TF2Maps.net Mapping Contest #7: Judge Reviews

[Ravidge]

Contest Judge Reviews
Big thanks to the 5 judges who took on this heavy task this year.
Selentic, Tech, Crash, Yyler and Tarry H Sruman.

This is the first time in tf2m history that contest reviews and results have been on time-ish, so give them a hug and a thanks for their effort.

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Map Checklist

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic|Aesthetics|Performance|Total
pl_moonlit|9|9|10|9|10|x
pl_rust|7|6|3|8|9|x
pl_escarpment|9|6|1|9|3|x
pl_gloryhole|7|8|6|6|8|x
pl_quagmire|4|4|3|7|5|x
pl_clifftop|9|9|8|6|7|x
pl_volcanic|9|8|9|3|7|x
pl_stroika|6|6|8|1|3|x
pl_vesper|3|4|1|4|7|x
plr_atoll|7|7|3|6|10|x
plr_frostfell|9|9|5|7|10|x

1-2 Terrible
3-4 Poor
5-6 Average
7-8 Good
9-10 Excellent

25% Gameplay
25% Balance
20% Dynamic Element
15% Aesthetics
15% Performance

Reviews will start brief and then be fleshed out. All scores are preliminary unless otherwise stated.

pl_Moonlit
Ezekel

Overall Score: n/a
Writing praise is harder than writing criticism, so Moonlit's review is appropriately brief. Moonlit is absolutely stunning. It's a blast to play and is easily one of the most creative and original maps of the contest.

Aesthetics: 9
I'm a big fan of the halloween-ish theme you went for. The underworld area is especially stunning. Your architecture is great, especially the big facade across from Blu spawn, but there are a few nagging aesthetic issues that prevent Moonlight from scoring a 10:



Performance: 10
Very good. Runs slightly better than even Badwater.

Dynamic Element: 10
The dynamic element is incredibly creative and well-implemented. Pouring into the underworld to fight over the cart is a ton of fun, and the random nature of it helps the map feel different in every round. You really took the "dynamic" aspect of the contest seriously, and the result was excellent.\

Balance: 9
Both class and team balance are excellent. Both teams seemed to have about even chances of winning (the dynamic element helped this, since a failed push through the underworld by Blu could waste a lot of time), and I was able to have a blast as every class I played. There were no big balance issues as far as I could see.

Gameplay: 9
Moonlit's gameplay is great. The layout is simple and straightforward, while still maintaining a lot of side routes and a pretty winding track path. Pickup placement is good. Combat in every area is very enjoyable, especially the narrow bit just before the finale. The action flows well from area to area, and the map is overall just incredibly fun to play on and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

pl_Rust
Frozen

Overall Score: n/a
Overall Notes

Aesthetics: 8
Rust's aesthetics are very good overall. I think you pulled off the Barnblitz theme well. Your off-map scenery is excellent. I especially like your use of smoke particles against the blue sky:

http://i.imgur.com/67ytg.jpg

However, while your off-map scenery is very nice, much of the playable area is bland. The first area is probably the ugliest part of the map, so let's take a look at that:

http://i.imgur.com/MdOCO.jpg

That bridge is, always has been, and, pending some kind of major change, always will be ugly. Most of the map has a good amount of texture variety and plenty of architectural details to break up surfaces, so that big, flat, uninterrupted surface sticks out and just looks bad. The huge crossbeams and tall window right next to the comparatively small door are also visually displeasing.

Another especially ugly part of the map is the big wooden wall that cordons off the CP2 area. The wall has seemingly no reason to be there, so it doesn't make much sense when you pause and look at it. Right now it's big and ugly, and should definitely be either prettied up or redesigned. Now on to nitpicking:

http://i.imgur.com/7v5Hy.jpg

Maybe my opinion is incorrect, but I hate this cliff texture, especially when it's used as heavily as it is in the last area. I think it would be much better off were it replaced with the smooth winter cliff texture. I don't think it has an alpha channel, but I'm sure that could be changed if you're willing to put in the effort.

http://i.imgur.com/lYWVW.jpg

The covering on this bridge should probably be extended all the way across (towards the camera). From inside the wall, you cannot see the bridge and the covering appears to be floating.

http://i.imgur.com/oY8p6.jpg

Finally, I'd like to give you props for this view. I really, really like it. Excellent use of cables. I love how you can just see the mountain peaks above the bridge.

Performance: 9
About normal framerates all around, no complaints here.

Dynamic Element: 3
The two things I could really say are "dynamic" about Rust are the elevator and the rollbacks at the end. The elevator is pretty bland and uninteresting. I suppose it's neat how the raised elevator acts as a bridge across the gap, but it doesn't really affect gameplay in any meaningful way other than creating a brief pause in the action.

The rollbacks, on the other hand, are actually pretty nice. The constant pressure to be on the cart creates a pretty cool experience. However, since the area can be tough to defend, the rollbacks typically don't have a big effect on gameplay. While the rollback zone isn't a very dynamic dynamic element, there is definitely potential for it to be a fun area. For now, however, the dynamic elements feel mediocre at best, particularly the lonely elevator, which feels like a cop out. You definitely could have put an elevator to better use than bridging a small horizontal gap.

Balance: 6
While testing was extremely schizophrenic (I saw Red shut down offense before CP1, along with seeing Blu steamroll through the whole map in a few minutes), I was able to conclude that Rust is pretty rough on the defenders. The building just outside of Blu spawn, near CP1, is a pretty good defensive bastion, but defense is usually pretty scattered. The most difficult area to defend is probably CP2, and the area immediately after it. There isn't much cover for the defenders around CP2, so they have to rely on their height advantages to hold off the attackers. Blu can pretty easily push through the flanks and force the defenders off of the high ground, at which point there isn't much Red can do. The lack of defensive options in the following area is understandable, since it is the transition between two major areas.

The final point, while one of the better parts of the map, does have some balance issues. Despite their massive height advantages, it is hard to Red to hold off Blu. This is probably because of how easily Blu can use flanking routes to get up to the top tier, on the left side. From that position, attackers can trap Red in their spawn, and at that point it's simple for a couple of people to detach and push the cart over the last hill. Overall the biggest issue with balance, on all areas, is that Blu's flanking routes are somewhat overpowered, and can easily root out Red's defenses.

Class balance, on the other hand, is excellent. I was able to play all classes well on Rust, and it didn't feel like anyone was forgotten in the design. Good job.

Gameplay: 7
The map plays well, and definitely has a lot of potential. I think that your biggest challenge now is refining the layout to iron out the balance issues. The layout is very compact and easy to learn, so I was always able to find my way to the front quickly and easily. I think that gameplay was the worst around CP2. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about the area just feels off, and is pretty boring to fight in. Watermelon butt. The last area, in contrast, is a good idea, and I think it has a lot of potential to be really fun. Currently it's biggest issue is, once again, Blu's overpowered flanking route. If the spawncamping potential was eliminated, the constant pushing of the cart on the rollback, combined with combat on both sides, would make a kickass area that I would love to play.

Overall, the map is fun to play on. The good class balance ensures that there is very little spam, and most bad experiences I've had were due to some of the team balance issues.

pl_Escarpment
Aly

http://forums.tf2maps.net/geek/gars/images/5/0/8/2/thumb_2012-03-04_00002.jpg

Overall Score: n/a
While it's obviously pretty, Escarpment played very well too. I'd say it has some of the best combat areas of any entry. However, there are some big flaws that hurt balance, mostly around a single problem area: CP2. In addition to the balance issues, the map really doesn't feel "dynamic." It's a good map, and is fun to play, but it feels like a standard pl map that either left the dynamic element behind early in development, or was simply planned without it and had it thrown in at the end. While the map is a blast, calling it "dynamic" seems like a bit of a stretch.

Aesthetics: 9
Aesthetics are really Escarpment's strong point. You did a great job on the detailing. I really like your choice of textures, and the outdoor areas are really unique and memorable. This one is my personal favorite:

http://i.imgur.com/JXsLY.jpg

Your out-of-playable-area detail is also excellent. I like the (very subtle) use of the dam in the 3D skybox. I only saw it once, but it looks really cool from the right angle. Interior architecture is good, though not as eye-catching as the outdoor areas. However, there are still some nits to pick with your detailing:

http://i.imgur.com/FrNQN.jpg
The tops of your cliff walls end really sharply. Giving them a bit of a rounded lip with some grass hanging over the edge, or even just placing some shrub and fern props up there, would make the cliffs look more natural. The cliffs around Blu spawn are pretty bare, especially compared to the areas around CP2.

http://i.imgur.com/76SjB.jpg
This looks extremely out of place. A big, spytech, superweapon-esque device like that usually has a structure built around it, but this is surrounded by wood. With the exception of the bit of metal directly above it, everything around the device uses natural textures and colors. The spytech assets around the area stick out and do not belong. I can see the kind of "hidden facility" theme you were going for, but I think it would look better if it contrasted more with the rest of the map.

Overall, your aesthetics are excellent. I love your theme and the areas you've created with it. Your custom assets are also clever, especially to a Lord of the Rings fan.

Performance: 3
This was the only map that gave me really severe framerate issues. Badwater runs at a constant 150+, but Escarpment often fell below 40 during gameplay. The most problematic area is the long sightline past the first point. Framerates tend to bottom out when looking at the big round rock thing with the trees on top of it.

http://i.imgur.com/ghe8U.jpg
This one.

I can see you put fade distances to good use in a lot of places, especially on the crates and litter objects indoors, so I'm not sure what exactly causes such abysmal framerates.

Dynamic Element: 1
This really felt like a cop out. When the cart reaches a certain point, a log moves out of the way. That's it. There really was no creativity there. The log doesn't block any paths or really have any effect on gameplay other than causing a brief pause in Blu's push. Since it is located just after the second point, there is not much combat around it at all, seeing as Red has usually just been forced out of the second point and fallen back. The log doesn't feel like a well thought-out part of the map; it feels like a minor addition that was shoehorned in to make an otherwise normal payload map "dynamic enough" for contest standards.

Balance: 6
Class balance is excellent, but team balance is not. Offense generally gets shut down at CP2, while the defense rarely puts up a very strong fight at CP3. The narrow choke and strong height advantages, especially the balcony just outside of Red spawn, make it extremely difficult for Blu to take the point. Sentry spam is especially problematic here. Everywhere outside of CP2 is generally well-balanced, despite CP3 being a bit tough for the defense.

http://i.imgur.com/6nyw6.jpg

CP2 is also probably the worst with respect to class balance. Demomen, sentries, and snipers can lock down the choke point really well. The long sightline immediately preceding the rollback doesn't help either. As was the case with team balance, class balance is much better everywhere outside of CP2.

Gameplay: 9
If team balance is ignored, the areas are an absolute blast to play on. The bridge area in particular is a favorite of mine. You did a great job of making iconic, fun areas to fight in. Combat flows very nicely from area to area and pickup placement is logical. Your flanking routes are well placed, especially between CP1 and CP2. It's harder to write praise than criticism, and since there isn't much to criticize in this category, I'll just say good job!

pl_Gloryhole
grazr

http://forums.tf2maps.net/geek/gars/images/7/1/5/thumb_2012-04-17_00013.jpg


Overall Score: n/a
I enjoyed Gloryhole. I was able to play it quite a bit, due in no small part to randoms' tendency to vote for the map whose name has a sexual connotation, and I always enjoyed it. The biggest issue in my opinion is the area with the water wheel. There is definitely a lot of promise here, especially for a somewhat last-minute entry. I look forward to seeing this progress.

Aesthetics: 6
I like the emerging style here. You did a good job of making the generic alpine theme more interesting via the inclusion of stone and water textures. I am particularly fond of the mixture of metal and concrete here:
http://i.imgur.com/ZUrmZ.jpg
This area is very, very nice. The addition of scenery beyond it, especially a dam or river, would look incredible.

However, the map is not by any means finished at it shows; detailing is sparse at best. In addition to looking bland, the lack of refinement can also have some gameplay consequences:

http://i.imgur.com/tEVc8.jpg
The bottom of the skybox is clearly visible throughout the map, as is the end of out-of-map terrain. This particular area of skybox is accessible.
EDIT: This was a bug. I don't know what caused it.

http://i.imgur.com/W2twk.jpg
There is no signage to indicate that this balcony leads to a deathpit; from the edge of the balcony the terrain ledge appears to be accessible, but is clipped and drops the player into a deathpit.

You also have a lot of very long, uninterrupted walls and buildings. These are especially bland and ugly looking. The interiors this creates look far too narrow and long:
http://i.imgur.com/tYlAg.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1B5gM.jpg
It all looks so bland and unfinished. I am well aware that this is a beta, but my job is to judge all maps by the same standard. In future iterations, please break up these big, flat, boring walls.

Theme progression is nice. The transition from wood and stone to metal and concrete makes sense, but some scenery beyond the final point to flesh out what exactly the teams are attacking would be nice.

Overall, I like where the theme could go. However, the map is very bare and unfinished. I'll give you a six for having an interesting theme, but the incompleteness is hard to forgive.


Performance: 8
Framerates are normal overall. The final explosion, however, causes a severe framerate drop.

Dynamic Element: 6
While you get credit for using several dynamic elements, their effect on gameplay is questionable. Let's start from the beginning:

http://i.imgur.com/zjyhS.jpg

While the mechanic here must seem painfully obvious to you, me, and most of the people on this site, for most people it is not. In practice most players push the cart to the marked track and then stand there in frustration until someone who has played the map before triggers the capture area and they go happily on their way. I think the element is a cool mechanic, however, and it plays well with people who know what they're doing. It was a good idea to position it so close to Blu's spawn, since it would be very difficult to attack further into enemy territory. I didn't hold peoples stupidity against you in my score, but its something you should consider. On to the next one:

http://i.imgur.com/8XtZn.jpg

I'm not sure that this turntable's placement is a good idea. The point is already very defensible for a first point, and I think the turntable could be put to better use closer to the second point, which could be more defensible. Having the cart stop just inside the door while the turntable adjusts is also mildly annoying, since it leaves very narrow spaces on either side of the cart for attackers to push into the room through. Now on to number 3:

http://i.imgur.com/cskcM.jpg

The tiny elevator really just makes this already cramped area even worse. Everyone piled onto the tiny platform is easily within the blast radius of a single explosive, so there is a lot of spam onto it. I have more to say about this area, but I will save it for the gameplay section. Finally:

http://i.imgur.com/3OAw0.jpg

I think that this elevator has the most positive effect on gameplay. Using an elevator instead of a ramp forces the attackers to go around in order to reach the upper tier, making Red's job easier just before the final point. The alternative routes to the upper tier are easily identifiable, so attackers getting stuck here is not an issue.

Balance: 8

I think that overall you did a good job of making every point defensible, something that is often overlooked in favor of giving the attackers a break. During playtesting I saw defense win in several different spots, as well as seeing offense win their fair share of rounds. Things are not all good, however. The first point, while always eventually captured by Blu, definitely feels too defensible. The second story balcony overlooking the turntable, as well as the wooden platform with the health and ammo on it, are very good sentry positions for so early in the map, especially given the numerous defensive positions in the area just before the point. The doorway leading to the balcony from the attackers' side is not very visible and is rarely used by the attackers. The first point is always captured by Blu, but there definitely feels like that victory is much more hard-fought than it should be, especially when compared to some of the later areas.

The difficulty of attacking the first point is not matched by the second point. The area preceding the second point feels overscaled, and the long, narrow buildings make it look and feel "stretched." Red is able to mount a decent defense just before the entrance to the building, but the building containing the point is an issue in my opinion. The point area is reminiscent of the hallway just before the last bit of Goldrush stage 2. That hallway worked because it was a connector between two areas, as opposed to being a major combat area itself. The second point of Gloryhole, however, feels very small and cramped. This leads to very heavy spam from defenders above, while denying sentries and snipers decent sightlines. The result is that the point often becomes a meat grinder for both sides, since a static defense isn't a real option and both teams end up throwing a great many people into the door and narrow hall before the point.

Balance is good beyond point 2. The area just before point 3 is a particularly good defensive bastion that is still not impossible to attack. Defense usually holds strong in the hallway chokepoint just before the last area, but the final point itself is not very defensible, so making it past the last choke usually means victory for the attackers. If you look at Badwater, Barnblitz, or Upward, this is definitely not the case.

Gameplay: 7
Gameplay is good overall, but some aspects of your design need improvement. Your indoor areas can be very confusing, mostly around point 2, and there are a few places where players tend to get lost or stuck. There are many rooms and paths that are underused, and getting lost in them kills flow. In short, the layout could use some streamlining.

http://i.imgur.com/et1ka.jpg

This area is very confusing to defenders. As a defender trying to get to the front, it is easy to end up in this "pit" area, which has no exit for non-jump classes, other than going back and away from the cart that you are supposed to defend to reach the stairs. This area does, however, work excellently as a hold for the attackers after the elevator is pushed. I think that the rest of the map beyond this area has the strongest gameplay, while the area around second has the weakest.

The area around the water wheel feels overscaled and stretched out, and the bulk of the area seems to be rarely utilized. In stark contrast, the area immediately after it is a tiny, cramped room that forces the entire team into a bottleneck that looks to be barely 192 units wide.

pl_Quagmire
Monsterclip

http://forums.tf2maps.net/geek/gars/images/1/1/2/7/0/thumb_2012-03-15_00008.jpg

Overall Score: 5
Quagmire is an interesting case. It is clearly made by someone who knows what they're doing, but simultaneously shows a lack of knowledge of TF2 level design. While by no means a bad map, it is the inconsistencies, especially in balance and aesthetics, that drag it down. Everything is adequate, but the fact that the map does not follow many of the design principles that the mapping community has developed means that it feels like a map made in 2008, not 2012. There is an overall lack of refinement that probably resulted from too little testing from experienced TF2 mappers.

Aesthetics: 7
The aesthetics are great. You really nailed the dirty, grungy swamp theme. Everything you got right aesthetically is summed up in this facade:

http://i.imgur.com/IBPrr.jpg

In addition to the varied and interesting architecture, you used props, overlays, and even sounds (something that is often neglected) to really drive home the feel of a dirty, run-down swamp facility. The attention to fine detail is incredible, something other entrants were lacking. However, there is a downside to this: your overzealous use of props. There are a lot of props that could either be replaced by brushes or are decorative but add too much visual noise. You fell into the trap of over-detailing quite a bit. There are also some issues with the consistency of your aesthetics.

http://i.imgur.com/Gb3h9.jpg

This fence, along with many other fences around the map, could have easily been made of brushwork instead of props. This one a is especially bad because of the wonky lighting. A brush with a decently high lightmap resolution could have done this job much better and been cheaper.

Also questionable was your decision to use the cliff models along the borders of the map. Displacement cliffs with a smooth, gray rock texture would do the job much better. Bordering the map with large props forces the game to draw a huge number of polygons, causes issues with clipping, and leaves a lot of detail and visual noise on the edges of the map, an area which players are not usually closely scrutinizing and is relatively unimportant to gameplay.

In general, there are many places where props are used where brushwork could have sufficed. The docks around the second point are an excellent example of this.

Your architecture is generally nice, but there are some recurring issues.

http://i.imgur.com/6MQn9.jpg

Your ceilings in various rooms around the map are too low. That door goes all the way to the ceiling. How many real doors do you see that connect to the ceiling? Not many. This particular building has a slanted roof too, so there is no good reason for the separate horizontal ceiling and the unused space inside the roof. Low ceilings look ugly and are annoying to move around under, especially when knockback and splash damage are involved. There are also a few cramped hallways, mostly inside of that beautiful building at the beginning. They aren't a big issue, seeing as they are a secondary route, but they are still awkward to maneuver in as fast-moving classes.

http://i.imgur.com/6bTHm.jpg

These supports look way too thin to hold up that building. They should ideally be 16 units or so thick, and have crossbars or other support beams between them. In all honesty, I think that removing the underwater bit altogether would be beneficial for optimization, aesthetics, and gameplay. Also in this area is an instance of this:

http://i.imgur.com/9Ao6m.jpg

These just look bad. The 90 degree angles connecting the bank and bed of the water look unnatural, and the inconsistent slope of the edge means that it can only be walked over in some spots, which is indescribably infurating in gameplay. A smooth transition from the creek to the shore would be much better. If this is supposed to be a stylistic choice, I highly doubt that anyone would notice its absence, and those who noticed probably wouldn't miss it.

Alot of the issues so far have been modest, but there is one issue that is very big: the final point area. If you discuss payload detailing (or detailing of any other gamemode for that matter) with anyone who knows their stuff, you'll hear them say "theme progression" alot. Look at Badwater, Dustbowl, and Upward. The final areas of all of these maps are thematically different from the rest of the maps. The last point are is typically big, imposing, and visually distinct. Now let's take a look at Quagmire's last point:

http://i.imgur.com/DWPk7.jpg

It isn't big, it isn't imposing, and, apart from being more intensely red, it doesn't look all that different from the rest of the map. If anything, the structures are smaller and less imposing than the rest of the map, especially compared to the building immediately outside of the Blu spawn. The attackers also don't get a very good idea of what exactly they are attacking. According to your description, this is a pumping station of some sort. If that's the case, build it up! Make it a big, industrial structure with a lot of concrete and piping. Provided you can make an effective transition between the structure and its surroundings, the contrast with the rest of the environment will signify to players that they have progressed to the end, and are destroying something big and expensive and significant, rather than dropping a bomb into a three-foot-deep hole in front of a wooden shack.

Overall, the map looks great. Looking back at this, I may have seemed overly negative given my score, but seeing as this map is more finished than the other entrants, there is a lot more for me to nitpick about.

Performance: 5
Framerates are quite a bit lower than on official maps (90-130 as opposed to 150-250), but neither I nor the hardware-impaired friend I have recruited for testing purposes had framrates that were too bad. There are a lot of extraneous props (as I discussed in depth in the previous section) and the lack of fade distances definitely doesn't help. I heard a lot of complaining about framerates during full matches, however.

Dynamic Element: 3
The dynamic element is original, but doesn't contribute much to gameplay. The explosions could be a pain for attackers whose pushes could be stalled, but could also stop defense from being steamrolled. In practice, however, this doesn't happen. The entire area from the first to third points is so indefensible that Blu usually dominates the point area when it is captured, so the explosions rarely have much of an effect on gameplay.

Balance: 4
Statistically, both teams win close to half the time, but on a smaller scale there are some pretty big issues. The difficulty for the attackers is inconsistent throughout the map, and defense is very difficult most of the time. To help illustrate this, I have prepared a helpful diagram:

http://i.imgur.com/2Iyrq.jpg

The initial area and the first point are quite defensible; most of the time a competent defense will hold A for a while, but I have never seen them win given the proximity to Blu's spawn. The area is probably too defensible, however, given that it is the first point. The big issue comes with the second point and the area beyond it. Because of the underwater section near the second point, the whole area isn't actually broken up, and there is no real choke for the defenders to exploit. The very wide area from which the attackers can come, and the height advantages they have in the area beyond B, makes it nearly impossible for Red to defend B. The area circled in blue is almost always a complete steamroll for the attackers. Their push, however, is almost always shut down just before the final point.

The biggest issue is the lack of good defensive holds. Since there are no good places for an engineer nest, the defense has to rely on choke points to keep the attackers at bay. The very narrow path at A favors this, while the complete lack of a choke at B renders it indefensible. Most of the time on the map is spent fighting over the last point. Since Blu has pretty substantial high ground just before the end, there isn't much the defenders can do to push them back. The defenders are usually reeling from having just been rolled over at B, so by the time a defense is up, the cart is usually about 10 feet from the final point. Once the defense is up, however, it is extremely difficult to dislodge. Very long sightlines prevent the attackers from rallying behind the mud slope near the bottom of the image. The low roofs and fences that divide the final area should be too high to jump onto/over, and the window facing down into the yard with the tree should probably be removed. This would divide the area more strongly in two, stopping soldiers from raining death on the attackers.

My overall advice would be to move B further down the track and make it more defensible, while making the first and last points easier to attack.

As far as class balance, the jumpable roofs and height variation heavily favors soldiers. There are also some very long sightlines, especially around the last point, which make snipers incredibly irritating.


Gameplay: 4
The map plays acceptably, but it isn't especially fun. The two areas that see most of the combat are near the first and last points. The first point is a very narrow, uphill choke, and the last point is a meat grinder for the offense. Overall the areas aren't a whole lot of fun to fight in. The abundance of places for soldiers to spam and snipers to snipe make life difficult for other classes. The inconsistent difficulty also really hurts flow. More often than not offense will stall right outside of the gate, only to roll all the way to the end once Red's defense is broken. The bad gameplay in the final area is exacerbated by the very long timer left over from the indefensible second and third points.

Also a big issue is that the map is a pain to move around in. As I pointed out in the aesthetics section, your displacement "lips" are incredibly irritating; they make me jump or move to a different spot where I should be able to walk straight over. In addition to this, the abundance of narrow hallways and low ceilings makes the interior spaces feel too claustrophobic, while the outdoor areas are not broken up enough and become stomping grounds for soldiers on rooftops.

plr_Atoll
LeSwordfish

Overall Score: n/a
Overall Notes

Aesthetics: 6
The beginning of the map is absolutely gorgeous. The bright sunset and ocean, combined with the unique architectural style, create a really great-looking environment. I love what you did with the theme here. The visual asymmetry of the beginning makes it more visually interesting than the typical PLR map. The great detailing in the first area, however, is not enough to make up for the rest of the map's complete lack of detailing. I honestly think my score is a bit generous, given that the bulk of the map is completely not done, but the first area is so damned nice looking I can't help it.

Performance: 10
I had no framerate problems.

Dynamic Element: 3
The big issue with your dynamic element is that it "punishes success." There. I said it. Typing that phrase in a serious context was physically painful, but I did it anyway. Since both turntables activate when one team reaches them, the winning team is stalled and the losing team has time to catch up. This means that whichever team reaches the turntables first is penalized for completing their objective before the other team. Imagine a foot race in which whoever finishes the first lap first has to sit out for a bit while the other person keeps running. Doesn't sound like fun, does it?

Balance: 7
There are some class balance issues, as well as issues with the defense towards the end. Most of the map is prime stomping ground for heavies, seeing as the bulk of the interior fights are short-medium range affairs without a lot of height variation (the obvious exception being the balcony room). The first half of the map is pretty unfriendly to engies, and the only really good sentry spot is, well, really good.

Aside from class balance, there are problems with the difficulty of defending the end of the track.

http://i.imgur.com/aKuQb.jpg

The big balcony is the only viable defensive position here, but it's virtually useless in practice because by the time the cart can be fired on from a sentry or player on the balcony, they've already reached the ramps and are on the way to victory. When one team pushes the cart almost to the end, it is nearly impossible for the other team to muster a defense that can hold them back long enough to catch up. Most of the attempts at defense require the whole team and involve either throwing people at the enemy cart or building sentries in the "pit". Sentries built under the ramps are extremely difficult to dislodge, but can be completely ignored by a decently-sized group of attacking players throwing themselves onto the cart in an attempt to push it into the goal.

Overall, your class balance leaves something to be desired, and something should be done to make defending the goal more viable.

Gameplay: 7
The layout is overall clean and simple, which is good. The first area is definitely the most enjoyable part of the map, while the indoor areas feel somewhat lacking. Combat in the first area flows very nicely between the cover buildings and water route, but the big gate funnels players into a bland, boring room that is especially susceptible to heavy spam. The indoor areas lack a good sense of direction, so there are usually a lot of players wandering around and deathmatching in the early areas when the carts are near the end. Players tend to gravitate towards the outdoor and turntable areas, something that is probably an issue with the design.

In general; the beginning is a great, enjoyable area to fight in, but the interiors feel uninspired and aren't terribly fun. The ending in particular is a pretty dull and anticlimactic area.

pl_Clifftop
Boylee

Overall Score: n/a
Overall Notes

Aesthetics: 6
I'm a big fan of the lighting, fog, and overall theme you have going on. However, it isn't detailed enough to get a higher score.

http://i.imgur.com/FhJW5.jpg

You did an excellent job of incorporating the extreme height variation that characterizes Clifftop into the aesthetics. The big, imposing facades in this area and others are great, and will look even better when finished. I definitely think you pulled off the vertical scale without making anything that looks too tall or disproportionate.

http://i.imgur.com/598ie.jpg

This little back area where Blu can see the final point is a very nice touch. Right now it's pretty bare, and the cliff is way too straight and uniform (the perfect 90 degree turn is definitely not natural), but it's a cool sight for players who have played the map before and recognize the finale.

The off-map forest scenery is excellent, especially the waterfall near the first area. I really, really love the humid, tropical type of climate it conveys. The fern models and choice of ground texture is also very well executed. In general, the theme is excellent, but the map is too bare to warrant a higher score. Please, finish this.

