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An initial playtest has revealed some potential problems with Guardian:

Defending a single control point in this map's layout is unsatisfying and monotonous. Gameplay largely revolves around spamming the same spot with no hope of having an actual hold, and it ends up with wasting a lot of gameplay space and making holds feel more desperate than they need to be.

This update aims to address that by adding a second control point to do the following:
  • Offer the potential for a further hold by forcing bots to go through one checkpoint before continuing on
  • Increase the amount of time it takes to complete one wave (or lose a wave)
  • Make holds feel less like a desperation attempt and like a gradual push
  • Increase the amount of level that is used at once
  • Decrease the effectiveness of Giants as they also have to go through a first checkpoint
I've also made the other changes:
  • Fixed Upgrade Station not enabling after a wave loss
  • Packed in the standard MvM gamesounds file as a sound script to properly load MvM sounds

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I'm now working with Crinitus to develop a second mission (and to ease playtesting). This update fixes some initial problems to streamline layout playtesting.

  • Fixed protruding nodraw at front
  • Added Engineer nodes (you better know what you're doing to put engineers on this map)
  • Added sniper nodes
  • Helicopter hitbox is now metal
  • Added a platform to the side of the middle hut to offer some highground looking into the A point
  • Widened the entrance to A point a tad
  • Closed off some empty space in the corner of the left front ledge
  • Dug a next to the side of B
  • Put visual blockers (props) into an OOB that was just a gap originally

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I wanted to post some observations I've made after an internal playtest with Crinitus, who provided a new mission for us to test with. Lest I forget them when I update this map.

Firstly, the two point design does wonders for map balance. It feels a lot more satisfying to play and defend with something to stagger an incoming horde before arriving into true danger. Interestingly, this also felt like a lot of pressure was alleviated when defending the final point, as it would usually only happen when half the wave was complete, so it felt more manageable.

Upgrades are interesting, I anticipate that the standard team composition will be one Engineer, and then one "Power Class," such as a Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, or Heavy. As a result, there's less players to try and collect money, and there's more than likely not going to be a scout who can avoid damage to do easy money collection. In a way, substantial money loss is a potential for mission balance, as a large sum can be lost in a horde of bots. Even with our first playtest missing around an average of 50-100 credits every wave, it still felt reasonably beatable with the amount lost, even taking bonus credits into consideration.

Mission design in itself is interesting. 2-player focused MvM missions have been made in the past, but I doubt many have been made with such a small scale in mind. Crinitus has done a good job with an initial pass for balance, and I'm surprised with what he was able to get accomplished with the smaller scale in mind. At the same time, there's definitely aspects that don't seem to work well, such as giant medics or large blobs of explosive classes. Regardless, there is quite a bit of room that can still be played with while keeping it engaging. Even Giant Spammer Soldiers (after a minor rebalance) felt good to fight against. This can also probably be thanked by the addition of two points, where just one would most definitely cause any mission design to dissolve into a messy chaos.

One thing I do want to be looking out for is respawn times. Dying in Guardian is absolutely brutal if the respawn is too long. If both players die and the gate gets capped, it can feel like a race against time. I think this can be alleviated by force respawning any dead players after the first point is captured. Crinitus and I are also keeping an eye on what a good maximum respawn should feel like for the gamemode. For now, around 2-4 seconds max feels good.

I'm overall satisfied with this project thus far, and I'm optimistic about where this layout will go and, potentially, where the gamemode can go. Here's for the best!
 

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  • Added a step to Point A to allow for smoother bot navigation
  • Moved full health at Point A to the opposite corner
  • Map is now in a whiteout
  • Added a tag for some bots to use to take the right upper route (flank)
  • Upgrade station should now reliably function
20200909002159_1.jpg
20200909002142_1.jpg


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Jun 15, 2013
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