Dreary

skacky

L1: Registered
Sep 4, 2009
18
2
Bleak

Bleak (A/D) Alpha 2
Created by: Romain 'skacky' Barrilliot
Email: skacky@skacky.net or skacky2002@hotmail.com

Important: changed mapname to cp_bleak to avoid confusion with the swamp themed 5cp cp_dreary.

Hello guys. :)

After some months of work on this map, I'm releasing the first public alpha version.

Dreary is a Gravelpit-like A/D map, with A and B available for capture and C locked until the two other caps are captured. The map is set in dreary, chilling and rainy mountains (hence the name) with a hidden missile launch base.

The first alpha was to test the global gameplay and it turned out that the map had to be scaled down because it was too huge.
Anyway with this alpha 2 the map is smaller, less confusing and plays quite well despite some persistent issues that will be fixed in the future.

Note that the lighting and global aesthetic is not final, even if it's quite advanced now. The map doesn't use HDR yet.
I'm posting here for feedback and everything that can help the map development. I'm mostly looking for gameplay feedback, especially concerning A, but I'm open to everything.
Some issues I have with the current version are too many signs (the a1 had very few of them) and B is pretty far from the two bases.

Have fun and happy bughunt!

Thanks to:
Geek-Gaming for hosting the first alpha: http://www.geek-gaming.fr/site/
Valve Software.
And you for opening this thread. :p
 
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Zwiffle

L6: Sharp Member
Jun 24, 2008
269
161
Oh wow screenshots look NICE. 4th and 5th look a little dark and the displacement in the 6th looks like it could use a little work, but every thing else is looking top notch. Can't wait to give this a test run on Game Day. There aren't enough good Gpit style maps, hope this one lives up to the pics. :)
 

skacky

L1: Registered
Sep 4, 2009
18
2
Thank you. :)

As I said lighting is not final at all so issues like too much darkness will be fixed in later updates. I will submit the map to the Gameday to see problems and such, but I already spotted places where things don't work the way they should.
 

Seba

DR. BIG FUCKER, PHD
aa
Jun 9, 2009
2,364
2,728
Whoa, the 4th one blew my mind for some reason. I love this map, keep up the good work.
 

skacky

L1: Registered
Sep 4, 2009
18
2
I found the name not good enough anyway. :D

I'll still call it dreary until the next update to avoid confusion, and I'll probably rename it cp_downpour for a3. Thanks for telling me this.
 

nik

L12: Fabulous Member
Aug 14, 2009
987
564
this looks very beautiful and well done, have yet to try out the gameplay aspects, but those don't really mean anything, anyways.
 

Cylence

L1: Registered
Sep 5, 2009
38
11
I just ran through the map and I have to say that it looks gorgeous. If there is any critique I can make on the appearance it is that some of the cliffs and caves look a little repetitive. I don't think that it is too big of a deal though. Also, I observed that it was raining (leaky roofs?) inside two of the side rooms in red's base.

You should be commended for your usage of clip brushes; especially on the stairs (un-clipped stairs are a pet peeve of mine). Blu's spawn could use some player-clips around the doorways but, you got everywhere else pretty good. At point A I saw that you clipped the underside of the walkway by the rock but didn't clip the side you first see when approaching from the blu tunnels. It is quite easy for a FaN scout to hang out under that part of the walkway.

You seem pretty well off as far as aesthetics go. I can't make much of a comment on gameplay at this time. Good luck on getting some play-testers.

Keep up the good work.
 

skacky

L1: Registered
Sep 4, 2009
18
2
Thank you for your comment.

Yeah you're right about the cliffs, I have to scale the texture up to break the repetitive feel of it, and perhaps add some additionnal unreachable rocks to hide it. The texture I used is really too repetitive when seen from a distance, even if it's scaled up, but it works with rocks models so.

I still have to clip BLU spawn doors, I think I just forgot it. :O
For the A, some players spotted that too yeah. I'm probably going to raise terrain a little bit and add clip brushes so it will feel more realistic than a simple clip brush in the void.

