Empty Hallways (koth_wharfcrane)

[Mathyaz]

One of the things I got for feedback from the gameday on 3/20 was that the map felt really, really large.
I considered that something I knew already since I had only built the layout. I hadn't got much criticism other than that and that the map felt empty. So, the majority of the stuff I've been working on lately is filling the map: adding props and cover in the emptier parts of the map.

At this point here, I was looking for advice as to how to fill up hallways. For those who didn't play the map last weekend, here are screenshots from both Hammer and in-game to what it looks like.

HAMMER


IN-GAME


These hallways are in the buildings that separate the spawn buildings from the main courtyard where the capture point is. I was hoping I could get some opinion as to what I could possibly do to make these feel more like rooms than hallways that go on forever. The theme of the map is to make it feel like a shipyard, or a cargo dock.

What do you guys normally do to fill in hallways? Is it more prop-oriented, or is it brush-oriented?

 

[sooshey]

I often design the whole building so that you have to run in a zig-zag line to go through the doorways. I always try to solve the problem with brushes first and props second.

 

[YM]

instead of trying to 'fill up' places, try and design interesting spaces from the start. Scattering props around to break things up is a bit of a crutch and you should start with interesting spaces primarily.

Compare and contrast this area: http://tf2maps.net/attachments/20160319172955_1-jpg.14164 with this area: https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/File:Viaduct_spawnarea.jpg

Compare this area: http://tf2maps.net/attachments/20160319172746_1-jpg.14154/ with this area: https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/File:Cp_foundry_mid.png

In both cases they're similarly sized areas. Valve's have far more interesting shapes going on. Your grounds are 100% flat, Valve's have small, medium and large height variations in the ground, there are also places you can drop down onto other players if they're below you, nooks for spies to decloak in or to hide a teleporter in. The walls of the buildings aren't super long and flat, there's variation in them, there's segmentation in the buildings. Just look at the inside here: https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/File:Foundry_Point_2_and_4_BLU_Inbetween_shed.png

Sidenote: It's a very useful skill determining what people actually mean when they say something in feedback. 'empty' doesn't mean 'please fill it up with stuff' it usually means 'this areas is big and boring'