[WIP] arena_beacon

[MangyCarface]

arena_beacon current build: Alpha 1
Authors: Shmitz, MangyCarface, Buddikaman,

arena_beacon takes place on a Pacific island not unlike, and maybe even nearby RED's Uberbot base. It would seem BLU is poised to launch a missile to destroy RED's HQ, but a surprise invasion from deep within the bunker by RED has caused the missile gates to be closed within 60 secs. With their reinforcements cut off, will BLU win over RED and clear the launch path, or will RED cement their presence on the island and prevent the weapon's deployment?

The gameplay is Arena, with an emphasis on rewarding engineers and providing a variety of different staging areas for each class to excel in. The map is currently in an alpha stage, but light detailing has been done to establish the theme of the map; as a result, feedback is wanted in the gameplay aspect rather than any current detailing. A (closed) alpha will be posted in the thread later today for you to download.
Latest: arena_beacon_a1

Screenshots:

 

[Arhurt]

Arena rewarding engies? I digg it

Can`t say much for the gameplay as I haven`t downloaded it yet, but it seems that the central area is quite open vertically. Add a few cover spots so that soldiers rocket jumping don`t get too much of an advantage, as well as adding some light cover above the bunkers to protect from snipers.

The theme and details, even in this early stage, are awesome. The ruined lighthouse already looks terrific!

 

[FaTony]

2nd meridian? eh...

 

[Shmitz]

More like a companion piece to meridian.

Arhurt: There is an underground section not shown in the shots, mostly because there's very little detail there currently. A savvy player can easily use those to get close to any troublesome snipers without having to worry about exposing himself to headshots.

 

[Snipergen]

Some very good displacement work but the buildings are very blocky.

 

[Noggin]

Looking good.

I need displacement lessons from Shmitz

 

[Nineaxis]

I think the guard shed looks a little odd, might want to look at the ones in Hydro for a better idea. Also, I think the fence is unnecessary, and the gate should be turned around and set further back (so the no-entry sign is visible), and a playerclip would suffice.

Looks great already, can't wait to see the final version with vegetation and the likes.

 

[MangyCarface]

Bump, file added

 

[joshman]

Awwww... You got my hopes up, I thought it said Arena_Bacon.

Oh well, looks nice.

 

[PMAvers]

Havn't got a chance to run it with my players yet, but I *am* getting the purple'n'black checkerboard patterns on the palm trees.

 

[MangyCarface]

Yeah, pakrat'd it wrong, my bad. Anyway, to be done for a2, in terms of gameplay so far:

-Tighten beach areas by the cliffs into pathways
-Possibly simplify/merge some underground routes

 

[Noggin]

I ran around a1 , seemed a bit too big/complex for arena.

 

[MangyCarface]

Okay, but looking for gameplay feedback

 

[Chilly]

We played this 4-4 tonight and it was reasonably fun. I agree with your planned changes so far - simply the lower tunnels and tighten up the beaches. Otherwise for gameplay, here's what I would suggest:

1. Everyone wanted to see the towers accessible to the top. It'd obviously take too long to walk the whole way up, so perhaps jump pads in the middle of the tower would work best. Would be interesting anyway.

2. The area directly under the CP is a little cluttered. My sentries didn't last long enough for a test, but it'd be nice if they were able to shoot up and through parts of the CP as well (like it were mesh?). Not that big of a deal, though.

3. Near the palm tree there's some rocks and you put a noclip over the top, which makes it so players can "hover" in between them. Might want to do something else there?

4. The insides of the towers at the bottom are way too open. Props, railings, etc might help quite a bit.

5. The doors that open at the CP are nice for engineers, but behind them the sentry needs a little protection from the sides. Some props or walled areas would help a lot. Plus the door feels way too wide. I'd reduce it to 2/3, which would allow the engineer to build closer to the sides for protection while still making it possible to take them out.

6. The ledges on either side that overlook the CP could really use an additional way up. Right now I think you either have to go through the tower or rocket jump up. A good player can use that area to cover the point without having to worry about getting surprised by an enemy.

7. The crane area that goes down to the water looks impressive, but nobody ever goes that way. I'd suggest moving the spawn to one side of that so people see it.

8. Will the CP ledges break if the server has a custom CP timer set? It's a built-in setting in TF2, so I'm worried that a server might set their timer to 10 seconds and the map won't push out the platform until 60 seconds. I'd also like to see the platform come out 5 seconds earlier (during the alarm noise) so the CP is out there right when it's activated.

9. A number of graphic issues that you know about already: skybox matching up with water, checkerboard tree, etc. More detail is definitely needed, but I think that's the plan with the alpha version.

10. It wasn't obvious right away that falling off the rocket will kill you. I'd suggest opening it up so there's a black abyss below the rocket and have the rocket supported by supports coming from the sides. Or something similar that makes it obvious that falling down there will kill you.

11. If possible, move the kill trigger down to the water outside the map. Right now people die halfway down... it'd be more fun if they got the whole fall.

Excellent start. Hope this helps.