CP Factory

impiaaa

L1: Registered
Apr 7, 2012
2
0
So, for my very first map, I humbly present: CP Factory!

CP Factory is a vertical, Gorge-style, 2 CP map. That is to say, there are two control points total, there's only one round, and RED's defending and BLU's attacking. By "vertical," I mean it takes place in a three-story building. BLU spawns in the basement, takes the second floor, then moves up to the roof, where RED spawns.

The story behind it can be something like "BLU infiltrated RED's HQ through the basement, and must shut down RED's evil world-take-over radio tower." Or whatever.

So, of course the map's in an early alpha stage. Some things I need to do before release:
  • Signs. It's pretty obvious to me (BLU goes up, RED goes down), but there will always be people who get lost.
  • Side passages. The two I added are too obvious and don't cut it IMO.
  • Decals for item pickups, once I decide where they go finally.
  • I need a new name! It's not really a factory at the moment. Maybe "Corporate?"
  • I need to quit throwing props everywhere. It's getting messy, and there are other ways to add detail.
  • func_detail the ramps
  • Model, texture, and animate the conveyor belts
  • Add hints, area portals, and skips, and optimize in general
  • Add actual light models
  • Fix or remove the fancy physics effects for the roof air vents and the conveyor belts
  • Restructure! Tighter rooms, higher ceilings, and more height differences.

So, what do you guys think? It's kind of unbalanced at the moment but I've only been testing it with bots, so I'm eager to test it with real people.
 
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tyler

aa
Sep 11, 2013
5,102
4,621
I'm seeing huge, boxy rooms with little to no cover, no height variation, and no real paths or routes other than1-2 entrances into an area. This will create a map that RED easily dominates and BLU won't be able to do a damn thing.

I think the name Factory is probably taken. "Corporation" is also taken, fyi. (I know you said corporate.) You may want to read the article in my signature
 
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Tarry H Sruman

Large Orphanage Proprietor
aa
Jul 31, 2011
872
1,021
I think that the vertical layout will be difficult, if not impossible, to pull off. Many people have tried vertical maps before but they've always been crippled by the fact that a) Certain classes (soldier, demo) are able to take advantage of vertical layouts much more than others, and b) People hate walking up all those goddamn stairs, absurdly tall spirals in particular. I wouldn't recommend making vertical maps, particularly for someone of your experience level (I'm making an assumption here, I mean no offense).

But as for the individual areas, they look like typical beginner fare (once again, I don't want to sound like an ass here, I'm just stating my opinion). They're flat, open, and kind of prop-spammy. You should try to create height variation within each individual point area, rather than with the whole map (eg. include high and low ground around each point, rather than making a stack of flat areas).

You can try to put this up for a test, but I will warn you now that it won't play well and will almost certainly get a very negative response (be ready for this, many of us love to pick apart the negatives of maps, but we don't do it to be mean, we do it to help people improve). I would recommend taking the time to think out a layout for a more standard map. It may seem dull, but "thinking outside of the box" when you're inexperienced doesn't work. Your first map will be crap, as will your second, third, and so on (it happens to all of us), but you will get better. Nobody reinvents level design on their first attempt.

Good luck with whatever you decide to work on!
 

The Wiggin

L2: Junior Member
Aug 9, 2011
50
2
I love the idea of a vertical 2cp. Im new to mapping myself and have little experience but I think it would be difficult to balance. Maybe start with something simpler and come back to this once you have more experience?
 

impiaaa

L1: Registered
Apr 7, 2012
2
0
Well, I didn't want this project to take up too much more of my time, so maybe I'll just release the source and let it die.
 

Vaconcovat

L3: Member
Jan 15, 2012
116
188
Yeah, like my first map it's all made of boxes. Boxy rooms, with props chucked in. Do this to get to know hammer and how things work, but you might want to reconsider the design.