**OLD** Mercs Vs Aliens voting thread 1

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Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
aa
Sep 5, 2010
6,394
5,571
mva_contest_banner.jpg


TF2Maps.net Major Mapping Contest #11
Mercs vs. Aliens

And here's the beginning of the end! The public vote!

So, here's this works. Play the maps, rate the maps between 1 and 10 in 4 different categories: Gameplay, Balance, Aesthetics and Techincal. For those not sure what to look for, heres some questions to ask yourself.

  • Gameplay: How does the map play? Is it fun? Are you turning a whole lot? Is the layout simple and easy to understand/learn or easy to get lost in? Is the gamemode simple to understand quickly? Does the map flow well? Does each class have a place where they can shine in the map?
  • Balance: Is one team stronger than another because of the map? Are defenders easily locking down passages? Are attackers easily getting through what appear to be Solid iron defenses?
  • Aesethetics: How does the map look? Does the visuals flow and blend well together? Hows the transitions between yards? Does the map and yards visually make sense? Are things too 'noisey' or visually busy? Do you think this could be an actual environment in the TF2 Universe? Does it fit the Mercs Vs. Aliens Theme and follow the Mothership destruction rule?
  • Technical: The nuts and bolts of the map. Hows the clipping? Getting good FPS? Areaportal working? displacements sewn? Map randomly crashing? is it buggy?

And now, the maps. You can use this chart in your post as a reference. It makes it easy for you and even easier for me.

HTML:
[table=head]Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|x|x|x|x
arena_cliffside_b2|x|x|x|x
cp_3some_b1|x|x|x|x
cp_mudwater_b3d|x|x|x|x
koth_backwoods_b13|x|x|x|x
koth_kalamity_b1|x|x|x|x
koth_probed_b6|x|x|x|x
pd_watergate_b5|x|x|x|x
pl_inari_b2|x|x|x|x
pl_invasion_a3|x|x|x|x
pl_snowycoast_b1|x|x|x|x
sd_haleharbor_a5b|x|x|x|x

[/table]

If you don't have these maps, download them all here!

Voting will take place for 3 weeks and will end on Decemeber 18th at 7PM EST.
Goodluck to the entrants!
 
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Berry

resident homo
aa
Dec 27, 2012
1,056
1,898
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|x|x|x|x
arena_cliffside_b2|6|7.5|1|6
cp_3some_b1|8|8|4|10
cp_mudwater_b3d||||
koth_backwoods_b13|x|x|x|x
koth_kalamity_b1|x|x|x|x
koth_probed_b6|x|x|x|x
pd_watergate_b5|x|x|x|x
pl_inari_b2|7.5|9|7.5|4
pl_invasion_a3|8|9|5|10
pl_snowycoast|x|x|x|x
sd_haleharbor_a5b|x|x|x|x

wip

Comments:
Byre
Not played yet.

Cliffside
I don't have many comments about the map. It plays okay, being an arena map and all and has plenty of route diversity. It doesn't feel final though, being undetailed and all. There was also quite a few issues with people not dying when they fall off the cliff (which is why I cut the technical).

3some
I sort of enjoyed the gameplay when I played this, although I don't like how the outdoors area is restricted by the (actually kind of artistic?) use of a massive circle. It feels like props play too major of a part in the map, using cover to 'cover' up the issues with the way map is designed (I'll take the time to say again it's a nice concept though). The detailing

Backwoods
Not played yet.

Kalamity
Not played yet.

Probed
Not played yet.

Watergate
Not played yet.

Inari
I feel like Inari has a lot of potential, but I don't find myself enjoying the map as much as I could. It's in my favourite 4 or 5 of the MvA entrants, but I really felt like it missed a bit in technical when I played it. There's still scaling and sniper issues in my opinion. I want to add as well that personally I do not like the detailing, I don't feel like it does anything unique; it feels like an entire palette switch from Granary (similarities/inspirations are fine, but everything about the detailing just feels identical/copied to me).

Invasion
Pretty fun to play, really like how the last point has been improved (and also enjoy the large amount of displacement ramps to fly around on as demoknight). Shame you didn't get to detail it, or it could've came out as one of those fully on top imo.

Snowycoast
Not played yet.

Haleharbor
Not played yet.
 