One last nitpick:

http://i.imgur.com/RuLyZ.jpg

This building flickers in and out of view a lot. It's really annoying, seeing as it's kind of a landmark and all.

Performance: 7
There are some moderate framerate issues when looking out into the forest, which shouldn't be surprising when you consider the degree of prop use here:

http://i.imgur.com/F2YAJ.jpg

Dynamic Element: 8
Your elevators are nice. They fit in with the overall theme of heavy height variation. The elevators definitely compliment the rest of the map, and don't feel like a minor addition at all. Unlike most elevators, yours don't hurt flow at all; I would even go so far as to say that they are the best-executed elevators I've seen in this contest. The rollback zone towards the end is also a nice touch. It really helps make that huge incline an interesting area, one of my favorite parts of the map, in fact.

Balance: 9
Team balance is good, though the finale could probably be a bit more defensible. I think that you've done an incredible job of making a map with huge height differences balanced, both team-wise and class-wise. Plentiful cover and flanking routes make areas with long sightlines and height variation balanced. The perfect example of this is here:

http://i.imgur.com/ffp1y.jpg

One would expect snipers and soldiers to have a field day here, but lots of entrances and a strong flank for Blu make this area work shockingly well. If anything, its actually tougher for defense!

It's honestly tough for me to come up with any really strong criticism of your balancing job on this map. Other than somewhat underpowered defensive spots at the finale, you really nailed the balancing here. There's something for every class to do, and I never felt like I was being nerfed, regardless of what class I played.

Gameplay: 9
Clifftop's height variation gives it a very unique feel, which I absolutely love. I would expect constantly fighting uphill to be dull and grinding, but in practice it's a blast. The flow is wonderful, even though there are a lot of flank routes, winding hills, and the like. Knowing that you're always fighting uphill makes it easier to find your way around, and gives a really cool sense of progression. The combat areas are all very unique, distinctive, and fun to play. I really, really enjoyed Clifftop and I look forward to playing it more.

pl_Volcanic

Blade

http://forums.tf2maps.net/geek/gars/images/5/7/3/6/thumb_pl_volcanic_a200007.jpg

Overall Score: n/a
I really enjoy this map, it's one of my favorites gameplay-wise. You did a good job of making a fun and unique layout and took the "dynamic" part of the dynamic payload contest seriously. I only wish you had been able to get past alpha in time; I would love to see this detailed.

Aesthetics: 3
As much as I love the architecture and choice of textures, the map is still very much an alpha. The areas that are more detailed, such as the last point and fan room, look great, but the rest of the map is ugly and unfinished. The fan is very pretty, but I'm not about to give you points for Sel's work. There isn't much else to say, so here are a few little things:

http://i.imgur.com/rV8PJ.jpg
This is a personal gripe, but I don't like 1/1 stairs. There are a couple of sets of 1/1 stairs in this area, and most of them look like they could stand to be made a bit longer.

http://i.imgur.com/M0J15.jpg
I really like the architecture here, but I do not like the door or how the cabinet blocks part of the window. How often in real life do you see tall furniture placed in front of windows? Not often.

Performance: 7
Framerates are slightly below average. While I can't say much for my own performance, many people have complained about performance issues with the heat shimmer effect, especially in the big corridor where several instances of it are layered.

Dynamic Element: 9
Volcanic is definitely one of my favorites as far as dynamic elements go. The big moving platform is a great idea and contributes a lot to gameplay. I love how the platform opens up new routes temporarily as it moves down the hallway. Fighting in the side paths and jumping on to push forward is a blast. The whole area around the platform is very unique and refreshing to play in.

I think that the fan room (which I guess makes me a fan) is one of the coolest things to come out of this contest. Airborne battles in the fan room are great fun, and the fan makes class jumps a risky proposition. The room functions as an interesting alternative to the main route. While the fan room is usually safer than the main choke point, it is easily held by Blu engineers and the rocket jumping type may want to keep their distance for fear of falling into the fan.

I am less enthusiastic, however, about the elevator at the beginning. While the height advantages Blu has virtually guarantee they can push out of spawn, having a rollback that early doesn't seem like a good idea. Since the elevator requires constant attention and moves rather slowly, it is often ignored until Blu is able to push Red far back, at which point one or two people head back and push the cart up to the front line. Also, the elevator is very small, and looks very odd when many people are riding it. While the elevator may be a cool-looking start for the map, it doesn't really make the area play any better.

Balance: 8
The map is overall well-balanced, but there are a few spots that seem like they should be more defensible. The most notable of these is the second area. At first glance, with its height variation and overlapping paths, it should be a pretty defensible position. Since the only spot that would make a good sentry position (the highest ledge in the area) is easily flanked and has a very narrow angle of vision, engineers are forced to build directly on the track itself. The issue is exacerbated by Red's spawn:

http://i.imgur.com/xYL1v.jpg
This spawn works pretty poorly in every way. Through the tunnels or the lava route, a good Blu player can easily get around the Red defenses and camp their spawn. The balcony and the beam to the right of the image are accessible to jump classes, so a soldier can pretty easily trap Red in their spawn while the rest of the team pushes the cart. I have seen Red engineers build turrets on the balcony on more than one occasion, turrets which could be put to use defending the objective but are instead dedicated to stopping spawncamping, something that should not be an issue.

As far as class balance goes, there are a few problems. The lava is a boon for pyros, since it both acts as a route almost exclusively for them, and because people can easily be airblasted into it. The layout does a good job of keeping pyros in check, but allows them to flanks Red's defense to get to their forward spawn, and an pyro running onto the moving platform and spamming the airblast can knock a whole bunch of people into the lava without penalty if he falls in himself. A bigger issue, however, is the very long hallway that the platform moves down. Since the heat shimmer makes sniping difficult and there aren't any good sentry spots along the hall, there is often a substantial amount of huntsman and rocket spam down the hallway by defenders hoping to kill/knock someone off the platform.

Other than those issues, balance is good.

Gameplay: 9
The map plays very, very well. It isn't perfect, as I pointed out in the balance section, but I think it is overall the most fun to play of the contest entries. Nothing in the map feels like an imitation of an existing one; everything is very unique, original, and fun. The map has a very good flow and sense of direction while still having a very nonlinear track path and an abundance of side routes. The high number of alphas seems to have paid off, as the gameplay feels excellent, and aside from the issues mentioned in the balance section, the map plays incredibly well.

plr_Frostfell

Tom Hoen

http://forums.tf2maps.net/geek/gars/images/3/9/7/0/thumb_2012-05-01_00006.jpg

Overall Score: n/a
I love it. I absolutely love this map. The areas are all great fun to play in, and I haven't seen any glaring issues. There is still a lot of room for improvement, but for now you have me sold.

Aesthetics: 7
I think you have some good ideas, but there are a few nitpicks and inconsistent quality when the two sides are compared.

First of all, I like the heavily varied angles of the architecture, at least on the Red side. The angles make sense when they are made of wood, but they do not translate well into the Blu theme. Let's look at the Blu spawn room:

http://i.imgur.com/UR6gN.jpg

All of the odd angles would look bad in concrete, so you have made them out of wood. The problem with this is that the Blu spawn room, the area of the map that is supposed to be the most solidly Blu-themed, uses predominantly Red textures. The problem with the entire Blu side of the map is that it uses a very strongly Red architectural style. Here is the same area from a different perspective:

http://i.imgur.com/7BYnd.jpg

The texturing here is a mess. You have a rundown spytech area directly next to an angular wooden staircase with no transition at all, and then you have a bunch of cinder blocks, and then more red wood. There's even some metal directly next to the wood and concrete. The whole Blu side is not at all in keeping with the Blu team's theme. I understand that the map is symmetrical, but you could easily make basic changes to the shape of the Blu spawnroom without affecting gameplay. I'm suggesting that you make the roof smoother, not that you change the layout.

For comparison, let's look at the Red side of the map:

http://forums.tf2maps.net/geek/gars/images/3/9/7/0/2012-05-01_00001.jpg
http://forums.tf2maps.net/geek/gars/images/3/9/7/0/2012-05-01_00006.jpg

Notice a difference? The Red side looks great, because the architecture is made in the Red style and makes sense when Red textures are applied. The facade of the Red base in particular is beautiful because the tiers of angled roofs work perfectly with wood and metal. The Blu facade looks more like you took the Red one and replaced a few textures, rather than making it its own beast entirely. You can maintain symmetry while modifying architecture in areas that are above and outside of the playable area without changing gameplay. Now on to my nitpicking:

http://i.imgur.com/fMZMX.jpg
This is a poor choice of skybox in my opinion. It is snowing, but when you look up there are hardly any clouds! If you stand in the main yard and look up, there are none at all! Also, you are clearly in the mountains and surrounded by rocks and pine trees, but there are no mountains or trees in the skybox. This could have benefited greatly from using the morningsnow skybox instead of the generic sunny blue skies one.

http://i.imgur.com/lpOhB.jpg
The eye is drawn up to that gray roof immediately after leaving the spawn. You should put something there. A satellite dish, an antenna, anything to draw the players attention to the area that they naturally gravitate to and is the center of the action. Right now it's just a perfect opportunity that isn't being taken.

http://i.imgur.com/3V2EO.jpg
This low wall makes me think I can jump up here, but I cannot.

http://i.imgur.com/PjP96.jpg
As cool as your dynamic doors may look, they are in desperate need of a slot or something they can retract into. Currently they recede into a flat, wooden wall. It wouldn't be a big deal if the doors weren't what everyone on the cart is going to be looking at, close up. Also, the wooden, hinged doors sliding into the walls like they do is weird looking. I don't care if it's supposed to be a heavy security door disguised as a wooden one, it looks like garbage and it bothers me to no end.

Overall, I love your architecture, and I am a big fan of the snowy valley in the middle of the map, but I wish the Blu side had more appropriate texturing and geometry. I hope you'll consider making the cosmetic architecture asymmetrical for the sake of aesthetics. While the map is clearly not finished (an hour or two spent placing posters, windows, drainpipes, etc. would work wonders for it), it looks nice enough and I look forward to seeing it done.

Performance: 10
I got high framerates in all areas. I never had any problems.

Dynamic Element: 5
While opening doors isn't going to win you any points for originality, it has a great effect on gameplay. The closed routes funnel the players in the right direction, which is to say they force players into the main yard. The new routes and spawn exits heavily change which areas players use, giving the map a feel of progression even though it is very, very small. However, the aesthetics of your dynamic elements leave something to be desired, as I addressed in the earlier section.

Balance: 9
I would feel a bit bad giving out a 10 for balance on a symmetrical map, but the class balance is spot-on. There is an area for everyone here, packed into a simple, compact space. Only issue is that rollback at the end of the track is a bit annoying to attack.

Gameplay: 9
Gameplay is excellent. The map is really intuitive and fun to play on. The bases, main yard, interiors, and the lower tunnel area all play very differently and lend your map a lot of variety despite its small size and short length. Every area was fun to fight in, though the rooms just past the dynamic doors were a tad small. The gameplay flows excellently, and the map is always a blast to play.

pl_Stroika
Sergis

Overall Score: n/a
Overall Notes

Aesthetics: 1
Stroika is butt-ugly. It's completely and blatantly unfinished, and the geometry is cluttered, noisy, and all over the place. The vague construction theme could be cool I suppose, but for now it's a mess of weirdly-shaped metal buildings and occasional props. There isn't much to critique here.

Performance: 3
Many areas, particularly just after the crane, suffer from severe framerate issues on a full server.

Dynamic Element: 8
Your dynamic elements are incredibly creative and there are a lot of them. The "capture the track" segment is especially cool. You did a great job of making a mechanic that could easily have been confusing work, thanks to this wonderful (especially considering it's made entirely of brushwork) sign:

http://i.imgur.com/FREPK.jpg

The dynamic elements flow very well, surprisingly. There is rarely any confusion, except among a few of the "slower" pub players I've seen. The elements are very unique and it definitely feels like the map was designed around them. I would without a doubt say that the dynamic elements are a positive design decision. However, they can have a bit of an impact on team balance. One would think that things like the CTF area would be a boon for the defenders, but in practice the opposite is true. More on that in the balance section.

Balance: 6
Both team and class balance have some issues. The map is overall difficult to defend. There aren't very many good places to set up a defense, and most of the good sentry spots are smack in the middle of too many long sightlines to be any help. The turntable/elevator thing, while awesome, allows the attackers to bridge a very large vertical gap very quickly. This ends up being a bit of a missed opportunity, since an uphill slope would have been extremely helpful for the defense. Blu's enormous height advantage immediately afterwards doesn't help either. Defense isn't really bad, but it's still more difficult to defend most of the map than it probably should be.

As far as class balance, most of my issues are related to things I have already pointed out. Your long sightlines and height variation favor snipers and soldiers, who tended to be overplayed in my experience. These same things also hurt engineers. It was very difficult to set up a good engineer nest anywhere in the first two thirds of the map.

Gameplay: 6
Stroika was admittedly the map I got to play the least (oh, the downsides of democracy), but I definitely enjoyed it. The layout flows excellently, despite some unorthodox design decisions, particularly in the second area. Pickup placement is logical, though it could be tweaked to help the defense out a bit. Despite how well the map flows from area to area, this breaks down a bit towards the end. The last area is definitely my least favorite part of the map. The layout of the final area is nowhere near as intuitive as the rest of the map, especially compared to the beginning. Gameplay is solid, especially given how many dynamic elements you managed to work in, but could use some refinement, mostly towards the end.

pl_Vesper
Vilepickle

Overall Score: n/a
Vesper is a very dull, mediocre map in every category. There really isn't anything it does well, and there are many things it does badly. Amid the myriad of common beginner mistakes, the single thing I think Vesper lacks the most is vision. It really doesn't seem like there was a solid idea behind Vesper. The detailing is all over the place, the areas aren't memorable, and many aspects of the map are baffling and out of place. I still can't figure out what the hell the teams are fighting over, but it better be important if the fighting is this lame.

Aesthetics: 4
Very mediocre. Detailing is alright around the starting area. Outside of the starting area, your architecture seems sloppy and often makes little sense. The most severe offenders are the stairs:

http://i.imgur.com/N63i2.jpg
These are extremely wide stairs leading up to a very small door. A smaller staircase leading to a second "tier" would do the job much better.

http://i.imgur.com/SChLr.jpg
These stairs make poor use of space. You aren't bridging a terribly large vertical gap, and yet these stairs are incredibly long. In actual architecture there is always plenty of space between walls and the ends of staircases, and you would do well to follow that example. Consider replacing most of the stairs on your map with significantly steeper ones, probably using a 2/3 slope instead of the 1/2 that you seem to use.

http://i.imgur.com/jR68v.jpg
This is the worst of the offending staircases. When staircases reach new levels, they have a flat landing flush with the floor. Since this one has no landing, the meeting of the middle floor and the stairs (or lack thereof) looks very bad. Also, the lack of a landing to break up the stairs makes them look absurdly long. These stairs also look much less steep than they should be, a common occurrence on this map.

The stairs aren't the only issue with your architecture either; you have a lot of pointless little gaps between walls, many of which appear to be accessible when they are not. Here is an example of what I mean, from the beginning area, directly adjacent to Blu spawn:

http://i.imgur.com/PZ1QC.jpg

This is also quite annoying:

http://i.imgur.com/ak8Sb.jpg
The hole in the bridge leaves two very narrow paths to walk on, which are bordered by small gaps just wide enough for players to fall into. It just doesn't make much sense. This brings me to a big issue with your map as a whole: What exactly is it? There aren't many hints as to what exactly is done in this... place. Brick, wood, concrete, and metal are all represented in a seemingly haphazard fashion, and the final point is in some kind of shack. You resort to using big walls to separate areas, which seems like a pretty brute-force solution. The walls don't make much sense, either:

http://i.imgur.com/6jRkw.jpg
What exactly is this wall doing here? It looks like some kind of old stone wall, but there is nothing else on the map that looks even remotely like this. Also, why are there electric spotlights on what looks like a wooden scaffold? Why is there a sloped brick walkway with a metal top surrounded by wooden structures?

It seems that you attempted to make varied buildings, but your seemingly arbitrary choice of materials makes little sense and greatly hurts theme progression. From the start of the map the players progress from an area of wood structures, through the aforementioned mysterious cobblestone wall, into an area with brick and wood buildings, through a giant concrete wall that makes almost as little sense as the cobblestone one, into an area of blended concrete, brick, and wood, past some kind of curved concrete loading dock, and into a grassy area with a wooden shack in the middle. You need to insure that there is a clear transition from one theme to another, which is simply not done here. You try to do everything at once, and the map suffers because of it.

Try to think of a good, consistent theme. Once you have it, you can look back at your detailing and think "Would this make sense in a gold mine/lumber mill/trainyard/Paris/zombie moon base/etc?" Hopefully by the end of this process you will have a more coherent visual style.

Miscellaneous other things:

http://i.imgur.com/Ylpuc.jpg
That model is a brick tunnel entrance. Tunnels are not freestanding, above-ground structures. This tunnel needs a cliffside or something similar to tunnel into.

http://i.imgur.com/8xaoY.jpg
Redundant signage.

http://i.imgur.com/gHZ9E.jpg
Redundant signage redux.

http://i.imgur.com/zR22V.jpg
This hideous monstrosity is absolutely beyond awful. Rail bridges are not made up of supports with various-sized planks sitting on top of them. Whatever gave you the idea to not use premade models or the arch tool for a curve is beyond me. This whole structure is just horrendous looking and must be destroyed.

Performance: 7
Slightly below average framerates; nothing too bad, but nothing exceptional. The stone wall in the first area is made of displacements, so everything on the other side of it is rendered as though it weren't there. This is a pretty big issue considering the wall is the only thing separating two major areas.

Dynamic Element: 1
Your dynamic element is a wall that the cart breaks through. The wall not only contributes virtually nothing to gameplay, it looks terrible. Func_breakable produces a pitifully small number of gibs, so the wall essentially disappears, producing a few ugly-looking bits on the floor. And don't think I'm going to give bonus points for the two roll ramps.

Balance: 4
The height variation and lots of indoor areas work wonders for demomen and soldiers. As far as team balance, there are severe issues. Defense is at a heavy advantage most of the time, especially just past the first area, when the fight is over the big, cobblestone wall. Almost every time it is played, the offense is stalled at or just past the wall. The narrow chokes and huge Red height advantage cause a huge meat grinder for Blu, so the only times the attackers can succeed are when someone gets a lucky uber or manages to push Red back to their campable spawn. Team balance is slightly better beyond the second point, but many of the defensive holds are nearly impossible for the attackers to reach without rocket/sticky jumping. Here is an example:

http://i.imgur.com/MDj7J.jpg

The only way up to the covered wooden bridge is via a long hallway that begins at the final point. In order for the attackers to get up there, they have to either use a class jump or completely flank the entire enemy team. This same issue happens again, in the same area, for the other team.

The upper area on the far right, which overlooks the entire last point area, it accessible only via rocket/sticky jumping, or taking a long route that begins far back, at the end of the three big bridges. This means that Blu can access a high ground that overlooks what is supposed to be Red's best defensive bastion without ever encountering resistance from Red. The only Red players that the attackers can encounter here are soldiers or demos that jumped up, who are going to be injured from the splash damage. This route makes it an enormous challenge for Red to build up a defense, since Blu is able to get a massive height advantage.

Gameplay: 3

Vesper is simply not fun to play. The layout is counter-intuitive and flows horribly. Areas, especially in the beginning, are separated by big, stupid walls that are seemingly arbitrarily placed and artificially create annoying choke points. As I pointed out in the balance section, there are a lot of long, winding routes that go bridge very large distances without connecting to other areas. There are many areas, particularly the bridge overlooking the final area, that you can see as one team, but cannot figure out how to get to. You simply must have a more logical, natural layout if you want it to play well. Currently the mess of hallways and rooms around the main track is confusing and boring to play on.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My reviews focus on gameplay and balance; I am going to avoid screenshotting every nodraw surface that you can see by getting in a weird spot or nitpicking lamps unless I see it as a huge, huge problem. Clipping falls under gameplay as a flow destroyer. Aesthetically I am going to try to focus more on what a player will see, not what someone noclipping around will see, and thus skip posts with 200 images each.

Map | Gameplay | Balance | Dynamo | Aesthetics | Performance
pl_moonlit|5|4|6|4|6
pl_rust|7|5|1|5|4
pl_escarpment|7|6|1|8|6
pl_gloryhole|3|5|1|5|8
pl_quagmire|6|5|2|3|3
pl_clifftop|6|8|6|5|6
pl_volcanic|8|7|8|5|6
pl_stroika|8|7|8|5|7
pl_vesper|6|5|1|6|6
plr_atoll|7|5|3|6|4
plr_frostfell|6|8|8|7|7

9-10 Exceptional
7-8 Good
5-6 Average
3-4 Poor
1-2 Just awful

Gameplay (25% of final score) - Does the map have a good flow, is the layout intuitive? Are spawn timers correctly adjusted to create battles in the right areas? Is the map scaled properly, are the walk times between points of interest too long or short?
Balance (25%) - Do RED and BLU stand an even chance of winning the map? Is there a fair contest for each control point? Can each class hold their own in the map? Is any one overpowered or underpowered? Is there a good distribution of health and ammo kits?
Dynamic Element (20%) - How well designed are the dynamic element(s) in the map? Does it add anything to the level, does it feel like it's a positive design choice?
Aesthetics (15%) - Is the map intricate and beautiful? Is there a high level of polish to the map? Does the map fit the style of TF2? Do the individual detailing choices make the map feel put together, or discordant? Is the environment visually pleasing?
Performance (15%) - How well the map is optimized.

ＱＵＡＧＭＩＲＥ

Quagmire is an interesting map. I feel like it's a strong entry and will probably come out in a leading spot. There is much to work on, though. The general layout of the map seems, more or less, fine--it's close to what I would consider a great layout, a unique layout.

Gameplay tends to be touch and go. Right out of BLU spawn, BLU seems to have a difficult time pushing. This is insane since their spawn is right there, but a couple decent players on RED can manage to hold them for a pretty long time. The hill is tight and the flanks are tight, and unlike Barnblitz which has a similar area and difficult right out of spawn, the flanks all effectively go to the same area.

The middle of the map passes by without issue. It is difficult to hold any particular area. The explosions on the point don't seem to affect either team in any way at all.

The final area of the map is a large, open area. It is dominated by snipers on both sides. The final area itself feels less built up than anything else in the map, effectively being completely empty and anticlimactic. You blow up a dirt mound.

Detailing is generally a mess.

Let's look at some pictures for specific things.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00001.jpg
You can get stuck between the planks and the rock here.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00002.jpg
These staircases are really tall for how long they are. The wood logs seem to be... HL2 props? I have a weird feeling they came from BulletCrops but in either case they aren't for TF2.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00003.jpg
The pipes here don't really go anywhere or do anything. They are thicker than the wall itself. This is repeated multiple times throughout the map.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00004.jpg
These pipes are one of the more interesting detail pieces in the map; however, it's clear from the way they are shadowed that -final lighting wasn't applied.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00005.jpg
A lot is wrong here. Two conduit boxes, something that is repeated at least once or twice more in the map. It's weird and clutters the screen. You're using two starkly different concrete textures here; pick ones that blend together. There is a drain on the floor that is bother twice as big as it should be and also there for apparently no reason, since for one thing the platform isn't sloped and for another there's no need to drain it.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00006.jpg
All your sign props are dynamic props with crazy shadows or something, I don't know. I also don't know why that trainyard prop is on the roof.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00007.jpg
These pipes are just bizarre. That's not something that happens.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00009.jpg
Messy brushwork and texturing shows here. One thing about this spawn exit is that it isn't immediately obvious to BLU players that this is a dead end for them. I saw many people go into this hallway only to be mowed down or emerge a moment later, zig-zagging in that way slightly lost players do. The overlays on the walls are needlessly tilted, like they were put there like that, rather than rotated 1-5 degrees, indicating they are sagging a bit.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00011.jpg
This overlay betrays more evidence of a basic lighting job. Beyond that, this shot illustrates a common theme throughout the map: low ceilings. They are a field day for pyros and explosive classes, and beyond that look dumb and aren't realistic. Buildings are not as large on the inside as the doorframe is tall.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00012.jpg
Every BLU building here is multitextured for reasons I don't understand.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00018.jpg
Speaking of low, flat ceilings, what's with all the flat roofs? There are a bunch, and they look awful. And why is there a giant wall of rocks here? It's not justified with any displacements in the skybox, nor is the idea ever repeated. There's just a bit of mountain at this part of the map?

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00014.jpg
I'm not sure what these struts are doing.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00015.jpg
I see you using this tiny strut model a lot. It's not a large model, it doesn't have a ton of faces, and it doesn't really hurt much. But when you're using it on every 90 degree corner you can, it quickly oversaturates detail and becomes worthless. I see people that map for Unreal or other engines do this a lot. Source is not a model based engine; it's brush based. Models provide sparks of detail. You don't need these. (Or the tires.)

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00008.jpg
So this is kind of a total wreck and utter mess. This is the last point. You blow up a dirt mound in a loosely RED-associated area. Concrete textures don't match up. Most of it is just wood anyway. And in the background? BLU property. You've got random Hydro water machines just sitting outside. The building at front-left is supporting a radar dish with a tiny bit of wood on the bottom. In fact, that entire corridor and holding point should probably be collapsing any moment.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00019.jpg
About that radar dish. It's meant to be far away, so that you can't tell this ladder goes to nothing. How do people use this? When the player can examine things up close and form those thoughts, your map loses on convincing them that this is a real environment.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00017.jpg
This goes nowhere.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00016.jpg
Flat roof that can't support that tank. The camera is partway in a strut.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/quagmire/2012-05-22_00013.jpg
Small dark areas can be neat, but not when they are doubling as a sniper nest.

Beyond that, your map just has an insane amount of prop usage. I touched on that when I talked about that little strut--the problem is you do it constantly, with everything. The bridge in this image is made up of about a dozen props! They aren't meant to be used that way. You've got an entire sequence in the map that repeats a tiny jetty. Your map is littered with pipes on everything, going everywhere. There are mushrooms and bushes scatted anywhere (by the way, players will hide stickies in shrubs and piss each other off).

I know the idea is to make it look like a swamp. I get it. I think the thing that best implies this map is in a swamp is the hill in this picture. Why? Because of the buried fencing. The ground is moving because it is soft and has consumed something man made. Plants are sprouting up. That's it. It's simple. It conveys the message.

If the detailing was like this consistently, I'd love your map's aesthetic. As it stands, it's a visual assault. The eye can find nowhere to rest. You can't leave any wall or floor alone; everything is crammed with overlays and props. By the way--did you know props partially submerged in water are rendered twice? So every rock, mushroom, track piece, useless strut, tire, shrub, sign, jetty, and whatever else you have in water is taxing the player twice as much.

These props also affect performance. I frequently had 40-60 FPS on your map. I'm used to 250-300, and maybe 100-150 on poorly optimized maps. 40-60 is abhorrent. I can tell that some attempts at optimizing were made, because I know that if no attempt was made it'd be worse.

Final score
Gameplay - 6
Balance - 5
Dynamo - 2
Aesthetics - 3
Performance - 3

ＶＯＬＣＡＮＩＣ

A fantastic map that I hope continues to get the attention it deserves both from the developer and players.

I'm not a huge fan of the first part of the cart's path. It's a tight squeeze and easy to spam. The platform that rises as you descend is very cool, but unfortunately about the half the time the platform sticks and the other half it doesn't. I don't actually know what's intended (I assume to stay raised).

The second point sometimes seems incredibly hard to capture--BLU comes around a blind corner with lava behind their most direct path (all others being somewhat hard to attack from). A RED team with multiple pyros can easily abuse this in conjunction with a smart engineer or two.

The rest of the map seems fairly well balanced, and the dynamic elements keep it more interesting and allows for some interesting walkable areas.

In general, I think that the map is well balanced and flows well. The final point is a confusing area for me because all the doors look the same but some lead to places I really don't expect--when I am looking for the fan room I often end up below the point, or something like that.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/volcanic/2012-05-22_00020.jpg
This might be my favorite room in TF2.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/volcanic/2012-05-22_00021.jpg
I tend to think people whine too much about everything, but yes, please tone down the steam effect.

In general the map is criminally under-detailed, but at least it's all textured. However, it's basically always going to be spytech--or at least, industrial --> spytech, which is a shame. Hopefully the theme can be ironed out completely so that at least some sense of progression exists. You might want to remove any trace of wood, too.

I think that's all I have to say on this, really.

Final score
Gameplay - 8
Balance - 7
Dynamo - 8
Aesthetics - 5
Performance - 6

ＭＯＯＮＬＩＴ

For whatever reason, I'm just not a fan of this.

