resolution a14

General assessment:
-b sucked, again

Layout:
-completely new B, with minor alterations to the connector from B to C
-I deliberately tried to make this B simpler, to feel more like typical TF2 than whatever nonsense I usually end up with

Other:
-removed one of blu's initial spawn exits should be a little simpler with 3
-added blockbullets to the fencing at C so people don't shoot through them
-fixed z-fighting on one of red's last spawn doors

General assessment:
-the new C held up alright for completely fresh geo, was actually held once which makes it an instant improvement; need more data before drawing any conclusions
-A and D play alright, A is holdable but is the easiest to push and D gives red a firm hold while still giving each team room to manoeuvre
-B is shit
-the water gimmick has massively outstayed its welcome, the main choke is boring, the basement flank is awkward and too powerful
-alterations won't help here, it really needs the same treatment I gave C; ripping out out and putting in something new
-the map overall had complaints about flanks, however I feel this is (now) entirely down to B since so much time was spent playing B and B alone

Layout:
-B is now mostly different
-red's spawn (which is blu's forward spawn for D) has been shifted up next to the track, since the battlement ledge was removed it was just dead space
-the shortcut red takes from D to C is now a playable space when defending D, with a window
-the door of said shortcut has had windows added to make spawncamping from blu harder
-increased the length of the track protrusion on last a little, didn't like how close to capping a sneaky spy could get
-moved some boxes on A slightly
-moved blu's upper resupply locker back on their first spawn, it was right next to the exit which isn't good

Other:
-fixed a blockbullet ramp on last that was too steep
-nudged the dynamic sign red has out of their first spawn so you can walk past it on both sides
-raised walls outside blu's first spawn so you can't see into it from the high rock
-fixed a misaligned brush on the arch at A

General assessment:
-B->C needs an overhaul, no real gameplay has ever happened here
-the map relies a little too much on chokepoints, areas should be opened up somewhat, not just random flanks added
-there's a few too many one-way routes which hampers the ability for people to move around the map and enforces the chokes
-A needs fixing but I don't know what the problem really is
-D still feels off to me but again I don't know what's off about it

Layout:
-lowered the wall on A and removed the clipping on top of it
-added a cliff route round the wall on A
-added a ramp connecting the the arch to the buildling, the need for jumping was excessive
-removed the weird bridge route on B
-added a connector to the B window so that it's not a one-way drop down
-made the outer route wider
-the B-C connector is now completely different, and also exits B to the side instead of going forward
-C is also mostly different, although the geometry around the capture point itself remains intact
-added an extra red spawn exit and an accompanying stairwell to D next to the end of the path, idk worth a shake

Balance:
-changed max time from 10 to 8 minutes to make last more tolerable for red
-added a small health pack on top of the A rock
-added a small health pack to the B outer route
-changed the small health pack at the top of B to a medium

Other:
-one-way doors could be left open, moved some triggers to fix this
-fixed some z-fighting on doors

General assessment:
-red stacked engie and defended A in 3 games out of 4???????????????????????
-in the fourth game, blu were stalled initially on A then just steamrolled all the way to last
-for A, it's clear that moving the point has reduced the power of the arch highground, so the geo changes there could be removed somewhat
-the faster respawn time, combined with multiple teles, made for a very small window for blu to kill red and push before they respawned - a few seconds longer could make the difference
-red doesn't really have time to set up on B if they wipe on A, which can hopefully be solved with a force respawn on A cap
-giving red more presence on B will hopefully mean there's a more cohesive defence to fall back to C & D rather than a trickle constantly being hosed down after a single wipe
-there was also an EU test that played differently, but it had a low playercount and everyone kind stopped playing seriously so lmao

Layout:
-added back the ramp up to the arch on A
-removed the other ramp next to the arch
-added another ramp up to the rocks next to the arch, which have had their clipping removed
-honestly just doing this for shits and giggles
-moved some rocks around on the cliff route to make more room
-widened the D outer route some more

Balance:
-red respawnwavetime on A raised from 6s to 7s
-red instantly respawns when A is capped
-moved the medium health pack from the platform next to the bridge up onto the bridge itself

Other:
-added lip to a couple spawn doors to stop z-fighting when opened
-added a teleport to the C connector door when closed so that people can't be stuck in it
-lowered clip brushes on last that weren't smooth
-lowered a fence on last that was floating

General assessment:
-neither A nor B were really played, blu got through both fairly easily - considering previous tests, this is likely not entirely a map issue and more a product of this specific test
-the C choke is still present, albeit not as bad as before the changes
--notably, the underground route was barely used; there's now space where the old spawn room is, which is prime real estate for a new connector
-I'm still not terribly happy with D; the gameplay feels more like blu trying to cheese a push via the opposite flank more than anything
--the outer flank also feels fairly awkward to play in, with its small chokiness and stairway corner

