4Pillar

KotH 4Pillar B1a

Midni

L1: Registered
Jan 26, 2024
25
6
Midni updated 4Pillar with a new update entry:

a2

A2 change log
-fixed found clipping issues
-fixed known clipping issues
-changed battlement cover into a partial interior with cover extending down to ground
-freed the water machine prop
-fixed overlays
-raised one of the CP's corner walls and gave it a window
-closed off the corridor entrance to the CP
-deleted packs and kits too close to spawn
-changed corridor ammo pack from small to medium
-added a wall on left side of battlements building to the neighboring shack
-lowered spawn side...

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Midni

L1: Registered
Jan 26, 2024
25
6
Midni updated 4Pillar with a new update entry:

A3 Changelog

-replaced 4pillars with betterer pillars
-extended map by another 128hu to create more courtyard space
-changed corridor end to a half circle and gave it a larger window
-changed ramps on left route to mid into a single prop stair to open up courtyard space
-added a concrete block next to new stairs
-closed the right door to battlements building from courtyard and removed the associated ramp
-extended wall on left side of battlements
-added cover to shack roof
-extended boundary wall next to...

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Midni

L1: Registered
Jan 26, 2024
25
6
Midni updated 4Pillar with a new update entry:

A5 Changelog

-raised walls on mid to help counter sentry and sniper sightlines
-fixed snipers being able to easily walk on top of rampart walls and gain an unfair sightline over the entirety of mid
-adjusted rampart heights in an attempt to make them less domineering of a highground
-reduced height of incline in the deathmatch room next to mid
-gave ramparts an interior section to help close off the two courtyards before mid
-removed small ammo pack on mid
-adjusted widths of parts of the ramparts to...

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Midni

L1: Registered
Jan 26, 2024
25
6
Midni updated 4Pillar with a new update entry:

A6, the snipering

A6 changelog
-adjusted a logpile prop that did not mirror the layout properly
-made DM room less big
-closed off the under area of the DM highground
-removed fences from DM highground
-added some wood piles into DM room to give more variation in height and allow non scouts to jump up to the highground
-added a tunnel from lower spawn route to ramparts
-opened a new sniper roost on other side of ramparts
-closed off the rear of the ramparts behind new sniper roost to help eliminate highground...

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Midni

L1: Registered
Jan 26, 2024
25
6
Midni updated 4Pillar with a new update entry:

The First Beta

It took nearly an entire year since A1 was submitted but B1 is finally ready to grace the testing servers. I would provide a changelog but so many things have added, tweaked, and changed over such a long period that I can not provide a completely accurate list. So i will provide the following instead:
Changelog:
-New spawns
-updated routing out of spawn and overhauled the entire spawn courtyard
-new displacements for the ground
-changed healthpacks around
-removed tower ammo cubby and...

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Midni

L1: Registered
Jan 26, 2024
25
6
With the release of 4pillar_b1 I thought it would be neat to take a look at all the versions of my first map through screen shots. I think this will be a good showcase of progress for 1 whole year of mapping.

Up first is actually 4pillar_a0 which only adopts this name as it predates me joining TF2M by a few weeks.
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This version of 4pillar has never been tested and is grossly over scaled and barely functional. I was quite fascinated with it as a very first hammer creation however.
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It had many strange routing options and nearly jungle gym game play space.
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It also had this interesting building with a spiral ramp on the outside that lead to a very strong spot for a sniper to just barely stand on; this building was also a cubby at the battlements that held health and ammo.
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Finally i want to show off A0's spawn shaped object. I honestly could not tell you what i was thinking when i made this monstrosity.


A1: the version actually first tested
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This map may be familiar to some testers, it is my very first map tested on TF2M and is a complete redesign over my previous map. the only thing that even vaguely remains is a theme on pillars.
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This version of 4pillar received minor praise but i knew it was not a good map by any means. looking back at this version however there is something quite neat about the absolute mayhem of its layout. unfortunately it would become clear that until A4, 4pillar would remain an under scaled mess of geometry.
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the spawn of this version, and all versions until B1, is quite a pitiful sight to behold. it is barely large enough to hold an entire team and only barely functions. I did not view it a high priority however. Painfully, i recall i had set the spawn points to not face uniform directions on this version which i believe i rectified by A2.

