Shorthall

Neut

L1: Registered
Aug 23, 2009
4
0
Blurb
A hybrid CTF/CP map set in a stormy industrial complex. This is my first map in hammer. I've been learning stuff as I built it, adding bits and pieces as I went along. It was a fun process but the map isn't exactly the most well planned. Just a small simple symmetrical layout with a large open central CP room and 2 smaller base rooms on opposide sides.

Gameplay
Teams have to capture the central CP to unlock the opposing team's intel which is enclosed in a glass case. The central CP only controls which team's intel can be taken, once you have the enemy team's intel you can bring it back to base for a capture point irrespective of who controls the central CP. The intel has a very quick return to base time once dropped (4 seconds) as the map is quite small and to give the defending team slightly less of a disadvantage.
 
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nik

L12: Fabulous Member
Aug 14, 2009
987
564
I like the look of the map, and I lol'd at the pink smoke.

I just downloaded and played it, and it really looks awesome, only two problems though.

the lights seem to be really strange when you get close to them, and are kinda bright. secondly it's just too easy to get the intel and cap it, don't know how you could change this.

otherwise it looks great, keep up the good work.
 

Neut

L1: Registered
Aug 23, 2009
4
0
Hey nik thanks for the feedback.

The lights are a bit bright atm, I'll probably tweak it a bit. I've removed the collsion for the light prop as well to stop people getting stuck on them, so it might be a bit weird that you can walk through them, I could player clip it instead.

I'm not sure how to deal with easy caps myself. I've a feeling the map itself is just too small. I could try setting it so that it's only possible to steal and cap the intel when you control the center and have a very short cap time for the center. This way you can lock out a team from capping rather than chasing down elusive intel carrying scouts.
 

nik

L12: Fabulous Member
Aug 14, 2009
987
564
Hey nik thanks for the feedback.

The lights are a bit bright atm, I'll probably tweak it a bit. I've removed the collsion for the light prop as well to stop people getting stuck on them, so it might be a bit weird that you can walk through them, I could player clip it instead.

I'm not sure how to deal with easy caps myself. I've a feeling the map itself is just too small. I could try setting it so that it's only possible to steal and cap the intel when you control the center and have a very short cap time for the center. This way you can lock out a team from capping rather than chasing down elusive intel carrying scouts.

this might work but then if the team controlling it is really good then they could destroy the other team
 

Zwiffle

L6: Sharp Member
Jun 24, 2008
269
161
Well it looks good for a first map, although the middle point surrounded by water is kind of odd, and judging from how deep it looks would make Pyros a bit weak.

I can't attest to how it plays of course, but from my experiments in mixing cp and ctf it's a pretty difficult thing to get just right. I generally find that making the capture point open some advantageous route upon capture (a catwalk above the point for rocket/nade spam, an easy exit from the intel point, or maybe blocking off a reinforcement route for the defending team) is more the way to go, rather than forcing the teams to vie for the capture point itself. The trick with that method though is keeping the map layout clear enough so players don't get confused with all the changing routes.

Still, new game modes are always intriguing, and this map looks promising.
 

Neut

L1: Registered
Aug 23, 2009
4
0
Well it looks good for a first map, although the middle point surrounded by water is kind of odd, and judging from how deep it looks would make Pyros a bit weak.

I can't attest to how it plays of course, but from my experiments in mixing cp and ctf it's a pretty difficult thing to get just right. I generally find that making the capture point open some advantageous route upon capture (a catwalk above the point for rocket/nade spam, an easy exit from the intel point, or maybe blocking off a reinforcement route for the defending team) is more the way to go, rather than forcing the teams to vie for the capture point itself. The trick with that method though is keeping the map layout clear enough so players don't get confused with all the changing routes.

Still, new game modes are always intriguing, and this map looks promising.

The pyros can still burn people that are underwater, surprisingly, and I suppose I'm just not a huge fan of pyros rushing a busy point and taking out entire teams. They can still cause a lot of damage if they have the element of surprise but if a team finishes them off quickly they won't die from the afterburn 10 seconds later. At least, in theory. :mellow:

I think I wanted the capture point to be the focus of the map rather than the actual flag capping, if that makes sense. Sorta like king of the hill but rather than waiting for a countdown timer you then have to make a push into the opposing base to grab their intel. Again, in theory. :/
 

mdawgmike

L1: Registered
Jun 7, 2009
40
18
I enjoyed the 3 CP version of this, and I enjoy this even more! It makes me reminisce of the greatness of ctf_powerhouse. :D

That being said I think a game breaking problem with this map is the lack of a capture counter on the HUD. Nobody knows what the heck is going on when they're playing this. At least there was utter confusion when I tested this on my community's (FearedGamers) server tonight. A good bet I think would be to just go with a plain CTF HUD until you can find a way to integrate a counter into your custom HUD. You could just put some sort of visual clue on the map to show who holds the center. Take a look at what Nogin has done with Powerhouse as an example (that map plays very similar).

I like the center area just the way it is. A good Pyro can still jump down and make for a quick ambush, in addition to pretty much being dominant throughout the rest of the map. Removing the water in the center would break the balance IMO.

But yes. You have an all-around great map here with lots of potential! :D