72hr Mapping Contest #4 - FINAL VOTE

[Fruity Snacks]

<72hr Contest #4 FINAL VOTE>
You have until Weds, July 10th at NOON EST to cast your final votes!
​

Rules:
PLEASE READ BEFORE VOTING!

• You will pick your THREE (3) favorite map from the final TEN (10)
• You will rank them (first to third, or third to first. Surprise me).
• You MUST provide rank numbers (1, 2, 3) or your vote will not count.
• You MUST provide a short explanation as to why you ranked the maps the way you did.

Your first rank map will get 3 points.
Your second rank map will get 2 points.
Your third rank map will get 1 point.

At the end of the voting period, the map with the most votes wins! (2nd most is 2nd, 3rd most is 3rd.)

For example:

1. koth_ratasum_72 - I really enjoyed the sharp edges and floating pyramids, made gameplay really interesting. The techno-mystical look was great.
2. arena_grove_72 - It's an arena map, but I really like it. The curves are great and show great skill from the author. The floral theme also works really well.
3. cp_blackcitadel_72 - I almost didn't vote for this, but after playing it a few more times, I was able to figure my way around. It plays quite well and the gritty, metallic industrial theme is great.

Ratasum would get 3 points, grove gets 2, blackcitadel get 1.

<FINALIST>
cp_bladend64_72
cp_crash_72
cp_drelement_72_2
cp_mlj_72_2
cp_nightwatch_72
cp_pdt_72
ctf_tmp_72
ddom_trotim_72_3_fix
koth_player_72_1
sd_vacon_72_1



"And the Drp spake, saying, 'First shalt thou play thy maps. Then shalt thou vote for three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt vote, and the number of the votes shall be three. Four shalt not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to vote three. Five is right out."​

 

[Egan]

1: cp_bladend64_72
I like the details you used and all the props felt stylized in the environment. You also had a 3d skybox which looked lovely. I like the gameplay, although attacking 2nd is kinda difficult because the only flank is through water which was easily blocked by .. anything. Good optimization. Technical side, it was the best.
Technical: A
Fun: B+
Total: 88 + 78 / 2 = 83

2: cp_pdt_72
I liked the layout, middle point was a bit cramped, but otherwise things flowed naturally which is good for scout gameplay. Not as detailed as blade's but it still looked decent, 'specially for a 72 map. It was possible to push back into 2nd when you were on last if the attack's push didn't follow through, which was great cause you could stay alive a bit longer.
Technical: B
Fun: A
Total: 75 + 88 / 2 = 81.5

3: cp_drelement_72_2
the layout was confusing at first, but it played alright once we all learned which route went where. 2nd was pretty cool, and it was fun pushing through to the next areas. Although attacking last was hard from the trench route cause you could be fired upon easily while not being able to do anything about it.
Technical: B-
Fun: B+
Total: 73 + 78 / 2 = 75.5


Some other comments about maps:

PLAYER
In all 3 playtests we had fun with this. Although, it felt easier to attack either spawn than it did to attack the point because it was so high up in the air it made demos and soldiers reign supreme most of the time. The medium health pack near either spawn should probably only be a small cause it meant spawn campers lasted longer in the area - although if you fixed the point being easier to attack I suppose that wouldn't be an issue as much. There were laso some errors in your cubemaps cause everything shiny was REALLY shiny.
Technical: C
Fun: B
Total: 65 + 75 / 2 = 70

NIGHTWATCH
pretty good layout in most areas. 2nd had too much health making it too hard to kill whichever team was on top of it. last was.. interesting; it was difficult to attack with anything except scouts. and if you got 3 scouts in there you could cap the point in seconds. so not balanced enough for attacking/defending areas.
Technical: B-
Fun: B
Total: 72 + 75 / 2 = 73.5

MLJ
It had a pretty solid layout. I liked 1st a lot. Although the transition between 1st and 2nd wasn't very good since the left route was shorter and gave you a better position than going through the buildings on the right which was buffed for defenders anyway. The area surrounding 2nd was a bit open too, like if you made it to the point you were slightly defended but the way there was open to snipers/demos/soldiers/scouts etc from every single direction.
Technical: C+
Fun: B
Total: 68 + 75 / 2 = 71.5