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chemelia

yndersn't
aa
May 11, 2014
406
619
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|6|6|8|9
arena_cliffside_b2|7|7|3|5
cp_3some_b1|9|8|5|8
cp_mudwater_b3d|8|9|7|6
koth_backwoods_b13|8|9|8|5
koth_kalamity_b1|7|7|7|4
koth_probed_b6|7|9|8|10
pd_watergate_b5|8|6|10|10
pl_inari_b2|8|8|9|7
pl_invasion_a3|8|6|3|8
pl_snowycoast|8|6|7|8
sd_haleharbor_a5b|4|3|1|5


Notes:

Byre

This is a cool map. The dual points provide a fresh experience from normal arena, and it is very pretty. I took off some points because the map is quite small, and a bit cramped. It was relatively hard to play as Spy, possibly due to not enough hiding places, and explosive classes felt a bit more powerful than the others. Byre is very pretty, along with a cool finale, but I took a couple points off because the detail density felt a bit odd, and the 3d skybox seemed unfinished. I gave it a 9 in technical, for the two control points.

Rocketbase

This map was pretty good. The gameplay was fun, but lacked a certain complexity other maps had. It was pretty balanced, but it was a bit awkward fighting with explosive classes in a few areas. The details were not great, and the cliff looked weird at best. It got a 5 in technical, because there were a few exploits involving the cliff, and area portals sometimes glitched out, being closed without reason.

3some

This was in my top three favorite maps from this contest. I loved the gameplay and the unique spiraling flow of the map. It was pretty balanced overall, but lacked more than one or two good sentry spots. 3some wasn't the best detail-wise, in my opinion. Some things were out of place or unfinished. This map had great technicals, I never found any exploits or odd glitches, really.

Mudwater

I genuinely liked this map a lot. The gameplay felt smooth and continuous, and was balanced really well. The details were great, having hints of alien conspiracy hidden away, which was a wonderful aspect many other maps lacked. It wasn't amazing in technicals, though. I had some odd errors with the water and the clipping could've been better.

Backwoods

This was a good one. It was fun to play consistently, and was balanced very well. Not to mention the beautiful details. It really experimented with a new "cult" subtheme and did so very well, although mid was a bit underdetailed. It did not perform so well technically, though, with some odd clipping and certain areas of significantly lower fps.

Kalamity

I don't have too much to say about this one, as I only played for a bit. But from what I experienced, the gameplay was pretty fun and balanced. The details were good, but not incredible, as some things looked out of place. I had to give this map a low technical score, as it crashed a significant amount of people on load.

Probed

This was definitely one of my favorites. The gameplay was good and fun, all routes were equally useful. It was balanced pretty well, although I had a hard time as Sniper unless we were being pushed back to spawn, or we were pushing the, back to spawn, due to the 90 degree angle. Aesthetically, it was pretty damn good, which includes the awesome finale. The gameplay areas were detailed greatly, especially the spawns and interior of the alien saucer, which leads me to technicals. Holllyyyy shiiiit. This map was incredible. The gimmick of the alien ship was common enough to be useful, yet rare enough to not be annoying. A few teammates through the probe can easily turn the tide of battle; boosting an already interesting map's dynamic element so much. AND the destructible alien walkers! It was a wonderful idea, and Crash worked extremely hard on making it reality.

Watergate

This was, again, one of my favorites. The gameplay was fun and interesting, bringing a new twist to often boring deathmatch gamemode, and in the process improving it almost tenfold. The gameplay was almost always exciting, and never stalemated. This map had the best details of any in my opinion. It was beatiful and fun to look at, in nearly every piece of the map. Not to mention the creation of ANOTHER subtheme, a seaside town. I had to give this map a ten in the technical section, for the completely new gamemode, with innovative logic behind it, not to mention the alien tractor beam and lack of any exploits we could find.

Inari

This was a great map. Having won the 72 hour contest, you know that the gameplay is good. It also felt pretty balanced, despite the fact that most of the times I played, last was quite hard to defend. The details here were awesome, from the near flawless theme work, to the incredible "secret" underground spytech lab underneath the hay, and the fucking amazing particles and finale. The biggest problems with Inari were technical, including the many teletrap possibilities(usually behind oil tanks or behind fences), the ability to farm man melter crits or points for extinguished teammates due to the laser setting you on fire, and some fps issues.

