PL Eruption B14

[Billo]

In this update:

---Point A---
➤Tweaked the health and ammo packs a bit. In order to make the defence stronger

---Point B---
➤Tweaked the health and ammo packs a bit. In order to make the defence stronger

---Point C---
➤The rollback zone was made bigger
➤The point is a bit futher forward
➤Removed the underground flank for blu (Red would abuse it after C got capped)
➤Added a sniper balcony with a flank underneath it which also has health and ammo
➤Made Blu's balcony stronger
➤Added a bridge which connects the two highgrounds for blu and overlooks the point.
➤Gave Blu team a drop down to the new flank
➤The first Red spawn now works as a second forward spawn for Blu when C is capped.
➤Added more health and ammo in general
➤Opened up the point to feel less as a hallway and more like an area.
➤Shortened Red's respawntime for about 2 secs for each wave.



Notes:
The map is beggining to play better and better with each update. I feel like B and D are mostly fine. They need a few tweaks here and there. Now the focus was on A and C. Hopefully I will find a way to finalize the map soon. Anyways that's for now. Hope you like the changes!

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[Billo]

In this update:

---Point A----
➤Reworked most of point A. Now instead of doing a small turn and going up a slope, there is a big hill that Blu need to climb.
➤Kept the starting area and the first Blu spawn as it was.
➤Added a forward spawnpoint inside Blu's spawn similar to upward's.


----Point B----
➤Moved Blu's forward spawn after capping B, inside B rather than outside like it was before.


----Point C----
➤ Did some displacement work around the point
➤ Got rid of one rock prop so as to allow Red snipers to be more useful overall


----Point D-----
➤Reworked the left route a bit, so as to feel bigger and more interesting.
➤Detailed the point a bit.
➤Red's highground and view over the point was restricted more.
➤Added a crate jump for Blu to get up to Red's highground on the lower floor.



Notes:
I am not gonna lie, I spent around 6-7 hours only reworking A, Dunno if it's gonna be an improvement or not. My goal was to fix the problems A had such as Blu getting behind Red too easily and losing the point almost immediately while making something more unique and fun. Personally the idea really hooked me up. I don't think I seen any payload maps doing what I did with A as far the cart path is concerned. So it might be cool. I was gonna do more with B and D but I decided to give eruption another test before I do since the map will play differently now A and C changed. We will see.
I am happy with how the map is turning out. I feel like it needs a few more tweaks and improvements here and there and it could turn out to be something special. Anyways that's for now, hope you like the changes.

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[Billo]

In this update:

➤I did what the title says lol.

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[Billo]

In this update:

----Point A-----
➤ Made the cart path longer. Around 256 hu. The reason is to give Red more time to recover from battles or to just arrive in general.
➤Removed the hp and ammo for Blu.
➤Nerfed the right route for Blu, made it smaller - easier to spam and deny pushes.





----Point B-----
➤Changed the speed of the doors that allow Blu to attack B when A is capped (From 100% to 5%)
➤Added rollback zones.
➤Made the tunnel path more chockey.
➤Removed the hp and ammo for Blu inside the tunnel entirely and gave Red a small hp and a medium ammo box for defending the tunnel.
➤Removed the Blu's forward spawn for attacking B.



----Point C-----
➤ Added a second spawn exit for the first Red spawn/third Blu spawn.
➤Fixed a big sightline overlooking the same spawn.
➤Fixed some small issues.



----Point D-----
➤Replaced the doomsday rocket with a bigger one.
➤Removed some of the sniper's cover
➤Moved the big "Point D" sign that blocked a sightline to the exact other side of the point. ( Visibility and rotating reasons )
➤Red's balcony is now accessible for Blu. Red's right building has a door opened now and inside in the middle are some computers that block the sightlines too.
➤The health and ammo that were inside that building got moved around for balancing reasons. ( So as to prevent Blu from getting free hp and attacking red at the same time. It's a bigger risk now for Blu to attack Red's balcony without having any health nearby )


Notes:
Alright, this update took longer than I expected but I have a good feeling about it. As of now it looks like Blu are stronger than Red in every point except Last, I tried to balance things out, hope I succeeded.