TMP
It felt too easy to push through really quickly, and it was confusing where to go at times since the route wasn't marked well. It would be pretty cool if you could do the thing that mvm does to the bomb carrier: it slows them down. Cause as a scout you could pick it up, run past everyone, cap, the end. Thats not fun. The details, however, looked like you put a ton of effort into, which is great for a 72 map, although maybe I would have suggested more transition between the areas since the start and the end pretty much look alike.
Technical: B
Fun: C-
Total: 75 + 63 / 2 = 69

CRASH
The details were alright, and the layout seemed original, but it wasn't fun to play cause it was such a trek sideways to the 2nd point. Attacking last also felt difficult unless you had an uber. And while that sounds good in theory, I mean, you couldn't even show your face into the final room without uber or you were dead. Not fun.
Technical: B
Fun: C
Total: 75 + 65 / 2 = 70

TROTIM
I was okay with the idea of the map, and it was genuinely unique which was cool, but as the game went on it became less hectically fun and more tediously annoying and boring. The side routes that passed by either spawn was team filtered for some reason which forced either team to go through the middle which was weird. I didn't play this on a full server so we all had the intention of going to cap the point we didn't own and so we never had defense on a point for very long - which may be a fun factor that we just never experienced.
Technical: B-
Fun: C-
Total: 73 + 63 / 2 = 68

VACON
I enjoyed the map to a point where the strategies used got repetitive. Snipers behind the point seemed really dangerous since the only flank was through your own base which also never seemed like a good option since it wasted a lot of time. I liked the whole area around the flag pickup though, I liked how you reworked that upper section through your tests. Some of the details were questionable like the sparks and the overturned table, but otherwise it looked okay.
Technical: B
Fun: B-
Total: 75 + 73 / 2 = 74

That was pretty fun. I appreciate originality and seeing what people can come up with in just 3 days and a bit of planning was pretty neato. Congrats to all entries!

 

[Crash]

1. koth_player_72_1
This is the only map from the 72 hour contest (besides mine) that our server keeps asking to play. Unique twist on KoTH, and a successful experiment in large height differences. Detailed solid enough given the short time span. It's got a really interesting asymmetrical design. I had a lot of fun with this. I hope you continue working on it.

2. cp_pdt_72
I really enjoy this map. I think it has solid gameplay design and I had a hard time picking between player and this one. Everything flows really nicely and I didn't have any trouble picking the layout right away. Just enough flank routes without overdoing it, and good usage of height variation. Continue this map!

3. cp_bladend64_72
I've learned I always seem to really enjoy your maps, Blade. You seem to always manage to have a unique take on all the maps you create, and this one is no exception. You created a memorable map in the very short time we had. I like the water route going to the point, it's a really interesting idea and made your map stand out from the rest of the pack. I look forward to seeing where you take this, if you choose to.

 

[Sergis]

1. cp_bladend64 because it's quite well done and i enjoyed the map more than the others
2. cp_nightwatch for reviving my care about custom 5cps
3. koth_player for obvious reasons

 

[sitebender]

This is my top 3. I would like to post other comments on all 10 finalists, but due to time constraints I just wanted to make sure you have my top 3. I am going in REVERSE ORDER to build the drama. >>

#3 NIGHTWATCH
This map was probably the most fun to play out of the bunch. All classes felt useful, with each point benefiting different classes, such as the obvious soldier point B towers. Engis could cover all of the points. Snipers felt useful at all points without dominating. There was a good distance to all of the points with twists and turns, yet didn’t feel like I ever got lost. Even with all of the paths to the next point, it felt like there was always action happening. The only downsides were incomplete texturing and the fact that this map had so many rails, but no trails. That was a disappointment. The final point was the only point that really felt completed. It had cover and details, while the other points felt like they just had buildings, ramps and paths.

#2 PDT
There was some good environment diversity with this map with clean interiors and lush exteriors. This map was also a lot of fun to play and your points had some real diversity to them, like the tornado style center point, the towering B point good for market gardening and the final point with a pit between the enemy and you. This map had a lot of height difference which is good, it added a lot of gameplay variety and fun to the map. All classes felt useful. There wasn’t that much detail put into interiors in terms of cover objects. Outside areas had, big, simple but effective cover walls that did the job and looked good. The only real downside to this map is no exterior border. Not that it matters really, but lacking the external barrier was very glaring to see. Oh and finally, turn on the spectator camera at the center point and watch the tornado happen.

