Leaps, Jumps, Hops & Bounds

Stormcaller3801

L5: Dapper Member
Jul 5, 2009
249
28
I've got a general question for the more experienced mappers with regards to the usual business of running about.

Looking at the Source SDK information, most individuals can only jump 72 HU high. This involves a crouch at the top in order to clear the hurdle. Comparatively, a Scout can double-jump and clear a hurdle 117 high; 90 if not crouching.

This leaves me with a dilemma. I want it to be possible for Scouts to double-jump out of the trenches in my map, but I also want them to be deep enough that it will be difficult to snipe people without getting somewhere high up- that's the whole point of the towers and suchlike, getting you an advantageous firing position that has the downside of basically standing up at the top of a tower with no cover. This seems to require a minimum height of 95, with 100 seeming like the better number (as that provides a little more safety for people who show up on a teleporter and/or aren't hugging the wall).

So the question then becomes, do I leave the height at 100, and basically require Scouts to double jump and crouch to get out, or do I drop it to 90, expose people to Sniper fire, and let Scouts double jump out with less trouble? I'm debating the possibility of doing both: leaving most areas at 100, where (assuming Scouts can double jump and crouch, something I'm unsure of come to think of it) good Scout players can get out anywhere, and then have a few areas where there's a steep slope, yet the trenchward side is only 90 or less, allowing Scouts to leap out without assistance.

What's the more experienced mapping community's opinions on this matter? Does the FaN make it mostly moot?
 

Stormcaller3801

L5: Dapper Member
Jul 5, 2009
249
28
That's actually what I ended up doing, more or less: the sides of the trenches furthest from the road will end up beveled, whereas the ones closest are not. I figure that's a decent compromise that still rewards the better players- while the ones who can't double jump and crouch have to loop backwards to get up (leaving them open to incoming fire) the Scouts who know what they're doing can move forward without trouble.

I just ran a test to see how well it worked- and it worked fine, once I unequipped the Sandman. Scouts will have improved mobility.