CTF ctf_softplay a4

[Piesofthesky]

ctf_softplay - Play some classic TF2 in a classic child-friendly environment!

Introducing ctf_softplay, my first ever map!

This classic game of capture the flag takes place in a large warehouse which has been fitted as an indoor softplay area. Featuring slides, ball pits, a café, a small maze, one-way intel rooms and two "jungle" areas, this map is packed with enough fun to convince The Administrator that the Mann Co "take your kids to work day" is an excellent idea!

I look forward to seeing you on the battl- *coughs* in the softplay area.

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[DogsRNice]

Interesting concept

 

[BigfootBeto]

Funny how I had a similar idea, except I just was going to use it as a trade map. I hope this map includes trigger_catapult and trigger_push as trampolines.

 

[BigfootBeto]

Well, the map was fun for 5 seconds before I realized all of the problems it has. Please excuse the textwall, but I have to rant a little. It's a great concept, but it's just not executed well.

As interesting as it looks, I'm afraid I have to say that this map could never work outside of 1v1s. For starters, everywhere I went it was cramped. I understand that it's supposed to be a playground, but if it's going to work in TF2, there needs to be space. Right now it's claustrophobic. Also, the playground is designed like a maze, and that's never fun. I took the intel and got lost fairly often. Speaking of which, the intel is in a very bad spot. It would be virtually impossible to take the intel even if there is just one player guarding it. There is only ONE pathway to the intel, and it's a cramped, steep, and very uncomfortable stairway. Then you have to pass the enemy team's spawnroom, and then finally get to the intel. Not to mention that you are vulnerable at every part of that journey, and it really is a journey because once you finally get the intel and take the alternate exit (because you aren't allowed to go back), you will be trapped in a confined space where someone is definitely going to be waiting to kill you whilst you try to figure out where the exit is.

Furthermore, there are a couple of gaps in the ceiling/floor that someone can drop down from or where a soldier or demo is supposed to jump up through. However, the gap is so small, that it's virtually impossible to line yourself up perfectly to slip through. Therefore, it creates various dead ends that every class other than soldier and demo can go through, and even then, going through the gap offers no real advantage over going the other especially when it takes more than 5 tries to get through.

Also, there is random death pith behind the slides that is pretty useless. In fact it's almost as useless as the stairway that is behind the slides that leads to nowhere. However, that route is still better than going through the "underground" section as seen in the first picture because unlike that route, going across the deathpit is not entirely a death sentence.

I would also complain about how strange it is having "ball pits" that are actually reskinned water pools if it weren't for the fact that using trigger_push would mean only being able to use strafing to move through the ball pits.

Overall, it's a neat concept, and would probably only work in idle servers. Except, the map has far too many issues that stop it from working well at all. The map is far too cramped and is just frustrating to play in.

 

[Piesofthesky]

Thanks for taking the time to review my map!

I can't say I was expecting any positive impressions of my map. That said, I really needed feedback because it allows me to learn from my mistakes and improve my map.

The stairs that lead to the top of the slide are terrible. I'll delete them and rebuild from scratch. Not only was it the first thing I built in my map, it was the first thing I built in hammer alltogether. And that was while trying to stick religiously to a design drawing I did.

I had an idea involving trampolines, but I assumed it would be impossible, hence why I simply introduced overturned trampolines as cover from snipers.

I will say that I didn't intend to allow Demomen and Soldiers to go up the dropdowns in the map. Also, players don't spawn at the top of the slide. It is simply a resupply room, not a spawn room.

I have a few ideas I'd like to try to fix the gameplay issues that you've pointed out. Even if my map is fundamentally flawed, I want to experiment with fixing it, because I think it will make me a better mapper. If I manage to produce a decent map at the end, that would be great.

 

[BigfootBeto]

That's cool. Regarding the trampolines, I would suggest looking up how to use the trigger_catapult. Because it's the same mechanic used in passtime for the jump pads. Except if you want to use them as trampolines (as in my experiment trade map that I first mentioned), you have to lower the speed and set the info_target higher up in the air. The result would end being much like the jump gel from Portal 2, except the downside is that the trampoline will shoot you up to the same place every time. If you look up how the trigger_catapult works you'll understand.

 

[Piesofthesky]

Update: The map is now 1.5x as big!

The biggest problem I faced when making the slide stairs was the steepness. Widening the map fixed this problem, and allowed me to make the stairs both a shallower angle and wider. I also made use of some previously unused space to the right of the stairs, which gave me all the freedom I needed to rework the stairs and make them look nice. I also decided to keep the stairs on the grid, rather than using the 14.05 (4 forward for every 1 across) angle, which will make things way easier when I make these into real stairs. I also removed the resupply room at the top of the slide. There will be something else in it's place in the next version.

I made the platform significantly thinner, increasing the risk of being knocked off. I also removed the health and ammo kits. My original intention was to have people wait on the platform at the top of the pointless stairs, and let them knock people who were going for the health and ammo off the map. As you pointed out, this area will see traffic anyway because of the access to the other side of the map without having to go through the middle area. I instead decided to reward those who climb the stairs with the hp and ammo, as seen in the below image.

