[WIP] PL_Great_Heights

[YM]

WRONG.
We have Hoodoo, Cranetop, and a slew of other large maps on our main payload server, and it stays full just fine.
Invest in a fast download server, and it's not a problem. Hell, we just put Frontier up on it's own server last night, and it's maxed on population right now - at 93.7mb!
I say make em' as big as you like (as long as they're optimized). If they're solid maps, they'll build a following.

Whilst this is very encouraging stuff, it sadly doesn't hold true for many servers at all, the No Heroes server is a rare exception where dreams really do come true. Somehow you've managed to create a group of servers that stay full all the time seemingly regardless of the map, it's a pretty incredible feat, and for that I'm sure pretty much every mapper to have their map on one of your servers must either be incredibly grateful or completely oblivious to the fact.

:thumbup1:

 

[flubber]

I don't know for no heroes server, but ours is filled with people from a paper magazine forum, they are waiting for custom maps and asking for them no matter the size (i have a post where i announce new map and provide a dl link). A fast mirror server doesn't cost much (in fact our is provided by a member of our community). But it's true that sometime when regular player are not there i'm always afraid to switch to a big size map, but my fear are gone when the 24th players joined the game. I love my players.

 

[NoHeroes]

I don't know for no heroes server, but ours is filled with people from a paper magazine forum, they are waiting for custom maps and asking for them no matter the size (i have a post where i announce new map and provide a dl link). A fast mirror server doesn't cost much (in fact our is provided by a member of our community). But it's true that sometime when regular player are not there i'm always afraid to switch to a big size map, but my fear are gone when the 24th players joined the game. I love my players.

Here's a tip: Prevent mapvotes until the server reaches a certain population (I use 24 players, but YMMV). That way, the server can stay on a popular "anchor" map until there is enough people to support one of the customs.

 

[toutfou]

Sooo... is Great Heights in any of the rotations on these full servers being discussed? :blush:

For anyone interested in Q's reasonings behind map limits, you can read my discussion with them here.

I do think that if they gave maps like Frontier the chance, that people would keep it full due to quality, but I can understand their reasons behind needing to keep the servers full 24/7. They're a behemoth and also have a bucket load of players who donate, if the servers are empty then they wouldn't be happy

Back to the first sentence, if it is on any of your servers and you have some feedback, I'd love to hear it. I've been a little concerned about its performance on 32 player - so I'm really interested to know how it plays under those conditions.

 

[NoHeroes]

Sooo... is Great Heights in any of the rotations on these full servers being discussed? :blush:

For anyone interested in Q's reasonings behind map limits, you can read my discussion with them here.

I do think that if they gave maps like Frontier the chance, that people would keep it full due to quality, but I can understand their reasons behind needing to keep the servers full 24/7. They're a behemoth and also have a bucket load of players who donate, if the servers are empty then they wouldn't be happy

Back to the first sentence, if it is on any of your servers and you have some feedback, I'd love to hear it. I've been a little concerned about its performance on 32 player - so I'm really interested to know how it plays under those conditions.

It's been tested on our private server, but needs some FPS optimization before it's ready for prime time.

 

[Icarus]

We actually just went ahead and put Great Heights on [-Q-] Custom Payload server, since 65MB is worth a try. Everyone thought it was awesome.

I found two very annoying problems, however. You may already be aware of these but

1. It's difficult attack. not once did we push it all the way, and only once did we make it to stage 3, although barely. Most rounds ended on cap 1-2. Personally, I also found BLU's respawn time to be too long for an A/D map (Usually BLU should only have to wait 3-5 seconds, and RED 15-20).

2. On Stage 3, no matter where I build a teleporter, it would explode the moment it was used. It was very frustrating and makes playing engineer pointless. I don't know what causes this but I hope you remedy this soon!

Still, a very excellent map! Depending on how well it goes at night we may or may not keep it, but I think it's safe to say it's a keeper.

 

[flubber]

We had a lot of TP blowing out yesterday also. It's true that the map is really difficult for attackers especially on part 1 & 2 with so many path possible. Once the cart pass the water it's getting easier.

 

[toutfou]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the feedback!

In regards to the TP's, this has only started happening since the latest patch that upgraded the TP's.

So far I have seen them exploding in cases where:

• They're on a func_brush
• There's an invisible func_brush that's turned off (doesnt clip the player but still causes tele's to explode)
• They're on a displacement with no solid brush underneath them.

When I start looking into fixing this in a couple of weeks, I'll see if there has been any patch in relation to this and pursue it from there.

In regards to how hard it is to attack, I do agree. Something not so good that came out of the playtests during alpha is that we all started to get to know each other and play well as a team (as I used the same people for every playtest). This isn't always the case on pubs so it can become rather imbalanced and frustrating. But other aspects that aren't helping the situation is too much metal/health and the recent engies upgrades have made things difficult if Red is given the time to setup L3 teleports!

Looking forward to balancing all this stuff out though. I've been following both the heatmap and -Q-'s HL Stats page I should also add that seeing this imbalance is hurting the map a bit, some people are leaving before seeing round 2 even once - so I hope they come back at some stage and aren't lost forever.

 

[toutfou]

Managed to find a spare hour or so to test some of Grazr's suggestions. Still needs a lot of lighting work and further detail to the upper part in round 3 to make it appear more realistic, but I've decided the theme for this building will be a small power plant - put in place to generate electricity for the operations taking place in the cave and the fortress.

The grey metallic wall is killing it at the moment. Not sure how I will tackle this one yet but the whole shaded area needs extra lighting/detail.

WIP shots of a WIP area!

Before

After

 

[S3BB0_L1C1OUS]

the plattform with the stairs should have some support linking it to the ground on the corner pointing at the tree. Looks a bit off ortherwise ;-)

 

[toutfou]

Good suggestion! I'll try and link it to the wall somehow, if I were to throw a pole in that corner, it will likely end up infringing on the gameplay path through there as it's rather tight at the moment.

 

[toutfou]

Hi all,

Just a general update to let you know things are still on the go. I haven't had time to work on it these last few weeks thanks to moving, but now I'm settled and ready to get back into it

I'm considering starting it from scratch in an attempt to visually tie it all together, the gameplay will remain quite similar with changes implemented based on feedback from B2. I'll be assessing this in the coming days. Can't wait to get my hands dirty in Source again

 

[toutfou]

Started working on pulling the first round into a tighter theme. Changed the light environment and gave it an angle that favoured most rounds.

Before and After

Removed the blue piping and supports near the Cheerful Whistling sign, opened up that entire area to prevent the blockage that would occur as the cart passes through. Removed the overpass exit from Blu spawn, but I'm not sure how the alternative will play out (the two windows near the shipping crate, similar to Steel style windows at the start of the round).

 

[MangyCarface]

That looks infinitely better.

 

[FreeLance_FoX]

That looks infinitely better.

+1.

 

[Chilly]

Wow. +1 for Mangy's comment.

 

[toutfou]

Cheers guys

I think I finally have a pretty solid idea of where the levels going now, so hopefully I can do the same for the rest of it. Round 3 is still causing some minor headaches but I look forward to facing that challenge when I get to it...

 

[toutfou]

Anyone have detailing suggestions for the large blu building? I'll likely work on some large structure that would also give purpose for adding some lighting into the area, as it's a bit dark.

 

[eerieone]

great approach, tightening the theme should really greatly improve the loose feeling i get playing the stages

 

[toutfou]

Yeah I can't wait for it to tell a bit more of a story.

One of the guys at work mentioned that the rocks look a bit unnatural in that pic - and I kind of agree, so I'll probably replace it with a solid concrete wall w/ supports.