<div width="20%" align="right" style="float: left; padding: 1px">Map:
Author:
Gametype:
Players:
<a href="http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/44861">Download</a> | </div><div width="28%" align="left" style="float: left; padding: 1px"><strong>cp_grand_canyon_v1
Yo_Neo
Control Point (5 CPs, symmetrical map)
16-23</strong>
Servers</div><div width="48%" align="center"><img src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/score_cp_grand_canyon_v1.gif">
<font size="-2">All scores are out of 5.0</font></div>
Grand_canyon is a huge symetrical control point map by Yo_Neo that produces epic battles where each and every class can find their place with a shifting battle front and some stunning visuals.
<p><img src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/review_craft.gif"></p><a href="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_craft.jpg"><img align="right" hspace="3" src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_craft_th.jpg"></a>The visuals on this map are of a high standard in the large scale, by that I mean when you stand in the middle and look at the two opposing bases they look very impressive, but running around some of the corridors you feel that certain areas have been neglected detail. All the architecture feels right and like it should be there with the exception of one door which has been stretched a bit too much. The contrast between the Red and Blu sides is plenty to tell which side you are on quickly although the furthest forward spawn room leaves you a little confused as it faces a symmetrical, non colour coordinated corridor but a few wrong turns here will quickly teach you which way to go.
I feel that whilst there is plenty of high quality brushwork and prop placement it tends to be in areas that the player isn’t often looking at, certainly the second control point on each side feels a bit bland, whilst the tops of the tall walls around it are quite detailed. The map provides a pretty good consistent frame rate and has obviously been constructed with optimisation in mind. </p>
<p><img src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/review_design.gif"></p><a href="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_design.jpg"><img align="right" hspace="3" src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_design_th.jpg"></a>Mirrored maps almost always provide equal advantages and disadvantages to each team and grand_canyon is a perfect example of this, there are some great areas for using each class here. I see a lot of custom maps that never have snipers used on them and whilst this prevents players getting annoyed with them its an imbalance, grand_canyon allows for some great sniping opportunities whilst not being over powered, the middle section has enough cover to be traversed by a careful player free from having they brains blown out, whilst a skilled sniper can pick off the unwary player. Scouts obviously have a capping advantage due to their speed but the large size of the map prevents them from wiping the floor with the opposing team. Engineers and spies are slightly hindered on certain parts of this map, whilst the middle section has cover and places to hide its too long to cover in one cloak forcing the spy to seek shelter underneath the bridge where action is minimal. The engineer will find himself preferring to camp out at the later points rather than moving forwards to the centre. Whilst certain classes excel in their own area of this map all classes see even playtime
There are plenty of ways for players to get from A to B in this map ensuring anyone defending a capture point must stay alert. It is also relatively easy to navigate through these multiple routes as signs are clear, although a little infrequent, and due to its symmetrical nature you can learn the layout twice as fast as a non-symmetrical map. The size can be overwhelming but the advancing spawn points and a quick witted engineer per team will keep players from complaining about travel times. The middle bridge is difficult to capture without backup consisting of a variety of classes and the later points also require coordinated attacks on the whole, encouraging teams to act as a unit.
Grand_canyon has a constantly shifting battle front, a big push may break through a teams defences but the scale of the map means the opposing team will be able to secure their next point before the advancing team reaches it. The middle bridge control point often changes hands several times in a good match. On a sparsely populated server this map becomes less than fun as it is really designed to play 32 players but works well with 24. Unfortunately, as with a lot of maps grand_canyon is susceptible to a good scout rush.
<p><img src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/review_style.gif"></p><a href="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_style.jpg"><img align="right" hspace="3" src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_style_th.jpg"></a>This map managed to embed itself in my memory quite well, the bridge across a vast canyon with two large complexes on either side make it different from a lot of other maps for TF2. Whilst the visuals are unique and creative for the most part the map offers nothing new to the control point gametype, it is in essence just more of the same.
Having said that it is just more of the same in terms of gameplay, I have to say it is just more of the same in terms or pretty much everything else as well, The author has obviously spent a lot of time looking at the stock maps and has managed to build a map that, for the most part, fits in quite nicely.
Grand_canyon sticks to all the conventions we are used to from stock maps, advancing spawn rooms, safe spawns that aren't campable, Red side built of wood and with a mining theme whilst Blu side is made of metal and concrete. These make it fun to play if you aren't used to thinking about new game types or anything like that.
