Payload stuff.

MisutoWolf

L2: Junior Member
Jul 8, 2009
52
1
I was just wondering what a good (typical?) track length is for a stage in a multi-stage Payload map. I'm wanting to start working on a PL_ map, but I'd sort of like to find some sort of guideline regarding this information.

Also, I might just make it single-stage, so if there' some typical/average length for a single-stage map of the same type, that'd be awesome. I've looked around on here and googled, and I can't find much in the way of reference, except for that one valve ref page that has char heights, and class speeds, and the size of that one room in 2fort, noneof which is particularly helpful for this issue.

Anyway, thanks in advance! *plots map*
 

Scotland Tom

L6: Sharp Member
Jan 19, 2008
332
64
No one knows anything? :(
Firstly, you posted between 12:00AM and 8:00AM for me, so basically me and most of the people anywhere near my time zone were probably... you know... asleep.

Secondly, like you I've never personally found a really good reference for payload track lengths. The best thing I could suggest would be to open up some of the decompiled Valve maps and do some measuring on your own.

If you find a track length reference somewhere (or make one) please let us know. It'd be pretty darn helpful for anyone trying to scale their payload map properly.
 

MisutoWolf

L2: Junior Member
Jul 8, 2009
52
1
Yeah, I may have to work on that sometime today. I'd really like to find something so I could start this project with a non-shitty scale. My plans involving laying the track out, then building the map around it....so....yeah.

Anyway, I hope I find something out. I'll have to whip out one of valve's maps, maybe, and get to measuring.
 

sniprpenguin

L6: Sharp Member
Mar 14, 2008
266
258
Kind of depends on the surrounding area, when you look at it.

Badwater Cap 2 is most likely the shortest route in a PL map, but it works because teams will be fighting over the roof area near-by before the cart can be pushed through the bottleneck.

Meanwhile, Thunder Mountain has it's super-long track that also works equally as well, mainly because defenders are too busy traversing the long-ass areas that the attackers can push through some areas without any resistance. This becomes equivalent to the roll-forward areas, in some sense.

All it comes down to is experimentation. Work with what you want to make.

But a rough rule of thumb I'll suggest is that you shouldn't be able to see two cap-points in the same screenshot. Valve seems to adher to this pretty well, and it seems to work.
 

gamemaster1996

L13: Stunning Member
Sep 30, 2009
1,064
134
I'd say it depends on the size and structure off the map and how curly the track is.