On the face of it, the map is boring. It's awash in purples and browns and grays. Nothing jumps out at you, except pumpkins, which are quickly ignored. The architecture is bland and repetitive. I think you could call it fully detailed, but it's so dead looking I'm not sure I want to.

Moonlit is characterized by tight indoor areas, tight outdoor areas (save the area outside BLU spawn) and bizarre use of flanks: every point has a roundabout way of getting behind the defending team without any real trouble, and the amount of havoc you can wreak is inverse to how much you should be able to wreak. The first point has a pretty minor, easily stoppable flank and the final one has an advantage for BLU that I consider close to game breaking. I've never seen last held. Not once.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/moonlit/2012-05-25_00003.jpg
Let's get back to tight spots. In this image we can see basically every gripe I have with this map. Indoor areas are tiny, cluttered, and if they are tiered, the stairs are almost 45 degrees to account for the 160-192u height differences. I find this a little extreme for something that happens constantly--were it one area, or only a few buildings, then whatever. But I don't think this was a conscious design decision so much as laziness; in even the earliest alphas people were asking for these areas to be made larger. I don't really see much evidence of it happening.

The elevator is kind of a dumb dynamic element and if you can redesign that area to remove it I encourage it. The underworld, though, that's what people care about, right?

The truth is, I hate it. For one thing, you can camp where either team comes in. (Shoot here if you're on BLU!) Gameplay in the underworld is basic and linear, and while that's probably what you want it to be--the last thing you want to do is make this minigame excessively confusing or hard to enjoy--it means that it's also really unrewarding. It's just a clusterfuck until BLU realizes how trivial it is to overpower RED in there to get free time, or...

Or RED just camps the entrance to the portal for however long it takes to disappear. It's actually far more effective to just do that, in which case not only is the underworld really annoying but it actively hurts the BLU team. The thing about payload is that you have a single goal in mind (the cart) and multiple ways to get to it (flanks). When your goal becomes a cart in the underworld, and your way to get there is one portal that spawns you in one easily campable spot--if you even allow BLU team to be near the portal at all--well, it gets frustrating. Then you're out two minutes because all the people on your team are too single minded to coordinate any attacks inside or outside the portal.

The underworld would be a lot more interesting if there was anything else to do there (eg, Eyeaduct's gifts, which I know you can't do). If it was more than a straight line, or... I don't know. I think the real answer is that this just doesn't work, because you can't add a new element to it yourself and as it stands it's pretty boring and exploitable. It's easily the most dynamic thing in the contest. I think it might also be the worst.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/moonlit/2012-05-25_00002.jpg
Pointing BLU towards an objective is great, but RED never actually does anything with this rocket. Chekov's Gun, Izzy: take this out or put the final Hell gate under a rocket.

Final score
Gameplay - 5
Balance - 4
Dynamo - 6
Aesthetics - 4
Performance - 6

ＡＴＯＬＬ

Sword, I want you to know I think you have a beautiful map here and I really love it, despite the flaws. If I was just picking my favorite map, I think you'd have it, but I'm not, and that's a damn shame.

Now, I know you know that you've got some balance issues. Most people tend to agree that the end of the map is just a steamroll. I've been thinking about why since one of your early alphas, and I think it boils down to height.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/atoll/2012-05-25_00009.jpg
Take a look here. For BLU, they've got that little ramp to cross and not much else. If RED sets up on top, it's not hard to flank them at all from the center area. In fact, it's trivial. And it's not a walk time thing either, because RED in this case has no problem getting to the cart. I think the issue is height. RED doesn't have anything to fall back to, to attack from, to defend from. BLU has the cart, and once they are in that area they also have the overhanging ledge and probably the center. You see? Now what, go around them? Not happening.

Other main problem is that the outside area is the most fun, but also completely useless post-turntable. I don't know how to fix this.

As for your dynamic element, it's pretty lacking. I don't know how to fix it, but I don't think you should take it out (like some maps should).

Aesthetically, your map is gorgeous--at least, the detailed parts are. I wish I could 10 you on this one but I just can't do that in good conscience. I've got to dock some serious points for lacking even basic textures, though in a way I'm glad you left it in dev and didn't spoil the map with sub-par detailing, considering how amazing it is. And it's just the little stuff that makes it complete! Other map authors, take note: it's the simple stuff that's best. I can't wait to see what direction you take the finale in.

Unfortunate side effect of your detailing: I'm not sure you optimized at all. You had several ignorant SPUF-goers wondering why a dev texture map was killing their frames. It's like a Catholic questing God. I'm impressed.

Final score
Gameplay - 7
Balance - 5
Dynamo - 3
Aesthetics - 6
Performance - 4

ＣＬＩＦＦＴＯＰ

My scores are basically based on this post. I was trying to save it for the judging phase, but oh well!

I still like the gameplay, but I think it begins to suffer around the last point. BLU has two ways to approach, and they are about 64u apart from each other. In addition, RED has high ground that is really fucking tedious to get to. I'm not sure how to solve this, but it's frustrating. Otherwise, I think you've done a great job with flow (if you can avoid bumping into a support, that is.)

Your dynamic element is kind of dull. It's just elevators. That said, I think your map uses elevators the best out of any other. They are always used in areas where RED has a somewhat extreme height advantage compared to BLU; never are they superfluous. Beyond that, you manage to leave BLU with more than adequate ways to reach the area after those points after capping. Well done. But it's still elevators.

Aesthetically, I would focus on lighting and the fog, as I mentioned in that earlier post. What detail is there is excellent. This lift, the wheels on these doors, this jag. What's not good is this mess of crates. But that's a pretty minor complaint considering.

Final score:
Gameplay - 6
Balance - 8
Dynamo - 6
Aesthetics - 5
Performance - 6

ＧＬＯＲＹＨＯＬＥ

Man, this is kind of a mess of a map. The first two points are trivial to hold for a good team, and in fact I've been held in BLU spawn on more than one occasion by an exceptional RED team. This is incredible! Once or twice would be fine, I mean, it happens. But it's happened at least 4 times that I can remember and I've got an inkling that it's happened more than that. And... flow is terrible past the first point. Routes don't lead where you expect. Height differences quickly become incredibly exaggerated. Dead ends abound. Large, useless areas emerge.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00004.jpg
Let's start near the beginning. This pool is terrible. I don't care if you make ramps out of here or what--it looks like I can jump out of it so let me jump out of it. This pool kills so many BLU players it is unbelievable.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00005.jpg
So does this rock. I don't know why you put it here, but it basically gives a good red player a place to camp a blind door.

The combination of these two things means you've lost one flank and don't really have much of a main route (since fire will be directed at the cart). It's a pure grind until you pass the bridge. And the bridge is annoying. I'm not sure why you thought it was a good idea to need someone in the capture area and on the cart, but it's a terrible idea. Not only is it confusing, but it's just bad? I've actually yelled at people to stand on the cart over mic and gotten no cooperation and no teamwork in response. It's frustrating, alienating and frankly bad. I strongly suggest removing it.

The last flank you have is the far left, which is so long and roundabout that it isn't worth using--provided you can get out the door.

Provided BLU caps the first point, we move to the second, which is a labyrinth.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00012.jpg
You've got so many winding, twisting stairs and ramps that go up only to curve back down to the left and up to the right that I don't know where I am anymore. Combined with the featureless expanse of wood, I'm lost. And so is everyone else. I'm lucky if I can get to a point without dying because other lost player kills me in an unrelated area of the map.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00008.jpg
This area is a terrible contributor to that. It's just a dead end pit!

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00009.jpg
You've got to take this ramp and then zig-zag back across to be even close to where you should be. It's a waste of time and unintuitive.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00006.jpg
Here's another dead end. This entire lower water area is just a huge waste of space. No useful flank, no viable holds. It serves only to exist as a purgatory for any dumbass brash enough to get down there. It is my second least favorite spot on the map. This is an elementary mistake, grazr, and I don't know why you're making it.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00007.jpg
This is my least favorite spot on the map. Another dead end before the cart arrives; you can't even jump out the window. Get chased in here? You're dead. Did I mention that RED has a one-way height advantage in this area? Christ, I don't know how you created this entire area. This dead end, the pit below it, the water area behind it.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00010.jpg
I hate this spawn because it's a long, twisting route to the goal no matter what I do. Take the path across the water? Go up like eight flights of stairs. Keep to the ramp? Get spun around the entire area one and a half times. This is obnoxious.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/gloryhole/2012-05-26_00011.jpg
A note on detailing. You use this sheet metal on the fence so much I imagine you must have it instanced. Please change it up--it'll help people tell where they are going. Same with all the winding stairs and rooms that go up or down 64u or 128u all the time. Flatten things out a bit; you're taking it too far. Let your map have some predictability.

Points 3 and 4 are completely unchallenging. If you got that far, you're done!

Both elevators, the turntable, and the bridge all bring nothing to gameplay, and in 3 out of 4 cases actively hamper it.

I would say this map has potential. It suffers from a long development cycle and lack of testing. But as it stands, it's miserable for everyone in every regard other than performance--the only thing done right on this map.

Final score:
Gameplay - 3
Balance - 5
Dynamo - 1
Aesthetics - 4
Performance - 8

ＲＵＳＴ

A somewhat interesting map in need of work. The middle of the map is easy to hold, while first and last aren't.

I think that the gameplay works pretty well on this map... when it isn't being abused by clever demomen around the middle. I'm not sure what it is, but BLU can have seriously hard times for what seems like no reason. Perhaps it's the spammable height advantage BLU is given, or the wayward flanks. I don't really know. But it's trivial to control CP2 and CP3, which ain't great.

I suggest removing any trace of anything dynamic. It'll clean the entire experience up.

I don't have much to touch on that other people haven't been screaming about since the release of this version: clipping, random bug fixes, etc. You don't need me to go through it because I know that the other judges will, and I know that many players have too. Optimization is also a wreck. You're a self-confessed amateur with this, which is fine and I understand. But there's a lot of basic issues, like areaportals merging and things being drawn across the map. Many people are good with this (Mangy, Doom, and even I am a lot better than I once was). Tap into their knowledge.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/rust/2012-05-26_00023.jpg
http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/rust/2012-05-26_00024.jpg
One thing. These struts are stupid. I don't know if these exist in real life, but they don't look like they are doing anything. I'm not a structural engineer, but I'm not an idiot, and those just don't look safe. Please change them.

Final score:
Gameplay - 7
Balance - 5
Dynamo - 1
Aesthetics - 5
Performance - 4

ＥＳＣＡＲＰＭＥＮＴ

Interesting map plagued by rushed testing, bad clipping and a terrible dynamic element. First order of business: remove the log, compile as RC2, then check other feedback and work on _final. Yeah, seriously.

I know tons of people have remarked on the clipping in your map, especially around rocks and trees. I'm going to point out some bad ones I hit almost every damn time I play the map, to the point of actively avoiding them and moving differently in these areas.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00001.jpg
This broken bridge, christ.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00002.jpg
This is really frustrating both for movement and splash.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00003.jpg
This whole room.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00004.jpg
Seems unintended.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00005.jpg
These beams get me killed every round.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00007.jpg
Clip it off or something.

I'm not going to nitpick every snag. Someone else will and probably has. Other than this stuff, I think your map flows pretty well. The map has interesting holds and plays out pretty nicely.

The cave area always seems pretty useless. I think it's a bit too out of the way. I don't recommend taking it out, but I feel like it should be made slightly more useful.

Last is basically a huge anticlimax. It's a neat ending effect when the bomb teleports to the laser, but just not as satisfying as dropping it into a hole, as dumb as said holes are.

I really like most your detail. You do good work taking certain swamp assets out of the swamp. I don't think you've overdetailed anything, actually, which is remarkable because I tend to think fully detailed maps have overdetailed something. Maybe my standards are changing. As one of three fully detailed entries (to my consideration, anyway), good work.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00006.jpg
I really like this vista. It's just really cool.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00008.jpg
This seems like it's trying to do the same thing as the last vista, but doesn't really make much sense. I can't see a road being here. A train, sure, but the road doesn't make sense with the level geometry, even just for loading or unloading.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00009.jpg
The gun is cool, but it's not spytech enough.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/escarpment/2012-05-29_00010.jpg
See how blazing red those consoles right next to it are? I think you should redo it and angle for something like that. Reference the laser from gpit.

It's a little disappointing how you go from wood to wood to wood. Try wood to metal to concrete.

Finally, though I don't have FPS issues, my FPS is about half my average around most the map. I think you could do a lot better.

Final score:
Gameplay - 7
Balance - 6
Dynamo - 1
Aesthetics - 8
Performance - 6

ＶＥＳＰＥＲ

I'd like to know if this map was tested at all pre-beta, or entered existence as a fully detailed entity, because as it stands there seem to be a few basic things wrong in this map that probably would have been ironed out in the course of a couple of alphas were it tested with us kids at TF2M. Regardless, the map is more or less solid--if a little frustrating from a design standpoint. As long as feedback from this contest is used as a means rather than an end, I think Vesper really could turn into something fairly awesome.

Let's start with the dynamic element--take it out for B5, or change the way it functions significantly, or only use it on the first point, or something. It doesn't take long enough for it to actually affect gameplay in any way whatsoever, except for blocking a route for BLU in before capture.

If I were you, I'd retool it entirely. Make the door near A similar to the door to C on cp_steel: slow, with an alternate route. Lose the func_breakables entirely and disable the cart until the door is open. My theory is that this would let BLU either wait by the cart or take one of the long ways around into the next courtyard, where they could begin a battle that would hopefully not make capping B too miserable (I'll get to that).

As for the doors near B? Just make them open when B is capped, maybe a little slowly (something like a speed of 30?). Blocking players with some flimsy wood barrier that breaks into nothing is just dumb, I think.

Onto gameplay: it's a little odd. First point plays out more or less fine despite being pretty unsual. One problem I have with it is that the area is such a huge, long box. I've found some interesting and cheap sniping spots around the huts closer to BLU spawn. Second point is kind of a clusterfuck into that hairpin turn building; if you take my advice about the doors, it might work as-is, and if not you might want to remove the first rollback or something but then the second rollback isn't believable. The third point is a guaranteed capture--it takes too long for RED to show up--and the final one has a decent battle around the corner about 25% of the time but the majority of my games on this really just end with BLU steadily rolling the cart home after B.

My belief is that the map isn't fragmented enough. There are about 5-6 major arenas, and there need to be more (around A, around B, around C, the final corner, last, and gratuity arena for good measure). This is something I was talking about when I said that we'd have told you this after a couple alphas.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00016.jpg
http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00017.jpg
http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00018.jpg
http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00021.jpg
Vesper is dominated by long hallways and tall stairs that circumvent arenas with fragmenting into smaller ones. Imagine the areas between B and D on Badwater and compare with these screenshots. Badwater is a series of rooms versus (what boils down to) corridors.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00013.jpg
http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00014.jpg
http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00019.jpg
http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00022.jpg
These long pathways exist outside, too, creating secondary ledges and paths in otherwise large and open areas. In the case of 00019.jpg, you've got a long, winding path that is hard to get to for almost no reason and little to no benefit. I'm not even 100% sure I can say where I should start if I want to get there.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/vesper/2012-05-26_00020.jpg
This health ought to be a medium or people won't go for it. If you're on fire, the pyro that lit you will poof you. If not, you can run to the medium inside that building next to the ammo.

Aesthetically I think the map is well put together... but it looks really scattershot. I understand that this is because it was designed to look like something that was built organically, as time went on and as production increased at this facility, or whatever. I think that is a pretty noble goal. But I don't think you can eschew certain ideas of progression for that. The wood --> stone wall --> brick is fine, but when you go from concrete ground back to a semi-wooded area with a dirt floor for last, it's a little strange. This mixing of elements also nets a somewhat messy map... I don't think the average player will care, but I do.

Performance wise I can tell you took some preliminary steps, but there's a lot of room for advanced hinting. I've dropped as low as 90 FPS (from an average of 150 on your map, 250-300 on Badwater). I know you can do better.

Final score:
Gameplay - 6
Balance - 5
Dynamo - 1
Aesthetics - 6
Performance - 6

ＦＲＯＳＴＦＥＬＬ

I'm seeing a lot of people call this the best PLR map... it's good, but not the best. It is, however, very well balanced. It can be a pain for a team to make a comeback before they've opened a door while the other team is at the finale, but other than that most of the matches I played on this were exceptionally even.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/frostfell/2012-06-05_00010.jpg
This is a great area, but I find that pushing the cart straight into the enemy at the start results in spammy gameplay. This is a great area after that. Both teams battling to push a cart up the rollbacks is very fun; in a playtest someone mentioned that the rollbacks in this map were the best in any, ever, and I'm not sure I agree but this area is one of the best rollback areas in any map, ever.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/frostfell/2012-06-05_00015.jpg
This rollback area isn't, though. It's extremely punishing. Part of me wants to say that in PLR, since there is no automatic rollback, if you successfully defend the cart at last the enemy team should have to make another giant push (like regular payload) rather than just get a spy to nudge it. At the same time, it's extremely frustrating. I think it's probably better to keep this and hope players think the former. At any rate, it's a very interesting gameplay decision.

Aesthetically the map is great if under detailed.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/frostfell/2012-06-05_00011.jpg
Something needs to be done about BLU spawn. I know you just mirrored RED spawn, but you've got to figure out a way to make this BLU colored and themed while retaining the same spawn layout.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/frostfell/2012-06-05_00013.jpg
This sign should just be removed, or else make a version that matches the normal map on the door.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/frostfell/2012-06-05_00014.jpg
This should be being held up by something stronger, I think?

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/frostfell/2012-06-05_00012.jpg
This is a great attention to detail. I love it.

Performance wise I have never noticed significant dips, so well done.

Final score:
Gameplay - 6
Balance - 8
Dynami - 8
Aesthetics - 7
Performance - 7

ＳＴＲＯＩＫＡ

Friggin Doom maps, man.

Just kidding, Stroika is great. Really great, actually. I took a long time to judge this one because I kept playing it and different shit happened and no pattern really emerged. For a while I made sure I was scrambling teams during tests and one time I made everyone play it for like an hour. You know, I think Stroika is actually very good. I've never played two rounds that were exactly the same, even taking into account the fact that a lot of people on the server lately have been new to the map. I think that's a great sign.

What don't I like? Just outside of BLU's initial spawn, I don't like that building with two Well doors. I don't like the area around the last point behind this cap; I feel it's beyond acceptable complexity. I don't like whatever the hell this is, not just aesthetically, but during gameplay as well. It's confusing to look at one face of it.

I enjoy just about everything else. The first point is incredibly interesting and provides something I am a huge fan of--fighting around the point, for the point, without being on the point. This works exceptionally well in payload--probably better than in CP maps. The track piece CTF gimmick is wonderfully done, and I've never seen anyone confused by it--though sometimes it is over so fast I'm not sure everyone saw what happened. The spinning piston room is pretty great; I love how BLU is made to change height drastically right before the next point (and so is RED).

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/stroika/2012-06-05_00008.jpg
This point seems the easiest to defend. Long sniper lines and narrow paths forward mean that even after BLU caps, they are often held at least a minute longer.

The final point I thought was undefendable, but then I watched it go successfully defended several times, and well, that's that I guess. Other than what I mentioned about complexity, I think that's great. Getting outside the map and falling into one of these is stupid though, fix that finale.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/stroika/2012-06-05_00003.jpg
I never saw anyone use this.

Moving spawn is brilliant, duh, moving on.

Aesthetically--both good and terrible. When you pay attention to detail it's great--there are many fantastic vistas out of bounds and several great examples of care taken in the play area.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/stroika/2012-06-05_00009.jpg
I especially like your stair style, and added points for using a HL2 texture literally all over every inch of your map and never getting called out on it. That's how you know you're doing it right.

In general, the messy/gritty construction yard theme is pulled off very well. However, I think it's partly because you seem to be a somewhat messy mapper. This works against you in some cases (the 3D skybox being a major one). However, you definitely manage to wrangle what you plop down into a fairly well optimized and playable map, which is impressive.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/stroika/2012-06-05_00002.jpg
This is stupid.

http://calcified.net/tf2/judge/stroika/2012-06-05_00001.jpg
The first time I played I thought the crane was supposed to be a landmark, but that isn't the case. I'd strongly suggest cutting out unnecessary ones; it's such a huge, eye catching model that I don't doubt other players will do the same.

Final score:
Gameplay - 8
Balance - 7
Dynamo - 8
Aesthetics - 5
Performance - 7

And I'm done.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_moonlit|7|7|8|8|9|7.8|Done
pl_rust|6|5|5|7|8|6.2|Done
pl_escarpment|7|6|5|9|9|7.2|Done
pl_gloryhole|6|6|6|5|8|6.2|Done
pl_quagmire|6|5|5|7|5|5.6|Done
pl_clifftop|6|6|3|6|8|5.8|Done
pl_volcanic|8|8|10|4|7|7.4|Done
pl_stroika|6|5|2|4|7|4.8|Done
pl_vesper|5|5|1|7|8|5.2|Done
plr_atoll|6|6|7|4|8|6.2|Done
plr_frostfell|6|7|5|7|10|7|Done

pl_clifftop_b1​

Gameplay 6/10

Not the worst, but neither the best gameplay experience you could have on a map. First of all, and most importantly, clip everything, beams, stairs. Getting stuck even for a second can lead to negative experience especially for support classes. Currently almost everything that is sticking outside gets you stuck.

Otherwise the gameplay was decent, with some interesting choke points to fight. However, some of those chokes were quite hard to push through for blue team, mainly indoor areas, also elevators, leading to either red teams victory or last second push win, which also isn't bad.

Although, there is a lack of height advantage for high attitude classes, which should be utilized better considering the map background.

To conclude, the gameplay isn't neither good, nor bad, i could say it is decent, however it could be improved by first of all clipping, and then introducing some extra height.

Balance 6/10

With 50%/50% win ratio map is pretty balanced for both teams, although some exceptions can occur depending on team strength. In that case it is either a roll for blue team, or red team defending the map on Cap 1/2.

Class wise the map lacks height advantage, therefore soldiers, demos, scouts can have some disadvantages. Whereas pyros, heavies and spies have advantage due to some choke points and cramped halls.

Dynamic element 3/10

A rather weak dynamic element, which in the same time is boring and don't really add anything to the gameplay. Ramps could be used a substitute for both of those elevators, while still providing small time advantage for red team.

Even though they add a small touch to the map, they are rather simple and in my opinion don't really fulfill the main idea of Dynamic element.

Aesthetics 6/10

Aesthetics wise the map is quite pleasant, although being quite under detailed with some unnecessary prop spam and strong fog settings.

Outside area of blue spawn is a nice touch for the map, having some similarities with national parks or quite distant forests. Although then, it feels like more time was spent of out of bonds detailing rather than on the main space. Quite bland detailing for a map in beta stage, i would expect more from a map that has a unique theme.

Also, fog settings are quite strong for a forest area, especially noticeable in blue spawn, strong greenish fog settings really taking away some points. Near final cap point fog is barely seen, leading to a quick change of gameplay environment.

Another thing that you notice straight away is the prop spam in some areas where it wasn't needed. Even thought it adds some details, but in this case it's better less than more.

Some things, that i have noticed:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10001.jpg
Really pleasant area, giving a nice warm feel.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10007.jpg
Another detailed out of bonds area (Note: Something is making the players get stuck in this spot)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10002.jpg
Strong fog settings in blue spawn.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10004.jpg
Z clipping in blue spawn.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10008.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10013.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10020.jpg
Bland areas, with noclip textures on some buildings.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10011.jpg
Really overused ceiling texture, seen in most indoor areas.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10012.jpg
I feel that this platform isn't adding much to the gameplay, just an extra detail.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10014.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10019.jpg
Not needed prop spam.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10017.jpg
Metal ibeam texture doesn't really blend up that well with concrete.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10016.jpg
Quite steep stairs.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10015.jpg
Floating beams.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10006.jpg
When riding the cart, you get stuck under this platform.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10018.jpg
Another nice touch to the out of bonds area.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10005.jpg
You can see the last cap from blue spawn area, quite nice, although could have some effect of performance.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/clifftop/pl_clifftop_b10021.jpg
I shouldn't be able to jump to out of bonds area.

Performance 8/10

FPS wise I didn't experience any issues, however there could be some issues latter on, especially in the blue spawn area where you can see the final cap point.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_clifftop|6|6|3|6|8| 5.8 |Done

pl_moonlit_b6​

Gameplay 7/10

Gameplay wise the map is balanced for both teams and all classes. Providing both, height advantage for airborne classes and cramped space for close combat classes, the map doesn't exclude any class. However, the map has quite a lot of flanking routs which often provide quite an advantage for blue team.

Talking about cramped space, there are some chokes in the map, both providing advantage for red team, and rarely blue team. One of the most noticeable chokes is the 2nd capture point, most of the times when red manages to win, it happens in this place, as long as there is a well set up defense. However, this choke can be easily avoided using flaking routes.

Another thing, which is not bad, is the cramped gameplay space in some buildings, thought providing an interesting gameplay for close-combat classes, this can be annoying for those with high splash damage, and often is avoided.
Spies and Pyros, are the ones that dominate such areas, although the map is well made, allowing classes to flank around the enemy player.

Balance 7/10

As i said before, the map is balanced for all classes, providing both height and choke points. Team wise the map plays really good, averaging a 60%/40% win/lose ration for blue team, which in my opinion is the best ratio, considering how it is in other official TF2 maps.

One of the major balance problems is in the choke points, providing really cramped gameplay space(refer to images bellow), often only one class is in a advantage and can cause a major pain. However, due to the good connectivity in the map, these areas can be easily avoided, in the same time focusing on the main gameplay element.

Another thing i'd like to mention is the underground, being a linear push for blue team, it often tend to be rather boring and in the same time exploitable. Red team can easily set up a defense protecting both the cart, and not allowing to blue exit out from the only entrance. Adding some focal points, like the skull in eyeaduct, might break out the linear gameplay, turning the interesting dynamic element into a unique fighting space.

Dynamic element 8/10

Dynamic element in this map, is really unique and fits the map theme, offering players a rather interesting change from maps dim lighting, to a more contrast, however more dangerous setting. The underground is a interesting fight space where players have to take note of the world damage and also focus one the main object.

However, in my opinion, the underground offers more advantage to red team than it does to blue team, as in, blue team is supposed to push the cart without getting any noticeable reward. In this case, pushing the cart throughout the underground should move the cart few units forward in the world, so that blue would be rewarded. In case of not being able to push the cart throughout the underground, it should be teleported back to the original location, as it is now.

Aesthetics 8/10

Aesthetics in this map is one of the things that is often underrated by the public. First of all this map is the one which by so far can be called almost ready to be shipped product. There is nothing major that should be added, nor anything that should be fixed.

However, one of the main issues of the map, is the rather boring environmental lighting, the map feels really grey, without any other contrast that could catch the players eye. Some things that stand out are the pumpkins, although they should be the main focus points of the map. Improving the environmental settings, will make the map more pleasant for players eye.

Detail wise, the map has it's own touches, which often will be missed in gameplay situation, however, still it makes the map stand out in the crowd.
Shooting range in blue spawn is one of the examples of touches, expected to be a non-accessible area, the map does the opposite allowing the player to explore.

Some things, that I have noticed:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60000.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60001.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60002.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60018.jpg
Such small details make the map stand in the crowd.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60003.jpg
Light shows up here, without any source of it.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60004.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60009.jpg
The rocket seems to be the main objective of the map, blue has to reach, however it isn't so.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60005.jpg
Shadow cast under stairs.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60006.jpg
Such trim doesn't really look good.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60007.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60013.jpg
Lighting up the main signs, is nice.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60008.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60014.jpg
Floating.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60012.jpg
I'd expect this model to be used for grain, not something else.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60016.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60019.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/moonlit/pl_moonlit_b60020.jpg
Cramped game space.

Performance 9/10

As with most contest maps, I had no performance issues with this one. However there were some minor things, that don't really affect the performance that much, however are noticeable to the players eye. Some props have low fade distance, most often train in out of bond area. Otherwise the map is one of the best performance wise in this contest.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_moonlit|7|7|8|8|9| 7.8 |Done

pl_escarpment_rc1​

Gameplay 7/10

Overall the gameplay in this map is rather decent, although it has quite a lot of issues, which will also have a impact on Balance. It is a mixture of both open and enclosed areas, mostly the height advantage is found in the enclosed areas, while outside part of the map is rather flat, however, with interesting fighting space.

One of the things i didn't like in the map was the 2nd capture point, more specifically how close Red teams spawn is. In this case, i can mention the Difficulty Curve where your map is quite off the graph, since 2nd capture point is harder than the last.