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[Billo]

In this update:

----Point A----
➤Added more cover to help with the sightlines
➤made the hill 32hu taller
➤Improved the cart path
➤the right attacking route for attackers got a rework. Now it's indoors rather than outdoors and provides more cover.
➤tweaked hp/ammo
➤Improved the displacements.
➤Other small changes were made around the point as well.

----Point B----
➤Tweaked the hp/ammo packs.
➤Added a sign to help blu be guided a little better when coming out of their second spawn.
➤Originally, When Blu capped, Red would have 30 secs before their first spawn would teleport them to the last point and close off entirely. Now it takes 10 secs.

----Point C----
➤Made the point less blocky
➤Added a new route for Defenders to get on top of Blu's highground (might get reworked in the future)
➤Tweaked hp/ammo a bit.
➤Made Red spawn a bit faster.
➤Moved the point a bit further.



----Point D----
➤Added more health and ammo for the attackers.
➤Made the left doorway into last bigger
➤Added a one-way door for Blu to attack Red (Now hopefully Red won't be able to push Bu back that easily.

Notes:
B and D are playing fairly well! I am really happy about them. I done some work over to A now, I hope it improves upon the original design. I was really happy to see that Red almost defended A once or twice. That means the improvements I am making actually work. As far C is concerned. I am not 100% sure about the new changes. It's a test. I might even redesign it. I will see. Anyways that's for now. Hope you like the changes.

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[Billo]

In this update:

----Point A----
➤Reworked the point a bit to make Red stronger, the holds are now much clearer. (I got inspired from Altitude for this rework)



----Point B----
➤ No changes.

----Point C----
➤Tweaked Blu's flank to work better and allow for more interesting fights around the point. Now Red can climb up to Blu's highground but they are immediately at height disadvantage and have limited space to move around.
➤Got Rid of the second spawn exit for Red/Blu
➤Made the point less blocky.



----Point D----
➤Reworked the entire point. Now Blu have more cover to rotate around the point. Blu team has only 1 balcony now, and 1 window to spam at sentries/snipers. The upper area for blu is much much bigger and it allows for quick rotations.
➤Red on the other hand have 2 balconies but no cover on the high ground. On the low ground there is plenty of cover, as well as ammo/hp.
➤Red's final spawn got a rework as well.
➤The cart path originally went forward did a turn and there was the cap
Now it only goes forward. (the distance that the cart has to travel in order to cap D has been reduced).



Notes:

You didn't expect the notes to be soooooooo deep down, did you?
Yeah me neither. Anyways, Eruption A37 bitches! It's here. Finally.
I took 2 months break from this month to work on caribbean and my video game "Termine" Which is coming out soon enough and I noticed I had more ideas and inspiration to work on eruption now. Previously If I wanted to rework last I wouldn't be able to do what I did this time around. And that's thanks to a break. I am honestly pretty proud of what I did here, I think it looks good and should play good. I took notice of what the problems were before and tried to fix them here. Actually playting my map helped me out with D a lot. I still remember trying to destroy that one sentry but the rocket (being in the middle) prevented that and dying trying over and over. So I was like alright let's fix that. Hope I made something better, something more unique, that you guys can enjoy. Thank you for the feedback.

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[Billo]

In this version:

----Point A----
➤Added more light to dark spots
➤Fixed some props fading out too soon
➤Added more clipping
➤Changed the dead-end on the beach to be more obvious.
➤Made certain sightlines less viable for snipers.


----Point B----
➤Fixed a few bad sightlines
➤Added a new path for Blu to push out of B easier. Now that new path opens when B is capped, provides Blu with hp/ammo and the highground.


----Point C----
➤ The Cap is now further back. Blu always capped C before Red could do anything. They even have the highground, a flank leading behind Red , hp/ammo and more. So such nerf to them I think was really needed.
➤Also near the bridge there used to be a medium hp and ammo pack. Now the ammo pack remains there. The health pack was moved on the lowground, inside the cave so as to prevent Red from setting up defences on the highground and locking up Blu inside the cave.
➤I also added a small hp pack on the Red's highground, where the snipers are watching.
➤Made Red spawn faster.


