[Contest Entry] pl_ghost_town

TheDarkerSideofYourShadow

L10: Glamorous Member
Apr 12, 2008
792
286
Alpha 5a is now out

Download here:
http://forums.tf2maps.net/downloads.php?do=file&id=710

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Change Log
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***a5a***
- Basically, this is a completely new map. Sticking with the same theme, and you'll notice some similar buildings, but overall, this is completely different than the previous versions
- Only the first two sections


pl_ghost_town_a5a0006.jpg

pl_ghost_town_a5a0000.jpg

pl_ghost_town_a5a0001.jpg

pl_ghost_town_a5a0002.jpg

pl_ghost_town_a5a0003.jpg

pl_ghost_town_a5a0004.jpg

pl_ghost_town_a5a0005.jpg
 
Last edited:

Nineaxis

Quack Doctor
aa
May 19, 2008
1,767
2,820
Looks pretty good. I'd think the canyon of doom and awesome waterfall would be later in the level, considering PL maps tend to start with wide open spaces instead of hopping around little bits of land.
 

TheDarkerSideofYourShadow

L10: Glamorous Member
Apr 12, 2008
792
286
Which rock/cliff texture is that?

http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=3657

I see some tracks going straight through some rocks :huh: ...besides that it looks pretty solid so far.

Yeah, I'm going for the "a rock fell down and broke one of our tracks, so we just bend the 2nd one around it/sniper cover/demo sticky place" look.

Looks pretty good. I'd think the canyon of doom and awesome waterfall would be later in the level, considering PL maps tend to start with wide open spaces instead of hopping around little bits of land.

First, the first teir of the canyon (right under the train tracks) is completely accessible, you can actually take a ramp out of it, and the spawn has an exit to down there. This provides an area thats a bit more shielded from snipers/engies/others using the height advantage they have here. The choke point of the bridge should make it easier to defend, particularly by a soldier, demo, or pyro, so I may have to add some rails.

And don't worry, a true canyon/cliff of doom will be present in the final section of the map.
 

TheDarkerSideofYourShadow

L10: Glamorous Member
Apr 12, 2008
792
286
pl_ghost_town_a10000-1.jpg

pl_ghost_town_a10000_paths.jpg



Finished doing a basic block out on Friday. Currently, I'm going back through and doing a gameplay pass, meaning changing what are just big orange or gray blocks into buildings, cliffs, nooks, etc.

The 2nd shot gives some hints of things I need to add. Red lines are new paths, the blue one is in there currently, but being redone, and the green circle is the area where blue will spawn after the capture the 2nd cap.
 

Zwiffle

L6: Sharp Member
Jun 24, 2008
269
161
Looking good so far, can't wait to see that waterfall in action. Should be a really sweet centerpiece to that part of the map.
 

TheDarkerSideofYourShadow

L10: Glamorous Member
Apr 12, 2008
792
286
I hope that's not a quarry I spy!

Haha, yeah, thats the idea. Its a small area off to the side that gives a better, though more vulnerable, route to the cart (or at least, thats the intention). I'd say its fair to assume that that was inspired by your map, at least at some level.

Looking good so far, can't wait to see that waterfall in action. Should be a really sweet centerpiece to that part of the map.

Yeah, I just need to find out how to get it to look right with the water I want to use. The waterfall is ABS's upload to this site, and it doesn't mesh quite right with the 2fort what I'm using. Hopefully I'll be able to tackle that during detailing.
 

TheDarkerSideofYourShadow

L10: Glamorous Member
Apr 12, 2008
792
286
Some more SS's, though the a few will look familiar. Didn't get nearly as much done today as I would have liked to, or this weekend really, but hopefully I'll finish enough to start testing with this coming weekend's gameday.

First area, looking over the building where blu spawns towards the area where the first cap is (inside the building). There are three exits from the blu spawn, one where both those tracks meet the building, one against the cliff where you can cross the log to get to the upper area of the building, and one down in the river (you can also see the ramp the gets you out of there, near the waterfall). Finaly, along the cliff wall you can catch some dev texture. That is a mine shaft that leads to a drop, that eventually leads you to the quarry you'll see later.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0003.jpg



Heres a shot of the river exit I talked about. I'm thinking about adding a push that will act like a current, and if you fall off the next waterfall, you die. We'll see.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0002.jpg



Here you're looking out over the quarry towards two buildings. First, you see the exit to the mine shaft that brings you out into the quarry, which is pretty protected at the moment. The trade off is that it takes another 5-10 seconds (on a heavy) to get there. From the first cap, you can sneak underground (what will be a cellar type area, into the tall building on the right. You can then go upstairs, out on the overhang, and onto the roof of the building to the left. From there you can access the roof of all the other buildings, allowing for plenty of height advantage. However, its all pretty open atm, so I'll see how that plays out.
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Here you're looking back at the quarry, and you get a better idea of the roofs. The opening on the left is an exit from the 2nd story of the building with the first cap in it. This allows the offense a direct route to the roof, not just by jumping. I hope that will create some balance on the top areas.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0005.jpg