Another thing i would like to mention is the bridge and the 3rd capture point. Even though the area is good looking, gameplay wise it's rather dull. Due to the fact that the Blue team has to push the cart over a straight bridge, risking to be often snipped, the bridge isn't the best gameplay element, nor the area around it. From all rounds played, i have rarely seen anyone use the ravine, since players have a huge height disadvantage, rather most of them use the cave leading around the bridge. Although it's not bad and not forced, there should be something that could make players use the other route opportunities.

*And lastly gameplay wise there is one major issue in this map, it is the fact that engineers aren't able to build teleport exits anywhere neither the sawmill building, neither in the Final building. This really slows down the Attacking team often being one of the reasons for the Difficulty curve to be off.*

** This reason doesn't have an effect on gameplay score, due to the fact that it is a unknown game issue, not intended by the mapper**

Balance 6/10

Balance wise the map is rather unbalanced for both teams, due to the fact of the Difficulty curve once again. With blue Scoring 70% wins and Red scoring 30%, the map has some issues.

First of all, as i mentioned before, the main problem is the difficulty curve of the map, that most times red is able to win only by holding the 2nd capture point. As is seems to be the hardest to capture. Last capture point in this case is rather easy, and red team is rarely able to hold it off.

Class wise, the map is quite balanced, however there are some classes that could benefit more from the map. Often a good combo of Heavy+Medic is able to hold of one position for quite time, or roll the cart forward, which is not bad. However, spy in this case is in quite disadvantage due to the fact that many people don't play as engy on this map, because of the game issue of not letting build teleports, and another reason is that there is a lack of sneaky places.

Dynamic element 5/10

To be honest, despite the really astonishing environment, I and probably most of the players expected a more unique dynamic element, which would be more interesting that a simple log.

No matter how good the log fits in the maps setting, dropped in the sawmill, it still is quite boring and uninteresting. However, gameplay wise it's quite useful, allowing for Red team to set up their defense while it takes around 30-40 seconds for the log to clear the tracks.

Aesthetics 9/10

Aesthetics wise the map is one of the best looking in this contest. Rather simple, though interesting alpine detailing featuring a sawmill which in my opinion is the main point of interest in the map, due to the dynamic element.

Starting in a rather quiet, rural setting, which is quite unusual for Blue team, players progress deeper into the Sawmill, and after crossing or i might say, pushing past the bridge, they enter the somewhat industrial building, which this is the end of the map, featuring a huge laser. Which however, doesn't really fit in the map, and also doesn't make sense due to how it explodes.

Otherwise, everything else is really good looking except for a few bland looking areas, rather uninteresting space, and quite a lot of waterfalls.'

In my opinion, Blue team would rather benefit from a setting more industrial, however it really depends on each mappers taste.

Some things, that I have noticed:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10001.jpg
Tiny hole in blue spawn, with some z-clipping.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10002.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10003.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10008.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10012.jpg
I probably shouldn't be able to stand here.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10004.jpg
I can stand here.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10005.jpg
But can't here

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10006.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10007.jpg
Pickups are quite high.(pun)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10009.jpg
I can see water going through the rocks.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10011.jpg
Red spawn too close to 2nd capture point.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10018.jpg
This area should have beams clipped.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10019.jpg
All arrow guidance signs should be nonsolid.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10020.jpg
Small nodraw part seen on the building.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10022.jpg
Can travel with the log.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10023.jpg
Gotta catch em all.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10024.jpg
Creative way of stairs and slope.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/escarpment/pl_escarpment_rc10027.jpg
It doesn't make sense that it explodes.

Performance 9/10

I have seen some people complain about the performance on this map, however, I haven't experienced any major issues. There are some minor things though, some nodrawn walls visible, that though, don't really have huge impact on the player.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_escarpment|7|6|5|9|9| 7.2 |Done

pl_rust_b2​

Gameplay 6/10

This map has the same problem as clifftop. You have to clip everything in this map, so players wouldn't get stuck. Getting stuck especially in important gameplay situations is really annoying.

The biggest impact on gameplay left the fact that there were no good sentry spots for red team, as that actually is the main reason why red team struggles to defend the map. However, the map has a lot of sight lines, which really doesn't add any advantage for any of teams, but makes the gameplay worse, due to the fact that there isn't any good way of avoiding them.

One good thing in this map, is that there is enough height advantage, but in the same time, the map somehow lacks choke points. Also, due to the quite simple, which isn't really bad, layout, the map has quite uninteresting flanking routes, often not giving any advantage.

Overall, the lack of proper clipping, lack of choke points, and sentry spots, really lowers the score, but the map is quite enjoyable, and if the mapper fixes most of the issues, it can be really good.

Balance 5/10

It is really hard to defend the map as red team, and due to that, blue team has quite of advantage gameplay wise. Blue managing to win the map over 70% of rounds, while red only about 30%, shows a couple of issues in balance. Most specifically the lack of good sentry spots for red team, which is the main cause of the low win percent. And also quite open, and straight forward last area, which is somehow easier to win, than rest of the map.

All other classes, however aren't in such disadvantage as engies, however, snipers might even have some advantage due to the sight lines in most of the map. Also, a Medic + Heavy combo can easily lock out most of the red team, either by holding the spawn door areas, or by sitting on the cart.

Dynamic element 5/10

Not the most interesting dynamic element in this contest, although being better than some other dynamic elements. A combination of a really unnecessary elevator, which as in other maps, doesn't add anything to the gameplay, and quite a lot of rollback zones, which in this case, especially in the last area, don't give any advantage for red team, as the opponent team pushes the cart quite easily.

Talking more about the elevator, in this case not only it doesn't add anything to the gameplay, it also doesn't make sense why it is there. Why would there be a elevator in middle of the track, without any presence of debris or anything else saying why that part of the map is lacking.

Aesthetics 7/10

Aesthetics wise the mapper did quite a nice job giving the map a nice wintertime feeling, somewhat similar to barnblitz, but in a smaller scale. In a smaller scale, because of the simpleness of the detailing, there isn't that much heavy detailing, which in this case is also good, however there could be something that might attract the players eye. Right now, there isn't a such landmark where player could stop for a second and say "woah, this sure is looking cool", but this is also understandable due to the lack of time.

As i understood, the map is set in a mine, or in a area which is in between a mine and civilization. This is what the map lacks landmark wise, there could be some signs of where the trains are going, or where are they coming from. The only thing which somehow says something about the trains, is the last capture point area, where the last building has grain chutes.

As snow theme is my personal favorite theme, i would suggest the mapper to check the Kennecott mine in Alaska, which i'm sure he actually did, since the map has some similarities, although it's not abandoned.

Some things, that I have noticed:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20000.jpg
I can get stuck here in blue spawn.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20001.jpg
Either this is a model fence, or a really thin brush made fence.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20002.jpg
This looks really strange.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20003.jpg
Light bulb model issues.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20004.jpg
Shadow cast on the wall from fence.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20005.jpg
Clipping, clipping, this is a such nice area to camp as soldier and demo, because of the Lack of clipping.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20006.jpg
Such support beams going through stairs is looking bad.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20007.jpg
Last capture point is really open, with a lot of sightlines, but lack of good sentry spots.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20008.jpg
No-Entry sign.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20010.jpg
I can stand here.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20012.jpg
This could be a such nice sentry spot, but i rarely have seen any out there.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20013.jpg
Metal sheet not close enough to wall.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20014.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20015.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20016.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20017.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20018.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20022.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20027.jpg
All these walls should be nodrawn, as they are not seen for player.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/rust/pl_rust_b20020.jpg
Area portal issues.

Performance 8/10

FPS wise the map didn't have any major issues, however there are some walls that should be nodrawn, which i mentioned before, since players don't see them. Also a couple of fade distance issues, but else nothing major, that could leave a impact of player performance.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_rust|6|5|5|7|8| 6.2 |Done

pl_vesper_b4​

Gameplay 5/10

I can't really say anything bad about the gameplay in this map, but neither can i say anything good. Most of the time I have played on this map, the gameplay was average. Moving from interesting fighting space for both teams, to a awful choke blue team rarely get's past.

The main problem in this map is that it really favors the Red team, this is noticeable especially in the later part of the map, where most of the times the game ends, without even letting blue get to the last point. Red can easily set up a defense of sentries in a place which is hard to access for blue team, due to the height advantage red team has, and due to the surroundings, which just block out the spot.

Although, there is one way to move past, but it's barely used by anyone. Flanking around the sentries, and then destroying them from behind. Ability to flank, is the good part of the map, although rarely used, but it can give some advantage for blue team, if used correctly.

The thing is that, the map is nicely built, with enough indoor chokes, and open areas, but there is something that doesn't make it fulfill it's potential, and it is something that the mapper should look into. First of all, by fixing the height advantage for Red team, then by improving the surroundings.

Balance 5/10

Because of the fact that the Blue team rarely even get's past 2nd capture point, the map loses quite a lot of points here. It's also known that Red team scores 65% wins against 35% for Blue team, which is the main reason for the low score.

The issues to this, is the before mentioned height advantage for Red team, which blue team cant get past. Open areas give some advantage for snipers, also making it harder for Blue team get to the bomb.

Class wise, the map really is in favor for Engineers, Soldiers and Demoman, especially when playing on Red team, since the combo of these 3 plus a Heavy-Medic combo can hold off blue team, away from not only capturing the 2nd or even the 1st capture point, but also from exiting the spawn. Since it is easy to camp blue spawn, due to the fact that demos can shoot stickies inside, detonating whenever someone spawns.

Dynamic element 1/10

The dynamic element, or I could say, the lack of one, doesn't really add anything to the gameplay, except for confusing among players. A func_breakable wall, which breaks on touch with the cart isn't even considering being dynamic, in this case it's more like a unneeded map element.

Even though it seems to be a last minute addition, or just a unwanted addition by the mapper, it still would be better to have none element, rather than one which is more for CS, rather than TF2.

Aesthetics 7/10

Aesthetics in this map is quite pleasant, however it got quite a lot of issues, which didn't let the map score a much higher result in this category. First thing is the random use of textures in most of the map, right now it feels like add a texture there, add a texture here, which really looks bad.

Most of the buildings are rather boring, especially the blue spawn which is quite big. Not talking about the ability to spawn camp, texture wise it uses the same texture all over it. Ceiling shouldn't have the same texture as the wall, as it doesn't really look that good.

Next thing which really destroys the first impression of the map, is the random stone wall in middle of the map. I don't know why, and what was the reason for you to add it. It really looks off, and could be easily replaced with other wall, which would fit in better than the current one. Right now, it just feels like another part of another world was cut and pasted in into this map.

Some things, that I have noticed:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40000.jpg
Overused texture on ceiling and walls.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40001.jpg
Lighting bug.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40002.jpg
Long stairs, which could be made more creative.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40003.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40011.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40016.jpg
Of course it's nice to warn player to watch their step, but it's really overused all over the map.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40004.jpg
Strange green light tint on floor.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40005.jpg
The "creative" wall.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40006.jpg
This sign makes no sense detailing wise, since there's no paint cans, nothing, why there would be a wet paint sign.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40007.jpg
Really boring out of bonds area.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40008.jpg
Random texture use, as i mentioned before.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40009.jpg
It feels like i can go here, but i cant..

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40010.jpg
A demo can easy shoot stickies though here, killing anyone who spawns.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40012.jpg
I don't get it, why would there be spotlights here, lighting up the wall.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40014.jpg
This sign points to the wall, so i would expect a door to be there, but there wasn't.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40015.jpg
You can get stuck here, while riding the cart.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40017.jpg
Dynamic element.. Which of course isn't dynamic at all.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40019.jpg
This is a powerful sentry spot, which often stops the blue team.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40020.jpg
Long, bad looking stairs, which even don't have a platform for this floor.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40023.jpg
Such bridge looks really boring and bad, and also could be optimized better.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/vesper/pl_vesper_b40024.jpg
The only deathpit in the map, which feels useless, with a really bad bridge.

Performance 8/10

Performance wise the map didn't have any fps issues, but there were some things that could be fixed. Some fade distance issues, minor clipping issues, nothing that can affect the performance of the player though. Although, it still could be better, as in the map has a lot to fix to make it better.

Also, some people reported some fps issues, but it depends on each player. However, as i said before, i didn't have any issues.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_vesper|5|5|1|7|8| 5.2 |x

plr_frostfell_b1b​

Gameplay 6/10

Well, I must say that the gameplay in this map is rather good, but not great, because it has a couple of issues. The main issue of the map is the fact that one one team pushes their cart to the enemy base, it's hard for the opposite team to win.

This is because, that team which manages to push their cart first, can focus all players on attack. While in the same time, the other team has to decide, whether to defend, attack and risk to lose, or split up. To have either a weak defense or weak attack.

Other wise, the map is quite fun, with both open areas which give advantage for airborne classes, and chokes for close combat classes. There are some nasty sightlines though, especially near spawn. A sniper can easily stand in spawn, while having a nice view of surrounding area.

Balance 7/10

In my opinion the map was quite Balanced, with some issues. The main issue as i mentioned before, was the fact that the first team to push to the enemy base, will have a 99% chance to win the map. Rarely the opposite did happen.
One team will always leave their cart behind, in order to defend.

The map doesn't really exclude any class, there are some areas where one or another will be stronger, but then there are areas where the opposite will happen.

Although, there is one thing that i really disliked, and i'm probably not the only one. This actually is the main reason why rounds take so long to play. The final push with rollback zone is really annoying, especially in the part where cart rolls back on a flat surface. This requires either a lucky push, or all team to push the cart. Otherwise, one round can take up to 30 minutes. However, this really depends on each players like, some would prefer short rounds, while others to defend or to attack for a long period.

Dynamic element 5/10

The dynamic element in this map, wasn't anything special. Being a simple door, which opens once a cart has arrived. I feel that the map could work as good without it too, since rollbacks had a bigger impact on the gameplay rather than the door.

It feels quite simple, also Aesthetics wise didn't really make any sense, why was the a door there, why does the track have to go up. Few things to consider.

And yeah, gameplay wise, having only rollbacks, would be way better than having that door, since i feel that it's not that needed, and barely ever gives any advantage for any team.

Aesthetics 7/10

I must say that the Aesthetics in this map are quite nice, however, really messy. For example, in blue team there are like 6 or even more textures use to detail it. No matter whether they fit for Red team team, or blue. In this case it just feels like, the mapper just threw the textures there just for some change, without realizing that it will look awful.

The detailing in some other areas looked strange too, either because of lack of time, or any other reasons.

One really strange thing is snow, snowing from nowhere, because those few clouds in the skies, didn't give me a feeling that it is going to snow. It looked more like a sunny day.

Also, in my opinion it wasn't the best idea to copy paste one side of the map, change the textures and put it back for the other team. It's really noticeable that such kind of detailing has been in last few minutes, just so it looks better, however when you look closer, you can see that only textures were changed, and some of them weren't even properly aligned.

Some things, that I have noticed:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0000.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0001.jpg
Really messy detailing in blue spawn.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0002.jpg
Actually, in most of the indoor areas.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0003.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0007.jpg
Out of bonds areas look really boring and uninteresting.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0004.jpg
Again, messy texturing in blue side.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0005.jpg
Such clouds, can't really make me think of snow.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0006.jpg
Never, ever, use the same texture for walls and ceilings, it looks just awful.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0008.jpg
This bucket, however is creative.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0009.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0010.jpg
You can see the result of copy paste, without anything changed except for textures.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0011.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0012.jpg
How did these boxes/barrels get in there, and get stacked like this.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0013.jpg
These doors just going into the wall looks strange.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0014.jpg
I get stuck here.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/frostfell/plr_frostfell_b1b0015.jpg
Make the flat part not a rollback.

Performance 10/10

As with most of the maps, I didn't have any noticeable fps drops, and neither had heard anything from others. I have had no issues in this map at all, and due to the simpleness of the detailing it has, there shouldn't be any, so the mapper did a really nice job! This actually is a rare case I can give max points.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_frostfell|6|7|5|7|10| 7 |Done

plr_atoll_b1​

Gameplay 6/10

This map, same as the other payload race map, has the same issue in gameplay. Once one team pushes the cart past the spawns, it's a instant win. Because the other team cant set up new defenses, and also then, it is impossible for that team to get to their cart, as trying to push their own cart will end up in losing the game, due to not being able to defend in the same time.

There are problems with spawn exits being too far from the final area, so it would be good to add new exits or move the current one a bit further, as it will help in defending and attacking.

Another thing that i noticed is that it's sometimes better not to push the cart at all, and let the enemy push their cart to the dynamic element, meanwhile set up a sentry base at the final point, and win the game later on, by not letting the opposite team get to their cart, since destroying the sentries in last area is hard.

And one last thing, that i personally didn't like was the lack of proper height advantage, I somehow expect that to happen, since most of the map takes place inside a building, but still, some proper height could benefit airborne classes. Otherwise, outside area is really neat, offering good height advantage, while inside, close combat classes have an advantage.

Balance 6/10

The map is quite balanced, but has the same issue as other contest plr map, once you push the cart past the enemy base you win. Some areas provide more advantage for some classes, while other classes will be in disadvantage. Close combat classes, especially heavies, have some advantage in enclosed area. While in the same time, soldiers and demos will have a hard time.

As i mentioned before, engies can set up a nest in the last area and defend the whole map, but in the same time, there are barely any good sentry spot in rest of the map.

Also, spies are quite powerful, because of the small space, they can easily stab their enemy, and then using one of the flanking routes escape, and do the same thing after a while.

Dynamic element 7/10

What i like about the dynamic element, is the fact that it affects both teams in the same time. In this case, while one team manages to push the cart to the element, activating it, they can either wait, or in the same time attack the enemy team, in order to not allow them to push their cart.

Also, it allows for the other team to catch up, and get to the same spot as the other team. And this just means, if you lost the race in the outside part of the map, you can start again inside. As in this case, the inside and outside parts are like 2 completely different maps.

And another thing which i really liked, is that it fits in in the map Aesthetics wise, and i'm sure that it will fit in more once the map is completely detailed, with adding more tracks there and there, showing the other routes, as if the element was a separator.

Aesthetics 4/10

Really pleasant aesthetics, actually the map is using a new interesting theme which hasn't been seen before. Detail wise the map looks great, however due to the fact that only less than a half is detailed, it loses a lot of score. But, once the detailing will be finished the map will be one of the best of it's kind. Introducing new and fresh environment.

I would give you a high score, but however I cant, due to the unfinished state.

Some things, that I have noticed:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10000.jpg
This view reminds me of Dead Island.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10001.jpg
I really love the attention to small details.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10002.jpg
Models aren't attached to walls.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10003.jpg
Really nice usage of available props, fitting in the theme.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10004.jpg
Right now it seems that the stairs are painted, because of the signage.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10005.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10007.jpg
Love the diversity in blue and red sides.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10008.jpg
This structure on that building looks strange, and i'm sure that that roof couldn't be able to hold it.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10009.jpg
The elevator has a really messy gameplay space.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/atoll/plr_atoll_b10006.jpg
These small buildings look strange, and also computers don't really fit in.

Performance 8/10

Due to the unfinished state of detailing, i expected the map to run good, and it was like that. However, those buildings that are already detailed should have better clipping, because you can get stuck on everything that is sticking out.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
plr_atoll|6|6|7|4|8| 6.2 |Done

pl_stroika_b1​

Gameplay 6/10

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 5/10

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 2/10

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 4/10

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 7/10

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.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_stroika|6|5|2|4|7| 4.8 |Done

pl_gloryhole_b1​

Gameplay 6/10

The main problem with gameplay in this map is that it is rather messy. There are a lot of flanking routes, that are barely used by anyone, just causing confusion among players. Most of the time players tend to follow the payload track, which of course isn't bad, but there should be some variety in gameplay space they experience.

The 2nd Dynamic element, really removes any fun of being an attacker, actually most of the area around the 1st capture point offers more advantages for red team, rather that balancing it, between both of the teams.

Poor clipping, in most of the map, especially the later areas, really make gameplay chokey, and players often will get stuck either by moving too close near beams, or hitting a unclipped prop.

Then the problem with last area is that opposite to the 1st capture point, it offers more advantage for blue team rather than red team, often resulting in a heavy roll, which red team isn't able to stop.

Balance 6/10

Most of the balance issues in this map come from the 1st capture point, and the area around it. Not only it has a strong sentry spot, which rarely can get destroyed without a skillful spy, or a good medic+demo/soldier combo. There also is that annoying dynamic element, which is the main cause of losing the map in early stage. Most of the time blue team manages to push the cart to the element, activating it, but however, they lose the match because of the lack of time, and that the element turns slowly. A good way to fix this would be moving the capture point before the element, which would add time required for it to turn.

This is the reason for the difficulty curve to go off, and over 70% wins for Red team, against less than 30% for blue team.

Class wise, however, the map did feel quite balanced, with both chokes and height, and also it didn't lack open areas. Although, often the cramped space made the gameplay really bad, making spies and pyros dominate in low area buildings, especially in 2nd capure point.

Dynamic element 6/10

Well, it really depends on whether people like the main dynamic element, or not. When playing the map first time people had a hard time to understand what to do in the first dynamic element part. Even though it is labeled as control point, it has caused some confusion. And even now, people tend to not notice that you have to stand on that small control point area, which causes the cart move forward. Although still, this is a creative way of making a nice dynamic element.

However, further ones weren't that needed. While i still agree about the need of 2nd Dynamic element, which actually causes the main Balance issues round wise in this map. The next 2 elevators could be easily replaced, and usage of ramps would be preferred. Both of those elevators didn't add up anything, and i'll just repeat for another time, that elevators aren't the most dynamic thing that you could have in a map.

Talking about last rollforward zone, it's a pain in the ass for Red team to do anything out there, since Blue team can just push the cart down and win. It's a really bad rollforward zone which makes me thing, that it was a last minute addition. Since, gaining access to enemy gloryhole shouldn't be that easy!

Aesthetics 5/10

Most of the map aesthetics wise is rather simple. It doesn't heavy any heavy detailing, i'd say it fluctuates between being a map in late alpha stage or really early beta stage. The plus is that the map is detailed, but however, it loses quite a lot of score on how it is detailed.

Not that noticeable in the early part of them, but however in the last areas of the map, you can notice repetitive walls, rather simple buildings, and unneeded prop spam.

Also, this is another map which uses more metal for red team, than blue team, especially in the last capture point, where metal dominates the map.

Even though the first part of buildings indoors are semi decent detailed, later on, there will be some, if none detailing at all. Red spawn as one of the examples.

Some things, that I have noticed:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10000.jpg
Evil dev texture.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10001.jpg
It's hard to jump back up, if you fall down here.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10002.jpg
I'm not a fan of enclosing windows like this.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10003.jpg
This is the best example of that prop spam, which not only looks bad, it makes no sense.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10004.jpg
In my opinion, these 4 lamps look strange.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10005.jpg
Once you fall down here, you have to go a long way back up to get to the track.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10006.jpg
Example of the choke area, bad clipping makes it only worse.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10007.jpg
I thought i could jump out there.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10008.jpg
Repetitive texturing.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10009.jpg
Explosion and the pit really causes a huge fps drop.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10010.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10015.jpg
Unclipped stairs in and near spawn.. eh..

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/gloryhole/pl_gloryhole_b10014.jpg
Most boring spawn ever.

Performance 8/10

Performance wise the map had no fps issues, but however, the map lost some score due to the bad clipping, which made players often get stuck.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_gloryhole|6|6|6|5|8| 6.2 |Done

pl_volcanic_a20​

Gameplay 8/10

When talking about gameplay, this map does really well. It doesn't have a confusing layout letting the player learn where to go, what to do, really easy. However, due to the map being in alpha stage there is a lack of signage, and sometimes those signs that are there don't point to where player would want to go.

However, that doesn't really destroy the fun you can have on this map, because it has something for any class, no one feels excluded. And this is what I really like.

The last area is really fun to play as both teams, because there's a 50/50 chance for either blue team win, or red team defend, which actually should be like this. In my opinion, this map really follows the difficulty curve, with each next capture point being harder to capture than previous one.

Balance 8/10

Balance wise the map is balanced for both teams, and all classes. Since Blue team manages to get 45% wins, while red 55% wins, which in nearly ideal for a payload map. However it seems that in some place snipers are having disadvantage due to the blur effect, to prevent huge sight lines.

However, playing with other classes, you will barely feel the lack of either height advantage or choke points, this map manages to offer everything each class would need.

Dynamic element 10/10

Though being a bit simple, the dynamic element in this map is really good. The sliding elevator gave some height advantage at first for blue team, while after going down being evenly matched with the red team. It really fits in gameplay wise, since red team can kill everyone on the cart, moving the elevator back up. So that means that blue team has to focus on pushing the cart, not doing anything else.

The sliding dynamic element is really neat, though at first i thought it would work as a bridge, connecting both sides, but it wasn't like that which really surprised me, in a good way. It is really fun to ride it to the other side of the tunnel, in same time defending from red team.

Aesthetics 4/10

Aesthetics in this map, as expected in alpha stage, is quite simple, without adding a lot of detailing, as it should be. Since in alpha stage mappers should focus on gameplay not how well their map looks. However, in this case, the map lost really valuable score in this category. But still, the volcanic theme is really unique, with a lot of small touches, like earthquakes and the eye distorting blur. However, even though blocking out sniper lines, the later one should be removed, as it seems the main cause of fps drops for some people.

After getting detailed, i expect the map be one of the best looking in their kind, because of the theme, there are a lot of places where you can shine.

Some things, that I have noticed:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200000.jpg
I'd rather detail the spawn, than out of bonds areas in alpha stage.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200001.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200008.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200009.jpg
Nodraw everything people cant see.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200002.jpg
Doesn't really fit here

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200003.jpg
The pipe goes through the wall, but not from other side.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200004.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200015.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200016.jpg
Lamp spam.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200005.jpg
I shouldn't be able to stand up there.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200007.jpg
Love this room, however those fans overlap.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200011.jpg
Center no-entry.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200012.jpg
I can stand on lava under the last area.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200013.jpg
Tracks going to nowhere atm.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200014.jpg
Cart sometimes gets stuck here.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/volcanic/pl_volcanic_a200019.jpg
A really strong sentry spot.

Performance 7/10

Performance in this map is really good, as it should be in alpha stage. However, the blur effect somehow kills fps for some players. Also there are some places you can get stuck. And out of bonds areas should be nodrawn in those places players cant see.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_volcanic|8|8|10|4|7| 7.4 |Done

pl_quagmire​

Gameplay 6/10

The main problem with gameplay in this map, is how many flanking routes the map has. It is hard for both Red and Blue teams to set up a base, without getting attacked from behind. The map has a lot of flanks leading to almost any point of the map, which really destroys the fun playing as engineer, as it is impossible to set up a sentry. This actually is one of the main reasons why blue team does a massive roll.

Cramped fighting space doesn't give any advantage either, it's actually more annoying than fun. And it often seen that players just try to follow the more open areas, than risking going into cramped space, where barely any fighting happens.

While 1st and 2nd capture point is okay for engies and red team to defend, as you can still find a place to set up. But 3rd and final area is really bad, and boring especially for red team. Changing environment from cramped one route around 3rd capture point to a open final area, really gives no opportunity or space for setting up a defense.

Balance 5/10

The main issue in this map, is that Blue team scores more wins than Red team, around 60%/40%, which shows that the map has some issues when it comes to defending the capture points. For me it seems, that the map often is a easy roll for blue team, rarely ever moving away from cart.

Class wise, the map has quite a lot of issues. First of all, the map is really flat, with a lack of height advantage. In the same time most of the map feels like a choke, especially indoor areas which have low ceilings, not a lot of fighting happens out there, due to the lack of turning space.

Because of the cramped space, playing as a spy is really however fun, especially in the 1st/2nd capture point areas, since it has a lot of cramped space, flanking routes, and in the same time water pool, which spy can jump in and return back after a while.

Dynamic element 5/10

Even though being creative and unique, these explosions cant really be called dynamic. It feels more like it was made to stop blue team from doing a massive roll, than actually being dynamic. Players playing the map first time, rarely ever notice the bombs, which often leads to their death and annoyance.

It feels that the idea is really cool, but could be done much better.

Aesthetics 7/10

The map really looks like a small swamp village, in both aspects, buildings in this case are really small and cramped. And outdoors aren't any better, it lacks interesting open areas, most of them aesthetics wise are rather flat and boring. It isn't really necessary to follow the theme so accurate, you can always think outside the box, adding something which would fit in the theme, and also create interesting fighting space.

One thing that i really disliked were the soundscapes, i haven't ever played a map which had such loud soundscape, wherever you will go, you will either hear water drips or bug lanterns. It was really annoying, because often those sounds were louder than actual weapons.

