PL Salvage b1

[IrishTaxIDriver]

Salvage is a payload map that was concepted out up to the second point a very long time ago (after Steel got accepted) and Fishbus was working on Freight. The current joke around Knifeback Mountain was that his map after Freight would be Trainpit and I took the idea and ran with it.

About two years ago I found the vmf (I seriously have around 500 vmfs of point designs and halfmaps for pretty much every source game) and got the spark to finish it. The finished layout was playtested to death on Knifeback Mountain and the general consensus was that it was a great layout and did a lot of interesting and cool new things. I started working on the first beta and then got distracted by Supply, which didn't really turn out too well.

AFTER Supply, I did a decent amount of work on it and then the Artpass contest happened. In the wake of that, I started more designs and halfmaps until American Joe (and others, but mostly Joe) screaming FINISH SALVAGE at me finally took hold.

Thankfully, not much was left and I've come out of Supply and the Artpass map with a whole lot more knowledge than I had going into Salvage, and I've been using that knowledge to fix up a whole bunch of misconceptions I had about mapping at the time I made it.

I've added a link to the last layout test we did before I determined it to be final and started detailing. I hope to have the beta out by this weekend (and I guess the next gameday after that).

From the layout test, the blue spawn has changed and unified, and a lot of the layout around D changed, including some sniper sightline fixes. A lot of stuff has been fixed but please don't let that deter you from mentioning anything.

I'm looking into getting a new properly aligning junk texture, adding in those MANN CO containers I found in the models area, and generally improving the displacements. They're all 2X for editing right now, I'll divide them up a little better and 4x em.

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So if you don't want to read that book, I started Salvage a very long time ago and it got sidetracked by a lot of stuff. It is a single stage payload map set in a junkyard / train graveyard. I will finish it now. Please post stuff.

 

[red_flame586]

Looks pretty good, though there are a few bits that i'm unsure on. The pile of shipping containers doesn't look right, it might be the fact that they are identical, or that shipping containers never are placed like that or that it looks confusing and probably won't be used much.
Secondly, The final point looks rather cramped and anti-climatic, I don't know, it might just be me, and finally, the trash texture just doesn't look right, especially not in large amounts in the game area.

Otherwise, this looks like a pretty awesome map, I look forward to playing it some time.

 

[honeymustard]

Played it a few times on Knifeback, it plays very well at the moment and the detailing looks sound (will be a lot better once some custom models and materials are sorted out). The crates do look a bit weird but I would put it down just to the skin. My dad had a boat in a dock opposite a big scrap yard much like how the map looks, and they had shipping containers just like that, though they were all different rusty colours. So a few different skins would help a lot, I think.

 

[LeSwordfish]

Dont like that trash texture, or the angled radio mast. i see that it's junk, but its so heavy, what the bugger would be stopping it falling over? just lie it down.

 

[Whated]

LeSwordfish I see it as destroyed building junk. So I think "the heavy trash" is fine, but It kind of looks weird that radio mast isn't falling down. I think there are wires behind that building to keep it at that position ^^

I like the look of this map, atleast from screenshots. But the containers really doesn't make sense. But when I first saw the screenshot. I thought the containers were fallen down or something. If they are then it is fine ^^

-Whated

 

[IrishTaxIDriver]

I know the junk texture is bad, I've been looking for someone to make a new one.

And I like the radio mast at a jaunty angle. If it was laying down it wouldn't be visible. I can add wires and stuff.

 

[Loc_n_lol]

It's not necessarily that the texture is bad, but you need to compliment it with stuff to give a somewhat credible effect. Actual 3d junk, like barrel props, corrugated metal sheets, whatever, all with proper fade distances to avoid a polygon overload. You may also try custom detail sprites.

 

[IrishTaxIDriver]

Well honestly I'd rather get a new one anyway. I quickly made this one to just have a junk texture and it doesn't even tile. I will be adding stuff like debris.

I was looking into detail sprites a while ago, I will look again.

 

[absurdistof]

Screens 1 and 2 seem to have concerning sightlines, especially since there look to be low traffic areas a sniper could take advantage of in each of them.

 

[IrishTaxIDriver]

You need to be specific with things like this. We didn't have any problems with that in playtesting so I don't know where you mean.

 

[IrishTaxIDriver]

Heres Beta 1. We just played it on Knifeback and had a lot of fun, it worked great. The teams were a little unbalanced though, and the underdog team were at least able to get it to near cap 3. Cap 4 seems to be too favoring to RED, I can't say for certain because I only saw it once.

Screenshots in the OP are current minus one or two details.

Stuff for beta 2 that I noticed:
-Shadows from the chain link fences near cap 2.
-Dunno about that building there too, probably will re-detail it.
-The right sidepath near cap 4 is CHOKED with people, everyone was going there. I'll look at some ways to alleviate the congestion.
-The TOP SECRET door in the spytech room by cap 4, since its got a stairway up to it everyone assumed it was a way through somewhere.
-New junk texture.
-Props on the junk.
-Modify the container model to add more skins.
-Appearantly I forgot some clips. Whoops!

Beta 1 download from:

Knifeback: http://ftp.davejk.net/itd/pl_salvage_b1.bsp.bz2
Dropbox: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/53150/pl_salvage_b1.bsp.bz2