BETA MAP: CTF_Brownstone

Oct 25, 2007
219
690
It's a capture the flag with a slight twist. The briefcase (on the top floor) is under an impenetrable force field. You must turn off the building's power (in the basement) to disable the force field.

The map has been pulled by Spaceweasels until he can get the bloody thing working properly


Edit: Due to popular demand, I've added screenshots.

This image is darker than what the map really is:
brownstone1.jpg


The briefcase under a forcefield:
brownstone2.jpg


The main power button for the building (under the arrow):
brownstone3.jpg
 
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drp

aa
Oct 25, 2007
2,273
2,628
Some screenshots would help to encourage lurkers/users to download and try out the map. Sounds interesting tho. ;)
 

Jao

L1: Registered
Oct 25, 2007
44
13
drpepper is right. Mappers should always post screenshots when posting a new map if they really want people to try their maps !
 
Oct 25, 2007
219
690
You guys are right. I tried posting screenshots, but it wasn't working for me, and it was late. I'll try posting screenshots again.
 

Cdsand

L2: Junior Member
Oct 25, 2007
75
1
I like the power button idea. It keeps it from being a simple get the thing and get to your thing mechanic. If you haven't already, you should clarify that objective by using a env_message_tf.

EDIT: Also, what do the players do to activate the button? Players can't press buttons in tf2. Is it damage based? That would be too easy. I would have used a pressure pad device. Clarify this!
 
Oct 25, 2007
219
690
Cdsand said:
I like the power button idea. It keeps it from being a simple get the thing and get to your thing mechanic. If you haven't already, you should clarify that objective by using a env_message_tf.

Ooooh, good idea! I will definitely add that.

Cdsand said:
EDIT: Also, what do the players do to activate the button? Players can't press buttons in tf2. Is it damage based? That would be too easy. I would have used a pressure pad device. Clarify this!

It's a touch activated button, you don't have to press any key or even look at it. It's also not team dependent, so you could accidentally turn off the power by brushing up against the button. I was thinking of adding a sign that says "WARNING! DO NOT LEAN AGAINST BUTTON" next to the button in question.
 

Cdsand

L2: Junior Member
Oct 25, 2007
75
1
He, nice idea there. I look forward to the final.
 
M

MrTwitch

I dig the map but I have a few suggestions, the interiors are extremely small and claustrophobic, I think it would be a bit better if almost all of the paths could hold at least two people. I also found it really hard to navigate for the first few minutes because all the rooms look the same. The concept is really spot on though and I think this could be one of the most awesome map concepts going!
 
Oct 25, 2007
219
690
MrTwitch said:
I dig the map but I have a few suggestions, the interiors are extremely small and claustrophobic, I think it would be a bit better if almost all of the paths could hold at least two people. I also found it really hard to navigate for the first few minutes because all the rooms look the same. The concept is really spot on though and I think this could be one of the most awesome map concepts going!

Thanks for the comments. You're right about some areas being too small and tight. That's a continuous problem with my maps. I've been working on increasing the access to both the button room and flag room. I've also enlarged some of the important ramps. I should have the second version posted soon.
 
Oct 25, 2007
219
690
BROWNSTONE_B2

Okay, new version, and it's ready to play. I've listened to what people have said, and I have delivered!

Here is what is new with this version:

* Enlarged certain areas and doorways to make traveling easier.
* More brightness! Everything is brighter!
* More beautifications and new special effects.
* Cleaned up some bad brushes and textures.
* Added a mission briefing and a movie.
* Fixed a bug that would allow taking the flag with the force field still active.

Here are some new screenshots:

brownstone-ss.jpg

The flag room feature wider areas and more details.

brownstone-ss2.jpg

Cleaned up the basement and added nifty special effects.

brownstone-ss3.jpg

You can see stuff now. Well, at least you can see it better!

Download it HERE!(22mb)

Let me know what you think!
 
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K

killanator

i think when you added screens you deleted the download or something, i cant see it, maybe ill just get it off the server
 
Oct 25, 2007
219
690
I put the download link at the bottom of the b2 update post. YOu put a good point that some people might not see it. I posted a link to the newest version on the first post.
 
K

killanator

i think 1 or 2 more lights in the basement might help, but not very bright and in the corner so its subtle maybe?
 
A

AssCacti

Spaceweasels, I added the map to the server map rotation. Hopefully, you can get some in-game feedback for it. I'll be sure to post something.

Thanks!
 
B

Buster Charlie

Played it 1 on 1 with a friend just to try out the test map server. In a word aweful.

But now without possibility of being a good map.

Right now, it's cramped, lots of places to get snagged on, some horrible design, ugly, and.,.


THE DOORS OPEN TOO SLOW. Holy shit that is annoying.

it wasn't even interesting enough to hang out and wait for players.

The central bridge is way too 'dumpy' you have a clip brush so people don't get hung up but it looks like people are floating across it. Also whats the point of the water? There is no underwater tunnel, so it's just a funneling method. Also the center area is so cramped, you should at least do like TF2's maps and have 'fenced off' area to the sides to make the area look larger.

Also if a friendly can turn off the power, then you'll get double agents or greifers who will keep your own power shut down and you can do NOTHING to stop them from ruining the game.

I got a bunch of errors about custom decals and textures, that could have been the server. But i'm not sure how much a map should depend on non TF2 stuff.

You have this WEIRD bug were if your crossng the center area some stuff is pitch black, then when you cross a threshold it's light again.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Oct 25, 2007
219
690
Thanks for trying it out. There's a few problems and bugs that I noticed when I was playing it on the server. It should get removed from the server rotation until I do a complete overhaul.

Some of your more pressing questions:

The water Initially I had planned on having underwater access. I scrapped it, since I couldn't get a good fit into the basement. I kept the water however, as a battlefield alternative to get the pyro's flames off you. The water is pretty dark, so snipers can't see you in it. You do have a point, I should go full out with the water, or just forget about it.

The bridge Yeah, kind of dumpy. I wanted a bow bridge, as opposed to the flat bridges you see everywhere. I think it's still a good idea, but I need to rebuild it, beautify it and enlarge it.

the doors Hmmm.. Faster doors is easy to do. Under testing the doors seemed to move fast enough, but then again, I didn't have someone shooting at me. ;)

the button You bring up a good point about griefers. It's not problem putting a filter on it. The more serious problem with it, is that if you press the button too many time too fast, it's screws up the force field. I have a delay set, but the game seems to ignore that field for some reason. I tried having everthing go through a logic_relay, but I'm still not happy with the results.

Custom textures This map doesn't use custom textures so you shouldn't have gotten those errors. The last build was before the final SDK came out, so I didn't have any working env_cubemaps on the map. That might've been what you experienced.


Anyway, some good lessons learned from this map. I may return to it someday (since I like the idea of the forcefield switch). Until then, I'm suspending work on this map until I can figure out how to fix some serious issues with it.
 
B

Buster Charlie

Good point about pyro flames in water.

as some classes I RUN into doors and get stuck on em, they feel a LOT slower than normal TF2 doors.

The bridge is a good idea, it's just a bit too TALL, the entire map feels like it could be enlarge a bit.