boatride

PL boatride a3

onra77

L1: Registered
Feb 16, 2017
48
17
boatride - payload, single stage map for the payload checklist contest

Hello people,

This is my second full scale map ever, so be gentle please.

This map is a single stage payload, inside a building. The plan is to design it as a theme park ride. The map starts at an embarcation for the ride for the BLU team, and the read team can defend through maintenance corridors.

This map is in early development, feel free to comment !

Screenshots:
 

Wyvern

Certified TF2 Cartographer
Feb 16, 2018
105
152
This is a really unique concept. I really like the height variation, as well as the prop placement. Some of the displacements don't feel natural(I.E. The Third to last picture.) But for the most part, it all looks pretty well done. Keep working!
 

onra77

L1: Registered
Feb 16, 2017
48
17
First update of the map, changelog:

  • Custom boat, packed with the map, glow through walls, tell me what you think
  • added layout parts
    • ramps next to blu spawn
    • pit between second and third CP
    • lifted final stretch ramp
    • removed some sightlines
  • added indications at red spawn
  • started texturing first blu spawn
  • reworked first blu spawn exit area
  • payload rollback areas.
This map still needs some balacing, I am afraid blu is OP, and I really have to start detailing.

Read the rest of this update entry...
 

Idolon

they/them
aa
Feb 7, 2008
2,105
6,106
I was kinda rude about this map during the test so I'm gonna clarify some thoughts here:

Basically all good TF2 maps are designed linearly. Red spawns at one end, Blue spawns at the other, and they meet somewhere in the middle, which I will call the "line of battle." (Teleporters and spawn wait times influence where the line of battle is.) The match then becomes a matter of each team trying to maintain or push the line of battle towards the enemy. This is more or less the core component of how TF2 plays as a team game about controlling territory rather than a solo deathmatch game.

Objectives rely on this. On asymmetrical maps, objectives are placed on red's side of the line of battle so that blue has to push into their territory to capture the point. Once blue captures the point, spawn times and positions adjust, then shifting the natural line of battle (i.e. where the line of battle is before blue begins pushing) shifts forward, allowing them to then push further into enemy territory.

If you do not design the map in a way that forces players to fight together, they often will not choose to do so, and the line of battle really never properly forms. The game becomes a mess of players trying to flank each other and attack in places they really don't belong. TF2 stops being a team game about controlling territory and more of a solo deathmatch game, which it simply is not designed to be.

There is an apparent exception to this rule, which is Thunder Mountain Stage 3. First off: there is a lot of debate on whether or not this map is actually fun to play. However, secondly, and more importantly: Red and Blue spawns are placed on opposite sides of the map and the cart path is always in the middle, rarely being all that much closer to one spawn than the other. The line of battle is much fuzzier on this map than others, but it is still roughly maintained through some careful design decisions.

All of that aside: It may be worth trying to do the best you can with what you have and detailing this map so that you can get experience detailing. However, the layout is pretty fundamentally flawed.
 

onra77

L1: Registered
Feb 16, 2017
48
17
Third alpha update, I tried my best to fix the flow issues and fixed some bugs, also I changed the payload.

Update log:

  • New payload
    • The boat now has a front sail made of steel for cover, and it now looks more like a boat
    • Retextured
  • Gameplay fixed
    • Removed some alternative paths
    • Added some
    • Changed smaller rooms layout
    • Added more covers and details
    • The last part still needs improvements
  • Minor detailing
  • Lightened the map a little

Read the rest of this update entry...