I started this map over 6 months ago, got distracted with other stuff, and i'm back on it now. gameplay changes and testing continue. i'd like to get it in a gameday soon, but i'm busy this weekend. the rest of this text is copied from my original WIP post, which is now buried in the archives. =]
ULTRA MEGA LASER!
i'm trying to do a few ambitious things with this map. it will need a lot of testing. =]
#1 - the wide open feel. maps tend to feel like tight little rat mazes, and i wish there were some open areas sometimes. the alpine environment demands it, IMO. huge sweeping vistas of giant mountains and wide valleys. obviously this isnt usually done for 2 reasons: vis perfomance, and sniper balance. the performance can be handled by balancing the amount of detail, and i'm hoping the sniper issue can be managed with the right sort of cover, and lots of playtesting.
#2 - vertical play. maps tend to feel like a mostly flat plane, they're fundamentally a 2d maze, with a bit of elevation thrown in here and there. its rare that i play a map that really feels like its using the up/down axis to its potential. the primary problem with this is player frustration. people never look up. i'm hoping i've solved that by sloping the entire play field, so people are always looking up or down just a bit.
#3 - returning to areas. maps tend to be linear, especially payload maps. they progress from point A to B to C, with one team pushing forward and the other pushing back, always. in this one, control point 1 and 3 are almost literally right on top of each other. the track spirals back around on itself, so the area that was the defenders' battlements for one point becomes the offense's front line for another.
also, a mountain climb map became painfully obvious once the payload game type and alpine environment both showed up. =] there are a few people doing very cool things with that concept already, hopefully my take on it will be fun and unique enough for players to enjoy.
i welcome any and all feedback, because achieving the goals i've set out to acomplish on this map will be tough. i've been working on games for ages, but i'm not much of a mapper, and this is my first TF2 map.
way more (out of date) screens can be found here: http://www.solfire.com/~iii_demon/temp/tf2/
alternate download location, may have other versions (if the server is up): http://www.solfire.com/~iii_demon/temp/tf2/downloads/maps/
ULTRA MEGA LASER!
i'm trying to do a few ambitious things with this map. it will need a lot of testing. =]
#1 - the wide open feel. maps tend to feel like tight little rat mazes, and i wish there were some open areas sometimes. the alpine environment demands it, IMO. huge sweeping vistas of giant mountains and wide valleys. obviously this isnt usually done for 2 reasons: vis perfomance, and sniper balance. the performance can be handled by balancing the amount of detail, and i'm hoping the sniper issue can be managed with the right sort of cover, and lots of playtesting.
#2 - vertical play. maps tend to feel like a mostly flat plane, they're fundamentally a 2d maze, with a bit of elevation thrown in here and there. its rare that i play a map that really feels like its using the up/down axis to its potential. the primary problem with this is player frustration. people never look up. i'm hoping i've solved that by sloping the entire play field, so people are always looking up or down just a bit.
#3 - returning to areas. maps tend to be linear, especially payload maps. they progress from point A to B to C, with one team pushing forward and the other pushing back, always. in this one, control point 1 and 3 are almost literally right on top of each other. the track spirals back around on itself, so the area that was the defenders' battlements for one point becomes the offense's front line for another.
also, a mountain climb map became painfully obvious once the payload game type and alpine environment both showed up. =] there are a few people doing very cool things with that concept already, hopefully my take on it will be fun and unique enough for players to enjoy.
i welcome any and all feedback, because achieving the goals i've set out to acomplish on this map will be tough. i've been working on games for ages, but i'm not much of a mapper, and this is my first TF2 map.
way more (out of date) screens can be found here: http://www.solfire.com/~iii_demon/temp/tf2/
alternate download location, may have other versions (if the server is up): http://www.solfire.com/~iii_demon/temp/tf2/downloads/maps/
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