Else wise, the map feels really over detailed, without any progression, which actually costed a lot in both Aesthetics and Performance, since most of the map is full of useless prop spam, which weren't actually needed, or just were added without thinking.

Some things, I have noticed:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0021.jpg
I still can shoot though windows.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0022.jpg
This bug lantern is heard when you spawn.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0024.jpg
Prop spam with adding the croc in a unneeded place.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0025.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0030.jpg
Water drips also very loud.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0026.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0027.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0028.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0029.jpg
Prop spam.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0031.jpg
Random texturing.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1607727/Contest/quagmire/pl_quagmire0032.jpg
A really dark room.

Performance 5/10

The main problem in performance was the lack of any optimization, at least it seems so. Most of the players had performance issues running the map with less fps than in any other contest, and often valve map.
The prop spam doesn't really help with increasing the performance, as it just makes things worse.
Even though the mapper has labeled this version as the last one, it really needs a lot of work, to make the map better.

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_quagmire|6|5|5|7|5| 5.6 |Done

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Map|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic el.|Aesthetics|Performance|Average|Status
pl_moonlit|6|4|7|4|10|x|c
pl_rust|8|8|5|7|9|x|c
pl_escarpment|8|7|1|9|6|x|c
pl_gloryhole|4|5|4|6|9|x|c
pl_quagmire|3|3|1|3|3|x|c
pl_clifftop|3|6|2|6|6|x|c
pl_volcanic|8|7|10|5|9|x|c
pl_stroika|8|6|7|4|7|x|c
pl_vesper|6|6|1|5|8|x|c
plr_atoll|7|8|1|7|10|x|c
plr_frostfell|9|9|7|6|10|x|c

First I'd like to define how I'm going to evaluate each section.

Balance/Gameplay are pretty straightforward, a higher score indicates a higher quality of each.

Dynamic element will reflect whether or not the dynamic element you've chosen in this map actually adds anything worthwhile to it. If you get a one here (most of you did) then your map would be better without a dynamic element, because the one you chose adds nothing of actual value, and, if your dynamic element detracts from the quality of gameplay, you will not only get a one, but you will also lose points under gameplay.

Aesthetics are also straightforward, the prettier I think your map looks, the higher the score.

As for performance, you will lose points here if my fps ever dropped below my fps cap (85), the amount of points lost will be based on how often I got sluggish framerates, and how bad they were. Keep in mind though, I have a pretty high end computer, so chances are if your map causes me to not be able to hit my cap consistently, I'll have to dock quite a few points. You can also lose points here if I see large amounts of people complaining about performance issues. Additionally, I will also take a quick run through the map to see if any optimization is present or not.

Vesper

Opening notes:

I really have no idea how this got past the prelims to be quite honest. The dynamic, if can even be called that, element is terrible, and contributes absolutely nothing to the map. The gameplay is teetering somewhere in between decent and average. Some of the detailing is alright, but with machine-like consistency you somehow manage to make the same mistakes over and over throughout the map.

Aesthetics:

Where to start, oh boy.

You obviously have some idea what you're doing in regards to detailing, but you keep making so many silly mistakes that I'm going to have to dock several points here.

Door disappearing into wall.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-22_00018.jpg

Also note the nodraw faces on the bottom.
______________________________

Thin walls, that somehow have different materials on each side that make no sense, and are all over the place.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00001.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00002.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00004.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00005.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00007.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00008.jpg
______________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00010.jpg

Concrete walls are NEVER that thin.
______________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00012.jpg

These lights make no sense on a thin wood platform.
______________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00011.jpg

The ground just seamlessly transforms into metal/concrete?
______________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00006.jpg

Concrete generally has concrete sides, not wood.

Also

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-25_00001.jpg
______________________________

These look silly.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00014.jpg
______________________________

And this.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_00009.jpg
______________________________

The deep underground passage should probably have a different soundscape than the generic outdoors one.

Also, some ambient sounds could really help bring a little more life to the map.
______________________________

Finally, the giant wall right outside first just looks like it was dumped there, it doesn't fit in the environment at all.

Gameplay/Balance

First is easy to capture, as most pl maps generally do, so nothing really wrong here. Second has bigger issues though. The flank routes are small and easy to lock down, on top of that all the entrances to the 2nd area can be seen from most of the possible positions players would take, so it's not surprising that this is stonewalling the attackers. You can also stand on the edge of the wall by jumping.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Vesper/2012-05-23_000013.jpg

The second half of the map plays far better than 2nd does, and is a generally fun area with lots of flank routes, and a fair bit of vertical gameplay, along the lines of what you did with first.

PS: You also have a lot of full health kits sitting right next to the track (next to first, one next to second), change them to smalls, and find a more out of the way place for them.

Dynamic element:

It consists of capping the point, and then 2 seconds later knocking down a wall with the cart. That's it, there's really nothing else I can say about it. It contributes nothing to the gameplay, and might as well not exist.

Performance:

I had no performance issues on this map, however there seems to be a fair bit of stuff that isn't visible rendering.

Frostfell

Opening notes:

This is probably the first new PLR map I've enjoyed in a long time. This map's pacing, balance and gameplay are all good. Unfortunately the Aesthetics have a few issues, which is the issue that's really holding back this map.

Gameplay/Balance:

Not a lot to say here. There's nothing really wrong with it.The map doesn't seem to suffer from any obscenely strong sentry positions, the rollback areas are confined to the most intense areas, which is great, and despite that every class, including engineers have something to do.

Aesthetics

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-22_00001.jpg

I don't think wooden buildings would ever have something like this. It just looks really odd, like you're trying to make it more visually interesting by just doing whatever.
____________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-22_00002.jpg

Doors disappearing into the wall. The poles also slide into the ground. Makes absolutely no sense.
____________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-25_00003.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-25_00004.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-25_00009.jpg

You seem to just have materials change, a lot. This could be alleviated using some sort of trim geometry / textures in the second picture.

As for the first and third picture, just look at it, everything is changing colours/materials and it looks awful, pick one and stick to it man, or atleast use proper transitions between them.
____________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-25_00005.jpg

Why is it snowing here on both sides, but nowhere else on the map, and why is it snowing when the sky is almost totally clear?
____________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-25_00006.jpg

This is incomplete?
____________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-25_00008.jpg

Not a particularly large gripe, but these doors, despite the no entry hand, are always attention grabbing, and at a glance appear to be doors that players can travel through. If you want to do a detail door I find the best method so that players know immediately it's a detail, is something along the lines of the broken slightly open doors that have random props sitting in them.
____________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-25_00010.jpg

This would look better with some sort of siding.
____________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-25_00007.jpg

Half the pipe just going into the ground?
____________________________

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-30_00007.jpg

Bad nodraw, support isn't aligned properly.
____________________________
Dynamic element:

The rollback, as mentioned before is in areas where it has the best effect on the map,

The doors, despite being a generic waiting mechanic used in almost every other contest map, actually work out nicely here. I swear, this is probably one of a few maps that had some thought put into this. The doors are positioned in an area where they actually act as a good break during the transition to the final areas of the level.

Performance

Only small stuff, not really notable enough to affect performance in any significant way so I'm only going to point it out.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-30_00006.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/frostfell/2012-05-30_00005.jpg

Some stuff that could be nodrawn I guess.

Moonlit

Gameplay/Balance:

Almost every area in this map, with the exception of first is just a tight corridor, whether it's indoors or out, and normally I'd see this playing out in a way that just let red shut down blue easily. However this map plays in the entire opposite manner. All your flank routes, again, with the exception of first, allow blue to get behind red, with next to no resistance whatsoever.

It's pretty clear that this map has a pretty big bias towards blue winning, which is reinforced by my experience literally every time I've played it, and the fb statistics that have been collected.

Aesthetics:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/moonlit/2012-05-25_00006.jpg

This is literally the MOST annoying thing I have ever seen. Every time I play this map we have a group of people dumb enough to just irritate everyone else on blue team by ringing the bell for the entire setup period.

Even worse, I've regularly seen people ignore the fact the round has started and just keep sitting around going, "hurr hurr bell".

As for the theme...

The buildings almost all share the same monotonous dark purple metal, or dark brown wood. There's exceptions to this, which are so sparse I can count them on my fingers.

Dynamic Element:

This is one of the few maps that I can really say has a dynamic element that's good enough to qualify for a good score. However, the underworld system is far from perfect, and as the other judges have pointed out, it's very easy for either team to just go down there, and camp the other team's spawn point. While it's more creative than most, and actually adds value to the map, I can't shake the feeling that it's made specifically to appeal to pubbies who obsess about gimmicks, rather than to those who care about interesting new gameplay.

Performance:

I can't find anything really wrong here. The map doesn't render excessive amounts of props, and does a pretty decent job about not rendering areas that aren't visible.

Quagmire

Opening notes:

A layout with some potential, which suffers from almost everything that could possibly go wrong after being made.

Gameplay/Balance:

This map is a prime example of why we do alpha testing, and don't go straight into beta.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-22_00016.jpg

Bad clipping

You start off your map with a point, which is in a small chokepoint, and the only ways to flank around it, are through even smaller hallways, which are damned near impossible to even find.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-22_00006.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-30_00001.jpg

It also doesn't help that they're hardly visible. Consider lighting them better so they actually pop out, and don't just blend with the wall.

Literally every single flank route on first is a tight hallway deathtrap, thing. The only way to get through any of them, is to hope that there isn't a competent player playing soldier demo heavy or engie watching it.

Anyway, there's not really much else to say, the entire map just goes like this: Giant open area where red has a hefty defensive advantage, Puny chokepoint that can be easily locked down, Giant open area where red can literally see everything, and has more height advantage, then puny chokepoint, and finally another giant open area where red can see nearly everything, and has more height advantage.

Everything about how this map plays is frustrating.

Aesthetics:

There is no nice way to put this. The entire map is a visual catastrophe. Tf2 has a minimalistic visual style, with details used to draw attention to important areas, not every single wall in the map.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-28_00001.jpg

Look at this, just look at this, the walls aren't even made out of the same material from side to side, and almost every single one is covered in overlays and/or random unnecessary detail props

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-27_00001.jpg

Please explain to me how a two story building made out of very heavy materials is being held up by skimply little wooden stilts.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-28_00002.jpg

Are these rooms a meter wide or something? Changing the lit/dark state of the windows is fine, if it makes some logical sense, it doesn't here.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-28_00005.jpg

Random pristine clean object just sitting outside with absolutely no signs of wear and tear in a super harsh environment.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-28_00006.jpg

People generally don't build concrete buildings in rocks.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-28_00007.jpg

Hiding important navigational details under water so that they're almost invisible.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-28_00004.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-28_00003.jpg

Normally ammo and health use different overlay colours, so that which spawns where can be easily distinguished.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-22_00015.jpg

Seeing out of the map?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-22_00012.jpg

"I needed an overlay on this brush just because"

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-22_00014.jpg

Floating on nothing

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-30_00002.jpg

Why is there water just dripping from this perpetually?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Quagmire/2012-05-22_00007.jpg

Finally, you do this all over, you go and use textures that are meant to have their bottom against the ground halfway up the building, and it looks ridiculous.

Dynamic Element:

Having the point blow up shortly after being capped for no apparent reason does nothing other than detract from the gameplay. The explosion does not contribute any interesting new dynamic to how payload is played, it only confuses players who are new to the map, especially the attackers since they will almost never have a chance to take a good look at what's sitting on the point when they're busy fighting over it.

Docking points from gameplay since this detracts from it.

Performance:

Every time we play this map there's always a handful of people complaining about having outright awful framerates. Now I can't go and gauge exactly how bad it is since I have a pretty high end pc, but a lot of these people are friends, or people I've seen around here several times, who have almost never complained about these issues in other maps, so I'm going to have to assume you really messed up here.

Volcanic

Opening notes:

Pretty neat map, everything aside from second seems to play just fine, although last may be pushing acceptable complexity a bit. While the visual style of the map is distinct from most maps, the map is still undetailed, and doesn't look all that great, which I'm sure you didn't need me to tell you.

This is the only map in the whole contest where the dynamic elements aren't detrimental at all.

Gameplay:

For the most part everything here plays just fine. Second is the only point that I've seen behave like the attackers are running into a kinda cushioned brick wall. It's not totally unreasonable or anything, but it just seems to me that the attackers have to pull a ring around the rosie for a rather long time, and for almost all of it, they're in spots that have no real cover, and are ultra tight. It's easy to shut down any attackers pretty much all along the track here, it's damn near impossible to dodge explosives, and it goes on for what feels like forever. Loosen it up, maybe give out some cover if needed, and perhaps make the track a little shorter too.

The issues on last however are much less prevalent. You just have all these super complex hallways, and this area under last, and despite having played this map for the last few months, I still can't figure out what I'm doing there.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Volcanic/2012-05-22_00005.jpg

Also clip this off so that I don't get stuck on the side when I jump.

Aesthetics:

Map is still alpha, and reflects that, so chances are me pointing out the lack of pretty visuals would be a waste of everyone's time, since it's totally obvious.

The theme is unique, and despite being alpha it doesn't look too bad, but it's still not good enough to warrant a particularly nice score.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Volcanic/2012-05-22_00004.jpg

This is terrible, get rid of it.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Volcanic/2012-05-22_00003.jpg

Probably better to use some sort of solid material brush here, the thin metal beams don't look strong enough to hold up this fan.

Dynamic Element:

Everything from the lava, to the fan room, to the moving platform is pulled off flawlessly. They all benefit the gameplay without becoming gimmicky.

Performance:

It's an alpha and there's no real need for any optimization, so I can't really go and complain about an undetailed map lacking optimization.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815344604/3A14EA42AE438CE869403B0DC72BB00AA8A4EEFD/ (courtesy of crash)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Volcanic/2012-05-30_00004.jpg

These should be nodrawn.

I've also heard two or three people complaining that the blur effects hurt their framerates, but I can't gauge that myself, still might be worth looking into.

Addendum:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Volcanic/2012-05-30_00013.jpg

Somehow got stuck in this room near last, walked in, and door closed behind us.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Volcanic/2012-05-30_00012.jpg

Platform lagging behind the cart somehow.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Volcanic/2012-05-30_00011.jpg

These should probably not be solid.

The first two aren't really things I can dock points for since I've never seen these happen in the several times I've played this map, so it appears to be a pretty rare occurence.


Escarpment

Opening Notes:

Probably one of my favourite pl maps of all time. The only major issue with the map is that second is still a colossal headache to capture. As far as less important issues go, the dynamic element sucks, and last seems strange from an aesthetics standpoint.

Gameplay/Balance:

Almost every part of the playing area is interesting and fun to play in, powerups are strategically placed, there's options for pretty much every class, and there's flank routes that actually allow you to get good positioning for both teams.

The only real issue with this map in terms of gameplay is the second point. It almost never fails to stonewall the attacking team, or at the very least take forever to cap it. The issue here is really the spawn area. It's removed, and easy to camp in, while still allowing defenders near complete control over the entire area. If it were perhaps, to be moved behind the second point (or the point was moved further infront of it), or just otherwise have this advantage weakened or removed, second would probably play out fine.


Aesthetics:
The map looks great. The laser at last could probably look better, but it's not really offensive or anything. It's also confusing why red blows up the blue bomb when it gets there, ensuring their own destruction.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/escarpment/2012-05-27_00002.jpg

Where is this water going?

Nothing to complain about here really.

Dynamic Element:

It's useless. If it didn't exist the map would hardly change at all (hell it would probably be better) There's no reason to have a wait phase in that spot, it's just confusing and irritating.

Performance:

oh god

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/escarpment/2012-06-01_00003.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/escarpment/2012-06-01_00004.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/escarpment/2012-06-01_00006.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/escarpment/2012-06-01_00007.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/escarpment/2012-06-01_00008.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/escarpment/2012-06-01_00009.jpg

I can see why people were complaining about poor framerates here.

Otherwise, faces that won't be seen seem to be nodrawn.

Atoll

Opening Notes:

Pretty good plr map, the parts that are detailed look pretty great. Fun to play on. Dynamic element detracts from the map though.

Gameplay/Balance:

As I mention below, your dynamic element makes the first half of the map totally irrelevant, unless the teams are totally stacked, which is unfortunate, since it's a fun area to play around in.

Things to take note of though:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Atoll/2012-05-30_00008.jpg

It is painfully easy to camp this door with literally any class just by sitting on the roof above it.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Atoll/plr_atoll_b10000.jpg

Very easy.

Other than that though, the map is pretty fun and fast paced from start to finish(even with a few engineers present trying to ruin everything!), and has no obvious balance issues, other than the ones caused by your dynamic element.

Aesthetics:

The first half of the map looks pretty nice, each side is visually distinct and well detailed, the only things worth noting here are these.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Atoll/2012-06-01_00011.jpg

Obvious transition.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Atoll/2012-05-30_00010.jpg

Weird shadows.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Atoll/2012-06-01_00010.jpg

Console spam.

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that the second half of your map is undetailed, so I'm not going to go talk about that at length.

Dynamic Element:

The turntables are terrible as they are. While it would be a fine spot for a waiting phase, the fact that you also turn the other teams track into position too makes the entire first half of the map irrelevant.

Your rollback areas are fine though, which is the only thing stopping your poor dynamic element score from leaking into your gameplay score.

Performance:

The map seems to be very good about not rendering things that aren't visible. The only faces I could find that should have been nodrawn that weren't were these.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Atoll/2012-06-01_00012.jpg

Clifftop

Gameplay/Balance:

Each area plays acceptably, however the first point is the only area I would describe as particularly interesting gameplay wise, but everything else is pretty average, now while that's totally fine, and would normally net you a decent score here, I can't really give it to you, since all the bugs this map has detract so heavily from them.

As an addendum I feel that your area past first, all the way up to third, could stand to be totally redesigned, the entire area just gets stormed, almost every time I see it played through, up until the building housing third.

They're just boring areas that feel like their design was a flat and boring afterthought, compared to how interesting first and last are.

Aesthetics:

The entire map is pretty minimal, and really the bare minimum you need to call the map beta. I'm pretty sure you're already aware that you're not done detailing (and that most of it still barely qualifies as post-alpha), so I don't see any reason to go into detail on that. There's nothing really majorly wrong here though, aside from how ridiculous the fog is indoors.

Minor stuff

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-05-27_00005.jpg

Outside reds first spawn

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-06-03_00001.jpg

Very obvious seam.

Dynamic Element:

The elevators are in the positions where they have the most miniscule possible effect on the map, and move such a small vertical distance, that they could easily not exist and the map would play more or less the same as it does now.

A lot of your rollback sections seem forced, like you just felt you needed to have one there (specifically the ones after 1st and 2nd). However the ones on first and last appear to have had more thought put into them and are logically located in places where they intensify the gameplay.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-06-03_00002.jpg

Also, minor, but I seem to be pushing the cart without actually standing on the platform.

Performance:

Fade these trees please!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-06-04_00001.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-06-04_00002.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-06-04_00003.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-06-04_00004.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-06-04_00005.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/clifftop/2012-06-04_00006.jpg

Bugs:

I actually have to go and make a separate section to cover this.

1)Not being able to block the cart because of an unknown issue.
2)The cart seems to inexplicably slow down after rollback sections are passed, and doesn't become able to be pushed at normal speed until everyone gets off, and then comes back.

These first two are game breaking, and can illegitimately change the outcome of the entire round.

3)The map doesn't appear to display capture notifications either

4)Reds first spawn opens up after they stop spawning in it, and I've seen loads of people just run in there and suddenly die (apparently because of a kill trigger?) and be totally lost as to what happened.

5)This too.

(Video courtesy of crash)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1ZTU6GWmIk

PS: I'd also like to point out, if there's any confusion here, the low gameplay score is a direct result of these bugs, if they were not present the score would probably be close to 6.

Rust

Opening Notes:

Map is fun to play on, and looks nice to boot. The bridge dynamic element sucks, the rollback is good though. No performance issues.

Gameplay/Balance:

None of the areas are unreasonable for either team, and all the classes usually have the ability to fulfill their roles. Lots of vertical combat, and open areas for jumping classes. Not really anything to complain about here, as far as I'm concerned the map plays pretty well. While it's nothing jaw droppingly amazing, it's still pretty great.

Aesthetics:

The map looks pretty good overall, the only things I found to complain about are relatively minor.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00001.jpg

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00002.jpg

These cliffs would be far less monotonous looking if you sculpted them on the z axis, instead of only on x and y.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00003.jpg

I'm by no means an expert on painting, but it seems strange that someone would decide to paint 3 strokes here, and then suddenly change the direction they're moving the brush.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00004.jpg

I'm pretty sure the company logo is painted on after the building is built, so that the supports don't cover it up.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00005.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00007.jpg

There seem to be an awful lot of companies here, for such a small rural area.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00008.jpg

Shadow looks silly.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00012.jpg

Poorly set up no entry sign.

Dynamic Element:

The dynamic element here consists of another arbitrary bridge that is, like so many of the other maps, incredibly useless and minor. The area it's in makes no sense for a wait phase, and it contributes nothing of value to the map's gameplay.

However

The rollback sections on the other hand are logically placed, and complement the map nicely.

If you hadn't included the bridge I would have been able to give you a higher score here.

Performance:

Nothing really to complain about here, except.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00009.jpg
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00010.jpg

You could probably afford to fade out those trees that are way in the back, and off to the side.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/rust/2012-06-02_00011.jpg

Chances are you could get away with no tracks at all, or at the very most two brushes with some metal texture.

Stroika

Gameplay/Balance:

This map's first point is probably one of my favorite points of all time. The only times I haven't had a lot of fun on it, are the times the teams have been absolutely stacked.

Second and third aren't really rivaling that, but they're still more than alright.

Last on the other hand, is a different story. Aside from the times teams have been stacked, I have never seen last play out any differently than blue running straight into a brick wall.

After a few rounds of trying to figure out just why, my best guess was that the entire area is designed in such a way where it's nearly impossible for blue to be able to just look down, and quickly figure out what most of the defenders a doing. None of the attacking routes really give attackers any ability to get a half decent look at most of the area.

PS: Clip this truck bed.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-05-25_00003.jpg

Aesthetics:

The map looks like a textured alpha for the most part.

Almost all the geometry, with a few exceptions, is very simple, with minimal detailing, if it has it at all. For the most part it just appears to be unfinished.

There are a few areas that just seem outright strange though.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-05-25_00001.jpg

Strings don't touch the cart

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-05-25_00002.jpg

There are ammo and health overlays that look a hell of a lot better than these.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-05-25_00004.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-05-27_00003.jpg

These probably don't need an explanation.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-05-27_00004.jpg

Place makes no sense for a door.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00001.jpg

Not even gripping the shipping container.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00007.jpg

Ground aligned texture used on a raised building, and just some random door.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00009.jpg

This isn't how pipes work.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00011.jpg

What is holding up this overhanging roof?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00012.jpg

Random bit of concrete just sticking out of a building

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-02_00014.jpg

Concrete ramp makes no sense.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-02_00015.jpg

Nothing actually casting the light, the light is also against a wall and looks doubly bad.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-02_00016.jpg

This wall is at eye burning levels of brightness.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00006.jpg

Some supports holding this up would be nice.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00001 (2).jpg

???

Dynamic Element:

I'll get the good out of the way first.

The first red spawn slowly moving backwards was probably one of the best things I've seen done in this contest.

The elevator in-between 1st and second is pretty neat too.

The rollback sections are, for the most part, in neat areas where they benefit the map.

Now that that's out of the way.

The crane on 2nd doesn't really do anything for the map, payload cart is here, oh, now it's here. More confusing than valuable really.

The same goes for the intel and moving the debris from the track.

I've seen very few first time players actually have any idea what to do when they got to these parts. They just strike me as another, "I need a dynamic element here so that I qualify for the contest" dynamic element.

The elevator on last is just a death trap. That's all there is to it. If you're in there when it's active, you're dead if the enemy team is looking at you. It's like a worse version of the crane.

If you hadn't included the bad dynamic elements in this map, I probably could have easily given the map a perfect score in this category.

Performance:

Fair bit of stuff that should be nodrawn.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00010.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00008.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00005.jpg

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00004.jpg

Some stuff that could afford to be fading out just about now (note the train cars and missiles)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00002.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/stroika/2012-06-05_00003.jpg

Gloryhole

Gameplay/Balance:

First seems fine, aside from the issues caused by the waiting phase on the first point.

Everything past that is just a navigational nightmare. Nothing goes where it feels like it should, and despite having played this map a fair bit, I still find myself consistently getting lost trying to find my way around.

Second is so absolutely confusing it's ridiculous. Half the area is covered in what may as well be glorified stairs, and the other half is a stream with a flank route on the far bank (which up until I went spec and tried to explore the area I thought was a detail area that wasn't actually accessible)

Third isn't much better. Almost every single path that isn't the main one requires you to run around inside buildings that just don't feel like they lead where they should.

I don't know whether these areas are fine or not, this whole critique feels strange to write because the reason I can't figure out whether it's fine or not is because I simply can not navigate these areas well enough to evaluate them.

Last is a bit easier though, it's a giant open area where it's dead easy to see and kill everything that tries to attack you.

Probably the reason why this map has such a one sided win rate.

Aesthetics:

The map has a very clear grazr theme. Almost everything is the same style of standard wooden buildings. (most of which are under-detailed, probably due to time constraints?) The most promising looking area in the map right now is the interior of the building between third and last, everything else that isn't last is almost indistinguishable from any other part of the map.

Now while last is easily distinguishable from the rest of the map, it's only because of the huge amount of water sitting in it, which, so far, still doesn't make any visual sense to me. I have yet to figure out why anyone would want to build something like this, what purpose it's supposed to serve, or why anyone cares enough to blow it up.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-06-06_00006.jpg

Console spam

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-05-22_00020.jpg
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-05-22_00019.jpg

Why do you have splashes of a different wood texture all over?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-06-02_00013.jpg

Terrible texture for areas the player can get close to.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-06-06_00001.jpg

This just looks silly.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-06-06_00002.jpg

Obviously incomplete

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-06-06_00003.jpg

This isn't what streams look like.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-06-06_00005.jpg

That's a rather thin material, with very little support holding up some rather heavy objects.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/3332789/TF2/judging/Gloryhole/2012-06-06_00007.jpg

Trees, trees everywhere. They get pretty monotonous very quickly, since they're just all over the map.

Dynamic Element:

The only one in the map worth mentioning is the one after first. As neat an idea as it is, it's still awfully confusing to anyone who doesn't know the map, maybe you should throw down a nice little info graphic in blue spawn to explain it.

Unfortunately the rest are the same uninspired things we've seen in other maps that I've already talked about countless times in this judging thread. Completely unnecessary wait phase on first, and elevators that move such a miniscule distance, and are in places where the impact they have on the map is minimal.

Performance:

I didn't find any major issues, although you do seem to have an awful lot of trees bordering the map, which might cause issues for some.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apologies for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I'm trying to be as detailed as possible and finish these in optimal time, so they tend to be rather train-of-thought.

Check list:

• pl_moonlit_b6 Done
• pl_rust_b2 Done
• pl_escarpment_rc1 Done
• pl_gloryhole_b1 Done
• pl_quagmire Done
• plr_atoll_b1 Done
• pl_clifftop_b1 Done
• pl_volcanic_a20 Done
• plr_frostfell_b1b Done
• pl_stroika_b1 Done
• pl_vesper_b4 Done

Dynamic payload Maps|Gameplay|Balance|Dynamic Element|Aesthetics|Performance
Moonlit|6|7|7|8|9
Rust|6|6|3|7|8
Escarpment|7|7|2|9|7
Gloryhole|5|5|3|4|8
Quagmire|6|4|3|5|3
Atoll|6|6|6|4|8
Clifftop|6|6|3|5|8
Volcanic|9|10|10|4|7
Frostfell|8|10|4|7|10
Stroika|7|7|7|3|6
Vesper|4|4|2|6|7

ALL posts are works in progress until I say they are finished! Scores are subject to change as I try to make sure I judge everything evenly!

UPDATE: I'm going to say these are done.

PL_Vesper_B4
by Vilepickle

http://static.vilepickle.com/vesper/vesper_3d.jpg


Gameplay:
The map itself plays decently, but there doesn't feel like there is a lot of fun gameplay area to fight on. It tends to feel either really flat, or just walkways over flat land. There wasn't much depth to combat on the map.

While they looked interesting, the rounded displacements on either side of the track just after the first dynamic entry just seemed to hinder play than enhance it. As an engy I couldn't toss a minisentry up on it quick, as other classes, I had trouble jumping up it. You are already funneled it to that point pushing the cart, and then it's difficult to take a quick way out of it.