Invasion

This one was great fun, the gameplay was consistently exciting, and it was pretty well balanced, although snipers were still overpowered on last. It was surprisingly pretty, being still in dev textures. A few clipping exploits and such were found, so I deducted a few from technicals.

Snowycoast

This map was pretty good, and more than moderately fun, although it's a bit choke-y in the first point area, and sentries are really hard to take down when they're placed behind the big fence. It was pretty balanced, although it felt like engineers were a bit overpowered in some places and blu won most of the time. The aesthetics were pretty great, but they didn't feel quite right in certain detail areas, and I did see an error in the last version I played (b1). This map was pretty good in the technical section, although I did experience some bugs with the opening gate at the second point, and there were a fences with some dodgy clipping.

Hale Harbor

This one wasn't great. The gameplay near the flag was cramped and convoluted, a big contrast from the open and repetitive middle yard, which provided subpar fun due to the flatness. The lift area was a bit odd, with very little cover away from the edges of the area, and no easy way for non-jump classes to get to the lift while it was in progress, thus making jump classes more powerful and limiting balance. It was in dev textures, so low detail score. I didn't have many problems with it technically, apart from fences blocking some routes from spawn, and the finale didn't appear to work correctly.

Whoa. That was a larger wall of text than I had originally planned. Oh well.
 
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Auwi

Certified in best in fun
aa
Dec 12, 2012
188
498
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|8|7|9|8
arena_cliffside_b2|8|6|2|4
cp_3some_b1|8|6|6|6
cp_mudwater_b3d|7|7|7|4
koth_backwoods_b13|6|4|6|4
koth_kalamity_b1|7|6|5|4
koth_probed_b6|8|9|7|10
pd_watergate_b5|9|7|10|9
pl_inari_b2|7|6|9|9
pl_invasion_a3|9|7|6|7
pl_snowycoast|7|7|8|8
sd_haleharbor_a5b|x|x|x|x


On a side note, I think watergate was very fun, interesting concept, and executed very well. Props to egan and bak for their hard work.
 
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Idolon

they/them
aa
Feb 7, 2008
2,105
6,106
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|x|x|x|x
arena_cliffside_b2|x|x|x|x
cp_3some_b1|x|x|x|x
cp_mudwater_b3d|x|x|x|x
koth_backwoods_b13|x|x|x|x
koth_kalamity_b1|x|x|x|x
koth_probed_b6|x|x|x|x
pd_watergate_b5|x|x|x|x
pl_inari_b2|x|x|x|x
pl_invasion_a3|x|x|x|x
pl_snowycoast|x|x|x|x
sd_haleharbor_a5b|x|x|x|x


For every map I'll be doing a run through video where I point out as many issues/things as I can find before I actually play the map with other people (I run around the map for a long while before actually recording the video so that I can point out as many things as possible). Note that a lot of the things I point out are going to be "hey you should look at this" rather than "this must be fixed." After all, this is your map, not mine!

I might also be doing videos later on for gameplay stuff. We'll see.

Cliffside
3some
Inari

I probably won't be writing up paragraphs for each map like I usually do because of the videos.
 
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Muddy

Muddy
aa
Sep 5, 2014
2,574
4,592
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|6|7|8|7
arena_cliffside_b2|8|7|4|8
cp_3some_b1|7|6|5|7
cp_mudwater_b3d|8|8|9|8
koth_backwoods_b13|6|8|7|6
koth_kalamity_b1|5|7|4|8
koth_probed_b6|6|7|8|7
pd_watergate_b5|7|8|10|9
pl_inari_b2|8|9|7|7
pl_invasion_a3|x|x|x|x
pl_snowycoast|7|7|8|7
sd_haleharbor_a5b|3|3|1|6



arena_byre
+ it looks lovely
- it felt a little cramped, so Soldiers and Demos had an advantage while Snipers had little to work with

arena_cliffside
+ it's a relatively basic map, which I think is ideal for arena
- the aesthetics need some work
- for God's sake, clip that bloody cliff

cp_3some
+ I like the shape of this map
+ well-balanced
- the control points were a little difficult to attack, in my experience
- the 3d skybox looks kinda awful