A2: Parsing my first feedback
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While i'm not stranger to the concept of getting feedback on projects and enacting changes on them (I am a pen and paper game developer on my free time) this was the first time I had ever had a tf2 creation critiqued with ideas about how things should be addressed. This version would also be the first time i actually thought about the map played as A1, and A0, were maps i had just thrown together on a whim. With the expectation of getting an updated version tested I brought A2 out relatively quickly. the most notable changes i tried to make this version were addressing sight lines and trying to make routes more "interesting". It was like flailing like a fish out of water and would be the theme of development until the entire layout was redone in A4.
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One of the most important critiques i took was removing the routing that lead directly to the point from spawn via the long tunnel. i blocked it off and forced players to exit onto the battlements instead. I also gave it a medium ammo pack. Personally i think this greatly improved the map more than anything but it was still plagued with random geo and being generally under scaled.
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Most of the rest of the map would remain more or less unchanged except for this added wall that cut a sight line down a bit and forced mildly more dynamic routing. I do not think it was that particularly impactful of a change.

A3: Growing Frustration & brand new pillars
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A3 was not a version that brought much in terms of significant change. it is however where the modern pillars on the map originate from. They are just simple brushwork i managed to make after getting a mini tutorial in the Discord on how to make these kinds of shapes. Other than these pillars however this version came with the frustration of me not being able to truly figure out a way to improve the layout over A2. I added more walls to block more sight lines and force more routing options. But it would prove to be a failed attempt as the layout itself just was not particularly good.
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There were some interesting ideas i came up with though. Such as, the curved observatory window that let you view the point from the tunnel route. It was no where near an impactful change but I do remember accidentally clicking Carve with the arch and crashing hammer- which is mildly amusing. Since this is the last version of this layout I also want to mention the battlements themselves. they were excessively close together (an issue of being an under scaled map) and the control points hologram got in the way of sniper duels. worst of all however is that they were far too easily accessed by enemy soldiers who could just sit atop them and bomb enemies as they came up to the point.
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Being able to see the control point from the observatory window
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A4: The Phoenix named 4Pillar
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The frustrations of A3 built up to a point where i decided a nuclear option was required in order to continue creating 4Pillar. nearly the entire layout was ripped out and replaced with a new one. The only surviving part of the map at this point is mid, and even that has had a third of it removed and replaced with a wider deathmatch area like Lakeside possesses. This version is also where i began experimenting with more cosmetic options like making it night time. This version would become the base for the layout that B1 would be shipped with.
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The deathmatch area is rather pitiful and uninteresting. it is a large room with a wall and a raised hill in the middle. it provided much needed space but is ultimately just not good design. it did prove the concept was worth working with however.
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Like the DM room next to the control point, the new battlements I made were very sparse. but not only were they too sparse, they left far too much open for snipers to climb around on and be a massive nuisance (to where even i cannot defend the power they wielded). A small fun fact about the shape of these battlements: originally these battlements were going to be at a simple 45 degree angle. However, i kept running into the black lighting bug and did not entirely understand what was causing it so i opted for the simpler two 90 degree turned shape. Looking back on it now I realise just how much better of a decision this was for the layout.
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Here you can see the foundation of the modern B1's battlements and hill. I had not yet even attempted displacements yet but a vision was finally clear for the map. These prop stairs would be eventually replaced with brushwork that I have found both easier to work with an more pleasing aesthetically.
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The routes up to the battlements were heavily limited at this version. which would leave the second courtyard to be rather boring.
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Spawn remained as pitiful as always- remaining just barely functional enough to enable the game to be played.
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This route out of spawn to the courtyard behind the battlements is not notable in anyway other than how laughably empty it is. I put far more work into the more central parts of the map and did not think it was worth a bother having an interesting route out of the spawn courtyard. I would now say that this is not a good design philosophy to have but the route was at least functional.
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The Mid and other route out of the spawn courtyard. Both routes are rather uninteresting and only serve to segregate the courtyards.
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An upwards look at the DM arena from the Mid courtyard.

A5: Finally getting somewhere good
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The testing of A4, despite it's obviously glaring issues with sniper, brought in a lot of energy for me to iterate and get even better at mapping. The very first thing i set out to improve was the DM arena by giving it much more interesting geometry and even more space to fight in. This was a magnificent improvement though the fences would be noted as being quite unpopular. I believe this is also the first version in which a soundscape was added.
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I would resolve the sniper problem by greatly building up the battlements. This greatly limited the sight lines available to sniper and the added
building to the battlements helped block soldier and demo from just casually jumping over the battlements- making the two courtyards more distinct. Not mentioned in the previous version but the tower seen on the right is a cubby that held ammo packs. the small passage gap next to it was unpopular. These changes would prove too detrimental to sniper and he lost any good spots to actually utilize his kit.
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The rear of the battlements begin to take on their modern form by this version with the stairs wrapping around the building.

