[WIP]cp_southside

Baysin

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2008
80
15
EDIT: I've now uploaded a playable (barely) version of the map here:
http://forums.tf2maps.net/downloads.php?do=file&id=944

Well, this is my second attempt at seriously finishing a map. I had lost interest in my first attempt for a while, and when I went back to it, I discovered that it was so sloppy and full of little mistakes and just bad design choices, due to my inexperience with Hammer mostly, that it wasn't worth salvaging. So, still largely inexperienced, I've started a new project. It still needs TONS of work, but it's at a point now where it's fully functional and you can actually play on it and it at least looks better than an orange map, so I thought I'd start the WIP thread for it.

As a newbie, I've intentionally gone for a small, straightforward map, using a 5 point symmetrical CP design, ala Well or Badlands. I'm shooting for more of an urban or city setting. I've greedily snagged many of the custom overlays available on this site, as well as an asphalt texture, all of which I like quite a bit and am grateful to the creators for providing.

On parts of it, I've worked on adding some design and detail, but lots of it is still just plain shapes that I've slapped a texture on. The skybox is rubbish, the lighting has lots of issues, there's zero optimization as of yet, and I'm pretty much prepared to drastically alter any aspect if it turns out not to be working well. So, keeping all that in mind, I'd nonetheless truly appreciate constructive feedback of any sort whatsoever, from overall design and gameplay considerations, to tiny nitpicking about cosmetic details. I'll try to post pictures of the important gameplay areas, as well as the bits I've actually got some detail added to, though all of it needs more work.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!:thumbup1:
 
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Baysin

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2008
80
15
Overview. Ignore the goofy skybox that got in the way in the center. The red and blue circles are spawn points and the capture points are numbered 0-4. The green lines indicate alternate routes that involve climbing stairs or winding passages. The routes with an arrow on them indicate that they are mostly one-way... at the end you drop out, so that a well aimed soldier or demo jump could go up the other way, but otherwise it's inaccessible from that end. And yes, I'm aware of all the wasted space outside the play area... I intend to eventually cut that and reform the skybox around the play area.

cp_southside_overhead.jpg
 

Baysin

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2008
80
15
Final capture point in the Blu base. The point is on the ground level, with a second level overlooking it on all sides. Blu spawn is on the second level through the upper right arch, which is also where the stairs between levels is located. The doors in the upper left go to battlements, and the catwalk on the right side overlooks everything. Below, the capture point is blocked by two walls with routes in at each of the three outside corners.

cp_southside_a10001.jpg



Second point on the blu side. In the background you can see the battlements on the blu base, below which is a garage door, blocked from view. An alley provides a route around the red brick building in the center, and the shack by the point has stairs behind it that provide access to the top.

cp_southside_a10002.jpg



Middle point, inside of a warehouse. Four doorways provide access on two levels from the second point via an office area. The low structure to the side contains stairs that lead to the top of it, as well as down to tunnels that wind their way to the second point. You can hop from the top of that area up to the catwalk. An alternate route leads from the alley outside and drops down on to the catwalk via a vent (not visible here), bypassing the second point entirely. Forward spawns open up in this area when the team owns all but the final point.

cp_southside_a10004.jpg
 

Baysin

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2008
80
15
Here are just a few rooms where I've started to add props and details.

cp_southside_a10003.jpg


cp_southside_a10009.jpg


cp_southside_a10010.jpg


cp_southside_a10011.jpg
 

ikem

L6: Sharp Member
Dec 8, 2008
268
34
great variety of textures and they are well placed :D
 

Baysin

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2008
80
15
:mad: :crying: Well, the big initial test run of Southside turned out to be a big turd. Red got trapped in their forward spawn, something which I'd never seen before in small-scale testing (just a few people playing) and haven't been able to duplicate since. But, since I was one of the people who was trapped, I can't question that it happened. I looked at everything involved, and I'm not sure that I can see anything that's wrong. Seems like it's got to be a problem with either the trigger that opens the door, or else with the capture point that activates the forward spawnroom, including the door trigger, but I can't for the life of me see what it is. My inability to duplicate the bug in my own testing is what's really perplexing me. I think this is going to have to take a back seat for a few days so I can come back to it later with a fresh (and unfrustrated) mind. Thanks to everyone who at least tried to help me test it. Maybe next time I submit it for testing I'll have my basic doors and such working so we can actually play it :-/
 

A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
aa
Nov 2, 2007
4,775
7,669
Wasn't meant as sarcasm. If you're going for round it needs to be rounder. As it is, it doesn't have enough sides for it's size, I usually go with 16 or 20 for most things unless they are quite small/large.
 

Baysin

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2008
80
15
Hmmm okay. I wasn't really going for anything. I started with a hexagon, decided I didn't like that, so I added an arbitrary number of sides and called it good enough for alpha 1.

Really making it round may be the way to go though... in fact, now that you've put the thought in my head I'll probably have no choice. :)
 

Cerious

L420: High Member
Aug 10, 2008
455
133
:mad: :crying: Well, the big initial test run of Southside turned out to be a big turd. Red got trapped in their forward spawn, something which I'd never seen before in small-scale testing (just a few people playing) and haven't been able to duplicate since. But, since I was one of the people who was trapped, I can't question that it happened. I looked at everything involved, and I'm not sure that I can see anything that's wrong. Seems like it's got to be a problem with either the trigger that opens the door, or else with the capture point that activates the forward spawnroom, including the door trigger, but I can't for the life of me see what it is. My inability to duplicate the bug in my own testing is what's really perplexing me. I think this is going to have to take a back seat for a few days so I can come back to it later with a fresh (and unfrustrated) mind. Thanks to everyone who at least tried to help me test it. Maybe next time I submit it for testing I'll have my basic doors and such working so we can actually play it :-/

What happened was that it was a forward spawn when a team capped the middle or so, and the people in there got stuck when Blu retook the middle point. This caused the forward spawn doors to not open.
 

Baysin

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2008
80
15
What happened was that it was a forward spawn when a team capped the middle or so, and the people in there got stuck when Blu retook the middle point. This caused the forward spawn doors to not open.

Yeah, and this is what I can't recreate. Those spawn doors should open from the inside whether that spawn room is active or not, and everything I've done to test this has worked out fine. Oddly enough, while doing further testing the other day, I was able to spawn in a forward spawn 3 times in a row, when that room shouldn't have been active. Haven't been able to duplicate that bug, either. I think I'm just going to remove all the triggers and entities associated with the forward spawns, including the capture points, and do them over from scratch, because there's clearly something wrong with them and it's just as clearly something strange and non-obvious, since the bugs seem to be rare and random.