Immediately pushing past that you are faced with a wide open clearing with a ton of cover for enemies all around you. Scouts absolutely wreck at this point. If you get through that small area, then you are faced with a massive choke point roll back area. I saw that part go two ways. Either you can't even get the cart in the building, or you blow right through it no problem. I think that area could have been designed better.

Also, a minor thing, but there seem to be a ton of places that knock you off the cart if you are riding it. While not vital to gameplay, hindering fun is rarely a good idea.

A lot of the map just feels like a path with some buildings scattered around it, very disconnected areas. The final area isn't bad though, it feels about right. A decent combination of open areas and cover, and spawns aren't too close.


Balance:
The map is a bit easier to defend than attack. Generally it seemed as though scouts were really powerful on the map, due to all the walkways and upper paths, jumping classes were always at a big advantage. I think class balance could have been factored in better.


Dynamic Element:
To be honest, I think the dynamic element on this map was pretty lack luster. I think there was a missed opportunity to utilize the dynamic of the breakable walls further along the track away from CP's. It seemed like they both could have been just as easily triggered by the CP and acted as opening doors changing routes like any other PL map.

The dynamic element really fell flat for me on this map.


Aesthetics
Overall I think Vesper is a well detailed map. It has a very good balance of detail in the right places (for the most part,) and it doesn't feel over-detailed. However I feel it doesn't have much of a connected feel throughout the map. There doesn't seem to be much of an overall "story" to the map, I'm not sure what I'm fighting over.

Blu's spawn, specifically, feels very overscaled. The signs feel huge, the stairs are narrow and long, and the ceilings very high where you spawn. These add up, giving me a feeling of being dwarfed in comparison. Outside of spawn it feels fine, but my immediate reaction as Blu wasn't favorable towards the map.

There is an excessive use of lighting props as well. A ton of which are the double flood-lights. They even appeared in a few places you couldn't even see! The cone-lights didn't look that good to me either, the glow was too dim, it didn't look like they were on, just lit by an outside source.

I also felt like the explosion was pretty lack-luster. Almost an afterthought. Their wasn't any reaction in the environment. Even just the bendy tracks could have made it much more interesting.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044091684/F7AD2B5DB43FD028501E73EBAA8A15B7ED63E844/
This feels very "no really?"

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044105263/14B841401E7F17C4AD24CE9AEA99AEE482E79763/
Lightswitch is over my head and doesn't connect to anything.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044108496/76CF583810ECBC117AE71E9002508D4CA989B90A/
This looks weird to me.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044094566/3C326F9D993DDA9F6014665ABA7F845FC333024A/
This whole wall section felt very out of place to me. Very primitive in a modern environment.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044106178/961DD74C0757B514547B6F50FCB02E70E5262D0B/
The models are very unnecessary. You don't always need light models to go along with every light placed. Even just one set of these would've been fine.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044114501/7D7A47EA07C37B1C2CB40C6CECAA98C624B247CB/
See my note about the cone-lights.


Performance
Overall I didn't experience any major FPS issues. It seems as though the optimization on this map is satisfactory. I have a higher-end machine though, so I'm not always the best judge of that sort of thing. I just make note if I see my capped FPS dip.

However while noclipping around, I did notice quite a few brush faces that could have been nodraw surfaces. I also saw a few props that didn't need to be there. Examples below, along with a few areas that might be of concern.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044098952/DAAF8123A6081A4C27E5D3B83D095F5FD4BC298F/
These stairs have a ton of extra pointless faces. It might have been for looks (since the rest of your stairs are optimized properly) however I feel that these should have been cut like the rest.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044101546/817146F7817FE8EBC48ADD25D78804A6F442C133/
All the backs of these beams could be nodraw'd along with the back face of the ceiling.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044100490/47A07F10FC75232187992EE37161CE1067AB32C0/
A lot of this could be nodraw'd.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044102585/1DA36F22907B6FD365DEF536BAE2AA8A5EC9F687/
Nodraw.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044093349/F27854CCB7BE716186880F6D4C5A21A233374FFC/
Almost there on this one! Edges of the roof and the back faces the player wont see.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044097472/9BF982BA8EAC83A168675A1E2E0BFF8930F8BBAE/
All of back here could be nodraw'd. Also, why are these lights here!?

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044085615/D38148C1691F5AF59DC371A6FC9FC34E51C3A6AE/
A ton rendering at once here.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336044103450/A7046AE769E6C1FBA00E303AAFA1643142C39F3B/
Another spot that might be choppy for some.


Scoring:
Aesthetics: 6/10
Looks good for the most part, just needs a story. A lot of issues with lighting, props included.

Performance: 7/10
A lot of wasted space and faces, but otherwise decently optimized.

Dynamic Element: 2/10
It just didn't add anything to the map.

Balance: 4/10
A bit too hard to attack. Jumping classes reign supreme.

Gameplay: 4/10
Not too bad of gameplay, but not terribly interesting either. A lot of fights on the map just felt like slogs.


Vesper is not a terrible map, I just don't think it's a good fit for the contest. Keep up with it though, get rid of the dynamic gimmick and work one some of the gameplay areas. Watch who is doing well in the map.

PL_Stroika_B1
by Sergis

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9180221/TF2/pl_stroika_b10034.jpg


Gameplay:
I'm going to be honest, I was really surprised at how well this map plays. With all the gimmicks and dynamic elements, I was sure people would just end up confused. You did an excellent job pointing out the current objective, especially with the broken track pieces. The relatively close location of each piece along with the glow on them and the giant sign pointing out in the simplest of terms what to do there made this part work. I do have concerns about someone grabbing a piece and griefing with it by hiding with it or something, but I have yet to see that happen and you may have accounted for it, so I wont hold it against you.

I really enjoy the height variation on display here. There were a lot of nice places to jump up to as a jumping class, and they were beneficial. I thought the double door room the cart travels through earlier on was kind of pointless at first, but it really gave that area a nice feel. A bit of safety for attackers, and a bit of surprise factor for defenders.

Throughout the map there seemed to be a good amount of back and forth, which makes for a fun map.

I like the concept of spawning in the container, and how you slowly pulled it back over time, but I was not a fan of how we were all lumped onto one spawn point at the start. This just looks bad and you would never see this in an official map.

Balance:
It does seem like your map leans a bit more towards defenders, probably due to all the gimmicky areas attackers have to overcome as well as the enemy team. Sort of fighting the map, too.

Classwise, I think jumping classes have a bit of an advantage with all the raised up platforms, especially at the beginning of the stage. There also isn't really a whole lot of good sniper lanes, just a lot of little narrow "slits" all over.

Dynamic Element:
At times I felt like the dynamic elements of this map were a bit forced, but by the end of the map they were actually pretty welcome to me. After every capture I kept waiting for more things to change or move. If you keep up with this map, I'd even recommend adding in some detail changes after each capture. Nothing major, but even something like a crane rotating and putting a beam into place somewhere high, or even adding small pieces of gameplay areas, like opening new routes. This would give the feeling to the player like each capture point is accomplishing something, and not just a check point on the map. I think it could go somewhere.

I really enjoyed the turntable that rotated as it moved up, even though it didn't work fully. I think if you fixed it up, it would be a really nice aspect of the map. Unfortunately I have to vote for what the map is in it's current state rather than what I could be, though.

Some of the elements could have been done a bit better. These massive cranes stretching high into the sky that are just picking up the cart and moving it 15 feet over to one side and lowering it felt like overkill.

But overall I think your dynamic elements were well done. They added to the map for the most part, and really made it feel like a living area. About halfway through I felt like you went overboard cramming stuff in, but by the end I was satisfied with how it was all handled. It was consistent enough that it worked for the map.


Aesthetics
Aesthetically I'm not that pleased with Stroika. It is very underdetailed. Some of the out-of-bounds detail areas are nice, but they still feel off due to lifeless buildings around them. This map could use another few months of just detailing work done on it.

A very large number of buildings on this map are just large blocks plopped into place, but overall I do think that the map had a really nice in-use feel to it. The dynamic elements made it feel very alive and I enjoyed some of the little touches here and there. For example, Red's first spawn room being in a crate hanging over the tracks. That was a neat use of it.

Also, one thing that really bothered me was the lack of extra sounds throughout the map! The explosions were the biggest offenders here, both at the start and the final explosion, the impact of what was happening was severely degraded due this. It was rather disappointing. The lack of kill brush with the explosion at the end was another strike against the map.

I think you went overboard lighting it as well. There isn't much contrast, and you seem to have thrown lights in places there didn't really need to be. Most of your map is outdoors, but there are lights around like it is a night map.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063566748/A914BDDE815E18EAD81EE2C79720245A84DFB78A/
Not a huge deal, but vphysics errors are just sloppy mapping to me.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063598898/35DBD90362BB9BDF9F09F0B73868D9737953998B/
I'm sure it was pretty unavoidable with the explosion, but the off color around the dynamic portion looks bad. Was the stripe around the room an attempt to mask it somewhat?

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063561332/9EE6B262B515C739F82EF1AFEC625970F251B5C2/
This window was far too high, and that hallway next to it felt very awkwardly placed.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063609749/4E9AF183875A56AFC68FE02D8DA15B7AA3B7A2CC/
I really liked how it rotate up when it did work, but it looked really bad sliding onto it from the wrong side, only to have it pop into place and then rotate when it was fully there.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063605278/ECE31592F93F0E2D7F7F5EF8A29FAF158038192C/
I actually liked this detail area. Fleshed out more it could be a really cool view. Although the train door on the right of the building was an odd choice. I'm not a big fan of the trees, either.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063563345/48A708C9D85D41D0E2301DE5232BBD251188A1C4/
At first I was really confused as to why this hole was here (when I was on top of it) but then I was pleased to see (as I rode down) that it was taking into account the cable, I thought it was going to be a really nice touch, actually. But then it got to the bottom and didn't quite fit right. Just a small thing, but it poked me in the OCD the wrong way.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063558582/609CE2C9C43053B49C61AD22C263399DFF6D220F/
It was unfortunate that these track pieces didn't line up, but not a hugely noticeable thing while playing.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063578355/C88A66F295D625F6AB63F0783AD7F5649DD03E04/
Randomize those textures!

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063588251/E174705074A7C2E07D35DC7C0891131118C01DD1/
Like I said, I was very disappointed by the ending. There was so many dynamic events leading up to the end that I was really expecting something big. It felt like it was just tossed in at the end of your mapping process and not much was put into it. Just removing the cart, adding a kill brush, and adding the sound would have improved this ending greatly.


Performance
I had no FPS loss at all on this map, probably due to the lack of details. Although it did seem like you cut it up nicely with your skybox brushes. I felt like you had the cutting-of-the-map aspects down pretty well.

However, the biggest fault you had in optimization was the complete lack of nodraw'd faces anywhere to be found on the map. There were so many extra faces being drawn behind buildings and behind detail scenes, that I ended up having to cull down my screenshots of examples of it, just to make it manageable.

It also felt like there were quite a few extra brushes in places that didn't seem necessary, and I imagine that as it was detailed further that list would have grown.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063601265/7E3DBFD6D74E929A69C54AC30C0294B42BD17057/
This felt like a very unnecessary detail that added a large amount of long brush faces being rendered for little benefit visually. The cost of them wasn't worth the look.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063571241/AC30115C667C12B70A5E6F92C6A762E05333AD12/
A lot of these faces could be nodraw

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063575414/0AB84D7648AB439DB26EB9FED6551FCD9BE8FD43/
Nodraw

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063594483/E0EFAF4EC0470D5707837F6D1F250390931D125F/
Needs a ton of nodraw here

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336063614148/8E4E0FBD34FC9E78A991DB5F0104E8D94C0D4F38/
It seemed weird to me that you took the time to texture all of this properly when it should have been nodraw'd.


Scoring:
Aesthetics: 3/10
The map overall has a nice feel to it, but suffers greatly from a lack of detailing. The lack of sound is very unnerving. It needs a lot of polish still.

Performance: 6/10
The map ran smoothly due to limited detailing, but there were a lot of surfaces that didn't need to be rendered, this cost the map a lot of points here.

Dynamic Element: 7/10
So many dynamic elements it blew past overboard and into good territory. A few hiccups here, but I liked them.

Balance: 7/10
Leans a bit towards defenders and jumping classes. Still not bad, though.

Gameplay: 7/10
Pretty solid. Pointing out the dynamic elements well, which has been a challenge for other maps who have tried similar things.


Stroika is a surprisingly enjoyable map with a lot of promise to it. Clean it up and I think you'll have a really good map on your hands.

PLR_Frostfell_B1b
by Tom Hoen

http://i.minus.com/ibkjNHfeLFyzuq.jpg


Gameplay:
I really enjoy playing on this map. It had a ton of good height variety, and the map is nice and condensed, keeping the battles always close by.

As a PLR map, it is a huge success. It is very hard to make a PLR that doesn't end up leaving one team in the dust, but with a full server, either team can win no matter how big of an advantage the other gets, come backs are possible, good work.

Spawns are a big convoluted feeling, but they work. They dump you out in just the right places, giving you a good view of the area and lots of path options. The map flows very well. I have never been lost on this map.

The final points are climactic and interesting. At first I was worried about how long the rollback zones were at the very end, but they work well. They make the other team REALLY have to work together to get it up the hill.

Health and ammo placement seems good as well, always some nearby, but never too much. Playing spy is really fun.

I think the map does have a tendency to divide the teams up a lot though. I never really feel much sense of teamwork on here. This is partially due to the gamemode itself, and partially due to map design. I think there might just be too many ways to get back and forth between the sides. No team gets funneled anywhere specific.

I do think

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065200758/34A905677B8D07046278DEAACE1E64BE9763B811/
Good job using the trigger_push technique, but I think you need to crank up the force by a lot. It wasn't difficult keeping myself up here as a scout. I could use this to my advantage.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065205512/D347905CA0F6B3E5EF69E80B43B4F7958D514F6A/
I really enjoyed fighting in this room. It has a lot of dynamic to it. Tons of fun angles to play with.


Balance:
It's mirrored! Not much can go wrong here! I think you did a good job implementing PLR, which is a very difficult gamemode to keep fun for the whole match. It isn't difficult to catch up if you fall behind, which is the biggest issue with PLR normally.

Every class has something fun to do on this map.


Dynamic Element:
I thought your dynamic element was well done, but not very out-there like some of the other maps. I felt like it could have been more creatively utilized, like maybe blocking off an area entirely until the cart reaches that point, that way suddenly a whole new section of map is open and it creates a lot more dynamics, after all that is what the contest is all about.

While it wasn't bad by any means, I just didn't feel it stood out much. Somewhat lack-luster. I feel like this map could have done better in a contest that wasn't based around dynamic elements. If you would have pushed for something more interesting you might have sacrificed the overall quality of the map, which I think stands on it's own.

Aesthetics
The map is very pleasing to look at for the most part. I enjoyed a lot of the little details added in that make the environment feel a lot more real. The extra "spytech beams" supporting the one side looked really cool, I thought that whole edge was really well done visually.

I did however feel that Red's side was much better detailed. Blu had a very bi-polar feel to it, it almost felt half red and half Blu. I think it would've been a very excellent design had you went with more metal and concretes on Blu and less wood. There are certain times where Blu areas feel like they could be Red's. I think Blu's spawn suffers from the lack of proper team-based detailing the most.

Overall I thought it was very well done and had a very unique visual style as well as a believable world created for it. Even though the final point isn't really defined, it felt like a solid objective that was worth fighting to blow up.

One issue I had though was the snow falling out of a bright practically clear blue sky. I think this was a poor choice. While it does give the map a nice feeling, I think the inclusion of the falling snow made it feel wrong. You should have went with either or. I think your map could have also benefited from the skybox with the mountains along the edge.

Speaking of skybox though, I was very disappointed that there didn't appear to be any 3d skybox in your map! The only place it was really noticeable was at the death pit area. I really wish you would have done something over here with it. Even just some rocks or something so it wasn't so obviously missing.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065199506/F521A3458A47EED8BD1C2B7133C31024C374569E/
Bricks, poured concrete, wood beams, and metal panels feels very wrong to me. I think Blu's spawn goes against a lot of Valve standards.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065197436/448B676CE1BBA118D1B243298AD869851FC6B79E/
Like I said about the snow with this sky, it just looks wrong. I come from a snowy state and you never see this. If there was going to be a somewhat blue sky, it would need much bigger clouds.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065198453/15CFD85645E0196A6E27FD79BF5F3E97DC00FFA8/
I really enjoyed this detail. I'm stealing that icicle idea there for something someday.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065202332/BA78DC1F0B3CC5D51763F85DF41D3699DF3CA842/
Those big epic doors go into nothing! Really should have had some sort of slats here, or even just more receding panels that close after.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065196539/C9E73B43FA08113C6C2E7B9587F9A1DD52A0B25D/
This was another nice touch. I liked the overturned bucket for the health, as well as your placement of the paint marker on the wall. That was thinking outside the box and it works very well. I don't think you need the paint on the ground though.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065266451/59C8E313F4D0896E29FFD6452E060E62D9CE709A/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O1hM-k3aUY

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065203563/738B7FAEAD9E24748A0CEEA8D059FB78DBA246FD/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/559816336065204568/09942AF033007C0788AF09732A4361548A1F1455/
I sort of feel like you just copied red's side over and stopped changing it to Blu halfway through. The fact that your Blu sign is literally on a Red-esque wooden wall is probably the worst part of it. I think a quick texture swap would have alleviated a lot of this. This doesn't feel like Blu's base, it feels like something on the edge of Red/ Blu's territory. I really think you could have pulled of a nice Blu-industrial base that would've contrasted nicely with Red's.

I really hope you continue working on this and fix the Valve-standards issues. I really enjoy your detailing work, I think it just needs some retooling and it will be a gorgeous map.


Performance
The map ran very well for me, not a single hiccup. When I looked for them, I saw sufficient fade distances. The map is divided off very well, and you used nodraw faces perfectly. Every space is used very efficiently and I liked how tightly packed in your skybox was to your buildings. No wasted space, but didn't feel cramped in outside of play areas. This is short because I took no issue with your optimization! Well done!

Scoring:
Aesthetics: 7/10
Despite some of Blu having a bit of multiple-personality disorder, and the fact that it's missing a 3d skybox, I think this map holds it's own visually. Some sloppy details here and there, though.

Performance: 10/10
Everything was nice and clean with efficient brushwork and good use of fades and nodraw!

Dynamic Element: 4/10
I feel like you could have done more with this, but then again I think overall it might have sacrificed the quality of the map to push it more. This was definitely the weakest aspect of the map.

Balance: 10/10
It's mirrored! Every class can excel.

Gameplay: 8/10
I really like how this map plays. Some minor issues persist around however.


I really enjoy this map and I look forward to seeing where you take it after the contest is over. I think it has a ton of potential, just needs some tidying up visually. Outside of the context of the contest, I think the dynamic portion plays fine.

PL_Volcanic_A20
by Blade Nd64

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/28514853/images/2012-04-30_00006.jpg


Gameplay:
I really enjoy the gameplay of this map. Everything felt easy to figure out, with only a few convoluted paths (the vent path near the end was pretty awkward.)

I really enjoyed the progression of it, every area flowed into the next well and the progression of the map felt very natural. Every part felt like a solid battle. The map enhanced the fighting rather than getting in the way. Each corner was a new obstacle to face. The "front lines" aspect prevalent in a lot of Valve PL maps is definitely on display here.

The only place I really had an issue with was right around the 2nd CP. It felt it was very overly complex, with far too many levels and path crammed into one area.

Also I think that while the cart is getting pushed on the sliding platform, the entire platform should have the trigger. If you get to close to the edges it stops moving. I really enjoyed your use of the heatwaves to balance the big lane where this is too, I really works well to fix what could have been a massive sniper lane. The forward spawn coming out right there makes that whole area a major iconic focal point of your map.

The fan room is one of the coolest gimmicks I've seen in a map. I love it.

The final area is really fun to play on, I think the only thing that is weird to me is how little damage the lava does to you when you fall down at the end. It's kind of funny fighting down there afterwards, but why doesn't it ignite you like the rest of the lava?

There were quite a few entity problems with the map however, which I included below. Getting stuck in rooms and the cart not always working right is a pretty big problem to have in a map that is your contest entry. I would expect some of these in an earlier version, but I guess that's why it's still in alpha. I think this map could have used a lot more time on it.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815337721/D01F1D5046A44D477300520F33B8C1245EE8CDE8/
This feels overly complex. I think it could be toned down some. At the very least some changes in materials might help de-convolute the area. Maybe the upper path could be a walkway or made of concrete? At the very least it would help break it up visually.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815336633/AFE5CE40722F433B7DF68ECCD7B87135575D0B9B/
I really like the dynamics of this area. The blurring effect is used perfectly here to reduce the sightline. Although I will admit the blur does bother my eyes a bit after staring at it too long.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815333395/E91BD4E193A3921BB3E2EFD7109AA37F1A5089A3/
This is my favorite thing in any map ever. I really enjoy how you used the wind effect to allow access to the different levels. I was very pleased to find out (the fun way) that the top fan was also set up with a kill brush.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815346421/62C7712F9F04ECBCF4CD8397034303FEA30B1F9C/
There is some wonkiness with this elevator though. It sorted itself out a bit after this screenshot though. Also the ramp on the left doesn't always lock itself into place.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815340066/81E879BA029D9390E8DBF13459D9EB0FB417536A/
Note that I'm standing on the cart and it's not moving. It appears to disable itself briefly after starting to move off the ramp and walking out of the trigger and back in seems to right it. This could be an issue on a full server with the cart surrounded. This elevator cost you a point in Dynamic Element bringing it to 9.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815345588/0B01A0626F3A72D9109D3445603798F9BF6BC772/
I got stuck in here at this point. It seemed like touching the door on the right closed the door on the left. Something must be really messed up with your triggers?


Balance:
The map seems pretty balanced for most classes. I think Snipers who aren't proficient up close might have issues finding spots throughout the map, but it's not bad. Lots of flanking routes that are balanced team-wise seem to be in play and allow for classes that benefit from it to do so.

Looking at the round win % on the TF2Maps server, you are almost exactly balanced 51/49 at the time I wrote this.

Dynamic Element:
The lowering elevator was a nice touch to start the map off, gives attackers a bit of a height advantage and introduces the map nicely.

I really enjoyed the sliding platform area. It was really well done how it connected the sides after the cart moved off it.

I think your dynamic elements played really well.

Aesthetics
You are a criminal for releasing this fun map without detailing it. I think this category is definitely going to hold your map back from being a top-contender, unfortunately. I really wish you would have found the time to even do a quick run over over the map setting up all your displacements and throwing a few details around.

The parts that are somewhat detailed don't look terrible, just simple. The final area is a good example of this. The rocket in the center is a nice touch, even though it's not part of the goal of the gameplay. Blowing this up would have been cool, whereas now the cart is just going to the end to blow itself up? An idea for the ending could be that it's blowing up a seal that is holding lava back which then floods the room, destroying the rocket, and creating a really interesting and unique final area event. Granted it comes with it's own issues in implementation, but I think the map needs a good unique ending to fit the rest of the map. But I digress...

I really enjoy the overall feel of the map. You definitely captured the proper feel you were going for, even with minimal detailing. The rumbling effect made it feel like a living area, and I liked how you had it rumble intensely after each capture like the attackers were angering the map itself. The heatwaves add another unique detail of your map that makes it stand out. Some will hate it, I personally like them. Perhaps they aren't needed as intensely on the side pit, though.

You did an excellent job with the sound design too, I really enjoyed the subtle touch of the bubbling lava sound when walking on it. Not something that will come up often, but it's the little things that make a map good.

Did I mention I really like the fan room? That is a good room.

I think this map has a lot of potential aesthetically, but really suffers in it's current stage from lack of time put into detailing. This map needs a LOT of polish still. It is very disappointing to have to give it such a low score here.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815331100/DDDBB18F8FD19A7A2707FB46F683104E96B87837/
Lighting prop spam, this just looks bad.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815347457/1B716DC4102D33DFEA1C0B99D62FD25D7452B990/
More of the same as above.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815349744/6373E1AED672619954A8A5B08B60783D91F5F842/
Gap above this door.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815348713/97544E1285D69F02F3856E0F0E7B52D2733A2B0D/
This is a really simple fix that should not have made it into any released version, even alpha.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815350568/1C35C868310E5711F0B32503198DD75BBEAFDCF4/
The blur effect is really nicely used here, it shows just how hot the lava you are fighting over is, giving you a good sense of danger.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815338765/61419097C30099C4FDE39C337AFB43A0AFF4343D/
A very minor thing, but I liked how there was an off-shoot from the lava on the side here. Do this more throughout the map, it's a nice touch that makes it feel much larger than the area you are fighting in.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815335342/1ECAEE397948E306D6C1BC4EC50252EF05FBDA7C/
I was happy to see that your tracks lined up so well over here.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815334411/320A817E2C668965AD4BC8D17B7ABCFB01FD0C7D/
Then I was disappoint.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815332133/3A7A1411E7FDECB8B05D1A856CFB1F133FFDBC20/
Deathpit in the fan room. For such a cinematic way to die, it sure is disappointing to fall into this. Inexcusable considering the rest of the lava in the map works fine.


Performance
The map runs smooth on my machine, but the lack of detailing is most likely the cause of that. Easy to optimize a map with little detail.

I did notice that there are quite a few spots that could have be nodraw faces, out of bounds detail areas and up high where no one will see. I assume this would have been fixed in a later detailed version, but I have to judge it how it is.

I think the map suffers from lighting prop spam as well, a lot of repeat props thrown around.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815342289/70C6CD12A74202BE297E8855B5B4A67E8E561B24/
No one can see up here, so why texture it?

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815344604/3A14EA42AE438CE869403B0DC72BB00AA8A4EEFD/
This is all behind a detail area. Almost every face pointed back here could be nodraw. There is a lot of waste in this detail room.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745815329332/A83DD7E36AD2928536505A3E0FFB1F307C48130B/
That is a lot of props that aren't probably fully necessary. You could probably cut these in half at least.



Scoring:
Aesthetics: 4/10
Not fully detailed, still in Alpha. It's very disappointing. Overall feel of the map and unique locations and ideas are the only thing saving it from being lower.

Performance: 8/10
Runs smooth, but quite a few areas that should have had nodraw faces. This is a simple fix that cost you points here.

Dynamic Element: 10/10
I really enjoyed your use of the moving platform, it is 100% what I feel the contest should be about, adding to gameplay. Point lost for wonky elevator at the beginning, though. Bonus point for the fan room brings you back to 10. :O

Balance: 10/10
Well balanced all around. Maybe issues for snipers in spots.

Gameplay: 8/10
A lot of fun to play on, very well constructed. A very good "front line" of combat all throughout. Issues with the cart and most notably being able to lock yourself in a room cost you here.

I really enjoy this map. I really hope you keep up with it. I plan on getting this added to our servers voting rotation, and I'll push for it whenever I can.

PL_Clifftop_b1
by Boylee

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1766697/pl_clifftop/screens/b1/pl_clifftop_b10021.jpg


Gameplay:
First and foremost CLIPPING!!!! Looking at what you have clipped, you have the basic understanding of it, all your stairs are good, and a few extra things here and there, as well as everything is blocked out of bounds (for the most part, but I'll get to that.) However, 99% of the beams and extra junk sticking out in the map isn't clipped at all! This made the map VERY frustrating to try to navigate. Everything had an edge to get caught on.

Overall I think it plays pretty well though. The important "front line" aspect is stong here. There are a few key choke points that have good battles around and breaking through feels like a challenge you have to overcome as a team. There seem to be just the right amount of flanking routes to allow teams to slip by, but not too easily.

There did seem to be a few areas where it could be a bit too hard to push through at times, but a little difficulty isn't always a bad thing. I do think there was a bit of height variation in combat areas missing from the map, however. A lot of the combat felt pretty flat, which is a shame considering how much vertical space you have to work with here.

Another issue I noticed was Blu's spawn. Certain areas of it don't have the proper spawnroom brush entity in it. There are places where changing classes results in your death, this is bad.

Also, I found a HUGE bug that should NOT exist in a map released as a beta. Video below.

THIS IS VERY BAD

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823384458/EAF1378725725F24F81DE2A824D433C5812EAE9E/
The lack of clipping here was infuriating. If you are going to use a prop as a ramp, make sure it works right.


Balance:
Map seems pretty balanced team-wise. TF2Maps has it winning on both sides about evenly.

Class wise I think it suffers a bit from lack of height variation, not allowing some of the jumping classes to get advantageous spots. Pyros seem to be rather powerful in a lot of the tight side route corridors, as well.

Dynamic Element:
Your elevators work well, I just don't think they provide a whole lot to the gameplay. It's a bit boring, honestly. You have so many sharp ramps on the map, that they could just as easily be ramps in place of elevators.

