Real textures, preety good-looking SD map in a jungle facility... Needs more spytech.
- Thread starter ForbiddenDonut
- Start date
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
- 806
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eoiy83hbnbco82n/sd_congo_a2.rar
August 5, 2012
sd_congo_a2
-Added alternative route between rocket and austrailium
-Health/ammo pack locations revisions
-Increased accessibility to rocket
-Started texturing and aesthetic detailing
-Increased optimization
By the way, I'm a dork and left my displacement cubes outside BLU spawn. I'll fix them for A3, but they don't block the door so I'm not going to recompile the map over it.
August 5, 2012
sd_congo_a2
-Added alternative route between rocket and austrailium
-Health/ammo pack locations revisions
-Increased accessibility to rocket
-Started texturing and aesthetic detailing
-Increased optimization
By the way, I'm a dork and left my displacement cubes outside BLU spawn. I'll fix them for A3, but they don't block the door so I'm not going to recompile the map over it.
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
- 806
So, apparently there was an after gameday playtest of Congo today, which is awesome. I'm trying to get my hands on the STV demo for it, but in the meantime I'm reading and addressing some of the issues on the feedback database.
a3 is going to be a little bit of an experimental build where I test a few different things to see how they work. The biggest problem right now is that the lift area is too hard to cap/too easy to defend.
To address the "too hard to cap" problem, I'm adding a second to the return time on the austrailium (8 seconds, up from 7) and I'm increasing the spawn time by 2 seconds (8 seconds, up from 6). Additionally, I'm removing this sentry spot for right now.
In terms of making the area more difficult to defend - that problem is a bit more complicated. I'm trying real hard to make sure this area retains its simplistic layout as people seem to enjoy it. So, if this change isn't doing anything but hurting that, I'll easily roll it back. I've added an underneath flank route from behind the tower to the rocket which has access to a full health pack:
The idea here is to make assaults into the actual lift area a bit more unpredictable and force players away from camping the actual lift. Additionally, I'm going to make it harder to snipe people coming out of the spawn gate that directly leads to the rocket area.
On a final note, I want to hear some opinions. I pretty much get that the large health pack by the austrailium spawn is useless (as well as the balcony it sits on). I'm probably going to end up removing it. However, someone suggested making ramps up to the scaffolding protecting the austrailium. I'm not entirely sure if I want to do this. Currently, that platform is sort of a "airborne" platform - you need to jump onto it. It gives the area a much more "flighty" feel and encourages height advantage play. If I made it stupid easy to access, I feel like I might be hurting that. Anyone have any thoughts on this particular area?
Think that's all for now. I'm very happy how the map is coming out.
EDIT: Thanks for letting me know which version was played, yyler.
a3 is going to be a little bit of an experimental build where I test a few different things to see how they work. The biggest problem right now is that the lift area is too hard to cap/too easy to defend.
To address the "too hard to cap" problem, I'm adding a second to the return time on the austrailium (8 seconds, up from 7) and I'm increasing the spawn time by 2 seconds (8 seconds, up from 6). Additionally, I'm removing this sentry spot for right now.
In terms of making the area more difficult to defend - that problem is a bit more complicated. I'm trying real hard to make sure this area retains its simplistic layout as people seem to enjoy it. So, if this change isn't doing anything but hurting that, I'll easily roll it back. I've added an underneath flank route from behind the tower to the rocket which has access to a full health pack:
The idea here is to make assaults into the actual lift area a bit more unpredictable and force players away from camping the actual lift. Additionally, I'm going to make it harder to snipe people coming out of the spawn gate that directly leads to the rocket area.
On a final note, I want to hear some opinions. I pretty much get that the large health pack by the austrailium spawn is useless (as well as the balcony it sits on). I'm probably going to end up removing it. However, someone suggested making ramps up to the scaffolding protecting the austrailium. I'm not entirely sure if I want to do this. Currently, that platform is sort of a "airborne" platform - you need to jump onto it. It gives the area a much more "flighty" feel and encourages height advantage play. If I made it stupid easy to access, I feel like I might be hurting that. Anyone have any thoughts on this particular area?
Think that's all for now. I'm very happy how the map is coming out.
EDIT: Thanks for letting me know which version was played, yyler.