<b>Summary</b>
With the size and recommended player amount I have to say that grand_canyon is a good map, it’s definitely above average when played with full teams of 12 or near full teams of 16. It loses most points for the size as a lot of servers only run 24 slots and may not always be full. It was one of the first custom maps I played and it is definitely still one of my favourites and one to check out if you haven't already (I've noticed that it is criminally underplayed)
Author:
Gametype:
Players:
<a href="http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/44861">Download</a> | </div><div width="28%" align="left" style="float: left; padding: 1px"><strong>cp_grand_canyon_v1
Yo_Neo
Control Point (5 CPs, symmetrical map)
16-23</strong>
Servers</div><div width="48%" align="center"><img src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/score_cp_grand_canyon_v1.gif">
<font size="-2">All scores are out of 5.0</font></div>
Grand_canyon is a huge symetrical control point map by Yo_Neo that produces epic battles where each and every class can find their place with a shifting battle front and some stunning visuals.
<p><img src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/review_craft.gif"></p><a href="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_craft.jpg"><img align="right" hspace="3" src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_craft_th.jpg"></a>The visuals on this map are of a high standard in the large scale, by that I mean when you stand in the middle and look at the two opposing bases they look very impressive, but running around some of the corridors you feel that certain areas have been neglected detail. All the architecture feels right and like it should be there with the exception of one door which has been stretched a bit too much. The contrast between the Red and Blu sides is plenty to tell which side you are on quickly although the furthest forward spawn room leaves you a little confused as it faces a symmetrical, non colour coordinated corridor but a few wrong turns here will quickly teach you which way to go.
I feel that whilst there is plenty of high quality brushwork and prop placement it tends to be in areas that the player isn’t often looking at, certainly the second control point on each side feels a bit bland, whilst the tops of the tall walls around it are quite detailed. The map provides a pretty good consistent frame rate and has obviously been constructed with optimisation in mind. </p>
<p><img src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/review_design.gif"></p><a href="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_design.jpg"><img align="right" hspace="3" src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_design_th.jpg"></a>Mirrored maps almost always provide equal advantages and disadvantages to each team and grand_canyon is a perfect example of this, there are some great areas for using each class here. I see a lot of custom maps that never have snipers used on them and whilst this prevents players getting annoyed with them its an imbalance, grand_canyon allows for some great sniping opportunities whilst not being over powered, the middle section has enough cover to be traversed by a careful player free from having they brains blown out, whilst a skilled sniper can pick off the unwary player. Scouts obviously have a capping advantage due to their speed but the large size of the map prevents them from wiping the floor with the opposing team. Engineers and spies are slightly hindered on certain parts of this map, whilst the middle section has cover and places to hide its too long to cover in one cloak forcing the spy to seek shelter underneath the bridge where action is minimal. The engineer will find himself preferring to camp out at the later points rather than moving forwards to the centre. Whilst certain classes excel in their own area of this map all classes see even playtime
There are plenty of ways for players to get from A to B in this map ensuring anyone defending a capture point must stay alert. It is also relatively easy to navigate through these multiple routes as signs are clear, although a little infrequent, and due to its symmetrical nature you can learn the layout twice as fast as a non-symmetrical map. The size can be overwhelming but the advancing spawn points and a quick witted engineer per team will keep players from complaining about travel times. The middle bridge is difficult to capture without backup consisting of a variety of classes and the later points also require coordinated attacks on the whole, encouraging teams to act as a unit.
Grand_canyon has a constantly shifting battle front, a big push may break through a teams defences but the scale of the map means the opposing team will be able to secure their next point before the advancing team reaches it. The middle bridge control point often changes hands several times in a good match. On a sparsely populated server this map becomes less than fun as it is really designed to play 32 players but works well with 24. Unfortunately, as with a lot of maps grand_canyon is susceptible to a good scout rush.
<p><img src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/review_style.gif"></p><a href="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_style.jpg"><img align="right" hspace="3" src="http://forums.tf2maps.net/reviewimages/cp_grand_canyon_v1/cp_grand_canyon_v1_style_th.jpg"></a>This map managed to embed itself in my memory quite well, the bridge across a vast canyon with two large complexes on either side make it different from a lot of other maps for TF2. Whilst the visuals are unique and creative for the most part the map offers nothing new to the control point gametype, it is in essence just more of the same.
Having said that it is just more of the same in terms of gameplay, I have to say it is just more of the same in terms or pretty much everything else as well, The author has obviously spent a lot of time looking at the stock maps and has managed to build a map that, for the most part, fits in quite nicely.
Grand_canyon sticks to all the conventions we are used to from stock maps, advancing spawn rooms, safe spawns that aren't campable, Red side built of wood and with a mining theme whilst Blu side is made of metal and concrete. These make it fun to play if you aren't used to thinking about new game types or anything like that.
<b>Summary</b>
With the size and recommended player amount I have to say that grand_canyon is a good map, it’s definitely above average when played with full teams of 12 or near full teams of 16. It loses most points for the size as a lot of servers only run 24 slots and may not always be full. It was one of the first custom maps I played and it is definitely still one of my favourites and one to check out if you haven't already (I've noticed that it is criminally underplayed)