I think they work nicely and make the map slightly more interesting, just aren't that necessary. I've thought of this contest as everyone trying to think outside of the box for something truly map-altering, and I think elevators are sort of default here.

Aesthetics
This map is very hit and miss visually. There are some aspects of it that I really enjoy, like the forest feel around the map itself. I think you did an excellent job with all of your out of bounds areas. It looks like a tree-heavy forest, which can be difficult to do in TF2, so congrats on that.

However in the play area, your map feels very bland. There is not nearly enough contrast on your buildings. They also tend to have (at least in the early stage) a very tall, imposing feel about them, especially looking up the cliff side.

Your interiors, especially spawn rooms, feel VERY gloomy and dark. Blu's initial spawn room is the worst offender here. Brighten things up! Add some color! This is TF2, things are more vibrant than this.

I did enjoy the fact that you can walk "outside" for Blu's initial spawn room, and even see a glimpse of the final objective peeking out, that was a nice touch. I like the overall feel of the map, it just needs a lot more to put it where it should be.

Your stairs and ramps have a bad habit of being very steep. I think this is a product of trying to cover as much ground upwards as you can to get the cart to the final area, but I think it's overboard. You have a lot of very steep steps that not only look bad, but just feel wrong in the setting and to the player as they climb them.

I was disappointed at your final explosion, though, as it doesn't even seem to explode on the rockets we are trying to push it to! I think at the very least you could have made the rockets disappear, or even made the building blink into looking crumbled in on itself a bit and that would have helped a some. At the very least, the explosion should have happened inside the building below.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823389358/D098E11025D5D077A5160D57A61AC200556C195E/
I really like this view here. Your out of bounds are pretty consistently good looking.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823385543/4747366E9ABA0C16B8186A5F60514E2768C0E2D4/
Way too gloomy. Your fog is a bit too green as well. Looks very pea-soup, especially in the darker rooms. Dynamic fog changes would have helped this.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823386941/0D1192A18BB8EB78177AA1EE4E475317CAED83B6/
Z-fighting in your spawn room.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823376888/C5B19A97F7CA3F75852258D92B013905E41F80A5/
This is inexcusably dark, especially with a sign there.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823375787/C73BD780914C94CAF1B314DE1D602A29D3E39ED2/
This is Blu's spawn and I find it very bland and boring. I think you could have benefited from making it fit the Blu-industrial style a lot more.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823374363/BF4C50480A9C02FE89D05D89E598AB21B7031284/
This whole section is very bland. I like the geometry you chose to use, but there isn't a window in sight! It doesn't look real.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823373177/46CCD10F5A9FAB597DCE04BABEF1DB3DA7814958/
Minor, but this is a really simple thing that shouldn't happen here.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823368838/1E24F7CAFA940DAB000740B9D11C1BE961529F1E/
Another imposing building, and it's cut funny because of your optimization, I assume.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823366160/AC62E948F3F20CB2B8E2F7D880B4DE0FC8605637/
Hole in your displacement!

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823364178/C7B931D3D676EDA6B75CF3FCFB6AAE0E83A3DE75/
This is a nice, simple view. I like it.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823362729/43B0A336588D70295C016EC8C3ECC9F377C4FA70/
Not only is this the worst thing you could do with these props, you didn't even player clip anything here. Looks bad, and is a terrible use of resources. This is very taxing on a system.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823361482/999117CE9E35FAEECFAFFDA45C243EC5A415FA52/
This was funny. Details like this are what makes a TF2 map so much fun to explore, to me.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823358457/78FE03AD7CDA6791133DB4742CA523D1B54BDEF5/
Floating beams.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823357432/C7A02FFEE79EE2B61BAD2FB933B07002A1459905/
These ramps look horrible and aren't much fun to climb. Feels like a very forced way to insert your elevator. I don't see why those stairs in the front couldn't have been extended out further.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823356051/3338618317A69833F3CFD67D900514AD78978979/
This is my official pet-peeve of this contest.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823354400/1303485DB9828026AFCF4932AFC8D59DD78F7886/
More messed up building cuts. I see how you tried to make this your center focal point to help everyone get a sense of where they are in the map, but when it's cut like this, it just doesn't work.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823380464/E3AB9F3D1BA386CB38F41592CF1320BA46962F22/
More unnecessarily steep stairs.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823378859/F89478E77391C7EC127B49ED8186E0734FE7F8B3/
This was a nice detail, and good use of the construction props.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823377731/23968F58A905556F80BF3AF4362468B1C165B7AD/
I really liked how this was right next to Blu's first spawn room, but you couldn't really tell until you were up here what it was. Although the brushwork is pretty boring.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823381617/21411EE0EA8E8ECF71F0F467D75D8D58F7643A9E/
I think you accidentally a nodraw.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745823388007/AC9A9F735965A678E791E9A83354D06144FF959C/
I think this was my favorite out of bounds area. You did an excellent job making the area feel tightly surrounded by forest.

Performance
You did an excellent job cutting the map up, the whole map is divided off into quadrants that really help cut down on the rendering in each area. I had smooth FPS throughout. Pulling that off with a forest-themed map is pretty difficult, so well done.

The crate prop spam cost you a point here, though. I think you could have easily done something with brushwork here that would have not only looked better, but have been a lot more efficient use of your resource budget.

Scoring:
Aesthetics: 5/10
Interiors are too dark and gloomy, exterior buildings are too bland. The only saving thing is your out-of-bounds areas capturing the forest feel.

Performance: 8/10
Runs smooth, well cut, but prop spam in a key location cost you. Still good, though.

Dynamic Element: 3/10
Functional, but not really that necessary.

Balance: 6/10
Teams are good, but I think class balance is a bit off.

Gameplay: 6/10
Decent flow and good "front lines." Just a bit flat. Exploitable clipping (and lack thereof in general) and wonky spawn room costs you, unfortunately.

There is a lot of promise to this map, like most of the final contenders. I like the visual feel you have starting here, and really hope to see if fleshed out further in the actual gameplay areas.

PLR_Atoll_b1
by LeSwordfish

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13673854/atoll/2012-04-24_00001.jpg


Gameplay:
I think Atoll plays pretty well. I enjoy some of the fighting spaces, and I think you have a decent balance of height around the map. The initial push/ roll out is always pretty exciting. I enjoyed figuring out the optimal path to take to get directly to the enemy team as pyro to ambush them as close to the start when they were grouped together still. You have a pretty good layout, and have an obvious grasp of gameplay dynamics in general.

Unfortunately, the only thing lacking here is something that plagues the game-mode itself. When one team manages to push their respective cart past the turn tables, if the other team hasn't made it at least half way to that point, it tends to be game over. It seems like past the turn tables is pretty difficult to defend, unless an engineer can get a sentry up on the overhang walkway and keep it up.

After that, it's, literally, all downhill from there. The final room tends to just be a massive roll every time I've played this. There doesn't feel like there is any dramatic tension before the final cap. I think the roll-forward zone was a bad decision. A team pushed there doesn't need anything else helping them. I think it could even benefit from a small rollback zone just before the drop. Probably even a painfully-slow one, at that.

Your clipping left a lot to be desired. All around the beach area I was getting caught on edges that should be easy fixes. I feel like this is part of the mapping process you really just skimmed over, and it's costing you points here.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926887153/3947FE8FC62AE7AB6647BACA074C2FA917DCE09C/
A.D.D. from finishing this clip? Literally adds another face to get caught on.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926297763/E6259D79B5C0204257A5CD7BBE21EAF523047AE9/
Almost proper clipping here, but another edge added to get caught on. All this needed was a flat clip along the barrels that the wedge touched. Instead you get caught on the edge of the clipping wedge itself!

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926292199/BDBD8B022B7E12DA6D809A0667AA6AB31AF22903/
Obviously some effort was made to clip this, but you left all of the props completely untouched. Every pipe and window had it's own edge. This should all be a smooth surface here.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926293265/07D4640CF675DC3FAC51C9BE208DC223E3ECA852/
None of this was even touched with a clip brush.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926280063/51C799CEC9055124A8BBAD02643099731443EC09/
This area just feels bad to navigate through.


Balance:
Mirrored! Teamwise it is spot on for the first section. I like how you blended the differing detail work into identical areas (for the most part.) However, there tends to be issues once one team gets a decent lead on the other. Even your dynamic area doesn't seem to save it much here.

Classwise, I think it could us a bit more of a height difference for jumping classes. The map feels pretty flat. The middle area feels a bit tight and Pyros and other close quarters classes benefit.


Dynamic Element:
I think the turntables feel like they drag on forever, but I can see how this is a benefit as well.

It's well-designed in theory that the turntables allow the other team to catch up, and it's nice that once they get there they don't have to wait for it. However this isn't always the case, and it seems like the dynamic element doesn't quite go far enough. I think a dynamic element in PLR is a hard thing to pull off. You had a good attempt at it, and I think it's one of the more interesting visually.


Aesthetics
This map jerks me back and forth between jaw dropped and severely disappointed. Spawning in Blu, I immediately feel negatively towards the map. Oddly enough that contrast almost acts like a foil to the amazing detail work immediately outside of it going towards the beach. I can easily say this is my favorite view of any of the contest maps. Everything in this area looks so lifelike. The warm color choice works very well, even for blue. The subtle blue details like the windows and paint patches really make this area fit the team.

Looking back on that area from the beach, it looks just as good as from within it. I really like the use of the arch and the tiered buildings. This area really feels alive.

Unfortunately, Red's side isn't nearly as interesting. The dark, boring reddish stone texture really does a disservice to advertising your detailing talents. I really feel like you phoned in this side of the map. Throwing some displacements in (although matching the arch was nice) and some palm trees on top. I think you would've been much better off doing this area more like a run-down wooden shanty town or something similar, contrasting the well built Blu team, and utilizing preexisting TF2 theme structuring. It would have made an excellent facade for the interior of your spawn, that could have been left as-is.

Again distancing itself from Blu's side of the map, Red's spawn is very well detailed. I really enjoyed the elevator on the side. It gave me an almost aliens feel, but I really enjoyed it. It provided a nice hidden industrial complex feeling to the area.

Ultimately though, your map suffers greatly from the lack of interior detailing. This is a shame, because I would have loved to have seen what you could have done with it.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926300038/ECB815FE1DF21BB42A96784B2878B32940E6F86F/
I really liked the use of negative space above these, even if it is undetailed.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926282838/8671982E3F1907F410E9113947746BEA586BFBFE/
I think more could have been done to hide this transition. Also, do you have any fog in your skybox? I think it could have greatly benefited from a nice thick fog out there. It would have given you a much more believable edge to the skybox.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926287976/CA088192CEE372C3001C1705ADF5CC8AA33EAFC3/
Funky shadow makes this edge stick out like a sore thumb, and your texture blend isn't dense enough on the edge, leaving the seam visible.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926294794/F5AC92380142DE1F3B93E6EA1E8464B20F027642/
This was a really creative use of the materials available to you.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926281037/D11CD9C01E9C566E19A9D19FD4F9F5227174F9EA/
I like the look of this so far and I think this whole area has a lot of potential.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926302818/70755556F0A9AD4313A2EB9D6BB0257C55FE48A0/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926289807/03CEFF9CE2262CE0D8AAA1D2A2F5B15D0216E9C3/
The difference between these two is astounding. I can't believe the same mapper made these, let alone it being on the same map.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926301524/1DC8FA259F19F6786721B59AC7470B6597F56DC5/
I like how these overlays overlap, and how they all work together to draw the eye towards the door. However, I think the Umber Coffee sign is tilted way too much.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926304008/DCFED39355ED8A811E17914130EB9098373C1BF9/
This is spot on TF2-humor that should be thought about as anyone details a map. Well done on the visual gag.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926306936/82A4D34A821AB670F227CEF875202AA400438DDC/
I really like this elevator.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926296003/A4800739DC888A86F1A87B74C112BFFE69683149/
I think the mirroring is a little too obvious here. The forklifts are the worst part of it, and they just point out how the barrels are mirrored as well.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926281881/8A6041275D35F250946921CFBD0D66E9A5D0CD46/
I like how you mirrored the arch, but I think the whole thing could have been done better. It's just displacements+rocks+trees. The building on the side of it is rather lifeless and boring, as well.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926285760/FC2CF2934F65497B6AF622A826AC2A5057AA2FCF/
I have no idea what this building is supposed to be. It doesn't look like it is structurally sound enough to hold the weight on top of it. Not to mention the brushwork on top looks like it serves absolutely no purpose at all. Even hinting at an access hole under it might have helped here.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926298813/159206ADA566E0DBD7F57A359ED32341660DB744/
I'm not a fan of how narrow these buildings are.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926286681/0D0ACBF5119CDB0258D86F3888115EEFA7C9BD14/
This looks very good. Very life-like. I wish the whole map was detailed as well as this side.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560942745926284070/DC57D6BE0E92A03AA63AAA8851CD2B631A94C144/
Stunning.


Performance
I didn't notice much here. I heard some people complaining about low FPS, especially around your detailed beach area (for obvious reasons.)

You did a decent job with your nodraws, though. I didn't really notice much that could have been done better here.

Scoring:
Aesthetics: 4/10
I really wish I could rate this higher but really the only thing holding this up is Blu's side and Red's spawn room.

Performance: 8/10
A few people complaining about low FPS, but not bad on your nodraws. Seems solid for what it is.

Dynamic Element: 5/10
I think a little more could be done here, but I like how it somewhat balances out the problem with most PLR maps, in some cases. Not always, though.

Balance: 6/10
Mirrored, so team-wise it's fine, but some class imbalances exist. If one team gets into the building before the other, it tends to be game-over.

Gameplay: 6/10
Fun at times, but lacking in others. Your beach area is fun to fight on, but inside feels a bit lacking, and unfortunately that's about 2/3rds of the map. Clipping brings this down as well.

Atoll is a good take on PLR, but could use a assessment of it's interior space and final point. Please for all that is good, finish the detailing on this map and have it all be comparable to Blu's village.

PL_Quagmire
By Monsterclip

This is where I put the official screenshots normally but Monsterclip's appears to be gone now.


Gameplay:
I think the layout of this map has a lot of potential. There is a lot of fun to b e had here. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy playing on this map. There are a lot of fun areas with a ton of dynamics to fight on. I think you could have used height a bit more, but where you did plays well.

There are a lot of places, however, that can be infuriating to play on. Your displacements coming out of water are a big offender here (but not always.) You need to introduce yourself to this button in hammer:


This will show you which displacement surfaces are walkable and which aren't. This could have saved a ton of frustration just trying to navigate the map.

The first point is a bit too much of a choke. I rarely see a game where this isn't a difficult point to capture. The point itself is a massive choke and the best flanking path around it are tight corridors easily locked down by a single pyro. The second path around it, which is barely noticeable, takes you almost too far past it. This is a good way for spies or even snipers, but again, can be easily locked down due to how confined it is.

The middle area is honestly pretty un-notable. It seems to be difficult to hold, so Blu tends to breeze through it and to the final point. I do enjoy the flanking path that leads right over the heads of Blu as they push the cart before the final point, though. Many spy drop-down kills have happened here.

The final area just isn't much fun to play for me. Sentry locations are difficult to get to, let alone take down, and the whole right side is plagued by displacement walking issues (most frustratingly near the health pack and ammo!) It is so open that a good sniper (standing in a darkened room, on top of it) can keep most classes at bay. Being able to see anyone pushing around to the final point because of the mesh fence you have set up really gives defenders and advantage. Think of how many official maps make this a sharp corner, giving attackers a place to set up and make a push from. If you see this push coming a mile away, you can easily anticipate it.

Overall though, there is a lot of fun to be had here, it just needs a major overhaul of flanking routes and the final area. There are some unique ideas, and I hope you aren't discouraged by the negative reviews about it.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272363261/A0E4A46567D640B68A2DF84FABA06D5DC9FEC9FA/
I'm really glad you put this clip here. It was very well-placed and allows you to pop up cleanly out of the water. I just wish you would have done this everywhere else.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272334590/92791984FFC403B2744A2085B92850A757B14E24/
Personally I would have put a ramp here. Seems sort of pointless to clip everything else off and leave a sharp edge on the clip itself. The brush is there, the face of the brush is even there, use it.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272372551/B4A834E5F7A1E70B46935D794EA740216DB6676F/
There are 8 stickies placed in the doorway of this screenshot. I'm glad to see you thought about clipping a lot in the map, but I think you relied too heavily on turning off vphysics on props.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272360170/30C216FF34DEF5F8E243C2E5124084433F76E31F/
Clip your props, too. It was really easy to get stuck on these.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272335971/7A1B8F8A9F4ABEAC8665E1F81A82C182A46D5264/
This area plays really well. I like the use of height, and it looks perfect in a swamp setting.

Balance:
The map is fairly balanced, team wise, which is actually a surprise to me considering how the explosions effect gameplay. I do think, with more testing, you'll find Red has an advantage over Blu due to all of the choke points the the dynamic element.

Class wise, close-quarters classes have a HUGE advantage in all of the tight-corridors and buildings you have placed as flanking routes everywhere. The biggest offender here is just before the first capture point. The only way around the tiny choke point the cart takes, is through one of the tightest corridors you could probably get away with in a TF2 map without being considered obnoxiously small.

I can rain death on this map as spy. The water area between the first and second point is absolutely the best possible thing to put into a map for a spy to wreck butts.


Dynamic Element:
I think this could have been done better. It's an interesting idea, but seems to catch first time players off guard. Mind you, I'm not sure how else you could point it out. Most people (including me) get caught by the blast their first time playing the map. I think you missed an opportunity to really change the dynamics of the map using the explosion. Walls or even entire structures could have been placed around the track and blown up via the cart.

Right now the dynamic element's effect on gameplay only seems to slow down Blu's advance. While this helps stifle a massive roll, it only serves to make the map that much more difficult to push on for Blu team.

Like I said though, I think it was rather creative and interesting, but could have been pulled off a bit better. Not quite dynamic enough for this contest, in my opinion.


Aesthetics
This map utilizes the swamp theme really well. Immediately outside of Blu's spawn is a nice, but over-detailed, area. It really captures the feel you are going for with the map, and I think it is a good example to look at when doing a swamp theme. I think you have one of the more successfully pulled-off swamp themes out there.

However, this map is drastically over-detailed. You could easily cut out 3/4 of the props you have on this map and still get your point across. I think you need to read up more on detail density and how to place them to draw the eye towards objectives and important areas. Right now it looks like you found blank areas and filled them with props. This makes for a very realistic and detailed map, but it is not how TF2 maps are made. I could spend all day taking screenshots of over-detailed areas in this map. To be brutally honest, I don't think there are many examples on this map that aren't over-detailed.

I think progression wise, there is a lot of issues with this map. There really isn't a final-point worthy structure at the final point. Every building before it is much larger and much more built up. The final point is just a dirt-mound surrounded by some ragged buildings. Why am I fighting so hard to get here?

I did enjoy the look of your skybox however, it's simple, and shows off why the area is so flooded. It is a low lying pit in the middle of large hills. It makes sense visually and logically.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272350967/76B6695011D848839CEA63A6D8DBA622A7E06C7E/
This is a good example of how to properly utilize the swamp theme.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272341400/A45F9C0F19A55191A193939105888B5C01D2F9DA/
I liked this detail in Blu's spawn. Felt like a good detail to put in here. I have always been of the opinion that Blu should have something to look at and do during the setup phase.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272357031/253ABD73534845506B16B71D18796A0C9770E858/
This is a perfect example of what I mean by optimizing your detail density. The same effect could have been gotten across by using 2-3 of these tires, spaced out further. There is no need for this many.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272352109/ED67B5D633D11354277CFC35EE3AA8389EDD7180/
Pretty dark here, but also points out something that is prevalent throughout the map, a lot of rooms with doorways leading right into flat roofs. Why not use the space above to make the areas feel not so claustrophobic?

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272377378/B61D06C9F04F1193A6CD3CCB68BE20901ED51D30/
That is a lot of (high poly) props on one wall. Again I think this could have been cut down.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272361667/64BDB53A604656F17F4CB09F95E448D423F9941B/
That's a lot of chimneys, all using different props. Just what are they trying to vent?

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272366366/EBCD245166C70A3F1B097461FBE53ADAC46C246C/
This would be a perfect example of how to detail around a door way, if that doorway was actually usable. I think this is some seriously excessive detailing for what could have easily been a single piece. I would have done the vents and the arrow sign and called it done.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272402123/0A333150C6BD2D082BE06207D25B446D641043AC/
This is a lot of stuff for an area that isn't that visible. Also this is just above the excessive detailing I mentioned last.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272339408/25585E695D35B46EC70C5F9BC68F8A2094C8412B/
One panel up here would have been enough.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272406220/1C2AD0B8CAEDF207E081FED5870488C5EFC7C015/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272346445/133F18500AB4C1F7F053CD116360D5EC4EF20B11/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272397331/50E5AC99F4607D88D0B8F500A68D39CB1A6D502D/
A heavy still seems like a really odd thing to just scatter around an area. I would assume machinery would be kept in a bit more controlled areas. I think this prop was used poorly.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272380214/EA8B4FB2C28260CF300218C7644907F816F1AF3A/
Prop spam. Also my biggest pet-peeve about this prop is on display here. They are all facing the wrong way! How did a pallet jack/ forklift put them in there?! Minor thing really, but it's something I notice often.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272387629/D5E39DC7812971B8E088BE37FF9F56BA5D9FDB80/
Lighting on the prop is wrong, and why do you have all of your drips so steady? You could cut these down to 1 drop every few seconds and it would get the point across and look much more realistic, as well as be much more efficient to render.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272376208/0247652CB5C3142902232FA222A2517E02722A40/
I have no idea why I'm trying to hard to blow these shacks up.


Performance
There are way too many props and not nearly enough angles and sealed off areas to hide them. While you appear to have cut the map decently with skybox brushes, I think it could have greatly benefited from a completely sealed off separate area before the final point.

On top of this, it seems like maybe 1/4 of your props have fades on them. You really should have taken the time to do this with a map that is as prop heavy as this.

I found a few areas that should have been nodraw'd that weren't. I think there was a lot of waste on this map, between nodraws, drastically inefficient detailing density, prop fades, and the general openness of the map.

I hadn't noticed much FPS loss on my end, but I have a high end machine. I did notice quite a few areas where a TON of props are spawning where you can't see though, and I have heard quite a few people complain about FPS issues at certain junctions.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272354590/A68AE27AC0F51624366515CA38FBC22899947CF6/
10 bombs in one area? Was this really necessary to get the point across? There are a LOT of polys on these, and you just multiplied them by 10.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272337805/1B62689A63ECF253199441F11B4ACEBF82700DFF/
More prop spam. Again this could have gotten across the point with much much less than this.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272378549/63DA10882F0A2A9A354120D23F86AC62F57C44B8/
That's a lot rendering at once. The rocks don't help matters.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272385450/C3EE0544CED262BF178A0ED68037C3053F9A8693/
I can see why lower end machines are struggling with this map.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272357923/715D560E11DFDB2C1F19A6C0EFC3974C33802D95/
Nodraw this. (Mind you there is an entire room nodraw'd below me, so I'm not sure why you skipped back here)

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/558691485272358875/7FE819BB9F4419DDC43006C6C4F8A35EA92D7BB5/
More wasted faces.


Scoring:
Aesthetics: 5/10
Excellent use of the swamp theme, but poor execution of detail density for not only optimization purposes, but gameplay.

Performance: 3/10
There is a lot of issues with optimization on this map. Prop spam without fades is the biggest offender. There are FPS issues for a lot of people.

Dynamic Element: 3/10
Creative, good use of prop available to you, but not gameplay effecting in a positive enough way.

Balance: 4/10
A bit off team-wise. Not much balance in areas class-wise. Close quarters stick to their places, longer-range stick to theirs.

Gameplay: 6/10
Fun to play, but there are a lot of basic issues here that hold the map back. Your excessive detailing started causing issues with gameplay/ movement. That is a huge issue. Detail shouldn't even interfere with gameplay unless it's enhancing it.

Quagmire suffers from a lot of issues that could be easily fixed, and I hope you take the time to do so. Perhaps knock out the dynamic element, or limit it to only one location as a way to balance out an area that is a bit too easy to push? Clean up your detailing a ton, optimize optimize optimize. Look at every detail area you have in the map and figure out how to eliminate some of it to exactly what needs to be there to get your point across.

PL_Gloryhole_B1
by grazr

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560940105114359491/8F8B6349FA5B575868D17C15F2738EBD9F152068/


Gameplay:
As a whole, Gloryhole is a decent map, gameplay-wise. Overall, each point represents a new challenge that must be overcome by attackers, and has a decent chance for defenders to hold them there.

However, as a player, there is a lot to be confused about on this map. There seem to be a lot of paths that aren't necessary (the left flank going towards the first point is a good example) and a lot of paths that are so convoluted and unintuitive that it is very easy to get confused about where you are even heading. Far too often do I have to back-track to move forward.

Your clipping is absolutely atrocious, as well. Looking at it, you appear to have done the bare-minimum possible, just keeping players in the play space and clipping stairs. Every beam and prop is a new edge to get caught on, and I'm really surprised you didn't put more effort into this. Poor clipping is an incredibly frustrating issue to deal with in game, and severely detracts from the gameplay experience you are trying to create.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308553977/05D776858A04A4463530E4F0E0D582099419B363/
This area is incredibly frustrating to drop down into as Red, heading towards Blu. The ONLY way out, as a non-jumping class, is to backtrack quite a bit, and then take the upper path. This is not very intuitive, and you really should have included a ramp going up somewhere here. This is incredibly frustrating as a heavy, who suffers the most from falling down here. The whole lower section feels almost unnecessary, and really ruins this area of the map. I think this part could be one of the more iconic places on your map, so the fact it has such poor play on it is unfortunate.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308573120/AD12FD026AA4C4C2661F8275352B694A5353767F/
The left side of this can't b e walked up smoothly. I think if you are going to use a prop here, you really need to take the time to make sure it works for everyone.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308562996/6D24F421CF5845BDCE1BCC51AB7F0C4CC1516F86/
I think you really missed an opportunity here with this. I think it could have added a really unique and just plain fun element to your map had you actually allowed players to ride up the wheel. I don't understand why it needed to be playerclipped.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308722396/B27E1EA24B8E00157A29E873C22EC2B25008EF3D/
All of these edges look like they are just able to be crouch-jumped out of, but aren't. Some places it is, and you said something in chat about it being a displacement issue and not your fault, but I don't understand why you didn't fix this. It is incredible frustrating to fall into this shallow pit of water and not have a reliable way to get out in every direction.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308686136/FB1AA5E6A1B8A094D1C079020D4C90C54A4A75D9/
While a bit convoluted, I did really enjoy the dynamics of this area. It felt fun to play on as most classes. I really enjoyed the height differences here, although I think the point might have been even better on the opposite side, so you couldn't get "under" a sentry nest set up on the ledge to the left.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308717458/28BE93961A6BBA917EDE42BCC62901E7E5BB7B8C/
This is probably one of the least intuitive roll outs in the contest. I never feel like my movement is very efficient, and I have to take all sorts of weird side-paths and jumps just to get back to the front line.


Balance:
I think you have some issues here. Team-wise, Red seems to win far more often than Blu. At the time of writing this, it was 70/30 favoring Red. That is pretty drastic for any map, in my opinion.

I'm willing to bet that most of the wins are before the first and second point. It seems like the difficulty for Blu really takes a nose-dive after those points. The final area almost becomes trivial during some games.

Classwise, I think this map drastically favors highly maneuverable classes like scouts, demos, and soldiers. ESPECIALLY soldiers. All of the shallow water you have placed gives them a huge advantage on the map. Not only can they launch themselves extremely high with it, they can take 0 fall damage landing in it. It can be a neat effect used sparingly, but surrounding the final point in it was a poor decision, in my opinion.

Dynamic Element:
I think most of your Dynamic Elements were tacked on and unnecessary for better gameplay here. They tend to either have no very little effect on gameplay, or even negative.

The biggest offender here is the first. The concept of a combined capture-zone/ track section is interesting, and you obviously tried hard to convey what was happening here via details, but it just doesn't explain what the player needs to do at a glance. In a high paced combat environment, no one is looking to see where your electrical poles connect to. If this was somehow a defender dynamic (perhaps they have to stand somewhere to STOP the cart from moving) it would probably make more sense and give the team a chance to investigate the dynamic before the game started, but even then wouldn't be much fun for anyone. MANY times did I here "aww our cart is broken!" or "why won't our cart move!?" Everyone is confused by this at the start, and I'm not sure this dynamic belongs in a TF2 game. It doesn't add anything but confusion to the start of your map.

