So I playtested it today again, and this map clearly lacks of pacing, the chokes are clearly shifted away from the control points, wich could work for a CP map, but not in a PL. There's something pretty important in every A/D maps, wich imo lacks here, it's the sentry nest and how the map manage to lead the engineers to the right sentry spot.
So first, pacing, imo a PL map should always work by this way :
The first part should always be a steamroll for the BLU team, they can take a solid position on the map and the first Ubercharges from both team should be popped there.
Then when the BLU team get on the first choke, an engineer should be there to block the progression of the BLU team, while the RED team congregate to this small area to protect the control point and the engineers. The real fight should start there, and the more spam there is the funniest it is, both team should focus on this area only. With the pressure of the BLU team, the RED team usually can't hold the position anymore and have to go back to the last point.
Here's the purpose of the map choke right after the control point, this area is usually a tight path where the RED team can hold this position for a small amount of time and prevent a complete BLU steamroll, this give the opportunity to the RED engineers to build a defence, and to get a full team wich is ready to defend this area.
When the CP1 is capped, this area should ALWAYS be useless for the the RED team, if the RED team can push back to the first control point, you are doing it wrong.
So now I think you aren't taking enough consideration to the engineers and how much they are important into an A/D map, they are doing the pace, they have to rythm the game by themselves, and that's another point where your map is doing it wrong, engineers aren't important in your map, there's no good sentry nest, looks at badwater by example, at the CP2, when you have an engineer on the roof, the BLU team won't pass, and they won't cap, if that RED engineer get enough help from his team, the BLU will have an hard time to cap, and they will have to focus on that engineer instead and congregate to that small area, the fun usually starts here. Once it's clear and the engineer is out, the BLU steamroll can start until the next choke.
Your map doesn't do that, the engineer don't really know where to build because the chokes aren't in the right position, and the few good sentry spots aren't near the control point or they aren't just good sentry spots and it become too easy for the BLU team to get rid of the sentry. Thus the team don't know where to go and where to defend, and the map instantly become a DM map. Pacing and engineers are too important to not get taken into consideration.
So I have this huge complain about the pacing on the map, but I also have to complain about the overall brushwork and design wich I find terribly simple.
The verticality on the map is always advantaging the defending team, wich I think is wrong for two reasons :
1 - The BLU team is always in the disadvantaged position, wich shouldn't be always the case, atm you are facing a RED wall wich spam you from the heights, everytime. Note that I'm always talking about the track wich follow the cart here, there's some areas where the BLU are advantaged, but never when they are with the cart. When the BLU team can make their steamroll, they should have the advantage on the RED team.
2 - When you are playing a vertical map wich advantage only a single team, you can consider this map as flat with a penality for the other team. A vertical map is a map where the teams are advantaged/disadvantaged according to where they are.
So here goes the pictures :
So I have to be honest with you I hate the pacing on the first level, that said, I have some idea for a better gameplay on some area.
I still don't get why this spawn has only two doors, it's a pain in the arse to get out of it when there's a competent team in front of you.
Also this area is boring imo, idk the design is too simple to my eyes, there's just nothing interesting. But ffs, add another spawn door please.
I don't want to add more pictures for this stage since I don't like it, and the whole design of the stage have to change imo, because yeah, pacing.
So here we come, stage 2, the idea is interesting while it easily turn into a DM map clusterfuck. The main issue here is that you can go everywhere everytime, no limits, you can go to the opposite of the core goal of the gamemode, doesn't matter, it's a DM map, nobody care anymore of the cart.
So first imo, you should limit the moves of the BLU team, why can they go the the final area while the first point isn't even capped ? Doesn't make sense at all.
Yeah, just screw that middle area, it's where the issue is at, and actually that's the same issue in thundermountain's last stage btw (I guess you are the LD of this map too). You can go litteraly everywhere both spawns are facing from a small distance, and suddently this map become dm_store. The cart has vanished from the map when the first CP is capped.
You should also add a configuration time, like that the RED team can build a defence on the first CP.
While I have no complains about the first area (yeah really), you HAVE to keep this door closed, it's too easy to get around the choke and then overtake the RED defence.
Move the spawn here to there
The small issue is that the train can become annoying for the players who are coming from the spawn, think about it.
Some ideas, but you get it, you need a good choke there.
It could be a nice way to leads the teams to the right area.
Also note that it looks like i'm teaching a Valve guy, but I mainly try to show to everyone the best (imo) way to give feedback to people, and that's what it lacks there on tf2maps sadly, solid feedback. But I guess we need a lot more of competent level designer here to acheive that (not that i'm taking myself as a competent LD), but you get the point.