Multi Stage Dune (CP) 21.5.3

Something something overcorrected the map, so now we've taken a step back to go forward!

GAMEPLAY:

GENERAL

• Cap times are measured in Scout time (x2), just as a reminder!
• I may add further details to the skybox in the future but remember that the theme of the map revolves around an expansive desert full of wavy dunes. You're not getting a lot of mesas, canyons, and cliffs.
• Nav mesh has been adjusted accordingly.
• The map now has six control points again.
• Hint brushes have been culled for the time being just to see how some adjusted brushwork can handle optimization. Now the walls actually go down to the nodraw floor under the sand, whoops.

FIRST STAGE

• Restored the First Stage to a previous version so it's a bit more lengthy without being too long.

FINAL STAGE

• Point E is now open alongside the newly labelled skull point (it's the one where a bunch of explosions and death happen now, finally got around to adding an E P I C BLU win ending, WOAH). Think of it like a mini-Steel: if BLU caps E, they get to spawn in much faster and gain additional time to push to the skull point. Capping the skull point is an automatic win for BLU, so even though RED has some strong defense potential, they still have to watch their six! This is of course experimental as are most changes, so we'll see how this plays out in the classic spirit of giving the final stage of Dune a twist to the gameplay.
• Capture time and respawn waves are adjusted.

Well this has been a fairly unlucky yet important string of patches for Dune, this one's for b14d. Adjusted some brushwork around the Second Stage BLU spawn windows, added a few particles into the Final Stage's new alleyway, and moved the leftover shrubs around RED's spawn in the First Stage

Get jumpscared by the b14c patch. Fixed the fuckass door (really, that bugged warehouse shutter door in the second stage was annoying to discover, lol). Did some further tweaks here and there. Added respawn brushes to the window area of that warehouse, and made RED spawn a bit faster in the First Stage.

This is why you don't try and do a lot of hard map work at 2 in the morning; turns out I grabbed a func-door instead of a visualizer (because they have the same texture on them because I'm very smart, yes) so the door leading outside would only allow players through if the door exiting the initial spawn area was opened, lmao.

Did some more touch-up on the nav mesh, slightly altered spawn waves for the First Stage, and gave BLU cover in the alleyway before point E, because there was a huge sightline from RED's spawn exit to the entrance of that alley. The changes I've made to that final stage seem to be holding up alright, but time will tell with testing. If the first test goes over aight, I'll probably run sequential tests for Dune in due time. I'd wanna show some love to the Prairie remaster since that surprisingly did alright for its first test. The multi-cap gimmick does a lot better in that map compared to Dune.

I'll release b14c after some sleep, because I really need it.

I'm a silly guy, so silly I forgot to change some round team objective text and remove a player clip, whoops. It's fixed now!

Short n' sweet but includes additional major changes to follow beta 13; showcase images will be adjusted accordingly to account for map changes... eventually!

GAMEPLAY:

GENERAL

• Cap times are measured in Scout time (x2), just as a reminder!
• I may add further details to the skybox in the future but remember that the theme of the map revolves around an expansive desert full of wavy dunes. You're not getting a lot of mesas, canyons, and cliffs.
• Nav mesh has been adjusted accordingly.
• BLU TFBot Engineers and Snipers will now prioritize setting up shop at the last point in each stage to improve their overall usefulness. BLU Engineers will no longer stay at a previously captured point like most maps tend to have 'em.
• Removed the kill zones and increased the sizes of the troubled spawns. Sorry TF2Maps!
• The map now has five control points, instead of six, throughout its stages.

FIRST STAGE

• The area where point B (Sand Heap) originally was no longer exists in favor of a singular point A (Communication Tower). Therefore, RED spawn has been moved much closer to the Data Center, and now there are multiple ways to gain access to and around the building. Point A still remains in the same location. This should hopefully improve framerate in the First Stage.
• Capture time and respawn waves are adjusted.