#1 BLADEEND
This clearly felt the freshest out of all of the maps. Your use of the beach island theme was fantastic. The ships in the distance, the pal trees, the rocks, the fact that in your tunnel, it wasn’t just a tunnel but had a sewer was a nice touch. You have a beautiful use of color from the greens of the exteriors, to the whites of the interiors, blue waters and the orange roofs. It was beautiful and lush with good use of water, especially for pyro sharks out there. There was a good diverse mix of interiors, exteriors, caves, walkways, tunnels, water that made the map fun to run through. All classes felt useful and fun. There are boxes for cover, appropriate choke points and engi hideouts. Demos and soldiers can blow up the points while other classes can walk onto the points without having to get blind sided walking up ramps. With a 2 point game, walking onto the point is a must. It was a joy to play.

 

[DavyC]

1. koth_player_72_1 loved seeing this map change and become the fun it is today, really dynamic play and a lot of fun
2. cp_nightwatch_72 i would love to see this map in competitive and play it some more
3. ctf_tmp_72 i was always a big fan of harp and this is a great homage

 

[Fl4mingo]

1.koth_player - has very cool gameplay and i feel could be played well in comp/pubs it also worked out very well in a highlander pug we did it on
2.cp_bladeend - very clean map and theres not a lot of cool beach themed maps that look that good
3.cp_pdt - has very smooth gameplay aspects and it flows together pretty well but i think there are just a bit too many routes.

 

[LegendaryLennon]

1. Koth_player this map just really speaks to me man, like. it changed me life so much for the better because it's just that good. i love pugging on it and would probably make love to a pug on it to.

2.ctf_tmp just like his ugc carrer tmp is the almost the greatest but not quite there. the map is super fun its just that players map is reallllllllllll fun

3. sd_vacon the tf2 community needs more sd and this map does a pretty good job at doing that, idk sd is just kinda a bad format but its still super fun so yolo

 

[Player1]

1: cp_drelement
The map was pretty hard learning the layout, but after I learned were everything was, it was quite enjoyable. Mid was cool, and last was pretty cool aswell (besides the trench part), my only real complaint was that second was a bit to high if you ask me. But it seemed well planned, and could be good for 6s with a few changes.
2: dom_trotim
A cool idea, and it worked well. It was a bit hard to push to either side and the points, and I found it weird how the spawns were filtered, it made it a bit difficult to rotate.
3: cp_bladend64
The map has a good lay out, and played quite well, my only complaints were that there was way to much health and ammo; it made it quite hard to kill anyone, when they could just run back and get to full, and in .2 seconds be back in the fight. And the ammo made it easy to build sentrys everywhere. My other complaint was there were a few really powerful sniper lines. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable map, and I look forward to seeing what you can do with it.

 

[Blade x64]

3. cp_drelement_72_2
Fairly interesting points to fight on, but there was one route in particular that struck me as counter-intuitive given that it was the path players took between final and mid. However, all of the other paths were intuitive.

2. cp_nightwatch_72
Interesting areas around the control points and connections between the points. How the points connect do not sit well with me; particularly the obvious short route between every point.

1. cp_pdt_72
Interesting points to fight on and around as well as intuitive connections between the points.

 

[nightwatch]

I ranked these from third place to first place for suspense shenanigans (the one at the bottom gets the highest points)

3. cp_pdt_72
--- The detailing was complete, if a little bare and uninteresting in some places. Many of the rooms and areas connecting the point zones felt a little overscaled, but overall the points were fun to play on and I enjoyed the spectator camera.

2. cp_drelement_72_2
--- I would have given this map first place but the middle point felt too cramped and the weird spiral thing in one of the buildings hurt my soul. I loved the second point and felt like it had a quite interesting dynamic: it was quite suspenseful to try to recap it as the team defending on their last point.

1. cp_bladend64_72
--- I loved the area around the first point, there were many different strategies that could be employed there. The detailing was nice too.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

Welp, thats what I get for getting distracted by other things.

Winners will be annouced soon! Congratulatoins to eveyrone who entered, the finalists and the soon-to-be-annouced winners!