Height in maps is at best a touchy subject, it can be done right or terribly wrong. So this tutorial hopefully will help you with height, and your map.
Imagine a flat surface, with no height variation or cover. who has the advantage? Heavys, Soldiers, Scouts, Demoman... That is four classes who will be best fit to traverse it.
Heavy for their powerful gun, and with no cover, Sasha is very dangerous.
Soldier for his ability to rocket jump and get a short height advantage, as well as a lack of hiding places.
Demoman for his sticky jump, as well as his powerful explosive devices that you once again, have no cover against.
Scout for his speed, but he can't hide or ambush with no cover.
Also the sniper for headshots, and on flat ground.... ends up being pretty messy...
So that is a pretty bad imbalance,and TF2 is a game built around class balance.
Let's add a small building...
Heavy now loses a lot of ground due to players having cover to dodge is powerful minigun bullets. he will now have to rely more on ambushes than just firing away with no skill.
Soldier now has a advantage with the new building, due to his rocket jump, but his rockets can now be avoided with some good cover.
Demoman now has a large advantage due to the fact that he can hide his stickies from view. He can also sticky jump to get a mean position on top the building.
Scout now gets a good buff too, due to the cover helping his pathetic health pool, and the cover allowing ambush tactics.
Sniper now has to deal with this new cover, and the height variation some can use with it.
But let's talk about the height now. In TF2, height gives certain classes an extreme imbalance if it is not offset by something, such as cover. Adding one simple building or crate can completely change the way a room flows in terms of structure. Engies can build higher up, Soldiers and Demomen can rain down projectiles from above, and Snipers can be a lot safer with the advantage.
Height can affect what classes and the strategies chosen by each team. A balcony on a otherwise boring building can changed what classes are played. More people will go Soldier and Demo if they see a spot where they can easily reach, and cannot be hurt by much.
Adding stairs and such can also change this, suddenly Spies and Snipers can get the same advantage, and they can survey battlefields with some safety.
Now let's go over hills, as history can tell you, someone on a hill will probably win a fight with someone lower on the hill. Same is for TF2, a Heavy on a hill can rain down bullets from above, with much less risk. Same with Soldiers and Demos, they can get a massive advantage by sitting on a hill.
Pyros and such, meanwhile, get the short end of the stick when it comes to height. Most of her weapons cannot reach far, and his secondaries are easily dodged. She can also be easily killed while he is trekking up a hill as well. Giving flank routes that stay on the same height can help immensely with these types of problems. That's why TF2 has few height based maps, because of these massive disadvantages and such for some, and great advantages for others.
You should always make sure heights are possible to reach for all people, and no one class can get too much of an overwhelming advantage on the other team. One Soldier shouldn't be able to spawn camp because he is sitting on a rock that so happens to be impossible to reach.
I hope this guide helps a bit. Because height can be done badly, fairly easily. You should balance the map for all, even if you never play a certain class, such as Pyro.
Imagine a flat surface, with no height variation or cover. who has the advantage? Heavys, Soldiers, Scouts, Demoman... That is four classes who will be best fit to traverse it.
Heavy for their powerful gun, and with no cover, Sasha is very dangerous.
Soldier for his ability to rocket jump and get a short height advantage, as well as a lack of hiding places.
Demoman for his sticky jump, as well as his powerful explosive devices that you once again, have no cover against.
Scout for his speed, but he can't hide or ambush with no cover.
Also the sniper for headshots, and on flat ground.... ends up being pretty messy...
So that is a pretty bad imbalance,and TF2 is a game built around class balance.
Let's add a small building...
Heavy now loses a lot of ground due to players having cover to dodge is powerful minigun bullets. he will now have to rely more on ambushes than just firing away with no skill.
Soldier now has a advantage with the new building, due to his rocket jump, but his rockets can now be avoided with some good cover.
Demoman now has a large advantage due to the fact that he can hide his stickies from view. He can also sticky jump to get a mean position on top the building.
Scout now gets a good buff too, due to the cover helping his pathetic health pool, and the cover allowing ambush tactics.
Sniper now has to deal with this new cover, and the height variation some can use with it.
But let's talk about the height now. In TF2, height gives certain classes an extreme imbalance if it is not offset by something, such as cover. Adding one simple building or crate can completely change the way a room flows in terms of structure. Engies can build higher up, Soldiers and Demomen can rain down projectiles from above, and Snipers can be a lot safer with the advantage.
Height can affect what classes and the strategies chosen by each team. A balcony on a otherwise boring building can changed what classes are played. More people will go Soldier and Demo if they see a spot where they can easily reach, and cannot be hurt by much.
Adding stairs and such can also change this, suddenly Spies and Snipers can get the same advantage, and they can survey battlefields with some safety.
Now let's go over hills, as history can tell you, someone on a hill will probably win a fight with someone lower on the hill. Same is for TF2, a Heavy on a hill can rain down bullets from above, with much less risk. Same with Soldiers and Demos, they can get a massive advantage by sitting on a hill.
Pyros and such, meanwhile, get the short end of the stick when it comes to height. Most of her weapons cannot reach far, and his secondaries are easily dodged. She can also be easily killed while he is trekking up a hill as well. Giving flank routes that stay on the same height can help immensely with these types of problems. That's why TF2 has few height based maps, because of these massive disadvantages and such for some, and great advantages for others.
You should always make sure heights are possible to reach for all people, and no one class can get too much of an overwhelming advantage on the other team. One Soldier shouldn't be able to spawn camp because he is sitting on a rock that so happens to be impossible to reach.
I hope this guide helps a bit. Because height can be done badly, fairly easily. You should balance the map for all, even if you never play a certain class, such as Pyro.
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