| MAP | VOTE | NOTES | GAMEPLAY | DETAILING |
|---|
| pl_desolation_b3a_bugfix | YES | (more to be written) | | |
| cp_thalassophobia_b5i_fix_2 | NEUTRAL | | | |
| ctf_chouhen_b5a | YES | | This is an interesting mix of a gamemode I like a lot (multi-point A/D), a gametype I don't like very much (A/D CTF), and a gimmick I'm ambivalent about (the Degroot Keep capture timer). A risky combination, but I think it has paid out. Playtests have generally been hectic, but enjoyable, and the map has a lot of interesting gameplay ideas. There are a few issues, like overtime being a bit unpredictable and at times frustrating, as well as the capture points varying greatly in difficulty. Capturing C last is significantly more difficult than any other combination, and I think that hurts the map. If BLU has multiple options on what to attack, those options should be more or less equally balanced (Gravelpit, Degroot Keep) unless one of them is very obviously intended to be harder (Steel, Sulfur Last). Definitely fixable, but will require some further balancing and testing.
Card #3: Probably my least favorite part of Chouhen. This point is incredibly difficult for BLU to capture as it is, and I don't find that this hazard adds a lot here other than adding to BLU's frustration while they're already at the most stressful part of the round. Personally I would suggest just removing this post contest.
Cards #4, 5, 8: No contest.
Card #7: Definitely adds to the pressure BLU is under, but in a good way. Feels like a natural way to design Last, although I'm not 100% certain I like the physical location of the point in the map. Will need to do a bit more thinking on that.
Card #10: I like it. The map feels very interconnected, and the mixture of interior and exterior feels very natural as well.
Card #14: As mentioned, I'm a bit ambivalent about this. It feels like a natural part of the map, but I'm not really sure I like it all that much. It just feels so frustrating having to do all the map progress all over again as BLU, and I wish there was at least something permanent. Maybe each time Last's timer runs down, one additional point stays captured for BLU? Or maybe they get some other advantage? Would love to discuss this more, I think there's some cool things that can be done here to make BLU players feel better without compromising how the map plays. | Busy, but beautiful. Really liking the general vibes. Disagreeing with some of the texture choices, but I don't know your references so this might actually be accurate as far as I can tell. I think my main detail criticism (and I really do like the artpass) is the objectives: BLU is trying to blow up a data center/main frame, with three different nodes and then the central processing thing. But there's very few actual computers, and they feel kind of.. not part of the location? Like the objective was put in after the artpass was already mostly done. Might just be my feeling. I think just placing some more computer props and perhaps cleaning their surroundings a bit might be enough to get the feeling across better.
Card #1: Works for me. I feel like the globe could be made a bit more impressive though: Put some red pointlights in it to make it shine, maybe highlight it a bit more, I dunno. It should really draw the eye.
Cards #2, #4: Executed very well.
Card #5: Yeah, that's not enough for me. Suggestions: More computer sounds, traffic down below, beeping alarms, dripping water, birds on rooftops, steam pipes. Could definitely have done more here. |
| cp_foldover_final | HP | | | |
| cp_siege_b2 | YES | Honestly my biggest criticism of this map is probably that Medieval Mode gets kind of exhausting after playing it for half an hour. This map does it really well, though. | It's weird: I kind of did a full 180 on my opinion of this map's layout after playing it a couple of times. Really hated it at the start, perhaps because I didnt figure out how to airstrafe with the cannons, but now I think it's really good. Verticality is difficult to do in medieval mode since there's no mobility tools, and while I hate jump pads in normal play, they work very well on this map. Not sure I like the damage you get when using them, especially since it is seemingly inconsistent (is it a trigger_hurt? Maybe make it a OnTouch -> !activator -> hurtPlayer instead so players can't just avoid the trigger). I'd also wish the main path the map seemingly wants you to take (the big draw bridge) wasn't locked almost all the time. Funnel players more clearly towards the cannons and make them brighter to make it obvious they're not just background geo. Still, very solid gameplay, with a lot more strategies and learning than your average medieval duke-it-out map. Maybe adjust some of the flight paths slightly. Clipping could also be improved in places.
Card #3: Honestly feels like this was added only to fulfill the card. Not liking this one. Don't punish players for using the most awesome feature of the map! They already get fall damage anyway.
Cards #5, #8, #14: Solid execution.
#15: It's the next evolution of the Nipple Point! The Bunghole Point! | The artpass is a bit rough in places, but more or less solid. I already voiced my opinion on those atrocious brushwork market stall covers. Generally, I think the artpass could benefit from more polish in quite a few places, and it could really need some bespoke props here and there.
Cards #2: Works.
#4, #5: I had trouble noticing either during gameplay, if I'm being honest. I kind of hate the default medieval soundscape because it's so obnoxiously loud, and I think it kind of hurts you here. The vista also isn't very visible, but I suppose both cards are narrowly fulfilled. |
| cp_jungle_airfield_b5d | NO | (more to be written) | | |
| koth_splinter_b4 | NO | This was by far the most difficult one to decide on. Ido's layout skills are excellent, and the detailing is very consistently high-quality (although some areas could maybe use slightly more of it). There are a lot of areas on this map I find interesting individually. The location being Germany/Austria obviously also has appeal to me, and I kept looking around the map to spot more location references and German signage.
