PL Stroika

[Fruity Snacks]

Have you thought about maybe making it so that there is an increasing amount of distance between the track and the pieces? so that one is right next to it, the other is maybe juuuuust up some stairs, and the other is ahead a little bit? ( I don't remember where the track pieces were, so if you have done this, just ignore)

 

[Sergis]

thats pretty much how they are - one right by the track, second a little bit away and third covered by a rather good sentryspot

 

[Sergis]

coming up: a shortcut to help blue keep the pressure up in the warehouse. opens after the turntable finishes its movement.

 

[Sergis]

since making proper junk piles will require some serious propspam and i've gotten too carried away with the construction pack anyway, this map will henceforth be known as pl_stroika.

 

[Ptimz]

I really liked this map!

Have you though at all about having the track pieces unlock sequentially? (I.e. once you place #1, #2 becomes available.) It could make that section more focused, if that's what you want.

 

[Sergis]

i only use locking the trackpieces so that they dont get capped before cart is even close to them. since the trackrepair is a new thing in tf2, i want it to play as easy as possible so i want all trackpieces to be available without forcing a certain order of capture. they are progressively harder to get, which is good enough for me.

 

[Sergis]

coming up:

removed the shortcut path at final area, making it a dropdown for attackers

added an attentionwhoring hydrosign to make the shortcut to warehouse more obvious

added an extra exit from that shortcuts' room

 

[Fruity Snacks]

wouldn't that hydrosign be more effective outside the shortcut? and enables when shortcut is active?

 

[Sergis]

thats possible. though if i did that, i wouldnt want the sign just to pop in so i would have to devise a sign arrival mechanism and i'm too lazy for that. i'll test how it works the way it is now and then we'll see.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

Or just use the billboard and have it pop in from below... hidden with the bottom part of the set-up gate door models.

 

[Sergis]

what you described IS a sign arrival mechanism also i'm just curious to see if the hydrosign will be enough. if it wont be, next version will have an outside sign.

 

[Sergis]

interesting thing - i made a 2304 units high areaportal and kept having the "areaportal doesnt touch two areas" error, even though there was no hole for the areas to connect. after making the top half of the portal into a regular solid, the error was gone.

 

[Sergis]

more comings up:

added an extra path up to the metal bridge

opened up this area

closed off this area

 

[Sergis]

coming up:
small changes here

small changes there

and a mirrored spawn building over here

 

[Sergis]

one dynamic element i was messing around with but decided not to implement was a lift that goes up and down by itself and you have to time the pushing right to push the cart on and off it. since i have quite a few dynamics already and entity work required isnt exactly trivial, i decided that the map will be fine without it.

 

[Sergis]

some more changes:

the crane will now lower the cart into a small shack nearby instead of hauling it over half the map

a new dynamic element - since this track is now used by THE cart, the antifalldamage cart will have to be pushed out of the way

changed the shortcut - after capping all the trackpieces, the shortcut from outside the warehouse to inside the warehouse will open to make it more easier to attack turntable area. after pushing cart onto the turntable, the shortcut to the starting area will open.

 

[Sergis]

in the next release:

cart will be easier to push. that should help with difficult places without nerfing the chokes

there will be dynamic lights highlighting the trackpiece pickup zones

some detailing

 

[Tekku]

pl_stroika_b1​

Gameplay

Gameplay wise, the map doesn't have a good gameplay, but neither really bad one. Map is really spammy in some places, but in the same time, really open in other areas. This provides both, choked areas, which are quite unpleasant to fight it, due to the lack of proper clipping, you can get stuck everywhere. And open space has a lot of nasty sightlines, providing a lot of kills for snipers.

It feels like the mapper, didn't do proper designing of the map, since it has a lot of random routes, and buildings everywhere, most of them going to exactly the same place. Such randomness of routes, can lead player, to any location on the map, and he often can get lost. In combination with random routes, lack of proper signage, a lot of confusing is created among players.

Another issue with these routes, are the numerous flanking routes the map has. Because of this, playing as engineer can be as unpleasant, as playing as a spy in this map.

Balance

The map isn't one of the best Balance wise, result in 60% wins for Red team, and 40% for Blue team. However, the main issue comes to class balance, due to the confusing layout, quite a lot of chokes with bad clipping and open areas.
Most of the times i have played the map, there were a lot of scouts, which could benefit from the numerous flanking routes.

Playing as a Medic, Spy and Engineer, is really uninteresting, and dangerous, due to the fact that you cant know from where will the enemy appear.

Dynamic element

In this case, i must say Quality over Quantity. If the mapper would just leave one good dynamic element, for example the intelligence one, it would get a much higher score in this category. But, in this case, the map has 5 equally bad dynamic elements, which barely add up anything good to the gameplay, and most of the time causes confusing among players.

First of all, the introduction of a intelligence dynamic element is nice, however, at first it will confuse players what are you supposed to do, since that brush made sign thing, doesn't really tell you anything useful. Adding a blackboard with explanation of this element, for example in blue spawn, would work better than having a huge brush billboard.

Anything that follows after, is just messy and unneeded. In my opinion these elements were added in to cause more confusing than being useful in gameplay, since neither do they give time for red team to defend, nor give any noticeable advantage for blue team. They are just there as a unneeded gameplay element, which could be replaced by more convenient ramps.

Aesthetics

Aesthetics wise, the map has a lot of things going on. Trying to follow the construction theme, the map doesn't do it quite well, since slapping in some construction props, cranes, doesn't really make it looks like a construction site. Right now the map is either really bland in some areas, or prop spammed in others.

Architecturally wise, the map has a lot of stuff that make you say, "How do these thins even hold themselves?" "Why these buildings haven't collapsed yet" Really a lot of confusing is created when you look closer to the map, to the building it has.

In my opinion, the map should be more pleasant for players eye, redoing most of the detailing, most of the buildings, will be better, than just finishing off the map in such state as it is right now.

Some things, that I have noticed:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10012.jpg
Why not just use a simple door, without adding more confusing and bad looking stuff to the map.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10013.jpg
I don't see a use for this tunnel, since it should be supported by a cliff, or a bigger building behind it.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10014.jpg
Little detailing, but what is that supposed to be, inside?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10015.jpg
I can walk on most fences.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10016.jpg
How is this platform even holding like this?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10017.jpg
Why not just use simple patches, without making brush based stuff?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10018.jpg
I can see holes, in the ground.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10019.jpg
Replace the brush made billboard, with something better looking and more informative.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10020.jpg
No tracks, did the cart levitate on that part, and then rotate itself.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10021.jpg
Yes, this is a nice use of tunnel.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10022.jpg
I can ride the cart.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10023.jpg
But, can't get through here..

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10024.jpg
Floating ropes, which don't seem to be able to hold the cart.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10025.jpg
Another element, which you have to push, and it makes something to explode..

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10026.jpg
More elements..

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10027.jpg
These are the strangest stairs, i have seen.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10028.jpg
Floating tracks.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10029.jpg
Gates randomly explode.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10030.jpg
I can walk outside after that..

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/stroika/pl_stroika_b10031.jpg
Although interesting, but really bad spawn.

Performance

Fps wise i didn't have any issues, but however, due to the prop spam in this map, you can get stuck in a lot of places, you can walk on fences, on roof corners, on places i generally shouldn't be able to walk.

 

[Sergis]

still tldr, you thanksfarmer

 

[Tekku]

still tldr, you thanksfarmer

I'm making it easier to find feedback, not thanks farming.






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