WiP in WiP, post your screenshots!

[Boylee]

I have to say that from the screenshots it looks enormous and lacking in distinct direction and focus for players. Enormous maps don't tend to be a whole lot of fun as they just become sniperfests and direction is absolutely critical as without it players get lost and teamplay just doesn't happen. Take a look at the scale of the official maps, there's decompiled versions in your mapsrc folder. Grazr has also written a great tutorial called 'Scale and Your Map' (I think) that's really worth reading a couple of times and digesting.

Hate to be that guy but if I were you I 'd seriously consider starting afresh and testing a layout to death with dev textures before getting to this stage of detailing. It's a shame as the detaling is looking pretty nice now. I guess the other option is to try and refine the layout but that's always harder once you've started detailing.

 

[xzzy]

I think the track layout is fine.. if it were a real mine. The routes more or less make sense and would provide carts access to important facilities. I don't think a mine would spend that much money on rails, but if they did, that's probably similar to how they'd lay it out.

Problem being, mine cart tracks serve a different purpose in TF2.. they don't exist to be realistic, they exist to guide the player. Look closely at Valve maps.. while they do use extra mine cart rails, they're usually half buried in a displacement so they don't draw too much attention. The tracks that Valve considers "gameplay important" are generally quite distinct.

 

[Kill_the_Bug]

It's hard to tell from the shots - but there's empty mine carts inside the shed and behind the rocks on the extra tracks - thus giving the impression of being a working mine. There are going to be 4 other carts to be placed on the tracks as well (the non-payload route) - these are going to be my death carts - activated on trigger - they will go around the various parts of the map on a random basis once started.

I'm trying to do some payload trickery in this one - blue pushes the empty cart to the mineshaft - it goes down empty and comes up full (I will need to learn how to get a working payload elevator for this) - they then have to take their booty to the escape dumptruck.

Re - hugeness and focus - hard to tell without more shots of the map:

Red only has 1 way to go (top shot left passage). I've been thinking of putting in a right hand passage way (for red) that will close on trigger or they will be forced to use teleports otherwise to get to that part of the map - may work out better with no passageway in terms of game play - Blue has a tough time of it at the start and then when they get over there they have an easier time because red has to come the one way and then blue wil have a harder time again once they start going down the left passageway. I could really use your opinions on this in terms of gameplay as I have been having a debate over it for a while now - should red get access to the right side or not?

For blue, once the other carts ar in place it will show them (more clearly) that the payload goes straight ahead and into the shed.

The hugeness of this 1 stage does have me a ltile concerned - am thinking of placing some more rocks or something to break it up a bit - it might a visual thing seeing it from up high in the shots on the ground it doesn't look this huge. It's also just this stage of the map - stage 2 very small and tight (basiacally a kill box for both teams with a lot of fun built into it) Stage 3 - again small with challenges (upper battle ground to cover/hold while cart pushed down below) and the 4th stage a medium sized canyon.

Now that I've read soem of your feed back, I guess I could get rid of the center passage all together(am starting to like this idea) by having the path turn left at the rocks (in the bottom picture on the right side) and then have the cart go from thre over to the trellis complex. Do you think that would improve scale and possible game balance issues mentioned above?

 

[Tekku]

CS:GO because i'm cool.

 

[Shanghai]

Did we lose a bunch of pages?

 

[Boylee]

Did we lose a bunch of pages?

Seriously?

hmy:

 

[Sergis]

nice plr_atoll, tech

 

[Micnax]

CS:GO because i'm cool.

This is what I wanted Muschio to look liiiiike! Damn you CS:GO!

 

[Tarry H Sruman]

 

[Ælement]

Dat lighting

 

[Shanghai]

Seriously?

hmy:

:blushing: I thought it was just normal server maintenance, I didn't realize there was a thread about it.

 

[Tom Hoen]

 

[tyler]

It looks like an army dude with a crazy moustache.

 

[Sergis]

one of Soldier's ancestors, no doubt

 

[Bloodhound]

I created this layout for the 72hr-Contest, but I decided not to enter, since I have limited time at the weekend. :/
I anyway think that it's better to do slow but good progress.

 

[Rexy]

Still cracking away at this...

 

[Fruity Snacks]

the lighting seems to bright up against the left wall, and/or that wall is reflecting more than it should. I'd think they should be more brightness along the wall facing the camera on the left side.

 

[phi]

http://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/2012-06-15_00001.jpg?w=33472164

There's no decals or neat smoke particles here either because i run tf2 in directx 8.1 or they're somehow disabled
i'll test it out on another computer later, too tired for right now

and whoa there's a rogue light entity making blinding concrete lights, i'd better fix that

 

[Fruity Snacks]

Your image is broken.

 

[Tom Hoen]

I think the lighting is ok on the left wall but the problem comes from the orange door. It seems to be too saturated or reflect too much light. It doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the image and pops too much out.

The doorway on the middle looks like a metallic elevator door with some painted art.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37253888/random%20share/55h1kl1p.jpg Edited some comments on the image itself.