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I almost finished this version a few months back, but every thought about compiling it I added or change a few things and then forgot to compile, so I'm calling it here and getting the changes that have piled up tested. If it plays well I think I'll do a final lighting and optimization pass and maybe push to RC soon? A terrifying prospect, but it might be ready for it.
Dead players on both teams now respawn when the ball drops after a goal
This does not effect the initial mid fight; this only triggers after goals
This does not happen if the ball is reset for any reason other than a goal either; this only triggers after goals
Since the ball spawn time is 15 seconds, all dead players will respawn 15 seconds after a goal
This is a very experimental change (and the first deviation from how "official" PASS Time works that I have done with this map), and I will be watching how rounds play accordingly
Adjusted cover around the lower entrance to mid/spawn building exits
The tree has been moved up so the branches no longer interfere with gameplay
Nobuilds around the tree have been adjusted to account for this
Adjusted geometry around the bonus goal launchers
It should be much harder for scouts to solo-score on the bonus goal now, since they can no longer jump up to the lower deck with a double jump
Clipping improvements
Fixed a few ball stuck spots
Fixed the train station's roof being clipped wrong
Fixed a perch point on the broken roofs
Fixed lamps near mid being solid
Replaced Playerclip on the goals with Blockbullets2
Dozens of smaller clipping adjustments and fixes
Texture fixes
Minor detailing changes/fixes/improvements all over the map
Lighting improvements
Dark areas near the edges of mid have been better lit
Most outdoor lights in direct sunlight have been turned off
Most outdoor lights in direct sunlight no longer have point_spotlights
About half of the rounds seem to play well, and I think I've gathered enough data to determine that it's usually because of teams when it doesn't. Because of this, this update is focusing more on optimization while I continue to observe how it plays to see if it needs any further large changes.
Minor geometry changes to the interiors of the forward spawn buildings
Removed barbed wire and hurt triggers from fences/cover at mid
Added nobuild to the top of the ball dropper at mid
Texture fixes
Detail changes, improvements, and additions
Made all roofs 4hu thinner
Replaced some "Respawn" signs with "Battlements" signs
Cheap water has been replaced with much nicer expensive water
Other stuff
Lighting changes
Made all major outdoor phantom lights match sky light color
Fixed an annoying lightmap issue on Red's side
Gave almost all lights either point_spotlights or env_lightglows, to make things look nicer
Significant optimization improvements
The broken buildings now have proper areaportals, and don't have a bunch of cracks that caused upper floor to render when it wasn't supposed to be visible. Whoops!
Full, agressive occluder pass
Some of these might end up hurting more than helping in spots. Please leave feedback if you notice big framerate dips anywhere!
The largest complaint I've gotten so far is that mid is too visually busy, but I've seen an equal number of people be confused about that claim saying it's fine. This is partially PASS Time's fault, since the UI is massive and different people have different abilities to ignore it. Regardless, I've tried to tone things down a bit.
Attempts to reduce contrast around the map
There's less grass now
Replaced white wood at Mid with brown
Yellow train gates at Mid have been repainted to be brown
Replaced all white props_coalmines windows with others that get lit properly and don't stick out as much
Neat, B1 didn't totally implode! Here's a few quick fixes and optimizations to try and get it to run better. A last minute change in B1 to allow the trees to be seen across areas ended up breaking a lot of the optimization, so this version attempts to fix that.
Fixed a perch point on both sides that let players sit at the top of the map and snipe into mid
Fixed a rendering bug on the gates at mid
Clipping improvements
Lighting changes
Added a missing light in Red's forward spawn building
Recolored lights on Red's side that I missed
Fixed incorrect lighting in Red's broken building
Every light was duplicated, whoops
Every light was the wrong color, whoops
Significantly raised skybox to account for larger trees
Optimization improvements
The trees have been replaced with larger variants that have matching 3D skybox versions
There are now 3D skybox versions of the main trees
This allows me to significantly close up parts of the map
Well, here it is! My first map to make it to proper beta (as in, not rushed there for a contest deadline) and get a real artpass. Shout outs to @Itspice, @nesman, and @Another Bad Pun for managing to figure out the name of the map early!
Renamed the map to Gigantic
Initial artpass
Soundscapes
Added goalie zones around bonus goal launchers to match official maps
Mid is the big issue right now; it's fun to fight in but hard to push into enemy territory from. This version reworks the sides, increases cover, and adds more health in an attempt to get teams to push forwards more, rather than just hanging out in the low ground on their own side with the Jack.
Rebuilt the sides of mid
These should flow better, and help teams push out easier
Added additional medium health packs to the sides of Mid
Adjustments to cover entering the broken building from Mid
Fights in mid aren't evolving into pushes like they should be, and part of that seems to be that players can die, respawn, and reach the same fight they died in before it resolves. I'm hoping these tweaks will lessen that slightly.
Added nobuilds beneath the pine trees near the low-ground entrances to mid
Sentries can still fire though the trees, but can't be built in the trees anymore
Forward spawn RespawnWaveTimes have been increased to 8 (up from 7.5)
Reduced air control suppression time for vertical launch pads to 0 (down from 0.25)
This should once again stop people from getting stuck, I don't know why I undid this
Removed a box under the bonus goal launchers
This should make it slightly harder for teams to score on the bonus goal
Returned the ball countdown duration to the default of 15 (down from 20)
Fights aren't leaving mid currently, and I think it's a combination of poor visibility and lack of viable options to push. People have long complained that the broken building feels like the only viable route, and despite my best efforts to make the other route better to push with it's not been enough. This version has an entirely new, center route between the two existing ones that should help teams push in and out of mid a bit more.
Reverted shacks at mid to rocks
Removed forward boost pads
Added a new center route though the map, between mid and the low ground
Both the vertical and mid launch pad areas have been rebuilt to account for this new route
Health and ammo changes
Removed medium health packs near the mid launch pads
Added medium health and ammo outside the lower spawn exits
Clipping improvements
Lighting improvements
This version likely has worse performance than past versions, since the new route breaks some of the existing optimization!
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