Damnable 2 a5

Major Changes

• The giant rock in the middle of the map has been turned into a playable area.
• Added a small new area to the inner dam.

Minor Changes

• Redid some shoddy brushwork.
• Minor changes to the inner dam.
• Minor changes to the upper dam.
• Added decorations to the inaccessible roofs of the bases to stop people from trying to get up there.
• Flipped the arrow-lighting fires on the bridge to the opposite side of their respective trucks.

Fixes

• Fixed a roof not completely covering a couple of rooms in the dam stairwells.
• Fixed lighting and texture glitches in the drowning machine tubes.
• Fixed error models.
• Removed a duplicate prop that caused z-fighting.
• Fixed the Steam Workshop page using different versions of the map.

In case it wasn't obvious, I'm not gonna be making the deadline on that spring cleaning event. So now what? Well, I'll still be seeing the map through to its completion. However, I will not be making any changes to the basic layout of the map anymore because, frankly, I just want to move on to a new project. I expect to complete the map by the end of August, after that I'll only update the map if someone finds some crazy glitch or optimization problem. Even if I won't be making changes to the layout anymore, feedback and criticism is still appreciated and encouraged. I would like to avoid any problems this map had when I work on my next one.

Fixes

• Engineers can no longer build teleporters in the first and second floor spawnrooms.

Major Changes

• Intel area reworked.
• Changes to the upper dam

Minor Changes

• Lit up the tunnels of the drowning machine.
• Made it easier for players to enter the tunnels of the drowning machine.
• Everything is now textured

Fixes

• Fixed a roof not completely covering an area in the bases.
• All hidden dev textures have been replaced with nodraw textures, hopefully increasing optimization.
• Clipped a stairway on the upper dam.

Next update I will have to submit the map for playtesting (and probably get torn to shreds again for my poor design choices). Hopefully it doesn't take the server too long to get to damnable2, because boy oh boy that deadline is coming in hot. Speaking of the next update, a5 is gonna be centered around the big rock in the middle of the map. If all goes well on the playtest a5 will also be the last alpha update, meaning I get to make the map actually look good with color correction and 3d skyboxes. But that remains to be seen. For now, I hope that one server running this map enjoys the update.

Major Changes

• Revamped the red and blu base layouts

Minor Changes

• Made it easier for players to see the inescapable part of the current.
• Made REALLY minor layout changes around the map
• Players that get killed by the lathes now explode
• Lit up some areas around the drowning machine

Fixes

• Fixed a row of consoles clipping into each other
• Clipped some windows
• Players can no longer shoot through the water barrel clusters underneath the red/blu base balconies.

I have redesigned the interior of the bases to improve the maps flow and reduce the amount of useless areas. After this update I will attempt to make the map more maze-like, with more twisting and turning corridors. I've come to realize that straight hallways are likely what causes my maps to feel "bare" and "unfinished" no matter how many props and lights I throw at them. I expect to make many changes in the development of a4 to rectify this flaw.

This update should have come out a week or less after the last update, but I decided to take a quick break after a2. This was a mistake. I'll be working on the map as soon as the day after I release this. Another mistake I seem to have made was my choice of picture for a2. I noticed that a2 got far fewer downloads than a1a, and I suspect the reason for that was my picture showed little of what the map looked like. So I'll go back to an a1/early Damnable 1 style for pictures.

Major Changes

• Layout redesign
• Added rudimentary lighting
• Added a current that flows into the croc zone

Minor Changes

• Made it easier to tell the area beyond the buoys is dangerous
• All classes can now get on top of the tunnel entrance near the bridge
• Ripped fog from the original ctf_damnable
• Added indicators for flag location

Fixes

• Fixed players getting stuck between the watch towers and a wall
• Skybox has been optimized
• Fixed resupply locker animations getting stuck
• Fixed flag not despawning in croc zone
• Players can no longer shoot underneath the dumptrucks on the bridge.
• Fixed players being able to see behind some displacements

I feel like I'm really starting to get used to hammer. I feel like the level of quality the map is at now is about on par with ctf_damnable_b1, but it only took me ~2 weeks to get here instead of almost a month. Plus, I'm starting to get an understanding of how a map should "flow." Many of the improvements to damnable2 would not have happened if it weren't for feedback, so getting some more would be appreciated!

Changelog:

• Packed non-vanilla content
• Engineers can no longer build in the water.

HUGE thanks to The Asylum for telling me I forgot to pack the bsp before anyone else downloaded. That could have been humiliating!