ctf_Dam(Beta,WIP)

ProtoKnight

L1: Registered
Sep 9, 2010
2
0
ctf_Dam(WIP)

This is my first TF2 & my first hammer based map. I'm very nervous.

This a unique multi-flag CTF map, it takes place on a multi level dam.

Only one flag per team is ever available for capture at a time.
The first flag is located on the lowest level
Second flag & cap point is located further inside the base

The spawn rooms can be accessed from the top floor and the mid levels.
you can go from the mid spawn room to the upper one via an air duct that will carry you up.
There are laser grid doors that are removed once the first flag is captured (they no longer kill only injure)
The lasers on spawn room doors will not hurt you
The laser grid in the Lower storage room never turns off
There is a large drop off on the outside of the dam, falling off means you die and any flags will be reset if they land here.
A split level animated skybox (trains in the background and a lovely surprise when you win)
The town is one side red and the other is blue, when one team wins the losing sides town will burn.



Comments are welcome, If you spot something I missed please let me know.


Bugs/problems i'm aware of


Lack of general sounds, to be added later.

Some textures may be misaligned

My cubemaps are poor

Lack of HDR, sorry this is something i will deal with later.

Sometimes the BLUtrain does not dissapear and an observant sniper can spot the engine car sticking out behind the sheds.

My trains are ugly, but from so far away they look alright, I will look into a better skybox train model.

~PK
 
Last edited:
Aug 10, 2009
1,240
399
First off; let me say this. Don't be afraid. One of the things a mapper needs is to have a thick skin when it comes to your map. Don't take every bit of feedback to heart, consider who's saying it, don't trash the map from back feedback, etc..

SO, onto the tearing apart >:]
First, I'm sorry, but the lighting is horrid. Go here to see how env_lights are meant to be when with a certain skybox.
Second, you picture involving the docks presents a problematic aspect of gameplay. First, players can swim under the dock, in the water, which many may do to avoid being seen or shot at. Those on the docks have big sightlines across the docks to the other side if they just walk out a little bit. A remedy for this? I suggest removing the water, replacing it with a displacement for a yard, and adding a building in the gaps made by the paths to at least cut out sightlines.
Third, lazers are good fun but people will get mad if they are lethal.
Fourth, your hallways in screen four look to be a bit long, wide and boring, but I'll reserve judgement on those until I play them :p

Finally, this map isn't beta as it doesn't seem to have been tested. And, if you have a bug like you do with the intel, investigate it, as your map wont be deemed playable with it.

Also, nice work with the 3D skybox. And it does look like someone spilled jarate on your map. :p.

Good luck :)
 

ProtoKnight

L1: Registered
Sep 9, 2010
2
0
thanks, Its more wip then anything. I know of the lighting problem(jarate lol). The outside lighting is especially horrid, i got aggravated with a skybox texture that dident fubar the buildcubes, so i left it slightly unfinished due to frustration. I've been thinking of removing the water, raising the floor, displacing it and just have a small dry dock on each side. This would leave an aesthetic problem of no water behind the dam, masses flowing out the other side.

What flag/intel bug (other then you can retreat behind your doors safely)? i thought i worked out the flags, if they become annoying to work with i'll scrap them and make it a 5CP, its halfway there. I assumed beyond that it was playable, 99.9% of the time in CTF if the enemy can make it into their own base they will cap it anyway i dident think the "doors" hurt that badly. They do turn off too, you just have to cap that first intel

You will drown if you swim only under the dock, there are clip brushes from the bottom of the dock to the water, to help me get back up onto them when i fall in(besides the stairs). Means if you want air you have to show your head, you cant just hide under them all day. I did consider some of these problems when building it. I also have clips along the buoy's so you cant ever get to the round towers

I plan on breaking more of the rooms up into smaller areas. Alot of them are just wide open right now. Each bases storage room and the 1st flag are the biggest inside each base. The outside area might have large los, but no 1 sniper can see everything

I will likley change the doors to not be "omgkill", and make them something a scout could pass through maybe twice (about 25~50 damage). Or simply remove the Trigger_hurt and leave the door aspect of each one, there purpose is to control enemy flow through your base.
 
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Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
As for lighting and skybox, you can get a nice "early morning feel" using supersandvich's skybox and environment entities here. I'm using it in my artpass map, and I'm loving it.
 

honorum646

L6: Sharp Member
Oct 9, 2009
335
67
The light! It's... YELLOW!?

I like the idea. In fact, I had drawn a few sketches of a map quite similar, but never started blocking it, so YOU WIN.

Keep it up, and please get a better light_env set up.
 
Nov 14, 2009
1,257
378
I love the concept, and your inside detailing is solid.

The light is horrific. Also, remember, the 3D skybox is 1/16 scale, so the textures should be 16 times the scale of those they are connecting to.