Layout:
-added a window to B, should give red a slightly better defence and makes it clear where the hold is "supposed" to be
-removed the lower connector from B to C
-added a one-way door from that lower area that connects to the B basement area, should give red more presence in the basement area + opens up completely when B is capped, players who fall in the water don't need to take the long way around just to get to the C fight
-added a connector from B to C that goes through the old spawn room, its existence is a lot more intuitive and simpler
-slightly opened up the area behind the arch at C
-adjusted the geometry of the outer D flank, the room now has a staircase and the exterior walkway is flat
-added a small nook next to the final point for moar red defence options

Balance:
-reduced red's respawnwavetime on A from 7s to 6s, please defend it please

Other:
-fixed people spawning inside each other in red spawn
-added an arrow outside red spawn
-added clipping to the structure on B
-raised the height of the doorway on C roof
-added a crate to the high ground on D, blu players going up there have a bit more to play around

General assessment:
-changes to A have given it some actual defending capacity for the first time in 9 versions
-B plays fine, but people (still) don't notice the underground route as much; the main entrance for blue is somewhat hidden
-the C choke didn't turn into a meatgrinder either time, whereas in previous tests it would always stall the cart for at least a few minutes
-however, C continued its pattern of never being defended
-D could also do with a stronger red hold; as it stands, B is the only point where any real defence by red has been made - it's okay if A isn't easily defendable, but C needs to be stronger than B and D more than C
-in this test and the previous test, the spawn room that acts as red's first spawn and blu's last spawn is too easily campable
-all that said, the general geometry seems to be holding up pretty well, which is a far cry from how the map initially played, so I'm making good progress

Layout:
-opened up the B lower route a little to make the entrance to B more noticeable
-removed the camped spawn, made new separate spawns for red's first spawn and blu's third spawn; both have two exits, and blu's main spawn exit is on high ground - this should make camping harder
-moved C even further round the corner
-extended the ledge next to the final point at D

Balance:
-respawn wave times have been unchanged in every version so far, 3s for blu and 9s for red; I've now given red 7s for A, 9s for B, and 8s for C and D
-reduced the time given to blu after capping B from 4 minutes to 3 minutes - blu would almost always have ample time into D because they'd cap C so quickly, so this should reduce that somewhat

Other:
-added clipping to stop people getting on top of some unclipped roofs
-added missing patches under the pickups in B connector
-fixed respawn visualiser appearing for red in the C shortcut
-updated all the spec cam positions, they've never moved even though the geo has massively changed!
-smol pickup changes throughout
-removed a couple fences from the D highground so that red can walk off without taking fall damage
--I'm honestly surprised no-one ever feedback'd that, it's been like that in every version and people just put up with it? are you all masochists??

General assessment:
-while there weren't any major deviations from how the map has played in previous tests, it seems there were some serious spill issues so there's not much to say about balance from a7's test
-the first round had few people, so rolled to the end, the second round slowly gained players up to red being better than blue, so when the teams switched blu pushed fairly easily to last
-removing the cliff route at A gave red a second useful sentry location, however as usual no real defence was made
--I believe part of the problem is that the point area on red's side is too open, once you're extricated from the defensive positions there's not much opportunity to get any back
-most of the head-to-head gameplay at C is still at the choke between B and C, which feels weird given that it's a random mid point between actual capture points
--either roll with it and place another capture point there (lol) or try opening it up
-no complaints about complexity or funky flanks, so I guess the flank neutering worked
-there was a brief spawn camp for blu's final spawn, but idk if it's a big problem since it was very brief

Layout changes:
-added a few brush fences to A to close the area down a smidge
-moved the A point slightly closer to red, might be more defendable?
-opened up the C choke; the roof has been replaced with a thin walkway so there's less purchase for red to hold on to, and the side has been pushed back to widen the area

Other:
-added a wall in blu spawn so red doesn't have a direct line of site to the spawn locations from the upper spawn door
-removed an erroneous brush that partially blocked a B route (that also no-one seemed to notice was there???)
-added a skybox brush on top of the stair-vent route at C
-made the roll-forward zone at C go all the way down the ramp
-moved the window next to the health/ammo nook at C to be on the nook itself so that you can easily see inside from the outside

General assessment:
-the too-many-route problem is back, notably on B but I think there's room to cut down on other points as well
-the other problem is that, consistently every time the map is played, the fights happen in the "wrong" places compared to where I've placed the capture points
-it's probably worth trying to move the capture points to match where the geo funnels the gameplay, rather than wrangling the geo
-A still doesn't hold; I'm not really sure there's a specific reason why, I'd assume the highground is too easy for blu to take and hold but it doesn't seem instrumental in successful blu pushes
-B is held strongly, but still a little too forward - worth moving the point towards blu somewhat to match this
-C is held weirdly, the only hold red is able to sustain is the choke going out into the open but the point itself has never been held; probably worth moving it round the corner
--although I also think it's worth opening up the choke somewhat, not really sure how to go about doing that
-D has remained mostly unchanged through all the versions - I don't even like it but I don't know why I don't like it or how to change it oh god help

