polarplant b1c

Apparently when the guys at TF2Maps tested r6, for some reason the server still used r5 (but the name was r6, I don't want to think about it). So for those guys, this version's gonna be quite different. I won't re-iterate the changes from r6.

Geometry
-Removed the lower left door connecting mid to second (from attacking perspective).
-That whole left room has been changed, and the "upper" exit has been moved down to be on more equal ground with the second point.
-Added some pipes on the "sidewalk" ramp on second so it's now possible to jump onto the balcony connected to aforementioned room.
-Apparently I didn't sync the barn between both teams, so now RED side's small shack is correct... And properly has a func_nobuild brush on the barn itself.
-Added a new route leading from last to hopefully help the defending team push out more effectively. From the defending side, the lobby is to the far right and offers some highground against the attacking team, and leads out behind the crates to help break stalemates inside the main lobby.
-Reworked last some by raising the last point, reworking the wall in front of last, removing a ramp, and adding a staircase.
-I fixed the fucking railing in the main lobby. Happy now? It wasn't easy finding models that resembled the geometry I had before.

Other Stuff
-During the last playtest, when the admin team scrambled, some players accidentally spawned in the forward spawn. From my observation and intuition the plugin that scrambles teams is to blame -- nevertheless I added some logic to when teams capture last to try and prevent this from happening again.
-Modified position, quantity, and quality of some health and ammo packs to provide a more similar distribution to established maps. Most notable is the reduction of ammo packs around mid so teams pushing from second will hopefully have a better time dealing with Engineers.

Current Thoughts
-People keep asking why the one-way window in last has a door texture. People are never happy with the texture I use. Please give more constructive criticism.
-People keep telling me you can see over the top of the map because of how my skyboxes are constructed. I know, it's still in alpha.
-People keep saying that the forward spawn doors close behind them and they can't open them again, and that they should have resupply lockers. These people need to review established maps.
-People are complaining the respawn timers are too long. I've done extensive comparisons between the best cp maps currently in the game and I have compared respawn timer modifications as well as forward spawn placements. I can assure you the respawn timer is no different than existing maps, and forward spawn placement is pretty good too. In fact, having the forwardmost spawn being at mid is better than most of the other maps. This is not to say anything I have done is perfect or balanced, but its effect on gameplay has been shown to be very minor at best.

Geometry
-Added two additional ways for attackers to move into 2nd, one on the left and one on the right
-One path leads on top of the shed from an upper window, the other leads to a balcony overlooking the point
-The roof of the shed has new geometry to prevent the window from become an overpowered sniper sightline

-Removed the wall in front of last
-Shortened the small wall to the right of the ramp at last
-Lengthened the passage out of the right spawn and made sentries less powerful in that spot
-Reduced the respawn room size inside of last. This means players have to walk further into spawn to change classes.


Other Changes
-Redid lightning. Still temporary, just more consistent without a ton of extra spotlights for no reason
-Changed the ammo pack underneath mid to be medium instead of large

Geometry
-Pushed forward the flank route in 2nd-last lobby so that it ends further in the lobby. If used properly, this should help alleviate sentry spam inside the lobby. People weren't really using the flank that much, I'm not sure if it's because they found it to be unrewarding or if they were too focused on just pushing the main way.

-Added windows on the wall separating 2nd from the lobby. This will give players more information and therefore they should be able to plan their attacks better.

-Added a bit more room to walk inside the lobby. Someone said it was cramped, so a little bit more space should make it better.

-Replaced the shack above the entrance to the pit in lobby with scaffolding that does not support buildings. It's too unfair for the defending team to be forced to use the flank or shoot at a sentry at a 90 degree angle while being fired upon by players from the most contested area on the map.

-Added tires to allow all classes to get on top of the big shed outside the flank. The intended purpose is to give better height for the defending team to push into 2nd from the flank... However, this makes pushing into 2nd from mid even more difficult since that shed has massive highground advantage over that door.

-Added snow on the ramps of 2nd to make walking easier

-Added some blockbullets clipping on stairs.

-Raised skybox on mid. No more rocket jumps ruined by invisible ceilings.

Other Stuff
-Buffed some health and ammo packs
-Reduced attacking team's respawn time after capturing defending team's 2nd point (-2s -> -4s)

Thank you to the second round of players testing r3, as well as b4nny for reviewing as well. With all of these considerations in mind, I have the following changes (note that all directional callouts are perceived as if you had been walking from middle to the location):