The second element, your turntable, doesn't feel like it adds much to the gameplay of the area. Why should Blu be stalled here? All it seems to do is hold the team in a high-hazard area, giving Red even more time catch up and slow down Blu's push. I feel this just breaks up any momentum gained by Blu, and not in a way that is beneficial to the map as a whole.

The third element, the elevator, suffers from being far too small, and leads the players into a practically blind leap of faith as they ride down. Blu players riding the cart HAVE to ride it to completion, generally, and are stuck on it once it gets partially down. There is no chance to escape. On top of that, it's very easy to spam this cart, and a single demo man standing below can hold it off while his teammates hold the two other ways into the area for Blu easily. I do like how it creates a one way drop down after it's pushed, though. Not allowing Red an easy way back to Blu's new territory.

The fourth I think is your only good dynamic element on the map. If you keep working on the map, I suggest at the very least keeping this one. This one enhances the gameplay of this area in a positive way, mostly because of the open nature of it, I think. Blu has a chance to escape if necessary, and Red has plenty of options to defend it.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308732547/111BF95EE1AFA3A74A242AD3226291484E963B4B/
You really tried hard to point out what is happening here, but I really don't think it makes sense to anyone while they are playing for the first few times. It is very easy to get past this part without having any idea what had to be done to do so. One player stands up top un-noticed, and the cart just starts working again, to some.


Aesthetics
I think Gloryhole is very bland.

It feels very under-detailed, with a lot of long blank walls and boring texture choices. It feels like a far-along alpha stage map that got a quick paint over and some details thrown around, which I have a feeling it is. Some areas obviously received more attention than others, giving the map a very dis-joined style.

I do like the theme idea and I hope you expand on it. Overall the map has some really interesting ideas, and I really enjoy the look of the water elements you used. The small details like water splashes were a nice touch. I think it could have used a bit more intense water sounds, though. Not nearly enough for how much water is flowing around.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308701158/EC37BA7410C946C55C6EBBD468CF962787DC9F01/
This huge blank spot this close to the gameplay is pretty bad looking. I assume it was left intentionally blank because of an idea for a future detail (I can imagine something pretty cool here...) but I think you should have thrown something here for your contest submission.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308669290/BB6667A234105E433C02CAC1D0131DC6A2CF1718/
This is a really boring spawn room.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308654169/0479CEEDF1E5431701DD53C572B052AC498D82A2/
This is not a structure that should exist. The walls are long, plain, and boring. The layout itself doesn't make any sense. Nothing feels right about this room.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308639208/B9F86FC28D6415BE5C400D86AD5BBC9F78E39072/
This is pretty telling of how last minute your details and skybox were.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308694448/F48EF1EE2A80F5A76FE1B971F84AA120B0C1065B/
What the hell is going on here?

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308649632/944D766151D2B5E15C23B59A3AF2572CD6437EF2/
Boring, repeating texture. The only thing breaking this up is the windows thrown around (that seems too high, personally) and the chimneys that also repeat.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308663926/3E7FBAA9E52ABA81AEE3D96A38993EF705CEE318/
This texture shouldn't be used so close to the game area.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308658058/B2961CBDC09B868A589FC52D45B0432D07AAEE0D/
I think I found some accidental brushes.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308576523/C035DAC4C3E9180D77A5056DDA505CDFC5F7C178/
I really enjoyed your flowing water and the continuity to provided throughout the map. Noclipping around you can really see that you tried to be as realistic as you could with your water flow.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308705785/2870BF2FE7EF3AF85AAE4D1CA9507CE2A12EB200/
I really liked how you placed these water sprites. It doesn't show well in the screenshots, but you did a really good job angling them so it looks like the water is getting disrupted by the tracks.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308680535/A40C2EDE62973C26541C330B75C406D651B4B47F/
The animation flowing around this rock was really well done.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308727380/3DA5386A3F470815F9274349161C288F5257CF1E/
Missed something!

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308642994/C1365ADA45E9790AF21120DB4E4D558424511351/
Those shadows look horrendous. It practically looks like you used toolsblack on the top face here.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308673604/CA0E3716AC3674FC944748F2D38FA9A9C3FA48B8/
Bland, boring. Red is going to be staring at this building for the duration of setup and until Blu can push them back. Even a giant Blu overlay behind the cart could have helped here.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308690787/FE7D1501A05D3193CA838C66DBA211CCDF88FB26/
This was probably the most perplexing detail on the map. Excessive use of the same prop, and logically doesn't even make sense here, or on the map!

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308735835/D1AA936CDD5124C1AFBAD037D5A7105CC5A0879F/
Severe lack of supports or anything breaking up the walls.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308548340/0C0A8DCB324FC8E24F4FB26E4ABCD726B775A0C3/
Very boring use of the materials. Very little texture changes.


Performance
Overall you seem to have done an excellent job with your nodraw faces, and breaking up the space to optimize visleafs. Each area is separated well and it doesn't appear that much is unnecessarily rendering. The lack of details probably helped some here, though.

Your final point explosion causes a MASSIVE slow down on any machine. I run a pretty high-end machine, and it grinded down to single digit FPS if I stood overlooking the entire explosion as it animates. That is a huge negative towards this category.

Something I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464308645949/A8569BB14D3E523CD8E8508F379D7FDC9CE9EAEA/
Missed some nodraws! Not many on the map though, so I wont hold this against you.


Scoring:
Aesthetics: 4/10
An interesting overall theme that I hope to see expanded upon, but the lack of detailing and boring texture choices hurt you a lot here.

Performance: 8/10
Well optimized, but the explosion grinds any machine to a near halt.

Dynamic Element: 3/10
Only one out of 4 that enhances the gameplay in a positive way.

Balance: 5/10
Every point is a challenge, but a bit too easy to defend the first half of the map. Soldiers can have too much fun on this map.

Gameplay: 5/10
Not a terrible map, but plagued with convoluted paths and a severe lack of clipping. It has promise, but needs a lot of work here.


Gloryhole is a fun map that has a lot of issues that could be addressed for future versions. As is, the map needs a lot of work, but could be refined into something really enjoyable.

PL_Escarpment_RC1
by Aly

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2347130/escarpment/rc1/2012-04-25_00011.jpg


Gameplay:
Overall, I really enjoy playing on Escarpment. Each area is a fun place to fight over. I really enjoy the battle that takes place at the start of the round. Blu has just the right amount of challenge pushing out, and each class has something to do. Probably one of the better initial fights in the contest.

The second point can be a bit challenging to take, but I like the dynamics to the fight. It is a literal uphill battle for Blu to take, and there is plenty of height advantage and flanking routes here to give every class a chance. I've seen the map stall out here a few times, but I think it's within acceptable limits.

The final point is a ton of fun, and I really enjoy the "pit" feeling of it. This isn't done on PL maps often and I think you pulled it off well. It does seem a bit easy to push in once you get it down the ramps and onto the floor, but I've also seen it held off once it gets here, too.

My biggest gripe, however, is your clipping. You've obviously put effort into doing some proper clipping, but I feel like it was rushed and not tested. Your clipping is too sharp in a lot of places, and a lot of props are missed entirely. I feel like you should have allocated a bit more time to this, as it is extremely frustrating to get caught on bad clipping, and detracts a lot from your gameplay. A lot of maps in this contest suffered from a lack of clipping, unfortunately yours suffers from poor clipping. On top of that, there are quite a few supports and details that are missed entirely. I think you were a bit hasty in labeling this RC1.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311714717/8520B61AC0F4451804CCE4A071BDE1285C17BFA4/
This is prevalent a lot. Too sharp of clipping. You can still slide by it if you are flush with the wall, but easily caught if coming at it at an angle. On top of that, even if you do slide across, it creates a jarring transition for the player. Stretch these out longer for future versions.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311703233/96F49AD9E68A06154A69A5B9335C7DD82586B73D/
These supports were missed entirely.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311694043/E94A58123915DE066AF4C1926B21D16C89EDE4F0/
This is a perfect example of a hastily laid, untested clip. You obviously didn't want this ledge to be walkable, but it still is. Again, lengthen your clips.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311679164/8D49C418002B3C7C949DDF74C850A92C4ADE2E6C/
I really enjoyed fighting in this area, even if it was difficult to take as Blu. It has a fun sniper lane (although the tree can make for some cheap shots,) a solid flanking route, and a good amount of height variation.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311676561/79AD9F54F9FAC485FB8DA9F6C941E4B392707DE9/
I like the look of the sunk-in cabinet here, but I think you could definitely use a second one somewhere in the spawn area. It is pretty frustrating to rush in looking for health and being unable to locate it quickly.


Balance:
Team-wise the map is balanced fairly well. The second point seems a bit more difficult to take than it should be for only being the second, as I've seen it stall out here quite a few times, but I think overall the map progresses well. The final point is rather challenging like it should be.

Class-wise, I think you did an excellent job giving every class something to do. Jumping classes have their height advantages to play on, and close-quarters classes have just the right amount of flanking routes to get where they need to.

Dynamic Element:
Pointless. Does nothing worthwhile for gameplay and just serves to slow down any momentum gained by Blu at this point. I feel like this was put in as an afterthought. This entire contest was themed to involve a dynamic element of some type, and I don't feel like you were participating in that contest. Very disappointing on an otherwise well made map.

The hook slides through the wood directly in front of the waiting players and looks terrible. I know you are capable of making models, so I think it would have really benefited from that here. The cable connected to the hook was way too long as a stock prop and clips all the way through the roof. It was nice how you hid it from the outside with the chimney pipe, even if that pipe doesn't make much sense there.


Aesthetics
This is by far the most aesthetically pleasing map in the contest. You obviously have a huge grasp on just what makes a TF2 map look like a TF2 map. There is very little over-detailing here, and there is always something new to look at around the map. Very well balanced all around.

Your use of sounds is very noticeable here, and I'm glad you took the time to do it. The waterfall next to the bridge is the best use of it. I liked the flowing water that seemed to be prevalent all over the map, it was a nice way to tie the "outside world" into the map more.

I do wish you would have used more textures that just wood in some places, though. It does feel very similar and I don't get much of a sense of progression in the map. I think you could have made the last area (at least the bottom of the pit) spytech and it would have definitely made the map much more valve-like.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311669957/BF2CC8B1575FBB394D48C489EE48EBA3912592AA/
I really like the look of this. You did an excellent job "hiding" a simple ramp here.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311700124/ECA05D71C6F8DDEF5E2F586ECD911C311841800B/
I think you explosion is a bit too long. Seems weird that it stetches to the floor like that.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311710768/13E7658481EA8EDB2DF16C332F958A49DAF4B65F/
I like how the lighting from a hole in the ceiling highlights the pickups here.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311697198/0EEFA3EE2E9F13B4DAA8197134E9BCA8DFE28945/
This is a nice shot. I like the use of that texture on the top building.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311692464/24CACABF7D799659955A1A0E425EBC3A972C1CF4/
This is a nice view that draws your eye towards the final objective prop.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311665815/D7E4865D546EB1C41ABF83E8060ADA255B7073CE/
I like the use of the prop to act in place of a paint patch. This is creative thinking.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311674185/DA635BC06830596DEF9992C105C8AF624FC82A12/
I really like the bridge and the view behind it from here.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311689182/74980D56D214E65DDD8AF9872090F2294D2F3A33/
I like the water, but where is it going?

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311688027/15C8DC4CEE68106F19B3320C56600CEE58758198/
This room is really interesting and open. You do an excellent job not boxing a player into areas and making them feel very open. This could easily have been too tall and looming but the open side with the logs fixes that.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311680791/D23C8FE7F9EC425A30FF9216F5E69DDCD2F7F22D/
This was a nice little detail.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311678197/DA9D247AAAC155450E9B7A114A99558EFF6AE7EE/
This felt a bit too tall and plain. It doesn't feel like a natural formation to me.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311690708/A4BCDEE8ABDE6364F5EF99F263F1A25AF7071451/
Another nice view, and I liked how you used the fences in a zig-zag pattern.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311686569/8EA0766A3E25840791EB67838639B29BB334E67C/
Again cool, but again, where is it going?

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464311663062/3ED22CF3972189B9C607A62B23B1C5F39E436292/
I like this area, especially the burnt patch.


Performance
I noticed quite a few FPS dips on this map. I don't think this is caused by over-detailing, but it could perhaps be optimized better in general. I noticed quite a few areas where a lot of props not actually visible were being rendered, and heard quite a few people complaining about low FPS. Definitely something to go over again.

Your nodraw faces seemed more than adequate.


Scoring:
Aesthetics: 9/10
Near Valve-quality. Repetitive wood material and few minor things add up and cost you a point, but overall I really enjoy the look of this map.

Performance: 7/10
There are some render issues, and I heard people complaining about low FPS.

Dynamic Element: 2/10
Contributes nothing to the gameplay. Afterthought.

Balance: 7/10
Second point tends to stall Blu, but otherwise pretty good.

Gameplay: 7/10
Pretty solid gameplay plagued by terrible clipping.

Escarpment is an enjoyable map. I look forward to playing it more in the future.

Pl_Rust_B2
by Fr0Z3n

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8526839/pl_rust/pl_rust_b20011.jpg


Gameplay:
I do enjoy playing on this map. I think it has a lot of fun angles to snipe on, and a good healthy amount of height variation to let the jumping classes do their thing. A decent "front line" feel comes into play as the map progress, although I think you could have utilized a few more choke points around the map. It does seem like a lot of the routes feel like they just blend together, giving the map a very linear feel, as well.

Again, your map has fallen victim to the lack-of-clipping bug plaguing this contest. Looking around, it seems like you just started working on that aspect recently, and didn't get far. A few supports here and there are clipped properly, but not many. I assume you ran out of time to do it, but I feel like you and a lot of the mappers in this contest really underestimated how important proper clipping is to gameplay.

Tied into your clipping, I noticed a lot of exploitable edges around the map. A lot of your supports up high aren't clipped off or had their solidity turned off, this enables the jumping classes a very drastic height advantage that downright breaks the map at times.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382536096/852B7986EEFC9A2513535DFBDF8A535660FF33B8/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382525127/98845493599AF60363F4B8283058FC91C9B8B61C/
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382523355/9CEC0E5CF54741F0F8A8C253E53E6E2A0D9CBC10/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382521101/40CDA0F29D0CB50C12F31380EA1AB26BCE16ACB7/
Just a few of the high ledges that shouldn't exist on your map.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382516530/9A1D56BAF7FE7831C52B03F304996E53021301E1/
Clippiiiiing! Everywhere! Do it!


Balance:
I feel like this map is skewed a bit too far for a Blu victory. Red seems to have a hard time holding much ground. I think there could be a few more choke points around the map for Red to hold.

Class-wise, I think the map is relatively balanced. Jumping classes have a decent amount of height advantageous jumps (although a few unintended exploit ones, as well.) I think the close-range classes could use a bit more solidified flanking routes, though. Snipers might have a bit too much of an advantage is some locations, namely the window overlooking the final point. I think it could be a bit more of a vulnerable spot, and not such a straight-on view of the final point. Engys seem to have trouble finding ideal locations, as well.

Dynamic Element:
I just don't feel like your elevator changes much. At best you just created the equivalent of a turntable here. You missed the opportunity to really affect the gameplay area by putting a staircase immediately next to the elevator.

Had the hole caused by the elevator being down made a gap that stopped Red/ Blu from being able to cross there, that would have been a dynamic change to your map. Making the players walk further away to another way up with it down, and being able to cross directly with it up would have been dynamic.

As it is, it's a stall point and nothing more.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382542401/01ABB2CCDE033A1A40B2C863D22A41907DE669A8/
Get rid of the staircase and make the way up somewhere else. Make the jump harder, too. Or just get rid of the elevator all together.


Aesthetics
I'm going to be honest. Playing this I didn't think it was hardly detailed at all. While I wasn't actively looking for detail, I got a feeling that this was just a painted over alpha.

Much to my surprise when I started flying around outside of the game to take screenshots, I realized this map has some very nice details in it! In fact, it could even be easily considered a fully detailed map.

So why is this? I ran around trying to figure out why I felt like it wasn't detailed. Then I realized that from the players perspective, most of your detail is up high, out of combat focused areas. When you are focused on the game, all you end up seeing is blank walls and support beams. All the areas your eye is drawn to, doorways, game objectives, areas where players tend to be most, are pretty plain.

You did an excellent job lighting your doorways, and your lighting overall seems pretty well done, but there doesn't ever seem to be any details around them to draw the eye in even more.

I feel like you did an excellent job detailing, but unfortunately the details are too far away. I would probably even venture to say that you have an under-detailed map. You have done an excellent job detailing from your perspective in hammer, but I don't think as much thought was put into it from the players perspective. All of your details just feel like out of the way "detail areas" that you will notice after many play throughs or looking specifically for them, rather than gameplay enhancing details that draw the players eye towards what it should be looking at.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382501001/CDFBD353AAA69DB61F3596B5AAF5F9FD8485D289/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382529496/25EAD2F66119E20F47FFE3983E1FE20E800F30AF/
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382531805/E976D90F57D46716EFA6E3A2C0A0D4D78A657BD5/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382532591/F3730482620024395AA9B511C7B9E8A6F035A91A/
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382534050/A9ED57257A0DE693154603EEF87548B55B24AF8B/
All of these are good examples of doorways that could use some details around them. They are all pretty bare-minimum doorframes trimming holes in walls. Use these to draw the players eye! Especially in that last shot. A physics can in the corner between the two, some junction boxes (to run the door) something to point out to the player how important these two doors are.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382535312/F076E262D0EA6EBEDE4A059402251C5AAEC931DA/
This looks and feels way too close to the wall. It's uncomfortable to grab. Also, line up your textures better!

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382528714/B1001814F7858ECD8A477B73501BC80B8D7E522E/
Your spawnrooms are pretty dull and boring. You seem to rarely use overlays on this map. Poster those walls!

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382524292/98241F43E757F232F87D880D9D11BC38C4C12297/
I like the use of this prop here. Not something you normally see in a map, and that's exactly how people should be thinking about props.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382515570/9A73E623654FF3CBBAD814CCB72F9B147627ABE6/
Another boring spawn room. You used a few overlays this time, but I think you could benefit from expanding your details out further. Put a small inaccessible spytech room off one wall here.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382538507/7148950E95183AA6FD8A640F08178F5DB98948A5/
Whoever thought of using this prop like this is a genius and they should be rewarded. Give that person money.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382543153/661E8A15BC8845D6915691C0054201152A6132BF/
There just isn't much progression on the map, as is evident by your roof textures. The whole map, besides Blu's spawn, is essentially the same thing. There doesn't seem to be an ounce of Spytech hidden around the map, and the typical "facade" system doesn't seem to be in play on your map.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382541437/40F55820AF84E62DC39C93AAB7C50B0D14BD7C8E/
This fence creates a pretty wonky looking shadow one the wall it overlaps. Plus, it is kind of annoying to try to fight around out of spawn. It sort of nerfs the snipers typical role of clearing in front of the cart path from the center spawn exit.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382539566/218855B30BA21B7B567140CD4DF37F27647C9B85/
Hey isn't that the same screenshot as above? Nope! Check out the radar tower and compare the two. Prop fade popping is another common issue I noticed often on your map. It's good you worked on fades, but there seems to be a lot of props popping into view a bit too obviously in front of players. Get your numbers mixed up maybe?

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382540468/1B659D261C6B413837A8C8E94CD70CD4BC011CB9/
These walls are blank as hell.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382503616/F58B57C9650BC84F85E3F0353E3703BDB088EDD6/
For shaaame.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382504556/78EECA28268C93A690B630F22336780CF65290BA/
I like this view. This whole shot overall is a really nice detail in the map.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382505641/AB22FCEE2AB30DB27D4F25B73B0B0E48C87D1608/
This one is probably my favorite building detail though. I really like the use of the cart tracks and the metal panels blocking the entrance/ exits for them.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382509301/4F9261832AC733E1208980137682D830E4AC9180/
This is pretty common throughout the map. All of your displacement cliff walls look striped! I think you could have held off on the bottom a bit, as it makes sense for them to not be covered in snow. Also, your displacements feel really straight at the tops. Manipulate that Z axis!

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382513058/DDAB197BEEECBD429E691561510618ADBDDD4BA6/
This is just excessive. I couldn't even get them all on the screen at once.


Performance
Most of your props seem to be faded (although some pop), and the map seems to be broken up pretty well, I don't think there is much issue here. None of your details are that over-the top, and as I've said before, the map might even be under-detailed, which helps you in this category. I noticed no frame-loss.

I did notice quite a few missed opportunities for nodraws, though, which costs you a bit here.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382526799/0929A09A53C4EC10643AFAD4FC68CF2CDB5BD935/
Found a little dev texture asking to be nodraw'd back here.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382502314/15AA4AB402C31C1B713BA2B9A921185D8BEE0AAF/
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382518751/04144DA71069B76A787756AC481ADED7D0120FBE/
http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382522364/38AD920BD335D53B3D959976C0A8D4CC55458184/
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464382507427/82A43AC8052217965CC1EABB2F7C6D319BF5F3C7/
More examples of faces that need to be nodraw.


Scoring:
Aesthetics: 7/10
Solid detailing where it is, but not enough that captures the players eye. I honestly thought this map was just textured over before I really looked.

Performance: 8/10
Solid FPS, good fades. Missed some nodraw's, though.

Dynamic Element: 3/10
Pretty blah. Doesn't change much, just a stall point.

Balance: 6/10
A bit too hard to defend, some class exploits. Could be balanced for class a bit better, not not terrible.

Gameplay: 6/10
Plays well, but could use some more side routes. Very little clipping, exploitable edges. Explots cost a lot here.

Overall Rust is a fun map to play on, but is plagued with poor clipping and questionable detail decisions. I think it has a lot of potential for future versions.

PL_Moonlit_b6
by Ezekel

http://forums.tf2maps.net/downloads/2012-04-22_00009_jM6.jpg


Gameplay:
Moonlit is a fun map. The map blends a good use of height variation and flanking routes to make the map fun for all classes and have enough dynamics to keep the fights interesting without drastically tipping the scales either way.

I really enjoy the initial fight as Blu tries to push out of spawn. I think you nailed it for every class to play their usual roll here.

However, there may be a few too many flanking routes on the map, as it seems Blu doesn't have much issue getting behind Red, and this also blurs the "front-lines" a bit too much. I think some of these could be toned down slightly, but it doesn't need much!

Some of your side routes and buildings are a bit cramped as well. I feel like you tried to cram a lot of options into an area more suited for less. I will fully admit, though, that you did a commendable job at it.

I do think your final point is a bit too easy to capture. The space immediately around the portal is a bit too cramped and allows Blu to almost sneak the cart in. I think it would do your map justice to define the "corner" before the final area a bit better, and remove the building next to the cart path. This will give the area more room to breath, and Red a better chance at defending it.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383899646/6A64992CB4D3F252DEAC5DF30ABACE88E48E135B/
This is a bit cramped. Get rid of that building at the very least.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383897930/CBF0AE08EA920424221FF54837CEEFFC1061A4BF/
I really like this. It's useful for every class.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383889434/EC752846D16AB962E032360DBADB35C5E11F524B/
The walking path following the cart can feel a little convoluted at times. I always feel like I'm going backwards whenever I loop back around exposing myself to the area I just fought through. Not sure how to fix this though.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383896388/5A069078AC0786D132188A1281B0BF7AF5BE9B5F/
This stairway is too steep. Feels very crammed in.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383905760/95C6D6F92E494F0C633366339203F1DC2B244DD0/
Thank you for taking the time to properly clip your map. I noticed very few edges to get caught on. This is probably the best clipped map in the contest.

Balance:
Team-wise, the map plays very well. The teams win/ lose just as often as one would hope for in a PL A/D map such as this.

Class-wise, I think everything is balanced pretty well. Just enough height variation for the jumpers, some fun jumps for scouts, good but not overpowered sniper lanes, good (maybe too good, though) flanking routes for the close-quarters classes. I have a lot of fun on this map as a spy, which may or may not be a good thing.

Excellent balancing.

Dynamic Element:
The most unique in the contest. I think you definitely went about this contest how everyone should have. You thought outside the box and came up with an original dynamic element that changes the gameplay of your map sufficiently.

My only issue with it is that I feel like it can be a bit too easy to push one the cart goes into the portal. Red is at a drastic disadvantage due to the draining health effect while inside. Blu doesn't have this issue, because they have the cart constantly healing them anyway.

Your elevator is decent, but probably not 100% necessary. I wouldn't get rid of it, but you aren't getting bonus points here for it either.

Something I noticed:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383902126/05C4FC2C9BB9B0474BB8C45BABC42615E02FDEDB/
I do feel like you could have done more with this area. Not much height difference at all. I think some different landscape could have made this more interesting.

Aesthetics
I think you did an excellent job detailing this map. I feel like you got the exact feel you were going for with that halloween theme. I like your use of the assets provided to you.

You had a good use of sound, as well. I like the effects around the portals and within.

There were however a few times I felt like your texturing was a bit all over the place. It seemed like a few times you were just changing textures for the sake of change rather than a logical reason for it.

I do also feel like the map is a bit too consistent when it comes to it's detailing. I think there could have been a better sense of progression throughout. I do like your use of spytech in the spawn rooms though, definitely gave it a proper Valve-map feel.

The shooting range and bell were a nice touch in Blu spawn. I am of the opinion that Blu needs something to do/ look at during set up time, and you definitely provided it. Some people may be annoyed with the bell, but I think it's fine. Maybe disable it ones set up is over so some of the easily distracted players aren't as willing to play around in spawn rather than play the game?

You have a lot of nice little touches throughout the map that really shows you put time into the look and feel of it. I can always find something new looking around.

Some things I noticed:

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383893385/65BB2FBA688168B3403A77063052AC94F5A8CBFC/
I like your bomb cart. it really sets the mood for the map.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383892654/CB079B7C8F95D673D9124895288BC1515D12A495/
Nice touch in Blu spawn.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383890543/8449E998903E7888FF8FE8400A6C11498D212F1F/
I'm sorry but this looks terrible. Doesn't fit the theme or the TF2 artstyle at all.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383894100/A08736554BC9F20DB7C991221B3264CF5AB72A13/
The bats are a nice touch.

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383892045/B89B036D674FBFE692878257A0E2C553A4455AC8/
Your texture choices here are crazy. Clean this up.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383901229/D38DB256F8FEA8E5B6FEAB19E1B077AB4C029DA4/
Floating prop.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383903032/DEFD6574DB99F41F366D3648BF1C83DB200AB48E/
This is creepy as hell. I like it, but Valve might not, if that's what you're going for.


Performance
Overall the map performs well. Looking at it in wireframe your details are nicely spaced out, without too much prop spam. A good balance. Most props seems to fade reasonably well, with a few minor hitches here and there.

You did a decent job with your nodraw's, but you missed a lot still. This comes with all the nice detail areas you did, I think. Some maps don't have them and don't have to worry about the nodraws there.

Map runs at a steady FPS for me.

A few things I noticed:

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383887947/1A99BB95554782B08D894C709796865FA43F2367/
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383904033/54182B723D2CCD247F322726CDFBBC35E0C1C14E/
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383898712/A88F15C87FAEB65F083947F397427A83BD7A6BD5/
http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383895774/817B92E60B7E8D8C743F95582A3138910962B192/
Wasted faces. Nodraw them.

http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/560943464383891353/CA552078CC7E7CC59D4296EC65A313EF1FAC2BEC/
Nodraw these faces, and why are the props there? I don't think it's even possible to see them. Keep the lighting, lose the props.

Scoring:
Aesthetics: 8/10
Very good theme choice and detail work. Not over-detailed. My only gripe is the lack of progression and choice of materials.

Performance: 9/10
Runs good, broken up well, good fades. Just clean up your nodraws and you should be good.

Dynamic Element: 7/10
Unique concept, well excuted. I think you could have done more beyond the portal, however. Your elevator is so-so.

Balance: 7/10
Balanced pretty well. Some minor issues with flanks and Red has a hard time with the last point.

Gameplay: 6/10
Fun, but has some issues. A few too many easy flanks and an ill-defined front line. Final point ends too fast due to excessive cover.

Moonlit is an enjoyable map with the most unique take on a dynamic element in this contest. Kudos for thinking outside of the box with it. I think the map has some fixable gameplay issues that are holding it back, and I hope you take the time to look into it further.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's all of them! A lot of words indeed. Again thanks judges for your work.

 

[Fruity Snacks]

They liiiiveeee

 

[grazr]

The guys need to come post (something witty) here so they can get their thanks back.

 

[tyler]

If you thought I was too mean to you thank this post and I won't apologize.

 

[Crash]

butts.

 

[Tekku]

pootis.