Atomgrad

MVM atomgrad A6A

Languid

L5: Dapper Member
Oct 9, 2009
240
256
The bots have taken everything. Our only hope is this aging Siberian launch site. Maybe we can nuke bot HQ, or maybe we should just use it to leave this godforsaken planet.



Ok this map is eeeeeeeh. we do not have long to get layout down pat. Most the work will go into the pop file once i have something acceptable. Is there a way to have multiple difficulty pop thingees for custom MvM? That would help with the 2hard problems. Give me your images of launch sites and soviet municipal buildings.

It is really open. I like it, but may need cover or bot hypnosis to work. Start is most dull section. How do you make an interesting entrance for the botters? it seems almost inescapably dull, them invuln lining up to fall off a small cliff into an open, flat area.
 
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Languid

L5: Dapper Member
Oct 9, 2009
240
256
Finale shrunk a touch and cover added. Building tweaked slightly. Start has bit more holding power.

New pics and a dl link are up. This is gonna be real hard to finish on time, but goddamn its pretty fun to map for MvM
 

LeSwordfish

semi-trained quasi-professional
aa
Aug 8, 2010
4,102
6,597
Okay i think its pretty decent.

First wave: those soldier bots are too hard. As Turbo said, they could be standard soldiers easily. I think the wave would also work fine without them.

Second wave: It's really hard to get the tank because there's always someone swarming you. I think maybe if the gap between the bowmen and the scouts were a bit bigger you'd have more time to pile damage on the tank before it could get too far into the map.

I think the first area is problematic because scouts, pyros, and other classes that need space to maneuver can't really, all they can do is duck backwards and forwards into the area. I think a tunnel through the raised area might help- also maybe a good place for a med healthpack. Also there's a dumb small gap between two ramps and i kept dying in there.

Second area needs a route up. Maybe a jump route or something.
 

TR0N

L1: Registered
Mar 8, 2013
2
3
Not sure if this is the right place to submit an opinion about the map, but the voting site sent me here, so I figure why not:

If there were a word I could use to describe this map, it would be awkward. It's kind of hard to describe, but it's like while this place is pretty cool, and there's some great ideas in there, it just... Doesn't quite come together in a way that works.

In the first area where the bots come down, the group I played with found it kind of hard to pick out good sentry spots. With that little building right between the two main areas the bots can come from, half of them kept getting past without issue with our sentry placed on the left side. But then on the right, there's no real place to set the sentry at all since the little ledge is blocked off by cover. The best you can do is set it on the ground and Wrangle away.

Meanwhile the close-range classes like Pyro have no real method of escape once they approach the bot spawn. You just run in, set a couple bots on fire, airblast them back, and then try to escape before getting ripped apart by Scattergun or Huntsman fire.

But then there's the second area, in the warehouse or whatever it is: I actually really like the layout of it, with the multiple levels and the subtle little ramps here and there. It's an interesting area that lends itself well to pushing the bomb carrier back and buying yourself some time. But sort of like the first area, it's way too open, with way too little cover for any classes to really get in there and hold position or push the bomb back. Sure, you can take the alternate route of the stairs by the Hydro dish, but that path is so awkward and roundabout to take that by the time you get in there, the bots will already be approaching the dish. It would be a really diverse area with lots of ways to attack OR defend, but for now it's just way too hard to get back into once the bots have come through.

I didn't find too much issue with the drop site, other than the staircase on the left being really tedious to approach if the bomb carrier decides to take that path. And by the upgrade station, how there's that little building, then the light pole and the crate to keep bots from just turning and spawncamping you? It's just a little thing, but could you pull that tall crate back a little bit so you can actually see it when you're walking by? Too many times I was in a hurry to kill some bots and rounded that corner, only to run straight into that infernal crate and get stuck for a second before I wound around it again.
 
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Raider

L1: Registered
Mar 19, 2013
4
1
D:

Quick opinion on the map overall:

Was just playing this map. Joined in the middle of the 1st wave and D:
The amount of bots in the map is too much to handle, in my opinion. The bots have so many ways to put out damage, and it's a little much against 6 players.

Besides that, the aesthetics and layout is absolutely incredible. The dish at the end is amazing, and it gives you so many options. A ton of bots, but a great map overall.

EDIT: Major change in opinion


After being horrified about the amount of bots, I beat it with a random team and started to appreciate the map.
The amount of bots is absolutely horrendous, which can be a good thing. Why? Because you actually have to work together, which is why I wanted to play MvM in the first place. Also, the map is extremely open, giving you a bevy of options. While this map may be too open for its own good, it still makes for a helluva fun time.