For playtesters, I already have some (my friends), but guys here at TF2Maps.net will be perfect to spot issues and give feedback. I'll submit the map (this version) to the next gameday, but I have already a little list of what to change.

Cheers. :)
 

skacky

L1: Registered
Sep 4, 2009
18
2
Alright, I edited the first post with some new info, added a new download link and changed the map name to cp_bleak to avoid confusion with the swamp themed 5CP cp_dreary.
I also added HDR and fixed a couple of little issues, but I'm waiting gameday feedback to work on the layout properly, so I didn't change anything yet.

I hope this name isn't taken too. :O
 

pl

L5: Dapper Member
Mar 6, 2009
248
55
Those screenshots are all very nice, I like the way you've done the map's environment. I bet this plays well as well :D
 

Dr. Spud

Grossly Incandescent
aa
Mar 23, 2009
880
854
After the gameday test, here's what we found.

I feel kind of a bad saying this because you must have put a lot of effort into the map, but there's no way around it: the layout is terrible. Not in the "oh there should be an extra path here and there" way, but in the "I don't know what you were thinking" kind of way.

For example, Red spawns literally right next to C, and only short walk from A. But to get to B, Red has to run through A, down a long, long tunnel, and then they're on the Blue side of B. It just doesn't make sense - so of course Red ignores B for the entire game.

But it's not a big deal for Red, because A is incredibly easy to defend. Not only is Red's spawn close to it, but they can set up above the point, and Blue can only run through a couple tiny doorways to their doom. The couple of times we played the map, it was just Blue running to their death at A until the round ended.

Plus, even if Blue managed to capture A, there's absolutely no way they'd ever make it to C. There is, afterall, no path into C via B. So Red only has to watch 2 entrances, and since they spawn right next to C (with no height disadvantage or anything), there's really no chance that they'd ever lose.

I dunno dude, this is why it's not a great idea to detail maps before testing them. To make this map work, you've got a hell of a lot of redesigning to do.
 

skacky

L1: Registered
Sep 4, 2009
18
2
Thanks for your comment.
Don't feel bad about saying what you think, I hate it when people say 'oh great, amazing map, bye bye' and then never play the map again because it lacks something.

For the layout, well that's because it's an alpha, so it's going to change, don't worry about that. I stickied to Gravelpit and Furnace Creek the most I could but it seems I failed because, well, the map is horribly huge! And after the first test I noticed that the flow was wrong in B so I deleted a part of the map and reused things in other bits.
You're probably right about detailing too, but it's where I am the best anyway, I can't stop when I begin detailing an area, but I'm also not afraid at all to redesign or remove whole areas because of a bad flow or something. I usually spend entire days working on a whole map.
(For example I did that once on a natural selection map I was working and the latest version is 75% new stuff made after deleting or redesigning big chunks of the map)

However, if you have any idea about how to make A less difficult to take, I listen. Fixing the points is more important than the layout for the moment, layout comes later. Same goes for C. ;)

(and there's a path from B to C without taking the route to A but I must admit it has been quickly done).

Cheers.
 
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Dosia36

L1: Registered
Apr 4, 2009
24
2
Great map, but too dark and detailed in really important areas (such as capture points and fight zones).
Put simple light instead of light_spot here:
cpbleaka2a0000.jpg


Also, I think you better place a simple way here. Jumping on those crates is really headaching!
cpbleaka2a0002.jpg
 
Feb 17, 2009
1,165
376
Well detailed. but as Dr. Spud said, the layout is really bad. If you would remake 60% of the layout the map could be really enjoyable :)
 

Zanpa

L4: Comfortable Member
Jan 17, 2009
164
43
I like this map just because of the a1 => a2 changelog. I don't think anyone read it all except skacky...: O
And the fact that it reached a2 just 2 days before a1. Fast mapping is fast.