----Point D----
➤Extended the payload tracks.
➤Added a prop that allows blu to reach red's high ground near the main door.
➤Fixed the shortcut door closing when a player is inside
➤Added better clipping
➤Made the staircase leading up to Red's highground on the right, a little bigger.
➤Adjusted the cover a bit.


---General----
➤Optimized the map a bit more
➤Fixed sightlines and issues
➤Added better clipping

Notes:
The last few playtests went really really well. I am really excited for eruption. If this playtest also goes well and all the points feel fair and balanced, I am guessing I could release one last version of this map before going to beta!
If anyone's interesting in heping me out with the detailing, let me know!

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[Gravidea]

Liking the layout. It's quite interesting! I'm sure I'm not original in comparing the last point to Upward's but I mean that in the best of ways. It certainly has its own twist as well.

That being said, it might be a good idea to check on your player spawns. I'm not sure if this is intentional (so excuse me if it is), but I had a few instances where I started off the match on Defense spawning at the Last Spawn, instead of at the Forward Spawn that I assumed was the intentional spawn for Defense since I could go inside, change class, use the resupply cabinet, etc. If you need any further information, gimme a shout!

 

[Billo]

Hmmmmm weird. If I understood correctly here's what you are trying to say. Eruption has 2 different red spawns. The one close to B, and the second at Last. The cart would be at A or B and you would spawn at point D right?
If that's the case I might have missed something. I will take a look.

 

[Gravidea]

Hmmmmm weird. If I understood correctly here's what you are trying to say. Eruption has 2 different red spawns. The one close to B, and the second at Last. The cart would be at A or B and you would spawn at point D right?
If that's the case I might have missed something. I will take a look.

Indeed. Sorry if I phrased it in a confusing manner, but on Red, I spawned at the last spawn during setup, AKA when the cart was before A.

 

[Billo]

I see. I never noticed such a thing but since it happended to you means that there is a really low chance to spawn somewhere are Last, and I should definitely fix that. Thank you man, really appreciated.

 

[Billo]

In this version:

----Point A----
➤Improved the fps (Added areaportals, occluders, removed some trees, added fade to more props etc).


----Point B----
➤The small cave/flank area behind the waterfall got a bit opened up (not much) and added a little more verticality. (Still not much, I don't have much space there).
➤Gave Blu one medium health pack inside the waterfall flank to help them push, and 2 more packs on the third entrance to point B.
➤Made the 'B' sign solid, so scouts can perform a smart jump up the waterfall flank now.



----Point C----
➤ Removed the rollback zone.
➤ Added more cover so medics dont get killed that easily from snipers.

----General----
➤Added soundscapes around the map ( To sell the tropical island-jungle feel and to also help spies a bit).
➤General fixes and improvements around the map.

Notes:
Oh boy oh boy... We almost reached beta...
From February I am seeing myself detailing this baby but I will need some help. If anyone's interested and is good enough with detailing hit me up. We could work together on this.

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[Huwareyou]

THE ROLLBACK ZONE IS GONE!!!!

 

[Billo]

In this version:

----Point A----
➤Changed the left flank for blu in order to be more difficult to climb so as to allow Red to hold A for longer.


----Point B----
➤tweaked the health/ammo packs a bit.


----Point C----
➤Added a new exit for Blu which has the high ground, health and ammo.
➤Remove the ceiling from the right exit for blu, also gave them some cover. In theory this should allow soldiers and demomen to jump over this choke and in general to make holding this area for Red much harder.
➤Made Red spawn a little slower.



----Point D----
➤Completely reworked D from the ground up to be more unique and less upward wanna be.
➤Added jump pads for more interesting gameplay.
➤Added a small forward spawn for Red to reach C faster.





Notes:
This last test really killed my confidence for going to Beta by a40. I was really tired of hearing D looks like upward's last but I couldn't really do much with the circular design to make it be it's own thing, so I said screw it and let's make something unique. I tried to make it simple and fun. Hope it works.

