Health & Ammo positioning - Payload

Bull

L4: Comfortable Member
Aug 30, 2011
193
144
Hey guys,

As some of you might know, I'm currently working on my map pl_coldtop! However, as someone who never plays comp. TF2, I'm not a 100% sure where to put the pickups in my level. I've figured that the smaller the pack, the closer I can get them to the payload rail. (A full health pack on a faraway flank, for example)

What are your thoughts?
 

Kraken

Few more zeros and ones for the site to proccess
Dec 21, 2014
430
121
Try diffrent locations every update and ask people.
Also if a room is near enemy's and has a sight line put something valuable.
 

Vel0city

func_fish
aa
Dec 6, 2014
1,947
1,589
If you have rooms that you think are important but you don't see them used all that often place health/ammo in it. Generally, some ammo around a point, some health/ammo near a flanking route, and if you're really clever you watch what routes Solders and Demo's take on rollouts, and place health and ammo along those routes. Not directly in the path, but something like Granary or Process's health/ammo placement.
 

fauks

L2: Junior Member
Jul 7, 2013
68
17
Ammo - think where the engi wants to be, then put 1 small one nearby, and 1 large one much farther away.

Health - same as above, but think medic+heavy combo instead.
 

Moonfixer

L5: Dapper Member
Aug 23, 2014
229
81
It truely is a trial and error process.
 

wareya

L420: High Member
Jun 17, 2012
493
191
0) If you make a 5CP map it's absolutely imperative to have two lunchpacks (or at least one lunchpack and maybe a pill) well-spaced along the shortest demoman route from the initial spawn to the middle point.
1) Close but not too close to chokepoints, and not always
2) In interesting places near tactical advantages
3) Anywhere that there doesn't seem to be any
4) In places where you would like to encourage people to build sentries or dispensers (applies to health and ammo equally, except for mega ammo, which applies 8x)
 

xzzy

aa
Jan 30, 2010
815
531
Explore the map as a spy and the default watch, space things out along the main route so they can just barely get from one end of the map to the other without decloaking.

If you have ammo more common than that, it'll be too easy for spies to run around (see: foundry). If it's less common spies won't be able to have much fun. But if you hit that sweet spot a spy will sometimes be able to infiltrate with no issues, but other times someone will grab the ammo and ruin the pacing.. forcing the spy to engage or maybe step off the main route in search of an alternative.
 

ExtraCheesyPie

L420: High Member
Jan 29, 2015
484
151
0) If you make a 5CP map it's absolutely imperative to have two lunchpacks (or at least one lunchpack and maybe a pill) well-spaced along the shortest demoman route from the initial spawn to the middle point.
1) Close but not too close to chokepoints, and not always
2) In interesting places near tactical advantages
3) Anywhere that there doesn't seem to be any
4) In places where you would like to encourage people to build sentries or dispensers (applies to health and ammo equally, except for mega ammo, which applies 8x)

lunchpack? Those are standard first aid kits, lol.
 

UKCS-Alias

Mann vs Machine... or... Mapper vs Meta?
aa
Sep 8, 2008
1,264
816
Also note that on payload maps there is allmost never a health or ammo pack at the cart path. there is allmost allways a 256 HU walk to the nearest one (however, there are some exception areas in most good payload maps! - generaly near moments where if the attackers got past they can push quite some distance further).

Keeping the cart away from health and ammo sources makes people get closer to the cart more often as health and ammo source. Unless they deliberately want to get away from the cart, in which case the detour should just be a few seconds. Too far results in people not even trying.

And note that the red team rarely gets ammo and health sources at their defensive spots. There are only a very few places where they can get it and often those are such clear nests they most of the time have to face snipers. Most of the stuff is aimed at giving blue an advantage.