faster
• Gave the D door windows

Changes at A:

• Changed some one-way glass to be regular glass
• Added a blocker so you can't rocket jump over the shortcut as easily
  
  • Blu was reaching the point way too fast with jumping classes, this should slow them down
• Changed Red's spawn area to work with the new spawn layout

Changes at B:

• Removed some cover on the point
• Moved the prop jump up onto the point to a different spot not right on the point
• Added more cover for Red
• Brought back the truck from V1

Changes at C:

• Replaced the vent nearest Blu's entrances with another turbine
• The remaining vent activates the first time someone walks over it, and stays on forever
• Increased cover
• Increased door speed from 2 to 4
• Changed Red's entrance to the area
  • They're much closer to the point, and have a new route to the back/battlements
• Rebuilt the C-->D connector due to changes at D

Changes at D:

• Removed the extra door that closes when C is capped that was added in V2 A2
• Gave Red's final spawn highground over the point
  • This highground is harder to access once C is capped

Changes at Red's Final Spawn:

• Unblocked access to the final spawn before B is capped
• Completely rebuilt the spawn
  • It's faster to get to C, and losing C is more harmful to Red

Overall Changes:

• Lowered Red's respawn time to 7, from 10
• Fixed some missing patches
• Improved cubemaps

Significant portions of the map have been reworked:

Changes to Blu Spawn:

• Completely rebuilt to facilitate the new layouts of A and B
• Spawn points are significantly closer to the actual spawn exits, so you get into the action faster!
• Light detailing to communicate Blu's holed up in the shipping/receiving section of the base

Changes at A:

• Expanded playable space around A
• Gave Red a lot more room to work with while defending
• Rebuilt both of Blu's spawn exits
• Rebuilt Blu's half of A
• Reworked ramp shortcut into a gate, platform, and stack of boxes
  • This should make it harder to use while attacking A, while also making it easier to use this route to eventually attack D.
• Pushed A/B connector door a bit further from the point

Rebuilt the entirety of the A-->B connector

• Now ends in a drop-down into a less-advantageous place for attacking B as Blu
  • This also means that the health and ammo that was there is now inaccessible to any players not coming thought the dropdown

Changes at B:

• Made the point smaller
• Added some boxes so attackers can jump up onto the point if they want
• Increased cover on/around point
• Reworked Blu's spawn exit into multiple exits
  • This should be much harder to camp
• Made some scaling adjustments
  • Some areas are narrower
  • The whole area is slightly shorter
• Lowered the lower shortcut a bit

Rebuilt the entirety of the B/C/D connector

• The new version is much closer to the version from Reactor v1
• There's a lot more usable space, and parts of it should flow better
• Blu has better access to the highground in the connector, which should also make it easier to hold
• Brought back the full health kit
• Increased signage

Changes at C:

• Added additional cover around the point
• Flipped Blu's entrances to the area to work with the new connector better
• Slowed Blu's doors to give Red more time to set up

Changes at D:

• Reworked the A-->D connector to be more free-flowing and provide another angle of attack for Blu
• Made the control point larger slightly
• Reduced cap time slightly
• Made the bridges slightly wider
• Closed off the C-->D connector until B is capped
• Added a door that closes when C is capped to make getting to D longer for Red
• Changed some textures to try and make it less visually symmetrical

Changes at Red's Final Spawn:

• Red can no longer enter the final spawn until it activates
  • This should help keep people from getting lost on the wrong side of the map

Overall Changes:

• Improved lighting across the map
• Increased health and ammo across the map
• Increased amount of small cover all over the map
• Both the radio tower and satellite dish are visible at both points
  
• Optimization work
• Clipping improvements

Red's area at final still needs reworking, but there's already so much changed that I might as well test it now.

Hello again. It's been a while.

2 years, 3 months, 7 days, 23 hours, and 43 minutes.

Reactor always has been and will be a very personal project for me. Right after I started it back in October 2015 during my senior year of high school my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer. Working on Reactor alone in my room was one of the ways I worked through it; I poured my heart and soul into it to help distract myself from reality. My mom's doing fine, and has been in remission for over four years now.

Since I started this map, a lot has changed in my life. I've started and almost finished a degree in Game Design, designed and published a board game for the city I now call home, came out as gay to my friends and family, and got brought on as TF2maps staff. I've made new friends, and said goodbye to one that used to work on this map with me.

Over the years, I've pulled this map apart and put it back together countless times, and only some versions have seen the light of day. Around April of last year I got close to releasing an a13 which was to introduce sweeping changes with over half of the map completely redesigned. But then I got a message asking if I knew it was getting competitive testing, which set off a panic attack, one of the very few I've had in my life. It turned out someone else on the project decided to get it competitively tested against my explicit instructions not to do so until I felt it was ready. They broke my trust and hurt me in their desire to see the map finished, and it killed all motivation for me to keep working on Reactor. For the rest of 2019 it sat unfinished.