For my decision: The official criterium for this vote is, among other wordings, "Should this map be a contest finalist". I think more dev time should have been spent honoring the contest's rules (or they should have been considered more from the very start), and I find that the map only narrowly fulfills several of them. I'm voting No on it because I don't think it fulfills the spirit of the contest very well. It doesn't feel like it was designed with the contest in mind. I think this is a very solid map with the potential to be excellent, but I'm sorry to say that I don't want it to place in the Stack The Deck contest. I hope my reasoning is understandable. | This was fun to play on. All four areas have a different feel to them, layout-wise. I do wish that there was some kind of progress tethered to them. Show all stages on the HUD at all times to give players some orientation, maybe. Or mark them as A/B/C/D. The subtle dynamic elements covering two of the points are a nice touch as well. Some of the spawns do feel a little awkward, but considering the layout the paths all feel intuitive and lead towards the (respective) point, which I imagine was a challenge on this map.
My main gripe is the lack of asymmetry. Yes, the map is technically asymmetrical, but gameplaywise it really doesn't feel that way. All four points themselves are inherently symmetrical, with some changes here and there, and it feels like a lot of care was taken in putting all the asymmetry as far away from the main combat as possible while still adhering to Rule #1 of the contest. If you're already doing asymmetrical koth, I would really expect more from the actual fighting part, not just from the paths leading to the points. I can't help but compare the map to Azure World, which also does the symmetrical gamemode but asymmetrical layout concept, but does so in a much more involved way.
I can't say much to cards #1, #2, #3, #7, and #11, these are all solid executions.
Card #6.. I don't know. The spawnroom doesn't really change ownership, it is simply assigned to a team depending on stage. And the stages aren't part of the same round as far as I can tell, making each part of the map pretty much its own round, so this seems like another technicality.
Card #15: Not sure how much cover that sawblade really offers, especially with how fast it moves, but I guess that might have just been me. Suggestion: Make it like twice as big! That way it's better cover, more intimidating, and differentiates it from the 23428078 other maps who also have a sawblade on the point. | It's a very solid detail job. Especially the lighting and the general ""real-ness"" of the place are very good. I do wish the three exterior stages had a stronger individual identity. The download page says the multiple stages give you ""more map per map"", which is true, but then the detailing gives you a lot less map per map than expected. All the buildings use pretty much the same rooves and walls and all cliffs and floors have the same color. There is no team identity whatsoever, which is admittedly difficult to do on a multistage map with ownership changes, but still. At least throw some dynamic signs in places that change skins or highlight some buildings in different ways. It's a bit strange, since clearly a lot of care was put into the buildings individually, but then they were all detailed to kind of blend together? It feels boring, I'm sorry to say.
Now for the cards:
#2: Yeah.. not sure about that one. I've put a lot of research and thought into how one could make a map very clearly set in Europe.. and this ain't it. There's some German signs on the map (which I love!), but that is pretty much the only thing that doesn't look typically American to me on this map. This might be an artstyle question and definitely open to debate, but come on. The map uses the upward tileset and colors with some trees here and there. There are sandy-looking cliffs and rocks spread out, and the only green thing in the whole map are the trees and treecards. To say it in a different way, would this map be recognizably in Europe, let alone Germany/Austria, if you removed the German words?
I don't think this map fullfills the ""clearly-not-in-america"" card. At least use different fonts than the typical TF2 signs, dammit!
#4 No contest there. Love the out of bounds details. A lot to see here, and as mentioned, the lighting is top notch.
#5 Another frustration to me. There's the sawmill and the waterfall, alright. Where's the idling truck noise? I couldn't hear one. Wish more had been done here. Suggestions: Birds, alarm siren in the underground area, (louder) computers, passing trains, working machinery. Doesn't the map use custom soundscapes? |
| pl_moonjelly_a5g | YES | Probably the unfinished artpass I'm the saddest about. Please promise me you'll finish this one. It's a very ambitious style, if not necessarily in layout, and I think it will motivate other mappers to try making maps that are really "out there". I think the map only very narrowly fulfills Rule 5 of the contest. | Played a lot of rounds on this, and usually had fun. I don't think I encountered any clearly unbalanced round that couldn't be explained due to bad teams (or Tails stomping us in the ground - this map takes place underwater, I think we should just ban Pyro  )))) ). I think Third might need more work, I'm not convinced about the wideness of the area and the more or less random barriers throughout, but that might just be me.