cp_mudwater
+ well-balanced
+ looks great overall

koth_backwoods
+ decent detailing
- FPS drops massively at mid

n: the jump pads were (mostly) well-implemented and I had fun with them, but the map wasn't vertical enough to make them actually useful

koth_kalamity
+ decently fun overall
+ has some nice ideas
- lacking in health/ammo packs
- optimisation could be improved

koth_probed
+ looks lovely
+ simple, intuitive layout (mostly)
+ the UFO thing was really neat, if a wee bit frustrating at times

pd_watergate
+ looks amazing
+ hella fun
+ fucking awesome ending sequence
+ my favourite MvA map
- navigating the map can be a tad tricky at times

n: the control point is difficult to re-take once it's been captured (and is a little out of the way, strangely), but I know owning the point is neither essential nor the main objective of the map so rather than having it be a negative point, I'm just including it as a note

pl_inari
+ detailing is very good
+ the splitting-ground thing near the end is neat
- the map had a few exploits that allowed players to get out-of-bounds, so of course people would hop out of the map rather than ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR TEAM

n: this map has very little in the way of new ideas (except for the aforementioned floor-doors thing, which only comes into play at the end). it's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm writing it down anyway because, y'know, duality

pl_invasion
+ decent layout
- open as fuck finale

n: expanding on the finale: it was really really not fun to play on since it's a haven for snipers. I'd switch to Sniper but I am bad at sniping, so...

pl_snowycoast
+ looks nice
+ mostly well balanced

sd_haleharbour
+ fun to play as Scout... I guess
- incredibly open
- no detailing
- barely any layout, just a wide open space with freight containers scattered around

EDIT: updated; still need to review Kalamity and Invasion
 
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PyroDevil

L3: Member
Sep 19, 2014
123
141
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|x|x|x|x
arena_cliffside_b2|-|-|-|-
cp_3some_b1|x|x|x|x
cp_mudwater_b3d|x|x|x|x
koth_backwoods_b13|7|7|8|7
koth_kalamity_b1|x|x|x|x
koth_probed_b6|8|8|9|9
pd_watergate_b5|8|8|9|9
pl_inari_b2|8|8|9|7
pl_invasion_a3|7|7|7|7
pl_snowycoast|x|x|x|x
sd_haleharbor_a5b|4|4|1|5


Byre- not played enough

Cliffside- can't judge. Will say that I should have had a better mother ship death, along with some detailing.

3some- have not played enough

mudwater- have not played enough

Backwoods- Backwoods is a pretty good koth map with jump pads to make it more interesting. One of my criticism of the Jump pads is that they seem to work too well with pyros. There have been people that have had framerate issues(I did not experience any issues however), so you may want improve that. Other than those two, it was one of the maps that I had lots of fun on.

Kalamity-

Probed- I will say that this map was amazing. I loved almost everything about. I really liked the alien abduction with the fighting on the ship, as well as the reward for getting out. Also liked how it played seemed to work well as a 90 degree koth map. The finale was what really blew me way. Did Michael Bay create the final explosions? There was a exploit where one could launch stickies into the spawn through a high up window, so you may want to check that out.

Watergate- This map was the one I was the most excited to play. I had played an alpha version of the map and had a blast. The idea of killing players to get the resource was very well executed. The map is also extremely well detailed.

Inari- This was one of my top 4 favorite maps so far. I think it did the granary theme pretty well. Balance wise- it’s pretty good. There were a few exploits were people could get out of the map, however.(ask layl and poof) There were also some complaints about how there was a drop in framerates.(something I did not experience however) I did like the ending if red won. I was a bit disappointed in the blu ending (explosions>implosions imo)

Invasion- This map has tons of potential. I think the entire map was excellent up until the last point. The mother ship destruction was also one of the more innovative one.(ie not using lasers) One of my problems with the last point is that even with the bridge added, it still feels too large. Red also can’t get to the pit without take a long way around or taking fall damage if they go directly to the point. There were also some places I got stuck at because of clippings (a couple doorways). Other than, it was a pretty good map.

Snowycoast- have not played enough

Haleharbor- this map was... eh. It has potential as an sd map, but I feel the layout needs to be redone. The map is very sniper friendly, especially at the lift. There were only 2 ways for non-jumping classes to get on, but those routes could easily be covered by a sentry on both routes.
 