After much reflection, I decided I needed to do something more drastic than keeping rebuilding points over and over. So on January 7th, 2020 I opened a new file and began working on rebuilding Reactor from the ground up. A complete reboot to help distance myself from the mess the map had become, and one of the people that caused it to become that way.

I know it won't be perfect on my first try; honestly it'll probably be pretty bad. But Reactor means too much to me to not finish it, and I refuse to let it die so easily. So, welcome back to Reactor. I hope it's been worth the wait.

-14bit

Reactor V2 A1 change log:

• Completely rebuilt the map from the ground up

Wow, this took a lot longer than I thought it would. It's been 1 year, 11 months, and 13 days since this map was updated, and a lot has happened since. Also, this is also my 200th post on the site! Pretty neat how that worked out, huh?

A12: The Return

• Changes to Blu spawn
  • Rebuilt completely
  • Added spawn courtyard with new connectors to A and B
• Changes to Point A
  • Moved whole area South a couple hundred hammer units
  • All new entrances to the area for both teams
  • Reworked the roof and attached building
  • Added high ground behind fence near the one-way door
    • This should make it easier for Red to combat the one-way door
  • Moved A -> B shortcut slightly
  • Re-added slow door to D
    • Blu players heading for D at the start must take the long way around through B
• Changes to Red's Forward Spawn
  • Completely rebuilt and moved
    
  • New A/B/C/D connector I'm calling "Computers" in place of old spawn
    
  • Spawn moved closer to A
    • Enters into A through what previously was a detail area, closes when A is capped
  • Route to B goes past D, over A -> connector, into Computers
    • Door from Computers to B closes when B is capped
• New A -> B connector
  • Takes place of Blu's old spawn courtyard/building thing
  • Clearer signage to D
• Changes to Point B
  • Removed shack from point
  • Expanded point and capture zone
  • Increased signage directing to C/D
  • Interior sniper room for Red has been removed
• Changes to B/C/D connector (the yellow pipe room)
  • Exit to D shortened and moved to feed into Computers/take you towards D because it moved
• Changes to C
  • Hallways behind the point resized to be consistent
  • Turbines moved to allow move movement on ground level
  • Red's entrance to the area and C->D connector merged and reworked
    • Catwalk nearest Red Spawn removed, replaced with hallway outside of Turbine room
      • Also connects to D
    • Red's Spawn is much closer to C now
    • Lower C -> D connector near Red has been removed
    • New C->D connector accessed from point level, leads to Computers
  • Most of the catwalks have been turned into solid ground
  • Strange metal cover has been replaced with crates or removed in favor of geometry changes
  • Blu's mid-ground entrance has been converted into a control room
  • New ramp from ground level to the control room, then up to the point
• Changes to Point D
  • Moved closer to A
    
  • Entirely rebuilt
    • Much smaller, so sentries should actually be viable again
  • Bridge from Red's side removed
  • Water no longer kills you, does damage over time
    • The deeper you are, the faster it kills you
    • There's an escape from the water on Red's side of the Reactor
  • Red's lower entranced lowered to almost water level and given cover
  • Red's high ground moved to the side, expanded to look over back hallway
    • New route to high ground with a new room for Red to hang out in
      
    • Really fancy effects with pipes breaking when C is captured that blocks off the route/room
  • All new routes into D for both teams
  • Battlements overlooking D for Red's forward spawn double as their route to B
    
  • Blu can no longer enter with height advantage, they must go through Computers to access the battlements overlooking D
• Changes to Red's Final Spawn
  • Closer to C
  • No longer exits into a hallway between C and D
    • One exit is directly into C
    • The second exit leads to a new room that then has two exits into D
• Chalkboards updated to match new layout
• Optimization
• Soundscapes
• Lighting improvements
• Health/Ammo changes
• Signage improvements/changes
• Easter Egg

I think that's everything, it's been so long I've started to forget the changes. As always, don't hesitate to leave feedback, and thanks for taking the time to look at my map!

This is actually the final contest version @Corvatile submitted for the contest the download was correct in the submission thread, but I only put up B4B here. Whoops.

Also: finally screenshots!

Did we skip releasing B1 through B4A? Yep, but that won't stop us. They were mostly artpasses anyway. The biggest change was the fantastic (partial) art pass by the wonderful @Corvatile! The new custom HUD icons and new door textures were both made by @Yrr, thanks again and great job!

Here's the actual change log (don't get upset if I missed somthing, I'm writing this from my phone with not way to compare versions):

• Artpass has begun!
  • Super cool Arctic base theme with lots of yellow!
  • Custom HUD icons and new signs to help players figure out what's going on!
  • New locked-door door textures!
• Optimization!
• Clipping improvements!
• Too many exclamation marks!

This is the final version for the 2015-2016 Dynamic CP Contest. We do plan to continue this after the judging is over. Stay tuned for future updates, and thank you everyone for your support over the past few months, it really has meant a lot to me.