Microcontest #15: Robot Destruction

14bit

L14: Bit Member
aa
Oct 5, 2014
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Welcome to Microcontest 15: Robot Destruction

mc15.jpg


Get ready to blast off, we're on our way to destroy some robots! And not the kind that fights back either; we're here to destroy those small, screaming ones RED and BLU sent off to the moon that never shut up about errors.

Your mission today is to make a map for the least-mapped for mode*: Robot Destruction! The only requirement is that it needs to use the tf_logic_robot_destruction entity. You're free to remove the flags, remove the robots and spawn cores manually, or even add multiple flags, but power cores need to be involved in some way.

Here's the game mode logic, courtesy of @worMatty:
https://tf2maps.net/downloads/robot-destruction-rd-prefab.917/

IMPORTANT NOTE: This prefab is slightly outdated, and does not include the setup time that Asteroid has. Additionally, Asteroid uses three bots in the final group, not two like in this prefab! You can fix this by copying one of the final bot spawns and renaming it. (e.g. rename red_bot3b_spawn to red_bot3c_spawn)

MORE IMPORTANT NOTE:
the gamemode logic is quite unstable. I recommend not renaming important gamemode entities like bot spawns and the spawn group managers if you can help it. Also, trying to set a bot spawn to the "Finale" style of bot will cause the game to crash instantly as soon as the map loads. Be careful!

MOST IMPORTANT NOTE: RD does not work without a navmesh! Make sure you make one and pack it into your map!

I also highly recommend grabbing the decompiled version of Asteroid for reference as well:
https://tf2maps.net/threads/valve-maps-decompiled.5952/

If you'd like to spawn robot cores via map logic, they are an entity called item_bonuspack with their model set to models/bots/bot_worker/bot_worker_powercore.mdl. They will appear as Red by default, so for any that need to be blue turn off SmartEdit and add the key skin with a value of 1 to make them blue. item_bonuspack will appear as an ERROR model in Hammer but will function correctly.

Here's some notes on Asteroid's layout that seem useful, since we don't really have many other RD maps to work off of:

  • Asteroid is roughly 9984hu from intel room to intel room, almost as long as Brickyard. However, instead of being as wide as a PASS Time map, the map consists of three stacked layers; tunnels and water routes at the bottom, the main floor with most of the bots and both intel rooms, and an upper level with the spawns and final bots.
  • The spawn rooms are located between the third set of robots and the intel room, with the spawn room and third set of bots being on the floor above the intel room.
  • The intel rooms are easier to enter than they are to leave, but can be left very, very quickly with the right timing due to the lasers. These are not in the template, and will have to be copied from Asteroid or done manually if you want to use the lasers.
  • Asteroid uses setup time and blocks access to mid until setup is over. This is not in the template, and will have to be copied from Asteroid or done manually if you want to replicate this.
  • Asteroid has a ton of lights and sounds that go off when someone is stealing the intel. This is not in the template, and will have to be copied from Asteroid or done manually if you want to replicate this.
Please note these are observations that may be useful, not guidelines on how to make a good RD map. I'll be very sad if we get 10 Asteroid clones that just do all these things verbatim.

The bots in RD won't move until you've generated a navmesh for them, you'll need to pack that navmesh into your map. The easiest way to do this is to make one during a test compile, then pack that one into the map without adding generate navmesh as a step in CompilePal.

If you've not worked with Navmeshes before and you're participating in this, oh no and good luck. Here's the documentation on them:
https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Navigation_Meshes

For full Microcontest rules and submission procedure, check out the 2021 Microcontest Megathread: https://tf2maps.net/threads/the-microcontest-megathread-season-2.43572/

Today's Bonus Punch:
Include a non-death-pit hazard somewhere in the map. This includes things such as:
  • Grinders
  • Trains
  • Sawblades
  • Lasers
  • Crocodiles
Regular water you can drown in does not count as a hazard for this punch. Electrified/boiling/cold water that damaged you over time does count.

*Our site only has 12, and GameBanana only has two. Territorial Control, the next lowest, has 11 on the site but 9 on GameBanana. I am ignoring the Workshop as 90% of things tagged as RD are not actually RD or are Asteroid reskins.

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Quick Info:

Difficulty: 5/5

Planning starts at 10:00 AM EDT (14:00 UTC) on June 19th, 2021.
Mapping begins one hour later at 11:00 AM EDT (15:00 UTC)

Maps must be submitted to this thread no later than 10:00 AM EDT (14:00 UTC) on June 20th, 2021.
Testing begins one hour later at 11:00 AM EDT (15:00 UTC)

Countdown to deadline here:
https://www.timeanddate.com/countdo...0&p0=43&msg=MC15+Deadline&font=sanserif&csz=1

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Important Notes:

Name your .vmf:
rd_<yourname>_mc15_a1

Don't forget a Navmesh! If you don't include one packed into your .bsp, your map will be skipped.

The Speedmapper punch only counts time working on geometry. Planning, compiling, bug fixing, lighting, logic, clipping, sealing, and other things that aren't physical playable spaces do not count towards the four hours.

Good luck!
 
Last edited:

SnickerPuffs

(*single chuckle*)
aa
Apr 10, 2014
1,315
1,857
Oh no!! I've been waiting for a RD microcontest for MONTHS, and I can't participate because I have stuff to do today!
 

DrSquishy

we've all had better times to die
aa
Feb 10, 2017
1,297
974
I'm excited to see the cool layouts and gameplay loops that people come up with for this microcontest