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Bakscratch

Finisher of Maps
aa
Oct 29, 2010
714
1,492
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|9|5|7|10
arena_cliffside_b2|3|4|1|7
cp_3some_b1|7|7|5|7
cp_mudwater_b3d|7|8|8|8
koth_backwoods_b13|5|4|7|5
koth_kalamity_b1|x|x|3|x
koth_probed_b6|7|7|8|10
pd_watergate_b5|-|-|-|-
pl_inari_b2|7|5|8|7
pl_invasion_a3|x|x|x|x
pl_snowycoast|8|4|5|10
sd_haleharbor_a5b|3|4|0|8


Technical

-Cliffside
- Clipping + Sightline issuses
-3some
- Clipping + FPS issuses
-Mudwater
- FPS issuses
-Backwoods
- Major FPS issuses
-Inari
- Clipping + Sightline issuses
 
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Sep 7, 2012
638
500
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|9|10|9|x
arena_cliffside_b2|5|5|3|x
cp_3some_b1|7|8|4|x
cp_mudwater_b3d|7|x|x|x
koth_backwoods_b13|6|x|x|x
koth_kalamity_b1|7|x|x|x
koth_probed_b6|8|9|x|x
pd_watergate_b5|7|x|x|x
pl_inari_b2|9|9|9|x
pl_invasion_a3|3|3|4|x
pl_snowycoast|8|8|8|x
sd_haleharbor_a5b|1|1|2|x


Not done yet
 
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Shogun

L6: Sharp Member
Jan 31, 2014
260
220
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|x|x|x|x
arena_cliffside_b2|x|x|x|x
cp_3some_b1|x|x|x|x
cp_mudwater_b3d|9|7|8|9
koth_backwoods_b13|7|6|5|5
koth_kalamity_b1|x|x|x|x
koth_probed_b6|8|6|6|10
pd_watergate_b5|9|8|10|9
pl_inari_b2|8|8|8|9
pl_invasion_a3|x|x|x|x
pl_snowycoast|x|x|x|x
sd_haleharbor_a5b|x|x|x|x


Pros and cons of each map I've played:

Mudwater:
+ Extremely fun to play. There's good high variance and places for each class to shine.
+ Good health/ammo placement.
+ Actually useful sentry spots, which are hard to find in custom maps nowadays as most mappers want to make the maps as balanced as possible at get rid of these.
- I found that no matter what the team composition, B was always very hard to take unless it was a complete roll by Blu.

Backwoods:
+ The jumpads are an interesting idea and a very creative spin on the contest.
- SOOO much clipping needs to be done on this map, I was constantly getting stuck on props and beams.
- I know it's supposed to be a night setting, but the map is really dark in a lot of areas.

Probed
+ The abduction is as hilarious as it is fun, although the first time it happened I had no idea what was going on or why I was losing health.
+ I think this map addressed the contest requirements the best out all the entrants.
- Some of the detailing felt unfinished, especially around the spawns. There are many large, blank walls all around the point.
- I found I was only having fun when my team owned the point. The rest of the time it was a constant grind trying to retake it. The high ground around the point makes it very easy to defend.

Watergate
+ Great idea, very well executed.
+ Incredibly fun to play, especially in a full server.
- The hight advantages on this map are HUGE, and it's very hard to dislodge players from up high when they get themselves up there.
- Very DM heavy map, there isn't a lot support classes can do.

Inari
+ Beautiful. A well deserved throwback to old TF2 detailing and styling.
+ I can actually pronounce the name, which is a first.
+ Good health/ammo placement.
- The opening basin and laser is awesome, don't get me wrong, but it all happens on the last point and feels a bit tacked on. If I had played the map and not seen last, I would have had no idea that this map was for this contest (apart from the mothership in the sky).

Hopefully I can get to the other entrants' maps soon!
 
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Ida

deer
aa
Jan 6, 2008
2,289
1,372
General note: All scores are subject to change, as I'm using this as a notepad of sorts. Also, I give all maps a technical rating of 10 until I can find any specific issues.

Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|9|10|7|9
arena_cliffside_b2|x|x|x|10
cp_3some_b1|x|x|x|10
cp_mudwater_b3d|9|x|8|10
koth_backwoods_b13|8|x|7|10
koth_kalamity_b1|x|x|x|10
koth_probed_b6|x|x|x|10
pd_watergate_b5|x|x|x|10
pl_inari_b2|x|x|x|10
pl_invasion_a3|6|7|3|10
pl_snowycoast|x|x|x|10
sd_haleharbor_a5b|x|x|x|10


Byre
Gameplay: The layout is nice and simple, and its small size makes it easy to get an overview of. The double capture point mechanic works without a hitch. My opinion may change as I test the map with more than 8 players, because it feels somewhat small.
Balance: All classes seem to be on equal footing, so I can't say I have any complaints.
Aesthetics: A nice use of the classic farm theme, although I can't help but feel that I'm in a neatly organized collection of farm-like buildings rather than an actual farm. I like the laser ending a lot, but the green overlay is kind of painful.
Technical: There is a place near a capture area where it looks a lot like you should be able to drop down, but it's clipped. This tripped me up a few times.

Cliffside
Gameplay:
Balance:
Aesthetics:
Technical: No particular issues found.

3some
Gameplay:
Balance:
Aesthetics:
Technical: No particular issues found.

Mudwater
Gameplay: Fun layout. There were a few tight spaces I didn't like much, but it seems well thought-out and paced.
Balance:
Aesthetics: Overall an excellent looking map with many nice details, but I'm disappointed that there's no thematic progression. The last point just being some random old bridge makes it feel like the map is cut short. I also found some parts of the map to be unpleasantly dark, or just kind of washed-out looking.
Technical: No particular issues found.

Backwoods
Gameplay: The jump pads are a pretty neat new mechanic, and I think they're implemented fairly well. I see what you did by designing the map to have two very distinct layers, although it is sometimes a bit annoying to chase people around using the jump pads and using them often feels a bit more hectic than I'd like.
Balance:
Aesthetics: The swamp theme is well implemented, but I'm not sure what the Halloween-esque props are doing here. It doesn't quite feel spooky enough to warrant them, so it ends up looking pretty odd.
Technical: No particular issues found.

Kalamity
Gameplay:
Balance:
Aesthetics:
Technical: No particular issues found.

Probed
Gameplay:
Balance:
Aesthetics:
Technical: No particular issues found.

Watergate
Gameplay:
Balance:
Aesthetics:
Technical: No particular issues found.

Inari
Gameplay:
Balance:
Aesthetics:
Technical: No particular issues found.

Invasion
Gameplay: Overall fairly fun, but hampered by a confusing layout. It's very hard to get a sense of direction in many parts of the map. In addition, the last point is vastly overscaled.
Balance: There are parts where BLU are quite heavily bottlenecked, and I found it very hard to gather together with my team for a push. RED suffers from occasional really long walk times to the cart, making defense sometimes feel hopeless.
Aesthetics: Not detailed, so it gets a minimal score by default. However, I'm adding a bit to the score because I see a lot of potential for good aesthetics. The final point, even if it's massive for a TF2 map, is a great view even in its alpha state.
Technical: No particular issues found.

Snowycoast
Gameplay:
Balance:
Aesthetics:
Technical: No particular issues found.

Hale Harbor
Gameplay:
Balance:
Aesthetics:
Technical: No particular issues found.
 
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Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
aa
Sep 5, 2010
6,394
5,571
I've extended voting by 1 week due to the End of the Line release and our servers hosting a bunch of guests playing snowplow. This will allow us to get one or two more extra sessions in for people to get their votes done.

I ask that you try and fill out as much of the voting card as you can. I will only accept your votes if you have 7 or more maps completely filled out. That being said, I expect that the whole chart is filled out by the deadline. Please do you best!
 

EArkham

Necromancer
aa
Aug 14, 2009
1,625
2,773
Map&Criteria|Gameplay|Balance|Aesthetics|Technical

arena_byre_b4|8|8|9|9
arena_cliffside_b2|5|5|5|8
cp_3some_b1|7|7|7|9
cp_mudwater_b3d|x|x|x|x
koth_backwoods_b13|x|x|x|x
koth_kalamity_b1|x|x|x|x
koth_probed_b6|x|x|9|9
pd_watergate_b5|x|x|x|x
pl_inari_b2|8|8|9|8
pl_invasion_a3|3|4|5|8
pl_snowycoast|-|-|-|-
sd_haleharbor_a5b|4|4|5|9