Layout changes:
-removed the A cliff route that lead to the bridge
-removed the ramp that connected the ledge to the high ground
-removed the furthest B flank
-opened up the other B flank, makes its existence more obvious and adds more room to manoeuvre
-moved the B capture point a little towards blu, could put it further if it makes sense to
-enclosed the ramp to the roof at C so it can't be used as a trick jump onto the roof, made things awkward being a pseudo-route
-moved the C capture point round the corner
-added a roll forward on the long ramp, feels only fair given the distance between B and C has been extended somewhat
-removed the ramp at D that connected the lower area directly to the cart path
-removed the random ledge at C that let snipers peak a little more round the corner than they should; there's a good argument for removing the main ledge entirely

Other:
-moved the spec cam at C to not be in geometry
-removed a sign overlay
-removed an fence at D last that made a drop-down route awkward to use

General assessment:
-removing the flanks on B and C actually did wonders for how the map played, B was notably choky but C was manageable
-red had an awkward time defending A, a running theme in tests when they can't completely lock it down
-B needs more for blu to push through, right now it's boring; however, from experience, instead of being a flank it should be more of a parallel route to the cart path
-the high ground was too easy for red to have, and too hard for blu to attack; a sentry nestled in the corner requires the point to be clear for blu to peek
-the underground area was too tight for blu to full utilise, red was able to lock it down too easily from above
-C needs a stronger red hold for the point itself
-C will probably play a little differently when B is changed, since that'll alter the hold red has and how easily they will fall back to a C forward hold instead of wiping and respawning
-red was able to too easily forward hold D, with players leaking past C often and reaching blu's spawn with ease - although not enough to spawncamp
-the lower route on D doesn't feel distinct enough with how small it is
-replacing the water on D with flat ground didn't give any problems, the point played without issue

Layout changes:
-removed the route out of the arch, replaced it with a small ledge just to see what happens, making blu's attack harder
-replaced sightline-blocking small hill and structure outside blu spawn with a couple rocks and a sightline, feels more natural
-added a new route on B that connects to an upper area as well as to the basement
-reduced size of red's upper area on B, removed the ammo pack as well to nerf it harder
-removed awkward ledge holding health next to the B point, moved the health down to the ramp
-put the staircase at C in a building to give red something to defend
-added a vent route on the ramp that leads to nowhere so that it now goes to the roof, but only after C is capped; should give blu a better hold on D staging area
-moved the C point a little closer to red
-smoothed two ramps at C
-opened up the lower flank at D a smidge

Other:
-widened gaps between blu spawns
-added clipping to some of the brush fences
-switched the two ammo packs on A, now the full ammo is in the hut
-removed a clip brush that was too steep to walk up at D

There's something funky going on with the water outside blu's first spawn, dunno what's causing it though.

General Assessment:
-doing a lot better on the "ooer this is too confusing" front, A seems to be the last holdout for that
-instead, it's clear that I have a minor addiction to flanks
-this results in overall unfocused fighting
-A doesn't appear to have flanking problems, it's rather straightforward in that regard
-in every other regard, I have no idea what I'm doing with A
-B is silly because of the flanks, although at least the fighting happens more around the point this time
-C's flanks dump you too far away from the cart path, and too close to the point; this results in unstructured fighting and awkward weak holds for red
-the D staging area after C was okay, but blu needs a bit of a leg-up for approaching it since a minor forward hold allows red easy access to all the high ground
-D is okay I think for now, however the water really just needs to go - there's a variety of issues it produces with only a useless gimmick to add
-I thiiink the two routes layered on top of each other that lead to the side area could be merged together, there doesn't seem to be real reason for how they're structured right now
-it's hard to judge how the map plays overall since it still has glaring surface-level issues
-so I'm just gonna dump a version that removes some flanks and see what happens

Layout changes:
-moved ramp at A to make the route up to the arch smoother and more direct
-removed window route on B
-removed water flank at B
-changed the flank area next to B to a simpler hut
-removed vent flank at C
-removed lower tunnel flank at C
-added lower flank on C that pops out to the far side
-added a ramp to C that goes nowhere
-removed water on D, replaced with a flat brush

Other:
-added respawn area to blu first spawn where players could build
-added respawn area to red first spawn where players could build
-changed fence prop to generic wall blocker because props have holes
-moved floating fence at C
-shifted entire map in hammer to one of the quadrants, apparently this makes it better for vis