Ascent

Jamini

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 14, 2008
196
47
Set at Dusk, and fading into night, this payload map features a fierce climb up a steep mountain as both teams battle up and through the mountainside in order to destroy the secret base hidden underneath the placid facade of a pleasurable ski resort. This map features a significant amount of vertical action and has plenty of room for dynamic combat as each team is forced to forge deeper and deeper into enemy territory to push their payload. The map ends in an epic snow-shod finale as the payloads reach the apex of the mountain, tipping into the central reactor and causing the mountain to blow sky-high! (Explosions are not yet implemented).

Currently I am working on displacements, brush-based details, and placing props. As well as constantly playtesting and adjusting balance.
 
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Stupoider

L1: Registered
Feb 8, 2009
13
1
Oooh, loving the atmosphere there. The lights and the right amount of sunlight really do give a terrific setting. Here's hoping it plays well too!
 

littleedge

L1111: Clipping Guru
aa
Mar 2, 2009
986
605
It's an alright map. Here are some screenshots with things to fix.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1490725/plr_ascent_a100004.jpg
Too shiny.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1490725/plr_ascent_a100002.jpg
Shiny is random.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1490725/plr_ascent_a100009.jpg
This is at the very top in the back where you can look down upon the past stages (and suicide). Sew the displacements to the flat ground there.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1490725/plr_ascent_a100008.jpg
This light is by the second stage at the very beginning of the track. It's solid, and when the enemy was there, I got stuck on it. I'd suggest making it not solid.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1490725/plr_ascent_a100007.jpg
This is...somewhere, I think in stage 2. The corner shouldn't be a place you can stand on, unless you made that so for some reason.

http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1490725/plr_ascent_a100006.jpg
Another displacement issue at the back of the last stage.
 

Jamini

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 14, 2008
196
47
Thank you for the pictures little.

Up until now I've mostly been working on layout and texturing, with a11 I've started working on optimization, displacements, and a skybox. Hopefully next time you see this in gameday it'll be a bit more playable for the (very loud and obnoxious) crowd with not-so-great computers.
 

Vigilante212

L420: High Member
Dec 21, 2008
481
33
I dont know what version that last pic is from, but the huds arent equal. The second rollback for red is larger.
 

Jamini

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 14, 2008
196
47
I'm aware they are a little different. Eventually I'll make them perfect. As they are, the actual difference in cap times on any one stage is 0.1 of a second. Especially considering that this map is only about halfway to beta according to my reckoning (if that) and I may have to make some track layout changes yet if playtests reveal design flaws.
 

Jamini

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 14, 2008
196
47
Currently Doing: Shortening setup timers and adjusting doors.
 

Jamini

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 14, 2008
196
47
Updated to a12.

Changelog:

- Slightly modified layout to allow single-jumps to previously inacessable areas.
- Clipped some lights along the cart path.
- Displacement work on stage 2
- Fixed the respawnroomvisualizer bugging out on stage 1
- Shortened setup timer to 30 seconds on both stage 1 and 2.
- Adjusted RED cart height. It's still not perfect.
- Displacement work on stage 3
- Some Detail Work on Stage 1
- Changed skybox lighting and shadow controller settings.
 

Westerhound

L5: Dapper Member
Feb 5, 2009
248
104
Stage 1: The spawns are a bit close to each other, which ends up in a nice deathmatch if no one can be assed to walk more than 15 meters to be useful. I really like that you can rocket jump up to the first cap. One thing that can ruin the map is the easynes to block the enemy path is the really easy way to just sneak to the place where you have a little sideroom beside the tracks. If you have 2 engis to make a nest there it can be a bit too hard to pass maybe, so might wanna figure something out for that

Stage 2: Didnt play so much, and was kinda tired at this point so I was just really confused most the time, running around and failing, so I cant give you feedback bout this, sorry :/
 

Jamini

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 14, 2008
196
47
Thank you for the feedback Wester.

I actually deliberately put the spawns that close on the first stage, to let it act as a type of "Warm up" round for both teams. To help aliviate some of the deathmatch feel, I did add in a secondary exit to the spawn (out the back) that allows players to get to the second level of the wooden contraption. This route also can make it comparatively easy to flank any nests near the side rooms (which, provided the fight in the middle is intense, can really hinder any engineers attempting to build in there should they die. When I was watching the match I did not observe any engineers on either team until the end of the second stage (Who lost their buildings quite quickly to a pyro uber. In the in-house playtesting, we've only had a few people running engineer regularily. Mostly myself with offensive engineering and crazy-ass teleporters.)

