I need good tips for a good koth map

LeNitrous

L2: Junior Member
Feb 11, 2015
57
10
I am currently working on koth_launchpad, a KOTH map set in a Launchpad in a spytech area. I played TF2 for over 2k hours but this is a problem to my map...

"What could be a good layout for balanced gameplay?"

This is Alpha 1, I am having trouble getting ideas of routes. A Sniper can reach capture point within 10 seconds after leaving spawn room.

qwzgnn.jpg
 

Bunbun

aa
May 18, 2014
401
782
Here are 5 basic ones i know:

1. Have a building between spawn and the point
2. Do not overscale the place
3. The map itself should funnel all the players to the point
4. Build sniper decks for snipers to snipe sniping snipers
5. Battlements and flank routes are needed for attacks for both teams
 

Muddy

Muddy
aa
Sep 5, 2014
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Viaduct is, in my opinion at least, the best example of a good King of the Hill map layout. There's a control point at the center of the map, where most of the fighting takes place, and there are areas away from the control point where people can prepare for the battle and retreat from it if they're low on health/ammo. The yards outside of spawn also make good battle zones.

The problem with your layout is that the area leading to the control point is made up of nothing but two short corridors, which nobody will want to fight in. Although it's good to focus the fighting on the point, it shouldn't be the only place where people are fighting - otherwise, classes like the Spy won't be able to get behind the enemy and the Engineer won't have much of a chance to get a sentry gun up. Viaduct spreads the fighting out over the whole map, with its spawn yards and whatever you'd call the areas away from the control point, so the whole map gets used (rather than just middle of it).

Also, your map is lacking in height variation, which is bad for overall gameplay but especially for Snipers. It also looks a little dark.

3. The map itself should funnel all the players to the point
koth_harvest would disagree!
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
Wasn't harvest arena at first?
 

RubbishyUser

L7: Fancy Member
Feb 17, 2013
414
488
Wasn't harvest arena at first?

Nope! In fact, it's never been arena. You're probably thinking of Nucleus, which was released as an arena map and a koth map at the same time (I think.) That's another example of a map that breaks the courtyard rule.

The one thing I would emphasize is that your point area needs three entrances per team, and even better if only two entrances are visible at once. The easiest way to do this, as Mudpie said, is like Viaduct: give the player 3 choices, add building to block sightlines to spawn and point, and done.

Since you have 2000 hours in the game, I'm sure you have your favourites when it comes to maps. Just take the ones you like and apply it to your map. Find out what the size of each area of the map is in Hammer and put grey blocks underneath your map in those areas so you have a guide.
 

Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
aa
Sep 5, 2010
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Nope! In fact, it's never been arena. You're probably thinking of Nucleus, which was released as an arena map and a koth map at the same time (I think.) That's another example of a map that breaks the courtyard rule.
.

Ahem.

Wiki:
Harvest was initially an Arena map. This version is still available for download. [1]
Source

Quick google search confirmed.
 

Muddy

Muddy
aa
Sep 5, 2014
2,574
4,592
I love the way Harvest works as a King of the Hill map, though! I prefer its more open, deathmatchy gameplay to Viaduct's more point-oriented gameplay. It's the kind of layout I'm trying to incorporate in koth_kimberly. (Without the campy spawns.)
 

LeNitrous

L2: Junior Member
Feb 11, 2015
57
10
Technically speaking this is alpha 1, made this in minutes then compiled for lighting. This will be an indoors map similar to ctf_turbine, with some outdoors. Thanks for the helpful feedback though!
 

Zed

Certified Most Crunk™
aa
Aug 7, 2014
1,241
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You're probably thinking of Nucleus, which was released as an arena map and a koth map at the same time (I think.)

This is also wrong.

arena_nucleus (Sniper vs Spy Update, May 21, 2009)
koth_nucleus (Classless Update, August 13, 2009)

Another example of a map that breaks the two courtyard convention is Ido's map koth_quarry.