What do you kids not like about Fastlane

[Moonrat]

So, lets try to make this not be so bad as it was. So basically, I've seen a lot of Fastlane hate around TF2. Whether it's from here or from another place, some people just don't seem to like Fastlane. Honestly I think it's an okay map, I'd defiantly choose something else if I was given the choice.

Maybe that's the problem.....

So, I made a little Straw poll (Again) so that people can single out the worst of Fastlane. I think it'd be interesting to see what you kids think about it.

http://strawpoll.me/4505571

 

[Shogun]

You should really add a "select all" button to that survey.

People hate Fastlane for many reasons, and I think one of the main reasons is that last is terrible. Like really, really bad. If you get to last, it's basically a punishment for both teams, because it's hard as hell to push out of and sentry heaven on the inside.

 

[ExtraCheesyPie]

Well, someone just voted for all of the options, kinda screwing up your poll :S

(Although maybe people hate everything about it?)

I actually like fastlane, but I feel like it's sucking out my soul with its drab decor, overdone detailing, and lazy lighting.

 

[Yacan1]

I think if this survey was a bit less-humorous it would have gotten some more discussion and results rather than circle-jerking around the 'fastlane is shit' joke. It's from a completely different time in TF2 and doesn't really have a place in current map pools imo. At the time it wasn't as terrible as it was now. Much like the 'why wasn't snowplow added but steel is a map??' circle-jerk. Most TF2 discussions now are complete circle-jerks unfortunately.

 

[Shogun]

Much like the 'why wasn't snowplow added but steel is a map??' circle-jerk.

What? I actually thought most people liked Steel But yeah, like any large gaming community all intelligent discussion goes to shit and everything is a big circlejerk fueled by memes and people trying to be funny.

 

[Kraken]

Fastlane is just bland. Nothing more nothing less.

 

[ExtraCheesyPie]

Fastlane is just bland. Nothing more nothing less.

Bingo. Everything, from the detailing to the level design is simply bland.

 

[ExtraCheesyPie]

What? I actually thought most people liked Steel But yeah, like any large gaming community all intelligent discussion goes to shit and everything is a big circlejerk fueled by memes and people trying to be funny.

People don't like steel? That map is freakin' great!

 

[Zed]

The difference between Snowplow and Steel is that it was immediately obvious to me that I was supposed to be capturing control points on Steel when I first played it.

 

[Yacan1]

The chief complaint about steel in that debate was that 'it's too complicated and confusing for new players but snowplow is much more straight forward.' I can agree to some degree but I hate this argument about steel and fastlane being 'bad'. Steel is a very solid map, fastlane was a solid map, but no longer is. It's just dynamics in the play style and updates that have shaped a map's fate. It's unfortunate that any community made map is the center of a community bukkake circle-jerking but it's just how it goes.

 

[Spipper]

You might be interested in this article that covers some of the issues with fastlane. It's written from a competive viewpoint, but some of the problems are also relevant in a casual setting.

 

[Moonrat]

You might be interested in this article that covers some of the issues with fastlane. It's written from a competive viewpoint, but some of the problems are also relevant in a casual setting.

That is purty interesting, thanks fo it!

 

[Muddy]

I don't mind Fastlane much, but I mentally group it with Ravine under the category of "maps that are so bland I often forget they even exist"

 

[Yacan1]

I don't mind Fastlane much, but I mentally group it with Ravine under the category of "maps that are so bland I often forget they even exist"

Shit, I don't know if it's THAT underplayed. Fastlane gets looked at more than Valve and their comic release schedule.

 

[worMatty]

I don't perform very well, on Fastlane. I used to play it as a defensive engineer but I had difficulty holding my buildings down. It seems to favour the attackers against sentries. It's a real hard task trying to protect the last point. On the points which are out in the open, as a heavy or pyro I struggle to stay alive against demomen, soldiers and snipers. I tend to be the kind of person who actually stands on the point so I felt like I was sacrificing myself, mostly for nothing. I find the gameplay a bit boring compared with other 5CP maps like Gorge and Coldfront.

Does the map have some positives? I think it's only fair to point those out as well. I guess it's good for spies and scouts as it has alternative routes with varying architecture. The path from middle point to the last point lets attackers overwhelm and confuse defenders from multiple surrounding exits.

 

[Muddy]

Shit, I don't know if it's THAT underplayed. Fastlane gets looked at more than Valve and their comic release schedule.

It's not that it's underplayed, it's just that there's absolutely nothing interesting or unique about it. It's a bunch of buildings in a desert environment. At least Doomsday had a new gamemode.

 

[Moonfixer]

For me fastlane is really forgettable.

 

[Zed]

I don't perform very well, on Fastlane. I used to play it as a defensive engineer but I had difficulty holding my buildings down. It seems to favour the attackers against sentries. It's a real hard task trying to protect the last point.

The last point is incredibly easy for the defending team to lock down completely. A single sentry can watch the last point and overlook all of the entrances that have an advantage taking it out. The point itself is also devoid of cover and right in front of the spawn.

Does the map have some positives? I think it's only fair to point those out as well. I guess it's good for spies and scouts as it has alternative routes with varying architecture. The path from middle point to the last point lets attackers overwhelm and confuse defenders from multiple surrounding exits.

I have a miserable time playing Scout on Fastlane. There's no height variation I can use to my advantage, so I'm always caught in the spam.

The path from mid to last also doesn't really do much, since it still funnels into the same entrances. All it really serves to do is make it that much harder to push out of last, since you have people coming from both sides of where you are, on the same level.

Second is also really easy to hold onto. Everywhere a team can push out of last is in the same general direction and it's all easily covered by a sentry gun. People don't come in through the flank (mid to last route) because your team has people in there at the same time. As a result, you get these incredibly long, drawn out stalemates, where neither team is able to push.

 

[The Asylum]

The skybox

we're not supposed to be floating above the ground!

 

[Moonrat]

Well, I've realized to truly fix Fastlane, you'd pretty much have to build it from the ground up, as the map has so many problems with modern TF2 that it's pretty much ehhed. It's a map from another time, and it shows.

Though, from the analyzing of the map, I've finally unlocked the secret of true height variation, which is something I may have not put on any of my previous maps. I think I have started on what could be my first truly okay map.

Working with the map has been one hell of a time, and I'll probably throw what I started in the orphanage fro someone else to pick up if they could somehow want.