Cards #6 and #8 I don't have much to say about. I think a little more could have been done with #11, and perhaps with #9 as well. The delay mechanic wasn't particularly impactful as far as I was able to tell, and it took me more than one round to really notice it at all. #11 would be cool to see built on more, with a path going parallel to the cart path or something. Just some thoughts. | Really loving the idea and the implied details. Very sad the artpass hasn't progressed further, otherwise this would probably be one of my favorites. Really hoping this will get finished after the contest, it's too good to stay in this shape. The setpieces, even in their barebones form (the BLU spawn submarine, the sunken ship, the city in the background) are so cool.
#6: Doubtlessly.
#5: Despite the unfinished artpass, this card was very clearly fulfilled. There's few areas in the map where you don't hear something. I suppose the deathpit water noise is arguably whether it's a visual detail that makes noise, but considering the map's direction, it seems apt. You definitely want some dedicated water flow particles or something similar to go with it later on. |
| pl_conclave_b6b | YES | | | |
| cp_diorama_b1a | N/A | Haha gottem | N/A | N/A |
| cp_parkent_b5 | HP | | | |
| cp_shanksgiving_b6 | HP | | | |
| pl_cattower_b0 | YES | | | |
| cppl_puerto_b5 | YES | This map is by far not perfect, but it's a very genuine attempt at fulfilling the contest's objectives. I originally voted NO on this, but have changed my mind upon further review. | This map is a bit of a mixed bag for me. I've had both high and low gameplay moments on it, although it's not in a bad place overall right now. I'm sad to see the degroot timer gone, but have to admit it does play better now. Overall the map could probably be a bit longer, especially the second stage, but that might just be me.
I can probably say more about Stage 1 simply because I played it more. A and B are both good and very varied points and their BLU-sidedness doesn't feel like a huge issue given BLU is usually split up when attacking them. I enjoy the general pathing around the stage, and it makes good use of verticality for one-way paths. Especially the RED spawn exit towards B side is a design I'll have to steal at some point. Point C has often felt like a bit of a chore to attack, which is probably my largest frustration with the map. It's weird, there are three pretty accessible entrances for BLU but it feels super hard to even get close to them. I think adjusting spawn times or inhibiting RED's ability to take over BLU territory some more would help. In retrospect, making C a different elevation compared to A and B would have been ideal, but I guess that's a bit too late now.
Stage 2 is the weaker one, I think. It probably received less testing and development overall, or at least if feels that way. The general pathing isn't bad, but some of the sighlines and their attempts at combating via barriers are not super well thought out to me. Most payload maps make several 90 degree bends for a reason, something this stage is kind of lacking.
Not going to address each of the Cards individually, since I think they've all been executed well (although I'm not a huge fan of #15). Props to trying to fulfill so many cards! | I'll keep this short. The general idea comes across well, and the map's general location is immediately obvious. The exterior lighting and general color scheme are chosen well for Stage 1. I think the ssbumpmapped rock texture on Stage 2 is pretty atrocious though and dominates it visually.
The artpass is very obviously unfinished, with a lot of very blocky geometry and areas I feel could be fleshed out a lot more. The beach isn't even a displacement yet, which makes it look pretty flat and unappealing. Something that bothered me especially was how literally none of the window textures on S1 are aligned correctly. It feels a little bit like texture lock wasn't used at all while making these, or all of them were selected and aligned to world (and if so, why??). Overall, the texturing could use a lot more work, although I don't hate the general textures chosen.
The reason I'm voting YES on this map is because it does have a lot of details I missed before, and while the artpass has many flaws, it was very much made with love. I've been flying around the map for a while now, and keep finding little things that I didn't expect. I just wish this kind of attention was distributed a bit more evenly, especially around the ""boring"" parts of the map.
Card #2: No contest. If there were any doubts about this being set in South America in Stage 1, the temple in Stage 2 makes it clear.
Card #4: I'd count the ocean view, but the mountainside really needs more work. As mentioned, I think the rock texture does the map a huge disfavor.
Card #5: There were quite a few. While writing this, I actually got startled by the ship's horn, lol |
| cp_underway_b2 | YES | (more to be written) | | |
| cp_lamworth_a12 | NO | (more to be written) | | |
| cp_herbicide_a4a | NO | | It's a fun one, for the most part. The layout is strong, with flank routes, both large and small spaces, and interesting capture point designs. The weakest part by far is the last point, mostly due to the ridiculously strong defensive positions engineers are given. I really don't think it would take much to balance Last (nerf the big ammopack, fix that Solider jump over the wall near RED's upper spawn door, improve some sightlines for BLU), but as it is, attacking has been pretty frustrating. Big potential though, and we need more Steeltypes.
I find all gameplay cards to be executed generally well. |
| Not much of a detailing pass yet. I guess there are no dev textures, but it sorely lacks in detail, and considering it still desperately needs some layout changes, I struggle with calling it fully artpassed. I think this map will be very good eventually, and hope the artpass will do it justice. | |
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| pd_azureworld_b1 | YES | (more to be written) | | |
| pl_acadia_a4b | NEUTRAL | "I feel shame every time someone says they think this map is fun" - YOYOYO, when asked about his opinion on Acadia's placement. | | |
| cp_pscp24_coap_b2a | NO | (more to be written) | | |
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