Would you say that the deathmatch feel for the beginning is necessarily a bad thing? (considering how easy it is to push the cart out) If so, do you have any recommendations to alleviate that issue?
 

YM

LVL100 YM
aa
Dec 5, 2007
7,135
6,056
Played this today, overview of my opinions:
-Too dark, over entire map.
-Total lack of indication where the cart goes is rediculous, you need something even if it isnt a conventional track without it its a maze.
-Its a maze anyway
-First stage is spawn spam spawn spam,

unforuntately your spawn spam isn't goign to be easy to change without a total overhaul of stage 1 but i think it needs it, especially as you have so many oddities in your brushwork, lots of strangely placed platforms and over steep ramps (1:1 to push a cart up is rediculous in the third stage, it should be 1:2, 2:3 or 1:4 or another similar shallow ratio, those are the most common) and there are plenty of pillars that have a wide base just stopping you running through somewhere you want to. I think your brushwork is a mess.

The whole lot is too dark, but most noticably stage 2's long corridor where a sniper can sit and be 95% invisible in the shade at each end - totally lame to be sniped by that guy.

Seeing another stage from the current one is also way off, you shouldn't do that at all. ever. no only are you rendering almost all of the stage you're in, but you're rendering near 100% of the other stage, which means FPS drops through the floor. sure its a cool vista, but it's never done for a reason.

The floating cart sucks, put it on the ground like a normal person. Then give it some tracks!! Its so hard to figure out where the heck its gunna go if you have no indication what-so-ever of where it's headed.

Having made all these critizisms, I think its a bit of a pity because i probably come accross as though I dont like it, which isn't the case, it found it to be quite fun until our team forgot to push the cart one round... but thats a whole nother kettle of fish.
 

Terr

Cranky Coder
aa
Jul 31, 2009
1,590
410
Played today. In the "more feedback is good feedback even if it all sounds negative" vein:
  • Yeah, the two spawns are too close and spammy and sniper-war-ish on the bottom.
  • Second stage layout is confusing.
  • Cart needs tracks.
  • Some steep ramps might be better as stairs with a clipping plane.
  • One of the second-stage spawns showed me a "No Entry" sign for my own spawn. (I could go through anyway.)
  • Final stage spawns are way too exposed: I was able to put stickies down below enemies before they spawned. Potential for massive spawn-camping there.
  • Final stage's last stretch is too steep, especially given how close it is to each team's spawn.
 
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Vigilante212

L420: High Member
Dec 21, 2008
481
33
Ok I looked over a12.

For the last round you should just get rid of the end ramp and have the cart go straight ahead and end. Then extend the second ramp 200 units out so it looks better. All in all the map is alot brighter, but still feels dark in areas.

In round 2 you need to fix your track entities they still dont line up and blue has the advantage because they get to the hill first or disadvantage depending on teams. YOu should just copy all of one sides entities and flip them horizontally that way they all line up then just use the replace feature to change the name from red to blu.
You should also extend the ramp here so it touches the concrete area. And I would get rid of that wooden barrier youve put around the top. Now nobody uses that area when before it was nice.

Round 1 Still major Framerate drops areaportals wont fix this you need to just get rid of those windows.

I saw some wierd shadows from players in round 2 probably from lighting on ground facing up.

And for the love of god stop adding detailing until you get the track and cart laid down that shoulda been done A1. Worry less about lighting and more about gameplay atm.
 

Jamini

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 14, 2008
196
47
Currently I am in the process of redoing most of ascent. Predominantly the track layout of the first stage, and the entire layout of the second. The final stage is not going to change too much, in comparison.

My reasoning behind not putting the track down fully yet was because I wanted to get layout critisism BEFORE putting down a number of irritating props. Now that I've finally gotten it, I can make the changes that I need to the map. As it is I'm deleting most of the old layout on stage 1.

Terr, the next version will have doors on each spawnroom. That should solve the spawncamping problem.
 

Jamini

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 14, 2008
196
47
Released a14. This release sports several major changes in layout and design. I'm aware it's ugly in parts! Sorry! Next time I promise it'll look much better!