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
- 806
sd_congo_a3
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i1arfug2bhswhxq/sd_congo_a3.rar
August 12, 2012
sd_congo_a3
-Increased Austrailium return time to 8 seconds (from 7 seconds)
-Increased respawn wave time to 8 seconds (from 6 seconds)
-Added changes to reduce the effectiveness of the Sniper and Engineer
-Added alternative route beneath the rocket tower
-Health/ammo pack locations revisions
-Added additional clipping
-Redesigned the Austrailium scaffolding
-Added additional optimization methods
-Additional aesthetic work
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i1arfug2bhswhxq/sd_congo_a3.rar
August 12, 2012
sd_congo_a3
-Increased Austrailium return time to 8 seconds (from 7 seconds)
-Increased respawn wave time to 8 seconds (from 6 seconds)
-Added changes to reduce the effectiveness of the Sniper and Engineer
-Added alternative route beneath the rocket tower
-Health/ammo pack locations revisions
-Added additional clipping
-Redesigned the Austrailium scaffolding
-Added additional optimization methods
-Additional aesthetic work
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
- 806
Gameday post:
Not really much feedback today (my map, along with about 3 others, only got about 3-6 comments). I was hoping there'd be more discussion about the new scaffolding and/or route below mid. Perhaps a lot of the players were new to the map, or perhaps it just wasn't that large of a change.
What did come up was the whole Doomsday func_respawn thing blocking teleporters. For anyone wondering, I did not intentionally design it this way - this is how Doomsday is set up. The func_respawn room entity is doing two things: it blocks Engineer buildings, but it also prevents the flag from being brought into an area that is only accessible to one team.
The only way to really fix it is to design a spawn system that is vastly different than Doomsday. I'll think of ideas, but I'm not entirely sure it's worth the effort just to get teleporters working on a map that is already pretty small.
Aside from all that, it looks like the gameplay changes are going to be more on the tweak side from now on. Thanks for the testing, folks.
EDIT: Also, mini-sentries look a bit too powerful at the rocket site. That weapon breaks any map that's small. =X
Not really much feedback today (my map, along with about 3 others, only got about 3-6 comments). I was hoping there'd be more discussion about the new scaffolding and/or route below mid. Perhaps a lot of the players were new to the map, or perhaps it just wasn't that large of a change.
What did come up was the whole Doomsday func_respawn thing blocking teleporters. For anyone wondering, I did not intentionally design it this way - this is how Doomsday is set up. The func_respawn room entity is doing two things: it blocks Engineer buildings, but it also prevents the flag from being brought into an area that is only accessible to one team.
The only way to really fix it is to design a spawn system that is vastly different than Doomsday. I'll think of ideas, but I'm not entirely sure it's worth the effort just to get teleporters working on a map that is already pretty small.
Aside from all that, it looks like the gameplay changes are going to be more on the tweak side from now on. Thanks for the testing, folks.
EDIT: Also, mini-sentries look a bit too powerful at the rocket site. That weapon breaks any map that's small. =X
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
- 806
Actually, it does. This is all one entire entity that goes all the way from the actual spawn room to the gates.
However, I like the sound of your idea. I'll give it a try. Something tells me Valve would have gone with that route unless something wasn't working properly, but who knows. Worth a shot.
However, I like the sound of your idea. I'll give it a try. Something tells me Valve would have gone with that route unless something wasn't working properly, but who knows. Worth a shot.
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
- 806
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you an SD map that does not screw over the Engineer:
Build accessibility that is possible all the way up to the gates themselves!
The gates still block the Austrailium case!
And because the Austrailium case carrier cannot use a teleporter, we don't have to worry about teleport trollers. Huzzah!
Thank you prestige for coming up with the idea. I'm very curious as to why Valve didn't take this approach.
Build accessibility that is possible all the way up to the gates themselves!
The gates still block the Austrailium case!
And because the Austrailium case carrier cannot use a teleporter, we don't have to worry about teleport trollers. Huzzah!
Thank you prestige for coming up with the idea. I'm very curious as to why Valve didn't take this approach.
this might happen. when i was testing my htf map with bots, they didnt fully understand the logic and would always get the intel behind the barriers. i think if they are thick enough (maybe 96 hu to be safe?), it should be ok.
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
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Alright, so here's what to be expected in the upcoming A4 build:
First and foremost - yes, the change to allow Engineers to build within the spawning territory will accompany this build. I've made the func_respawn entities 96 Hu long to hopefully prevent exploits, but we'll just have to see in gameplay if that is enough.
The second big change is an attempt to reduce the amount of spam and spawn camping that usually follows the team that holds control of the rocket area. For people coming into this hallway, it would often become a 'corridor-o-death' if the opposing team controlled either the rocket lift or the tower balcony. Here's some comparisons of the entrance between A3 and the new A4.
A3:
A4:
The change gives the team entering the area from this entrance a bit more room to maneuver and prevent being gibbed off the bat.
The last thing is the mini-sentries: they need to be reduced in effectiveness when it comes to the rocket area. Hopefully, allowing players to actually survive past the entrance into the area will be a big step in stopping the Engineer reign, but I'll be doing a few things like stopping them from having such a large radius over the area/shooting through stairs or the likes. If at that point they are still too powerful, I'll add in additional measures. It's unfortunate that I have to do so much balancing over one weapon in the game (thanks, Valve), but oh well.
