Isotope Final

Due to how I originally made the map I don't think I can go much further without completely remaking large chunks of the map, so this is it.
NOT RC, just final. (may work on it in future)

+Fixed several visual bugs and displacement issues
+Reduced flag return timer from 60 seconds to 30 seconds
+Added return time to flag after self-destruct
+Fixed announcer spam

Also, here's a video

View: https://youtu.be/8Kx7JymjEFY

This update was pushed out for a gameday so only has a few changes

-Removed the small ammo packs on top of the mid buildings
Engineers had too much metal supply for setting up in this area, making upgrading and maintaining their buildings too easy for the position you're given.

/Changed one of the small health packs on the walkway above mid to a small ammo pack
There was too much health in the area, and with the removal of the nearby ammo packs, not enough ammo

+Opened up the interiors of the mid buildings some more
The playable space in these buildings were too small to be fun, so now it's bigger

+Added additional decorative area in 'office' sniper area

+Added some additional signs and decals

+Added additional detail-based geometry

+Added HDR (finally)

+Fixed some bugs

Finally, beta!
Now that I feel like I have nailed down the gameplay, future updates will mostly focus on the look of the map rather than making significant layout changes.
Speaking of significant layout changes:

+Added additional route from garage to canyon highground
This area is very chokey, and I often saw players group up around this area a bit too much. This new doorway enables easy access to highground for attackers in the garage so should help create a more balanced 'arena' in the canyon.


+Re-added side route from canyon to warehouse(last)
People complained about it being gone, and thus not having enough routes in the area; so it's back.

-Removed canyon 'bridge'
As cool as it was, this was home to an extremely powerful sentry spot, which almost always required an uber push in order to be destroyed.
Fear not though, as there is still a way to quickly get between both highground areas. A rock has been placed in the centre of where the bridge was, and you can use this to jump between the two highground areas with relative ease. (You can place a sentry on top of it too)

That's the majority of the layout changes, but i'd also like to quickly talk about some changes to layout that are prop-based.

+Added multiple shipping containers to warehouse (lower-level)
It often felt as though attackers has too little cover once they made it inside last, and defenders didn't have enough good ground to work with.
Adding these crates both help decorate the area and help solve these problems, working as an extension of the highground. It also solves the problem of not being able to easily get back to highground after dropping down, as they are at crouch-jump height if you use the dropzone barriers.

-Removed barriers along canyon/garage highground
These were... iffy. A rock has been placed at the location of the fence in the 'grove area' to provide a portion of the cover that was provided previously.

Now, onto the big part of this update: the DETAILING

+Added a lot of signs and overlays
+Reworked displacements at mid to be more cliff-like
+Changed water texture
+Changed roof texture of blue garage
+Added multiple props in warehouse and adjoining rooms
+Heavily detailed spawn, and improved lighting
+Fixed light leaking through displacements in blue canyon
+Fixed multiple texture errors
+Fixed collisions/clipping on multiple props
+Improved bulb ambience
+Improved clipping in several areas
+Changed texture of garage entrance for both teams
+Changed red warehouse exterior texture
+Improved the look of the wooden beams in red garage/offices
+Fixed lighting issues on several props
+Added extra brush detail to main garage entrance and window
+Slightly tweaked environmental lighting
+Tweaked cubemaps
+Centred boilers in garage
+Slightly improved performance (as if it needed it)
+Changed position of multiple props
-Removed some props and detail due to layout changes
/Probably some other stuff I can't remember


Known issues:
|Small ammo and health on warehouse balcony too close to wall, and texture under it is a bit weird|
|Texture problem with displacement directly above red mid tunnel entrance|
|Some displacements aren't 'synced', this includes the ones at garage entrance, warehouse entrance, and offices side entrance|
|Skybox isn't very good|

As always, map will continue to be worked on. I REALLY want to get this to a RC.
And if you want to help, i'm open to offers.

Thanks for reading!

+Improved clipping in various locations
+Fixed the 'final stretch' events from working correctly

-Removed the 'trainyard' area directly before the capture point
While being an interesting fighting area, it didn't add much to the map as a whole and didn't make much sense being there aesthetically.

-Removed the alternative ground-level route into/out of the capture point
This route was barely used, and didn't provide much use for attackers.

-Replaced hut on the canyon highground with an extension of the canyon highground
Again, wasn't used very much and contributed very little

-Removed secondary canyon highground 'walkway' above the water puddle
With the trainyard area removed, this became obsolete and served no purpose.

-Removed forward spawns
As the map has now been shortened. they're unnecessary and would provide too much of an advantage to attackers.

/Changed the position of the dropdown in the connector buildings

+Added a full ammo pack just outside the entryway to the capture zone
People in the area were frequently running out of ammo, and needing to run back to spawn to safely resupply.

+Optimised the 'hazard zone' triggers
This should help stop voiceline spam considerably

+Added some temporary signs to help get feedback in 'trouble spots'

+Improved consistency of forward spawn activation

That's all.

+Added forward spawns
With the increased length, getting to the enemy base took quite a while, and made it very difficult to push. This new forward spawn activates after the flag has passed the enemy connector building, halving the distance needed for attackers to travel.

+Added score tracker
Now, the team with the highest number of captures will win. Getting 3 captures will still insta-win the round.

+Reduced flag reset timer duration during overtime from 3 seconds to 2 seconds.

+Shortened the length of the mini-healthkit building in base

+Fixed the flag timer duration resetting to 30 seconds after capture

+Overall lighting improvements

+Some minor texture changes

+Moved the boundary of the hazard area back slightly

+Minor detailing

+Added multiple easter eggs/secrets





Thank you for all the support

+Added small section in canyon for defenders to reach highground
It often felt like a chore to get to the highground if you had not initially chosen the route to lead you there. This in-between point should help the flow considerably.

+Re-added team timer to flag
I properly got it working this time, so it's back (again). The flag will now belong to the team who possessed it last for 5 seconds before becoming neutral. It will then reset to the spawn point after another 5 seconds.

+Reinstated overtime
Overtime is back, but will end upon the flag resetting, which only takes 3 seconds to happen upon being dropped, belonging to the team who held it last for only 1.5 seconds.

+Fixed several voiceline-related bugs

+Fixed sever bugs related to the waiting for players period

+Improved overall prop lighting

+Clipping improvements

+Minor texture changes

+Minor performance improvements

+Completely reworked the capture point and spawns
It was often difficult for players to capture the flag as the defenders spawn was so close to the capture point as well as it being located in a choke. There's many changes to go over so I won't mention them here, but they are pretty obvious from the screenshots below.

+Reverted bomb back to being neutral immediately after being dropped
The previous changes did not actually implement correctly, as the flag seems hardcoded into having a 30-second timer. This obviously isn't what I wanted.

+Changed flag return time from 30 seconds to 60 seconds to accommodate for the longer layout

-Removed balls