CTF XanFort

Xanthor

L1: Registered
Jan 28, 2011
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If I did it right, this should be a pretty fast, well-balanced ctf map. What I wanted to do was build something like 2fort, only without all of the terrible parts. I'll leave it to everyone else to tell me what I ended up with.

I have three main concerns. First, I'm afraid that the underground route is too fast relative to the overland route. For obvious reasons, though, I don't want to slow the former down. My hope is that the underground is defensible enough that going through the front door becomes necessary.

Second, there are a couple of areas, like the flag rooms, that seem too large and empty. I'm not sure if I should just leave them alone, hem them in a little, or fill them up with platforms or something. Overall, it might just depend on how it ends up playing.

Third, I'm not sure how the style of the map will be received. I like it, personally, but sunny, desert-like maps seem to be more popular. Even though it looks dark, I think I have it pretty well-lit. It would be pretty easy to change it all up though, if there's a consensus that it's no good as is.

So let me know what you think. Is it worth continuing to work on? Are there ways I can improve it? Or is it just better off if I abandon it completely, hang my head it shame, and take a crocket to the head?
 
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Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
aa
Sep 5, 2010
6,394
5,571
Ontop of what they said, it also looks like your cap zone for the flags are too high up to just walk over, jumping up to get it is not favored. you should lower it.

EDIT: also, having those big open spaces will make it hard to optimize properly, which causes fps drop, which, in turn, upsets the players a lot.
 

Xanthor

L1: Registered
Jan 28, 2011
6
0
"Could use some displacements instead the flat ground in screen #1"

I completely agree. I tried early on, but I couldn't get it to look right, so I've been putting it off.

As for everything else, thank you so much. I can think about a dozen ways to improve it now. The changes will be a little drastic, but definitely improvements. This has been ridiculously helpful for me. I'll be back, eventually, but fell free to keep pointing out my errors.
 

Xanthor

L1: Registered
Jan 28, 2011
6
0
I've updated. The basic form is the same, but it's smaller, a little tighter. The flag is no longer on a platform, it's just floating ominously. The flag room is the same size (although not as big as the picture makes it look), but it has been broken up into two rooms. I honestly don't know if it will be easier or harder to defend now, but it looks a lot better. I added a large hill (with a tunnel) in the middle to break the direct sight, and put barriers on top for sentry positions and to make life a little more difficult snipers, and added side doors and tunnels for the same reason. Snipers can still be effective, but they'll have less time to act and more places to watch.

I'm still not sure what people will think about the ducts. I made them small on purpose so that you have to duck to walk through, but that also slows you down which I think people might hate. There is at least one place where you can put up a telly, though, and a couple of good ambush positions, if you are so inclined. It wouldn't be hard to go back and make them taller if that's what people want, but they are air conditioning ducts, after all. If you can just walk right in, then it's just a strange, metal hallway.
 

Xanthor

L1: Registered
Jan 28, 2011
6
0
Update again. This should have come out a while ago, but it seemed like every problem I fixed made another pop up (insert invisible wall rage). There's still a couple of little things I need to clean up, but I've decided to just ignore them and update as is.

My main goal was to simply change the lighting and texturing to something more polished, but I ended up with a lot of small changes to the layout and very similar lighting and texturing. I think the intel/sewer hallway turned out particularly nice, as did the skybox villages, which are a little tough to see in the 4th screenshot, but I they work the way I intended in-game. Opening up the wall between the entrance and the base of the tower is probably the most significant gameplay change, but it isn't very dramatic. There might also be a few other things I changed and completely forgot about.

I'm afraid it might be too dark outside now. I don't think it's as dark as the screenshots make it look, but I already know my way around. Either way, it is an easy thing to fix if people want it brighter, so let me know. Of course, I'd be happy to change the whole theme if people prefer something else; I'm not completely satisfied with the way it is myself, but I couldn't find anything I liked better.

Also, someone please give me a name for this thing.
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
This map has some pretty fundemental issues that need resolving.

A) Optimisation is terrible/non-existant. Research "hint brushes" and "areaportal's".

B) Lighting is too low. Increase the brightness outside, and you also need to do the same in some inside areas.

Look how dark this is and look at my FPS: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/grazr/ctf_xanfort_b30003.jpg

I run a GTX 460 and should not be getting anything below 100.

For additional lighting help check out this link (as seen in my signature): http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=15271

C) Refrain from using coloured lights, they prevent/reduce team recognition.

Nodraw the back of this: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/grazr/ctf_xanfort_b30002.jpg
 
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