Geometry
-Shortened the size of middle some.
-Widened the middle platform to make a more circular standing area.
-Snow is now piled up around the midpoint, creating another way up via a "ramp"
-Put a wall up on the really small ramp at the left entrance to 2nd.
-Separated the room to the side of mid that had forward spawns and the two long yet thin ramps (aka far right path to 2nd), so now the forward spawn room is its own room.
-Pushed back the far right path closer to choke. The ramp leading to the old door at mid remains, though without a door.
-Removed the grate in the left path to 2nd. People were confused.
-Removed the small shutter door in the left path to 2nd, and widened the doorway connected the the courtyard at 2nd.
-Removed the underpass hallway connecting to 2nd entirely. There are now only 3 ways from mid to 2nd.
-Pushed up the far right path to 2nd a little bit. The pathway is much shorter overall since the room has been split.
-Re-did the shed and put in on the left wall instead of the right wall so it can block sniper sightlines. It also has a ramp leading down to the courtyard.
-Moved 2nd a little closer to mid to make the map smaller.
-Added a small wall on the left corner of 2nd to block sightlines from main choke.
-Reworked the right side of 2nd. There are now 2 ways into that right building; the old way which has no shutter, and a new shutter door on the left side. I made it a shutter door to give flankers pushing out of last the element of surprise.
-Piled up snow where the old underpass was and added planks so every class can get on the shipping crate in the courtyard.
-Removed the shipping crate just behind 2nd and instead made a small entrance into the "pit" of 2nd-last lobby. Read below for more.
-Re-angled the ramp in the "pit" so it flows better when pushing out of last.
-Removed the old room that used to be accessed from the far right area of 2nd and led into the lower entrance at last. This makes the map less complex so the defending team will have an easier time pushing out.
-The entrance into lower last from the pit now enters at a 90 degree angle instead of head on. This required a reworking of the tunnel leading up to it.
-Added some crates in 2nd-last lobby to spice up the flat terrain and hopefully break up some rocket jumping paths.
-Removed the leftmost corridor leading into last. It was far too long and narrow. Now there are 3 ways into last from 2nd.
-Defenders now have a third door to retreat into spawn, located on the left side. This allows less mobile classes who drop down to the point to get back without being forced to use the right door.

Other Stuff
-Replaced health packs to match all of these changes.
-The nipple at mid now looks slightly different and has a bright colored stripe to indicate team color. The top shuts and reopens so the stripe can change color when ownership is exchanged in a really cool animation.
-I am aware there is a small clip now thanks to the above change. Deal with it.
-May have adjusted some lighting? I honestly can't remember.

Thanks to the TF2Maps discord server for playtesting! Following some of the feedback, the following changes have been made:

Adjusted light_env to match cp_coldfront, so now outside areas won't be super dark

Added some "ambient" linear static lights to improve visibility in covered areas

Added info_overlays below health and ammo packs to show where packs are

Removed lower glass fence in 2nd-last lobby to improve firing lines on both sides

Added small bridge-like geometry at mid to make the area seem less "open" -- Compared to vetted maps, the walkable space is comparable. Perhaps the sightlines are influencing opinions. See below for future considerations.

Removed the left door (from attacker's perspective) from the entrance into 2nd-last lobby and raised the height of the doorway

Fixed leaks from accidentally leaving placeholder doors outside of the map without containing them. The doors were there to easily re-implement them in the future if needed, though I neglected to surround them.

Changed windows texture in last. It was a placeholder texture that was meant to convey the idea of a one-way window. Some people didn't have this texture, though, so for now I've used a TF texture.

Added a round timer so matches are not solely determined by round victory.

Future Considerations
Based on feedback from the first playtest, here are a few personal opinions and things I'm looking out for with future playtesting:

Many people complained the map was too stalemate-y. I've heard this is common with 5CP maps. I reviewed the demo, and I would like to see additional gameplay from not only other people of the same skill level, but also people at higher levels of play.

Some people wanted the second point lowered some. I am holding off on major geometry changes until I see more gameplay. This is to make sure the feedback involving major geometry changes are agreed upon by a larger number of players.

Arrows pointing to where players should go: I agree. I will find places to add arrows so that players will not be confused after an art pass has occurred. For now, since walls are team-colored and the map is very straight, it should be simple to know where to go after playing the map once or twice.

Bottom area directly beneath 2nd will eventually have displacements that replace the blocky edges. (I'll be honest, I was lazy and didn't have a good procedure for symmetrical rotation when I made it...)

"There are too many options going to 2nd from mid": I personally disagree. Since most of the options can be spotted from on top of 2nd, the multitude of routes actually favors people moving to mid from 2nd. In others words, some routes to 2nd should only be taken as an uncommon approach mixup (speaking in terms of coordinated play).

"There are a lot of small, campy doorways to last": I sort of agree. I'm not satisfied with the last point, though keep in mind that last is supposed to be heavily defense-favored. I find myself simultaneously unsatisfied with how easily a solider can jump to last and unsatisfied with the sightlines from the doorways. Would love additional feedback on this (if it is a dilemma, and if so how it could be resolved).

"There are too many shutter doors": I disagree, both thematically and functionally. Thematically, the outside is a frozen, snowy place and the inside is a generator facility / factory so the doors make sense. Nevertheless, I removed the left door as a compromise. Functionally, It is possible to go from 2nd to last without touching a shutter door even before this change (there were even 1x3 ways, all paths required taking the rightmost entrypoint from 2nd). Now there are 2x3 ways.

Fixing stuff up for playtesting, thanks n8five484 for suggesting to visit the Discord.