Quick and very brief off-the-cuff notes:

arena_byre - Really fun, but a little small in size. Lots of roofs seem to favour jump classes. Couple of nice sniper lanes that aren't overpowered. Plays chaotically, though that doesn't really diminish the fun. Gameplay takes a small hit due to being so small imo. Quite nice looking! Technical seemed good, though there were some areas with props and beam sticking off that I bumped into a few times -- this may not be a technical/clipping issue as much as due to the small size.

arena_cliffside_b2 Very much unfinished. There needs to be more work on arranging the layout -- it's very vertical, with tiny chokes entering the point area. Vertical can be thematic -- it is called cliffside after all -- but I don't think the stairs everywhere should feel so overwhelmingly steep to non-jump classes. The train at the bottom of the cliff seems a bit pointless honestly -- lot of props in an area that nobody is really going to see unless they fall off the cliff. Gameplay was...honestly a little boring. Basically pile onto the point, or go around the one flank to come up behind and then realize that everyone has already crashed into each other by the time you get there, negating the advantage of taking a long flank.

cp_3some_b1 Quite fun, and the first two points seem the best parts. Entering the last point is very confusing however. I had a lot of issues trying to figure out how to get in there, and ended up walking around the empty 2nd point trying to see where I should go in. Since you capture points 1 and 2 in sequence, your instinct is to head to 2nd and then push into 3rd, but after several deaths, this very much seemed the worst tactic (and really a time waster). No real technical issues found. Aesthetically, some areas look pretty nice, but some of it suffers from that "Quake-like" geometry. Strange angles, weird ramps that double back, etc. With additional testing and tweaking of the aesthetics and 3rd point, this could be a strong map. Balance takes a hit due to the difficulties in pushing into 3rd.

koth_backwoods_b13 No feedback yet

koth_kalamity_b1 No feedback yet

koth_probed_b6 Refraining from Gameplay & Balance review due to my short playtime on it. Routes seemed logical for the most part and lead to where you expected them to go. Walking onto the point only to have 3 ubered + kritzed guys escaping the ship could get annoying. I could not destroy the teleporting bots with the loose cannon, though they happily blew up when I hit them with melee (taking me with them). Dunno if this is a weapon specific issue or not. Aesthetics are quite strong.

pd_watergate_b5 No feedback yet

pl_inari_b2 Aesthetics are quite strong. Technical takes a hit for being able to get outside the map. I'm looking forward to experiencing gameplay on this one because the routes and areas seem to have a natural flow to them.

[Update] Voting on gameplay and balance now, but unfortunately I couldn't get any gameplay in, so I'm basing this off of the feedback demos. Gameplay looks incredibly fun, I spotted very few players getting turned around or looking lost. There were tons of places with interesting possibilities for flanking, or sneaky sentries that people in the demos never tried. Balance takes a small hit - the demos showed some definite sniper-strong areas, but these could be addressed. I'll have some more detailed feedback on that in the pl_inari thread later.

pl_invasion_a3 Very much unfinished. The first area was entertaining and fun, but the last... oh gods, it was so large and frankly unfun. However there are some very interesting geometry and areas. For example, the side routes with the metal walkways were quite fun to play in, and I found myself gravitating towards there on each respawn instead of the cart. On defense, ammo as engineer was hard to find and spots I was expecting to see a pack, there would be nothing. This map needs some significant revision, focusing on the handful of areas that play well and removing all those tremendously large areas like last. You can salvage some of the areas I'm sure but you're going to have to be brutal with some of the other areas to bang this into shape. Technical takes a hit due to the large open area (fps!).

sd_harlharbor_a5b The middle area was actually pretty fun -- as long as you were a scout or sniper. It really was way too large for all other classes. This hits the balance pretty hard I'm afraid. The capture platform very quickly lifted out of reach of anyone but a jumper -- by the time you heard that the other team was on the lift, and ran there, they were out of reach. Many of the interval areas were sized much better, but were way, way too dark (an enemy pyro walked with me for awhile until we got outside and he realized "oh hell, he's an enemy!"). No technical issues spotted. Like the other unfinished maps in the contest, this takes a big hit for aesthetics. If you sized this map down -- like 1/2 the size it is -- and fixed the lift so other classes have a chance to defend it -- it'd go a long way towards improving it.
 
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