- May 28, 2008
- 395
- 81
Sorry for the ambiguous thread title, but I'm not sure how to describe it.
I've been working on my first major TF2 mapping project, ctf_watermill. The map is named for the iconic undershot watermills located at each end of the river. Unfortunately, the mills are rather small to house entire bases and I don't want to make them much larger or it will ruin their antiquated feel. The solution? A bridge spans across the river and a second building, also part of the bases, is located there.
Think of it like the original badlands from TFC where there were the major bases but also those little outposts overlooking the canyons.
Here's a 3D wireframe view of the watermill (almost done in terms of layout) in Hammer. That little thingy you see on the other end of the bridge is to be the other building. Now, I'm not sure what kind of building would go well with a watermill (so far I'm either thinking a different watermill or some really generic building).
It was here (while trying to cram a respawn room into the attic of the mill but failing horribly) that I realized my problem. With two buildings, especially since I'll probably put a respawn room in each, there won't be much communication or defensive strategy between the two. It'll be like a CP map. Some guys will be defending the watermill, some guys defending the other.
Normally, this is kind of a good thing as it encourages division of responsibilities, but then cp_gravelpit comes to mind - one part of the map will be completely ignored, and since the intel room (it'll be underground in the cliffside behind the buildings) can be reached through either building, it'll be really easy to cap.
I need a way to make it more obvious that the two buildings are part of the same base and remove any "no man's land" feel that may exist between the two buildings. For example, if this was a castle map, I could wall the entire area in so players would still have a general idea that this is one team's territory and it all must be taken into consideration when attacking and defending.
I was thinking of a crater or valley or something, but that'd close the map up considerably.
Any ideas? Also, do you guys think that respawn rooms should be "out of the way" of the normal gameplay paths, or should it be like 2fort where the respawn rooms (well, at least one of the respawn rooms) is passed on one of the routes to the intel?
I've been working on my first major TF2 mapping project, ctf_watermill. The map is named for the iconic undershot watermills located at each end of the river. Unfortunately, the mills are rather small to house entire bases and I don't want to make them much larger or it will ruin their antiquated feel. The solution? A bridge spans across the river and a second building, also part of the bases, is located there.
Think of it like the original badlands from TFC where there were the major bases but also those little outposts overlooking the canyons.
Here's a 3D wireframe view of the watermill (almost done in terms of layout) in Hammer. That little thingy you see on the other end of the bridge is to be the other building. Now, I'm not sure what kind of building would go well with a watermill (so far I'm either thinking a different watermill or some really generic building).
It was here (while trying to cram a respawn room into the attic of the mill but failing horribly) that I realized my problem. With two buildings, especially since I'll probably put a respawn room in each, there won't be much communication or defensive strategy between the two. It'll be like a CP map. Some guys will be defending the watermill, some guys defending the other.
Normally, this is kind of a good thing as it encourages division of responsibilities, but then cp_gravelpit comes to mind - one part of the map will be completely ignored, and since the intel room (it'll be underground in the cliffside behind the buildings) can be reached through either building, it'll be really easy to cap.
I need a way to make it more obvious that the two buildings are part of the same base and remove any "no man's land" feel that may exist between the two buildings. For example, if this was a castle map, I could wall the entire area in so players would still have a general idea that this is one team's territory and it all must be taken into consideration when attacking and defending.
I was thinking of a crater or valley or something, but that'd close the map up considerably.
Any ideas? Also, do you guys think that respawn rooms should be "out of the way" of the normal gameplay paths, or should it be like 2fort where the respawn rooms (well, at least one of the respawn rooms) is passed on one of the routes to the intel?