SECOND STAGE

• BLU now owns all of the warehouse, instead of just the back alley, meaning BLU has a much larger spawn to work with when it comes to pushing against RED's defense in the Complex (which is now considered point B, while the Bunker is now C). Originally I had thought it impossible for RED to hold the Warehouse, but I was proven very wrong in the most recent playtest... yes Pyro and Scout, even you, Medic and Heavy, I saw it all... I see you. More resupply cabinets have been placed to accommodate for all that new space BLU can work with!
• Some planks have been placed at the fortress front entrance, along with some health and ammo, to provide an alternative flank route and holding position towards point B.
• Speaking of that area, now there's a nice invisible ramp to allow revved Heavies to simply walk inside without needing to jump through the window.
• Capture time and respawn waves are adjusted.

FINAL STAGE

• The building in front of the RED rocket silo has been modified to give BLU a place to set up shop while pushing the Dune Station (point E).
• Access through the ruined building has been denied for both teams, providing protection for both teams.
• Cover, health, and ammo has been tweaked to lessen RED's grip on the Range (point D).
• Capture time and respawn waves are adjusted.

Woah, look out, here it comes, a patch to fix a small but significant oopsie on the Final Stage!

Ey, so in making a new point (E2 for the final stage, I forgot to actually have it require the old point E (now E1) for it to be unlocked, so it was unlocked by default, whoops. Gonna release a patch after work to fix that and an issue with E1's point skin not updating when BLU captures the point.

The biggun' beta 13 has arrived with a significant amount of reworks to Dune! This will require a lot of testing, so I figure on running a few tests for the map unless something game-breaking is happening.

GAMEPLAY:

GENERAL

• Cap times are measured in Scout time (x2), just as a reminder!
• I may add further details to the skybox in the future but remember that the theme of the map revolves around an expansive desert full of wavy dunes. You're not getting a lot of mesas, canyons, and cliffs.
• Nav mesh has been adjusted accordingly.
• BLU TFBot Engineers and Snipers will now prioritize setting up shop at the last point in each stage to improve their overall usefulness. BLU Engineers will no longer stay at a previously captured point like most maps tend to have 'em.
• Fixed the kill boxes for spawns, so hopefully during testing, players won't die over and over... didn't even think that was a thing that could happen, but here we are, lol.

FIRST STAGE

• The area between BLU spawn and the Data Center has been completely removed. Point A is now closer to BLU spawn, and the layout is a hair similar to Dustbowl last's first point, but unique enough to differ. Travel time, and probably performance for that stage as a whole, should be improved!
• Point A now has a capture time of 13; point B's is 8.

SECOND STAGE

• BLU Soldier sent a bomb through the Complex and royally damaged it; he said it felt too cramped and prevented him from soaring like a proud eagle. RED construction cleaned up the rubble, but it's left a giant hole in the side of the Complex, which gives some additional cover and a clearer path between points C and D.
• Point C now has a capture time of 17; point B's is 10.

FINAL STAGE

• The experiment that was a multi-cap stage had incredibly mixed results. For now, the 3-cap requirement gimmick has been removed in favor of a traditional 2-point final stage. The concept will be used in another map of mine; I don't believe the concept is flawed, but having this gimmick start at the very last stage of a multi-stage map probably wore players down.
• The area where point E originally was located has been majorly reworked to add length via cover and obstacles; I have absolutely no idea how it will fair with actual players versus bots, so that's why numerous tests are in order.
• Point E1 (originally just E) now has a capture time of 23; the new point, E2, has a capture time of 12.

Ey folks; all three stages of Dune are getting a complete overhaul! There's no download yet, but I figure on getting beta 13a of the map out for testing later today.

Several changes include completely cutting the middle segment of the First Stage and moving point A closer to BLU spawn (feels a lot like Dustbowl last's first point with some tweaks respectively; Second Stage has been opened more thanks to some demolition, especially around the Complex and the path towards point D; point E does not have the multi-cap condition, but instead I'll be embracing the idea of two points, meaning the entire area is getting new cover, therefore, new routes. Expect the Final Stage to remain a challenge for BLU!

Lots of changes mean lots of testing, so after beta 13a, I'll probably run several tests in a row and do minor tweaking as I see fit. Thanks for the feedback up to this point, highly appreciated!