Will vote on official thread later:
Gameplay: 8 (really hard, really fun)
Waves: 5 (...)
Aesthetics: 6 (Cool, but skybox sticks out a bit too much)
Technical: 7 (Some lag rendering launch area)

Definitely gets my vote.
 
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lana

Currently On: ?????
aa
Sep 28, 2009
3,075
2,778
Bots don't obey paths, can build in inaccessible places, detailing's bad, lots of steps you can't walk up, waves are annoying and unfun, just generally awful 0/10
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
The clipping is really really poor. All the trim is either in the way or creating micro platforms. And there are spots where you can't jump despite it being obviously low enough.

There is even a way to sneak out of bounds with a sentry jump. It is the dark roof right next to the high exit to the last area. From there on it is just a matter of falling off the ground and into the void. Did you know that you can shoot thru displacements, but the robots can't shoot back?
 

Ælement

Comfortably mediocre
aa
Dec 21, 2010
1,481
1,616
About the clipping:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWd7opFK3sg

75EB8BABBE24259438C03A0C12624759F5E2A89E

983F55F41C9685065BEA1A0AFAA387A3973D1226
514719560793D4B6A64839F187ECFCA558F34DC0
 

Idolon

they/them
aa
Feb 7, 2008
2,105
6,106
Gameplay: 3
Your layout has potential, but for the moment it doesn’t work very well. It is very overscaled, and there are not nearly enough good defensive positions. There are more high, powerful routes that the bots have to the hatch than the players have to the first area of the map. There was a distinct lack of cover in the map. High ground should be given to the players to stay on and attack bots below them, but the bots have to run right over the high ground to get to the hatch.

Waves: 3
I don’t know if anyone has ever gotten past wave 3. You use scattergun scouts an awful lot, which are actually fairly powerful enemies: if they get close enough, they can take a player out in a couple of shots. In fact, most of your bots are relatively powerful - remember that it’s okay to have weak bots too! Most successful pop files have “fodder” bots along with very large enemies that are the real threat. Take a page from their book.

Aesthetics: 7
The aesthetics, while sometimes a not executed greatly, had some good ideas. The dish + rocket area is actually pretty imposing, very much a landmark of the map. Your lighting is also very nice for a nighttime map. Scaling was a bit off in some spots (especially the building where bots came from), and some props stuck out as being in weird spots (one box of dynamite sitting out as a stepping stone). Besides these few errors, you’ve got some pretty okay detailing.

Technical: 7
-Sentry spots where sentry buster cannot access
-Bots didn't always take the right path (did not witness, so no points taken off)
-Able to be killed in spawn

Full Judgement PDF
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
So there is a second way to leave the map in the final area?

I found a third way when i actually checked the clipping brushes. It's that suspended hallway in the beginning area, looking towards the smokestack.
 

Spacek531

L4: Comfortable Member
Jan 28, 2012
165
94
So there is a second way to leave the map in the final area?

I found a third way when i actually checked the clipping brushes. It's that suspended hallway in the beginning area, looking towards the smokestack.


There is. Dr. Element and I found that when we were just checking out the map.

1st area: the covered walkway (sentry jump)

2nd area: the one sloped roof(sentry jump), walking through the rocks at spawn
 

Languid

L5: Dapper Member
Oct 9, 2009
240
256
A stunning example of why clipping should not be left to the panic crunch time!

I have exams and generally my mapping spirit is crushed, but I will be working on this a bit over summer. First 4 waves or so can probably be split up into more (yes and made less difficult), and I have some ideas for bigass layout changes.

Thanks for all the help, see y'all next time!

EDIT: Also thanks for finding those clipping errors. I could pop out a quick fixed version if anyone is really jonesin' but I am guessing it will be fine left well alone till the reboot is on the road.
 

Languid

L5: Dapper Member
Oct 9, 2009
240
256
See I saw the stats for the picture clicks and thought that was just down to mine being first in the list, but really?

Sheeeeee-it, this happened with clocktower in the cp contest as well, and it was fairly abysmal too! Something I do seems to attract people who come here solely from the blog/news list. I would say I do the money shots (the eponymous clocktower building) but atomgrad feels pretty goshdurn ugly to me.

but aye, I may make a clipp'd n pop file fixed version. mvm_atombad_a7, anyone?
 

Melvin D Engineere

L4: Comfortable Member
Feb 25, 2012
173
192
Got a video of your map:
tf2: mvm_atomgrad_a6a

One problem I forgot to bring up earlier was the fact that support robots don't die when the wave ends. After 3:11, look for the blue laser sight from the sniper.

I've already brought up the roof clipping problem on another thread, but given the severity of the problem, I need to bring it up again:
http://youtu.be/p3yYBE-maBI
 
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