Everything else in this build is rather minor. I get the "teh whole map looks blue." I'll start fixing that this build. Cheers.
First and foremost - yes, the change to allow Engineers to build within the spawning territory will accompany this build. I've made the func_respawn entities 96 Hu long to hopefully prevent exploits, but we'll just have to see in gameplay if that is enough.
The second big change is an attempt to reduce the amount of spam and spawn camping that usually follows the team that holds control of the rocket area. For people coming into this hallway, it would often become a 'corridor-o-death' if the opposing team controlled either the rocket lift or the tower balcony. Here's some comparisons of the entrance between A3 and the new A4.
A3:
A4:
The change gives the team entering the area from this entrance a bit more room to maneuver and prevent being gibbed off the bat.
The last thing is the mini-sentries: they need to be reduced in effectiveness when it comes to the rocket area. Hopefully, allowing players to actually survive past the entrance into the area will be a big step in stopping the Engineer reign, but I'll be doing a few things like stopping them from having such a large radius over the area/shooting through stairs or the likes. If at that point they are still too powerful, I'll add in additional measures. It's unfortunate that I have to do so much balancing over one weapon in the game (thanks, Valve), but oh well.
Everything else in this build is rather minor. I get the "teh whole map looks blue." I'll start fixing that this build. Cheers.
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
- 806
sd_congo_a4
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1qtgmeqn0i22zo8/sd_congo_a4.rar
August 20, 2012
sd_congo_a4
-Reworked spawn entity set-up to allow Engineers to build teleporters
-Redesigned spawn entrances into rocket area to be less spammy
-Added changes to reduce the effectiveness of the Sniper and Engineer
-Added additional coloring to differentiate the playing areas by team
I'm also starting to play around with what I want in the 3D skybox vista from the cliff scaffolding.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1qtgmeqn0i22zo8/sd_congo_a4.rar
August 20, 2012
sd_congo_a4
-Reworked spawn entity set-up to allow Engineers to build teleporters
-Redesigned spawn entrances into rocket area to be less spammy
-Added changes to reduce the effectiveness of the Sniper and Engineer
-Added additional coloring to differentiate the playing areas by team
I'm also starting to play around with what I want in the 3D skybox vista from the cliff scaffolding.
- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
- 806
I haven't forgotten about this map. With college starting up again next week and me moving back to the east coast this week, things have been a little busy for me.
For A5, I have a few changes planned - some stuff in preparation for a beta and some stuff to see if I can get this map to be appealing for a competitive crowd.
I'm cleaning up some of the clutter around the rocket site and putting larger restrictions for mini-sentries - those black rails won't be penetrable by the gunslinger's menace. Also, I made it easier to jump onto the platform from the mid level.
The biggest change (and this change is more of an experiment than a permenant/feedback change) is the total time it takes to cap the flag - which starts when you first get onto the lift to the point where you actually capture the flag - has been reduced by 33%. After doing some research with the UGC and talking to some competitive players, the biggest issue with Valve's SD map Doomsday is that the lift process is too long.
So I'm trying it with a reduced time.
Lastly, the spawns are completely changing aesthetically. The fact it looks exactly like doomsday was completely placeholder while I worked out the gameplay kinks. It'll signify this map's ascendance into Beta. Woot.
For A5, I have a few changes planned - some stuff in preparation for a beta and some stuff to see if I can get this map to be appealing for a competitive crowd.
I'm cleaning up some of the clutter around the rocket site and putting larger restrictions for mini-sentries - those black rails won't be penetrable by the gunslinger's menace. Also, I made it easier to jump onto the platform from the mid level.
The biggest change (and this change is more of an experiment than a permenant/feedback change) is the total time it takes to cap the flag - which starts when you first get onto the lift to the point where you actually capture the flag - has been reduced by 33%. After doing some research with the UGC and talking to some competitive players, the biggest issue with Valve's SD map Doomsday is that the lift process is too long.
So I'm trying it with a reduced time.
Lastly, the spawns are completely changing aesthetically. The fact it looks exactly like doomsday was completely placeholder while I worked out the gameplay kinks. It'll signify this map's ascendance into Beta. Woot.
Melvin D Engineere
L4: Comfortable Member
- Feb 25, 2012
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- Mar 20, 2012
- 391
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Appreciate the upload, traffic engineer.
I haven't forgotten about this. I've been working on a different non-TF2 related project and being a full-time University student, which negates all my free time. It'll get done. Along with Soot. Sometime soon hopefully :X
I haven't forgotten about this. I've been working on a different non-TF2 related project and being a full-time University student, which negates all my free time. It'll get done. Along with Soot. Sometime soon hopefully :X
- Jul 31, 2011
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