river crossing

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
rivercrossing is a single stage payload map. nothing fancy, nor any gimmicks for a change. only thing of note is that it's got a river running down the middle of it.

River Crossing RC2a
Back and forth across the river

now available in Red Cranberry RC (release candidate) flavour!

So basically what we have here is a single stage (badwater-esque) payload map.
those who are thinking it, your right it is another alpine payload map, but there is a twist. (come on, when do I make a map without a twist?)
This time the twist is a twisting river going through the middle of the map. Don't worry though, as there are bridges to get that bomb across the river and give red their explosive-present

the bomb cart is escorted across a river 2 times on it's way to destroy a convoy train being loaded so it can supply a secret rocket base out in the forest.


changelog:

rc2a:
- fixed a minor bug with one of the areaportals.

rc2:
- added hatstands to spawnrooms.(model by acumen: akkushaver@gmx.de )
- changed the clipping for the bridges to prevent people getting stuck against the model when underneath it.
- added a new tf2-style texture to the "hl2-style" log piles.
- redid the areaportals/optimisations/etc to hopefully cure the low fps that some people report getting.
- added clipping on rocks where people reported getting stuck.
- added a few row boats to the map (from the swamp pack).

rc1:
- repositioned the sign at point B to stop people getting trapped between it and the tyre pile.
- removed the ammo pack from the shelter at point B.
- fixed an asthetic bug with a couple of doors.
- made sure all bottles are prop_physics_multiplayer instead of prop_static.
- added a few more windows and props here and there.

b4:
- moved 1st and 2nd points further back slightly (roughly 200 units)
- changed unlocking of forward spawn to happen when point D is captured (instead of point C)
- added addition cover around point B.
- beer bottle models are now prop_physics_multiplayer instead of prop_static.
- more details and props

b3:
- changed textures on some places
- added more detailing
- fixed red final spawn order
- nudged the falling arrow so it doesn't land face up
- added smoke effect on bombcart's chimney
- you can now shoot through the concrete pipes

b2:
- displacement tweaking near blu forward spawn
- setup time reduced by 15 seconds (now 75 seconds)
- given red a forward spawn for points 1 and 2, cutting travel distance by roughly 1600units
- swapped the doors around in the ARK building to prevent blu team rushing through it en-masse when attacking the last point
- reduced sightlines slightly for the aki acre's sniper nest
- rearranged red's rear spawn slightly to encourage people to use the upstairs exit slightly more often
- removed redundant exit to red spawn
- removed some arrows that i considered redundant, or incorrect in light of other changes
- fixed bug where the flying exploded barrels were not flying out when the bomb detonated
- added more props/details around the map
- added no-builds just outside the upstairs doors of the ARK building to prevent overly powerful sentry positions
- made one of the upstairs doors of the ARK building 2way, and prevented people being trapped by the other one closing on them.
- on the final point the bomb must now be pushed right to the edge before the attackers win.
- given each point a name instead of "cp1" etc.
- fixed a bug where the bomb would get stuck on the ramp near the end when retreating.

b1:
- general tidying up (aligning textures, floating props, etc)
- made the red shortcut path lock out on cp2 being captured instead of cp3 as intended
- added a path from near the fuel tanker, back up to the final area.
- added more arrows to direct red out of the final area
- locked the side exit to red spawn until cp4 is taken to help guide red players to the front line
- added details to the buildings around the final area
- added bannisters to some paths to help guide players
- added some objects near the river platform near the 1st bridge to make it more accessible.

a3:

- binski logging building has had the area around it changed to allow a flanking path around the side of the building
- moved redspawn back, changed the old redspawn into a flanking option for blue, using 1-way doors, and a shortcut to front lines for red for early 1/2 of the map.
- changed some brush/detail work around the final area, particularly above and around the train tracks
- blue forward spawn now unlocks when bridge is capped, and red loses the direct path to the front line at the same time.
- changed some func_detail brushwork between cp1 and cp2
- moved the final path_track to ensure the bomb doesn't get caught on the track scaffolding at the end of map
- removed the playerclip on the "orange-chute" shed/building
- fixed a brush alignment error in the blue start spawn
- aki acre roof had an overhang that could be stood on
- fixed a clipping issue on the corner stairs around the building near cp4

a2:

- more health packs around the map now
- players can no longer stand on the ridge of the windows on the bridge above the 1st point
- fixed a bug on the end of the track, where the bomb would get caught against an invisible brush and not explode.
- changed red lower doors and blu forward spawn door, to be no-draw instead of no-render metal
- added visual cue for red's A-B door being locked after B is taken
- added a sign to point blu up river when cp3 is taken
- roof of small building in corner near 1st point should now have correct clipping to allow people to shoot through the hole in the back.
- disabled shadows on the roof of the same building to fix lighting issues.
- player clipping border has been reworked.
- added more cover for area between bridge point and pen-ultimate point
- reduced speed of payload rollback to match the speeds found on valve payload maps
- fixed bug on upper red spawn door causing it to open on touch
- rising signs have gotten better lighting
- prevented being able to build a teleporter inside of the boarded up shed
- replaced the wood support models with func_detail brushes around the train tracks
- crane in final area has been playerclipped to stop demoman abuse
- crane in final area has had shadows disabled
- scaled up water to 0.5

a1:

- explosion doesn't trigger
 
Last edited:

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
updated
 

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
Looking Good, did you make some of the textures yourself ?
That Saw How you make it?

i've made custom textures before. this one though uses valve textures, with the exception of some signs/posters which i've done myself.

the saw:
it's just the large sawblademodel, and some func_detail brushwork around it.
 

taraph75

L1: Registered
Apr 23, 2009
48
10
playtesting

We would potentially like to playtest this map on tf2newbs.com payload rotation (69.12.37.14:27015). Next playtest night is Tuesday, 4/28, 7-9pm Pacific time. let me know if you'd like to be there to see your map tested. :) THanks.
 

DaFatCat

L3: Member
Apr 19, 2009
129
11
Looking good, you should make the sawblade spin and kill players :D
 

Annihilatorza

L1: Registered
Apr 8, 2009
30
0
We cant make anything spin in tf2 due func_rotate does not work nor does func ladder valve made some wierd choices for tf2 which I can't figure out.

Those are both critial for L4D I mean you cant finsh a stage in l4d with out func_rotate.
 

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
ah k cool, I have not been mapping for long so not gone through all the models yet.

no worries.
i'll point you to a really useful file though:
http://forums.tf2maps.net/downloads.php?do=file&id=865

makes it a lot easier to view/find the models you want

We would potentially like to playtest this map on tf2newbs.com payload rotation (69.12.37.14:27015). Next playtest night is Tuesday, 4/28, 7-9pm Pacific time. let me know if you'd like to be there to see your map tested. :) THanks.

sounds like a plan :)
couple of things though:
what is the time difference from pacific time to GMT? if it's 6hrs difference that means the times for me are 1am-3am wednesday morning.
i have a big job interview couple days afterwards, so i don't think i can personally make it for that sorta times.
but don't let that put you off playing it if you want to. i'll still be grateful for any feedback people make. (i'm toying with some major changes to the final area and maybe even relocating red spawn room, in order to let me use the current one to give blu more flanking options for the final part, so the more i hear about how the map plays the better).


We cant make anything spin in tf2 due func_rotate does not work nor does func ladder valve made some wierd choices for tf2 which I can't figure out.

Those are both critial for L4D I mean you cant finsh a stage in l4d with out func_rotate.
not true. i know of 2 work arounds for rotating things:
- use a func_door_rotating and either give it a large value for it's open distance (angle).
- use a 4-point path_track layout, about 4-units apart from eachother in a circle and a func_train.
true it's not perfect, but well, what can you do? hopefully when the L4D SDK stuff is offically released, they'll fix func_rotate for TF2 (FYI 2fort uses a func_rotate. the clouds in the skybox are parented to one, so this isn't something valve did intentionally).
regarding ladders, i've seen a number of custom maps that have working ladders. maybe you're getting mixed up over the fact that valve decided not to use ladders in TF2 maps. that doesn't mean that it can't be used in custom maps if you really want to.
 
Last edited:

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
updated to alpha3
 

captainAngry

L420: High Member
Feb 1, 2009
434
247
We are running A2 on our server now (I didn't notice you updated it). We liked the map a lot and had a lot of fun. One issue we did have is that the first area is way too sniper friendly. With a few good snipers we could easaly hold down the first area for quite some time.

I'll have to get the map updated for next weeks play test. It got good ratings and was well received. Keep up the good work.

 

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
updated to beta2
 

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
updated to beta3
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
Red buildings seem a little too neat and uniform. Something that tends to be a Blu style for architecture. Randomise your window placement on wooden structures a bit to help with this. Otherwise it's looking very nice so far.
 

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
it is now at beta4.

doh: forgot about the windows thing, sry grazr
 

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
RC1 is out and about :)
 

Cinnamon Whirl

L1: Registered
May 9, 2008
34
6
Played at gamesday 2/8. I played Red engi twice, and both times I found it very hard to defend properly or fall back effectively. There were scouts everywhere, and a sniper even taunt killed my sentry as it was building.

After the cart crossed the river and the shortcut became moot, game was more like standard A/D, and we defended the cart.

I think the shortcut was two easy for blu. After a few plays I can see players - esp Engineers - giving up on defending the first point, like so many do goldrush part 1, which is a shame as it wastes part of your map!