I plan on rebuilding this area too, so I deleted the platform on the red side.

As you can imagine, scaling the entire map by 150% caused "a couple of issues". I've fixed many of these already, and when I've fixed them all, and when I've added the new room at the top of the slide, I'll upload an A2. But that's a job for tomorrow.

 

[Piesofthesky]

I'm so glad I replaced those horrible stairs!
I like how it kind of looks like a road now... I might add some miniature cars and buses to use as cover on the new ramp.

The netting that stopped players from falling from this area is now gone, it's far more open now. The small and cramped ramp leading to the intel room and the resupply room are now gone, and have been replaced by the new room at the back.

There is a new path to take through here...

This room is separated from the intel room by a lattice of thin wooden planks. These can be shot through, but not walked through. This should eliminate turtling problems in the intel room by allowing the other team to bombard campers from this area, which has a slight height advantage.

Getting rid of the one-way system I feel would be too good for the attacking team. The idea was to make the intel room easier to defend by having it be one way, to compensate for the long spawn room to intel room distance.

Scaling the map decreased the steepness of the ramps in my map. I adjusted them to make them the original steepness again. This allowed me to clean up some of the more cramped ramps, such as these in the jungle areas.

The platform beneath the slide is now thinner, and new waiting platforms have been added with hp and ammo.

I'd love more feedback! I'm feeling far more optimistic about this map after this version.

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[Piesofthesky]

Welcome to Softplay A3!

As you can see, major changes have been made to the spawn area. I removed the horrible pseudo-attack-from-spawn platform outside the alternate spawn exit, and replaced it with an expanded spawn room. (There is no window to attack through this time!) The walk to get over there was pretty long, so I decided to add one more room to each spawn and move the spawn points into this room. The result is a new, much bigger spawn room with less tiny doorways.

I also took the time to remove all of that unused space outside the map and make a 3d skybox instead. The concrete area will be a carpark in the future, and I plan to use displacements to make the 3d skybox more convincing.

I added a little bit more cover around the maze enterance/exits, to help protect attackers from snipers. I thought that this was necessary despite having already removed the OP sniper spawn exits.

This large health kit is new. This should help the enemy prepare for attacking the intel room.

Walls have been added to the lower levels of the storage room, to help break up a long sightline that was present here. The ramps were also replaced with stairs.

The purpose of the storage room was to make camping in the intel room less effective. It does this by letting attackers shoot at any enemies or sentries in the intel room before committing to the one-way door. However, the vent exit to the intel room wasn't visible from the storage room. I have addressed this issue by extending the vent to the storage room, but placing a grill on the front that can be fired through, but not walked through.

I also wanted to add an incentive to cap the intel, and I did so by closing the route to the upper level of the café until the intel is capped. When either team caps the intel, the door on their side will open and the door on the other side will close. (I capped the intel for red before taking the above screenshot.

Other minor changes were made, such as improving lighting in multiple areas of the map, adding more cover to the downstairs "jungle" area, and changing the way the intel room doors work.

I would like to extent a massive thanks to all who helped me test the map over the last few days. Without feedback like this, I wouldn't be able to continue making this map. I hope you all had wonderful new years, and I look forward to making and testing more maps with you all in 2017!

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[Piesofthesky]

This version of ctf_softplay addresses criticisms recieved from A2 and A3, most importantly, the issue that the map only has one way of accessing the opponents storage area, and a choke point that was created when trying to disrupt a long sight line.

This new attack route begins and ends at the back of the storage area, through this thin door. This area is close quarters and easy to camp by design. I wanted to introduce an alternate attack route without introducing any more long climbs, and without distracting too much from the main attack route through the center of the map. The camp-ability of this room grants control of this route to whichever team has control of the main storage area. This way, controlling the main map area is still crucial, but an alternate route to the intel room is open for flankers and sneaky spies. This is all theoretical, and the way this route affects the rest of the map will require testing.

This window can be looked through while attacking the enemy via the new attack route. It has an excellent view of the changes made to the pitfall area. The glass is gone, opening up the pitfall even further. I'm not sure I like the fact that scouts can now jump between these health and ammo packs, however. An obstruction may need to be introduced.

Also nearby is this area. A choke point was introduced here unintentionally whilst breaking up a sentry sight line. The issue was resolved by expanding the room above this set of stairs to the right (left on blu side). This widens the aforementioned choke point and introduces an alternative way around the obstruction. It is also now transparent, so attack won't need to worry about sneaky sentries placed behind it.

The system used to prevent the attackers from leaving the intel room via the entrance has been changed to a more visible, less frustrating system. Instead of the previous team-specifically-one-way door, there is now a regular door that locks when the intel is taken, and unlocks when the intel is returned or capped.

This area of the jungle has been changed to introduce more height variation, and to favor the defense in this area when the attackers are trying to get away with the intelligence. This change also makes the jungle more quickly accessible to the friendly team.

One other minor tweak was made to this wall of the stairs. The geometry of this area was ugly, and I decided to clean it up a little.

Once again, thank you all for your feedback, and I look forward to hearing more in the near future.

Read the rest of this update entry...