A6: The final alpha
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A6 would bring several improvements over A5. The first change was a simple one however: the removal of the fences from the DM arena. To note here: from A4 to here the rest of Mid has remained virtually unchanged except for some height adjustments of the walls.
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This is also the version where i first used displacements! Originally, A6 was going to ship with the same flat dev texture ground as A5, however a last minute discovery that displacements are only mildly demonic let me implement a very basic flatish grassy ground. Also seen here is the new route option to the battlements and the slightly more opened battlements over A5 that finally let sniper stand somewhere reasonable.
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The new route can be seen here as it goes through a very blocky brush cave like structure. Originally i had intended to eventually make this route an actual fancy displacement cave but i gave up on this idea between T7 to T9 (my version string RC candidates; also T9 should indicate why B1 took so long). The nodraw faces seen here are a consequence of having taken this screenshot while inside of a brush so a better view could be seen.
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This is the interior of the cave like structure. It is incredibly barren and only exists to serve as the idea i wanted to present.

B1: The moment you've been waiting for; where did we end up after an entire year developing 4Pillar?
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There was a long gap betwen A6 and B1 i can't say that isn't true. I also cannot say it is true that i was working on this map for that entire time, I made a few other maps in the meanwhile and learned some new things though, but i did have progress. That progress is what we have as B1. there are numerous changes and this post will serve as my proper changelog. First to obviously point out, the DM arena's outside looks like an actual structure. is it a castle keep, a temple, just random geo an idiot put together? It is something however that i am certain of. The skybox has also changed to no longer be night (i spent too long working on B1 and the sun came up i guess- special thanks to Fiddle for recommending the new lighting).
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the DM arena interior has also been updated to look better and hopefully provide even more interesting combat (at time of posting B1 is still not tested).
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The basic shape from A6 remains however. The fire lighting makes this room feel very different from the rest of the map which i personally like.
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The new battlements are certainly a better version than A6s with a nice splattering of beta tier detailing work on its walls/fences. overall the structure here has remained more or less identical from A6 with a few adjustments to the positions of walls to ensure there aren't very gross sightlines.
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The cubby tower is no more being instead replaced with this block, but also the brushwork elevation change has become a proper hill with 75% complete displacements.
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Detail work on the battlements showing the new stairs and even a balcony.
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The health and ammo cubby on the non DM arena side of the map has been updated with better health and ammo placement and rebar like objects instead of chickenwire providing the visibility from the front. The two small healthkits have been combined into one medium. this is detailing from Blu side hence why the bricks aren't red in this image.
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After an entire year you finally have a brand new spawn. Not only is there a brand new, more functional, and better looking spawn. but the spawn courtyard itself has been spruced up significantly.
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The spawn interior is detailed with support planks haphazardly placed around. I am aware of some texture angling issues prevalent across nearly all the map: This is a low concern and worth it for B2.
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The right route out of Red spawn is spruced up quite a bit and has also had its entry shortened at the spawn courtyard.
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What was once a cave like structure has become a proper building instead as i found this far easier to work with. While I think a proper displacement cave could have looked really cool, this change directly influenced the rest of the map's rudimentary artpass for the better.
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A screenshot taken from Blu's side again, this is the opposite route of the previous. It is looking down towards the spawn side exit of this little curved room.
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A look up towards the DM Arena and the Pillars.
That's B1, parts of it anyways. It is not a perfect map yet, it may never be, but, comparing it to the A0/A1 version of 4Pillar, I have definetly improved by leaps and bounds- just to praise myself. It's been a journey to get to B1's release; and I know there's a few minor errors in the map still (that shouldn't impact testing) and can't be asked to recompile it for a 4th time tonight. However! I can say even despite those few errors, i have successfully escaped the koth alpha mines in just about a years time. I don't know if that is a good metric or not but i am happy to have finally climbed from those dark depth to smell the lichen of Beta- there is still much to be done to find sunlight in mapping.
I'd like to offer a sincere thank you to everyone who has provided feedback and playtested 4Pillar. There are too many of you to bother listing here but I did take a look at all the feedback and watched every demo (even ones I had played in myself). So again, thank you, all of you.