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[Billo]

In this version:

----Point A----
➤Made A a little less open (Added props and made the walls extend in some places)
➤Made it possible to extinguish yourself in the water now (Only on the Red side though)
➤Replaced clipping with point_push entities on top of the trees.
➤General improvements.



----Point B----
➤No changes here.

----Point C----
➤The distance from C to D is a little greater now. It takes 1-2 secs more to walk now.
➤Gave Blu a medium hp pack for attacking.
➤The Red's rock cover got reduced a bit. Now there is less cover to hide.
➤Reduced Red's main ammo pack from Full to Medium.
➤Improved the displacements.



----Point D----
➤Shortened the rollback zone by 64 hu.
➤Added a sign to guide the Red players to the right path when exiting the second forward spawn. (When still defending C)
➤Made the jump-pad more obvious
➤Made the fan jump-pad easier to use as well as drop down from the highground to the low ground.
➤Added metal panels to Blu's windows when attacking on the one side so as Red receive less information when Blu are about to attack.
➤Also the broken glass where Blu snipers can shoot got swapped to the other side. This were done in order to give a counter to Red's sniper position.
➤Gave Blu a little more cover when attacking from the high ground.
➤Gave Blu more hp to attack as well as a bigger doorways and space in general.
➤General improvements were made such as clipping,lighting etc.


Notes:
Really glad you guys enjoyed this new Last more. I Honestly tried to make something unique and fun. The whole map is playing a lot better now, I might go to beta this March! Not might... It is highly likely I will. I even have a friend who wants to help with this project so Beta could come along a lot sooner!
Just for the lolz I booted up eruption_a30 and I was shocked how much this map has changed over 10 versions! It's honestly unbelievable for me. All this feedback I received from you this year really helped me out and for that I am grateful!
Eruption really taught me a lot. As far design and decisions are concerned predominantly. At first I wanted to avoid pl_cliffedge's mistakes of remaking the same area over and over, thus releasing updates that did little to no change, and now I think I finally figured it out. Took me a while a tho : P
Anyways, Enough talking. Hope you enjoy this version!

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[Billo]

Billo updated pl_eruption with a new update entry:

A better B and D

In this version:

----Point A----
➤The left route got closed up a little more so splash damage can be more effective.
➤The right route was made easier to climb, as well as better for attacking and defending.

----Point B----
➤ The waterfall flank was completely reworked.
➤ Now Blu can get on the highground inside the flank easier without having to go to the low ground and then expose...

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[Billo]

Billo updated pl_eruption with a new update entry:

small improvements

In this version:

----Point A----
➤Added more cover around

----Point B----
➤Removed the rollback zone

----Point D----
➤ Added a window on the right side route so Red and Blu can see each other coming around the corner.

--General fixes and improvements around the map were also made--

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[Billo]

Billo updated pl_eruption with a new update entry:

Improvements - Preparing for beta

In this version:
----Point A----
➤Reworked parts of the point to make Defence and Offence feel better.
➤Lowered the amount of rock props so as to look less as a prop spam.
➤Improved the tracks a bit.
➤The displacements were improved as well.





----Point B----
➤ Added light to highlight the health and ammo at the waterfall.
➤Also added a new crate jump to reach the bridge.
➤Speaking of the bridge, it is now...

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[Billo]

Billo updated pl_eruption with a new update entry:

Fixes.

In this version:

➤Fixed the rollback zone not working as intended.
➤Moved the C point closer. From the playtest it was clear that Blu had a really hard time capping C, the cart would constantly get stuck when it climbed the uphill. So the point is now almost on the top of the uphill. A little forward back but a lot closer than before.
➤On point A (as an experiement) the right flank route for Blu which allows access to Red's nest has been closed off. It was really easy for Blu to capture A...

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[Billo]

Billo updated pl_eruption with a new update entry:

Better C and D!

In this version:

-----Point A-----
➤Reopened the right route for attacking.

------Point C------
➤The turn was made wider, giving Blu team more room to breath.
➤Made it impossible for Red team to get up to Blu's highground via the staircase. Now they will need to rotate around the point exposing themselves completely or rocket jumping up to the high ground.

------Point D------
➤ The ground at the cart path level is now the same height.
➤ Removed the small jump pad and left only the big...

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