Since my semester is done, I finally have some free time to discuss the ideas behind the map, the goals and the decisions behind the design.
First up: Why pass time?
From the very start, I have been very interested in the pass time gamemode - it seemed to be a more dynamic take on invade ctf, where the passing mechanic opened up for some opportunity for interesting interaction between teammates (instead of invade ctf where the carrier often would be a scout headlessly beelining straight to the walk-in goal).
I also feel the gamemode lies in an interesting space between payload and AD cp:
- In payload, the action revolves around a single object of interest slowly moving through the map on a predefined path, and captures the cp's when reaching them. Defending players can intercept this path to halt progress.
- In AD cp, the object of interest is a stationary cp and the players have complete freedom over which path to use when approaching the objective. Usually, intercepting the different paths to the objective is not always a good idea, since it leaves the objective completely vulnerable.
- With invade ctf/pass time the object of interest is, like payload, a dynamic object moving through the map (the courier) but unlike the payload, the courier can freely choose the path to the objective. The defending players have to predict the path the courier chooses and then intercept before the courier reaches the goal.
However, with the different class speeds and the damage falloff of weapons, intercepting a fast scout as a slow heavy is often not feasible - especially when the current pass time maps a long, wide and lacks any kind of choke/predictable routes (except for district, which is ironically labeled as being way too chokey).
So that's my goal with pass_geyser - make pass time map with clearly defined routes, chokes and possibilities for a defending player to intercept and halt the progress of the flag courier.
So how am I trying to achieve this?
By building the map around two branching routes overlooked by clear holding positions:
The blue paths mark the routes Blu uses to reach the goal, while the blue circles mark Blu's defensive holds used to stop the red courier and vice versa with the red paths and red circles. The Blu-only and Red-only shortcuts are also marked.
The defensive holds should be easy to retreat to for the defending team: If a team loses the jack at the midfight it can retreat to space in front of the first forward spawn and can watch the A and B choke:
If the defending team fails to stop the courier, the defending team can easily use the launchpad in the shortcut to reach the A, B and C goals before the courier (even if the courier is a scout and the defender is a heavy!). However, since the goals are too far spread apart to defend them all at once, the defending team has to predict which of the two goals the courier is going for. This prediction, however, is made easier by the fact that because of the long rotation time between the two routes, the attacking team has to commit to one of the goals.
Overall, forward defenses should be encouraged since the shortcut offers an excellent possibility for the defending team to retreat to a position further back.
Finally, if the defending team manages to lock down the two chokes, the attacking team can power up the jack (by passing it to each other) to open a third route through the otherwise defending team-only shortcut. However, doing so grants the defending team extra time to set up defenses and removes the possibility of scoring a swift goal.
The goals themselves are also designed to be a little more interesting than those found in the official maps.
The two initial goals (A and B) a far enough apart, that a single sentry or two can't effectively cover both. I also know from testing of ctf_redplanet, that a single goal quickly gets repetitive since you end up traversing the same route three or more times. Thus the map has two goals open at the start of the round. The bonus goal also offers a break in pace: It allows for quick rounds where a team scores two bonus goals or slower rounds where teams are focusing on the regular goals. the A1 version lacked a bonus-goal and suffered from repetitive pacing as a result I felt.
The map features no walk-in goals since I feel it's way too easy for a scout to just run past everyone and straight into the goal. In contrast, scoring in a hoop goal requires skillful aiming and positioning. Also, pass time is unique to invade ctf because of the throwing mechanic and I feel the hoop goals utilize this mechanic better.
Finally, you can also design hoop goals around the classes differing throw lengths - the slower classes, like the heavy, have a long throw and only need to peek around the choke for a moment to throw the jack into the goal, while the faster classes, such as scout, have a pitiful throw, meaning they have to use their movement to close the distance.
As an example, at goal A, the heavy can easily peek around the rock and score a goal or, alternatively, score the goal from the low ground while the scout has to maneuver to the end of the bridge to reach the goal.
I believe you can fix a lot of the issues people have with pass time through mapping but there's still a lot of flaws inherent in the game mode that I can't possibly solve - it's no secret the UI is cluttered and the "moving as a pack" bonus is fairly odd and difficult to understand for someone who is not familiar with the game mode.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this and found some of my thoughts useful!