New overview. You can see the mineshaft route, and that I've tweaked some stuff near the rocket (vis reasons). Currently I'm most concerned about the long tunnel area far to the right, right before the big open area.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0000.jpg


Same overview, just marked up. The red Xs are the cap points. Everything to the left of the blue line is "done" in the sense that I'm ready to test it (though there is that one random block in the bottom left that was created when I cut up some displacements, and I somehow missed it). The first cap area will be a warehouse of some sort. The 2nd large dev building will be some train loading area or something, as well as where the blu team will spawn once they capture the 2nd point (cutting the map into 2 somewhat equal pieces, i.e. point 2 and 4 will be difficult to cap). Around the 2nd point, tell be some more buildings (currently there is a church shaped structure there, I'll see what stays after I get there) as well as more cliffs/mines/caves. In fact, I plan on letting red cut from the rocket room the 2nd point through a cave. The south of this area will be the river again, with another drop of death (i.e., time for pyros to have fun with airblast). Then there is a cave, which will need several offshoots/branching paths, which leads to a large cavernous area that needs a lot of work. Another tunnel, an open area with the river on the right, and then a path to a Cheyenne Mountain like hidden rocket room (damn those crazy REDS!).
pl_ghost_town_a1b0000b.jpg



./sigh

Miles to go before I sleep :)
 

Chilly

L6: Sharp Member
May 3, 2008
326
127
I'm very excited about playing this. Once you have it blocked out and the layout pinned down, if you need playtesters let me know and I can get a group of people on my server.
 

TheDarkerSideofYourShadow

L10: Glamorous Member
Apr 12, 2008
792
286
Thank you Chilly. I'll definitely be taking you up on that offer :)


On a side note, thanks to the admin that added the extra tags. Just realized that there were more than the 5 I added the other day, hehe.
 

laghlagh

L6: Sharp Member
Jul 15, 2008
389
53
Thank you Chilly. I'll definitely be taking you up on that offer :)


On a side note, thanks to the admin that added the extra tags. Just realized that there were more than the 5 I added the other day, hehe.

That was me, I'm no admin :confused:
 

TheDarkerSideofYourShadow

L10: Glamorous Member
Apr 12, 2008
792
286
Really? Didn't know you could edit tags like that. Its only because I was able to put a max of 5, so I figured it had to be an admin to override that. Therefore, the thanks should go to you :)
 

laghlagh

L6: Sharp Member
Jul 15, 2008
389
53
Really? Didn't know you could edit tags like that. Its only because I was able to put a max of 5, so I figured it had to be an admin to override that. Therefore, the thanks should go to you :)

Heh, yeah, you just click "edit tags" down in the corner in any thread :)
 

YM

LVL100 YM
aa
Dec 5, 2007
7,135
6,056
Normal users can add two tags to threads, 5 tags to threads they made, mods can add 25 and i dunno what supporters can add.

This really is looking quite promising, i'm loving the fact its alpine and your waterfall looks pretty swish.
:thumbup1:
 

TheDarkerSideofYourShadow

L10: Glamorous Member
Apr 12, 2008
792
286
Gotten very little done this week. Tuesdays and Wednesdays = death, as far as school work anyways.

I have done a little between classes though, and should have plenty of time tomorrow night. Maybe I'll get caps 1 and 2 out for this weekend.

Now, on with the screen shots.

Church, building, and 2nd cap.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0009.jpg


Looking over the church (you can get into that hole). Door on the left is the exit from the train station type place.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0010.jpg


Prior to 2nd cap, how you get into the train tunnel, which brings you out to the building next to the church. This is how you get on top and inside of the church.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0011.jpg



Train station type building. Little vis issue to take care of there.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0012.jpg



Another angle, over the quarry.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0013.jpg



3 Fullbringht shots inside the train building/tunnel, and one inside the top of the church. I haven't done proper lighting yet, except the environment :-/
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pl_ghost_town_a1b0016.jpg

pl_ghost_town_a1b0017.jpg



Progress overview. Left side of blue is done as far as blocking out. Green X is the current 2nd spawn for blu (thats inside the train station. Purple is just something I'm wondering about, I could have the train go either way. And if it wasn't against the rules/if I don't complete this in time, I'll make it so that at the start of the game the path is randomly selected, though it won't change after that. Just a fun/slightly gimmicky thing.
pl_ghost_town_a1b0018b.jpg



Clean overview, just because.
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