Katsu! :3

Veteran Cat
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Jul 30, 2021
952
667
PL Furz, by @Sprinkles The Opossum
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Judge
Gameplay​
Uniqueness​
Aesthetics​
@Katsu! :3
This map does not feel like it was made in the slightest for medieval and it really suffers the consequences of that imo. I will say, on my most recent playthrough, I probably had the most fun I've ever had on the map as a caberknight demo, but I also never play that class so maybe it could literally just be new experience bias.
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What detailing?
@half
Combat spaces on this map by and large are okay; I think the opening area up to the A point is decently interesting, but the rest of the map falls a bit flat. The primary issue is that the flow here does not work. Routing ends up leading people to random places on the map -- as an attacker, I can walk through a doorway before the A point and find myself in front of the spawndoor where RED is still coming from, and then take a quick left to find myself at the final point, for some reason. If there's no one there, you can either go back the way you came, or wrap around the entire rest of the map to meet up with your team. This routing leads to super awkward and weird engagements where you can't really be sure of where the enemy is going to be coming from, which is further emphasized by being able to be dropped down upon when you're on the curved part of the track. BLU's forward spawn is abysmal -- it's a single door that is placed AFTER the checkpoint that activates it, so you have attackers basically immediately spawning in front of the cart when B is capped. If RED is smart, they can play behind the spawn on the curved bend and abuse projectiles from both sides and basically keep BLU locked in spawn until BLU is able to clear them out. If RED is bad, BLU gets a HUGE advantage having a spawnroom that close to the last point (as well as having the cart, for free heals). Since there's no rollback zones to speak of, if BLU gets the cart under the bridge near last, they've basically won, since it's pretty much impossible to prevent a cap then. The doorframe props used all over the map stick out a slight bit and as a result can feel bad to get stuck on. Caber skeletons are irrelevant if anyone is playing a projectile class -- they die before getting to do anything, which is probably a good thing, since they'd likely be pretty annoying otherwise. I don't think they really contribute anything regardless. There's not really any medieval-specific design on display here either, arguably aside from the layout itself -- I found one trimp ramp of questionable use, and no sconces for snipers to light arrows on. I did not have any framerate issues on this map.
Gamemode: It's payload. Gameplay: I can genuinely say I have never played a map designed in this way before. Aesthetic: It's dev textures with a few props. The tank cart and big door props are at least a bit unique.
It's dev textures. There's not much to say -- I'm not really sure what the theme here is supposed to be -- maybe Halloween-ish, judging by the props and caber skeletons? I don't really get the use of a tank cart model in a medieval map. As-is, it's so abstract it's hard to really establish how "fitting" or "cohesive" it is. No optimization issues.
@Fiddleford
This map feels too long for me. I wish the payload's track was shortened in half. As a result I find a lot of the map unenjoyable due to how long it is. The skeletons that spawn after capping the 1st point felt out of place and unfun. Why do they kill you in one hit? Overall the map doesn't feel like it was made for medieval imo.
It's Payload. But there aren't that many medieval Payload maps.
Not much to say about it. Literally the whole map is dev textured.
@Gruppy
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@robopan
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Furz's final score is... 4.77/10!
 

Katsu! :3

Veteran Cat
aa
Jul 30, 2021
952
667
[Arena] Joust, by @Funicular
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Judge
Gameplay​
Uniqueness​
Aesthetics​
@Katsu! :3
Joust is... basic. Like, incredibly basic. I can't really say it's bad, like, I have fun on it, it's fine, it's just so basic... there's not a lot to say about it, really. It's like one of those old deathmatch maps you'd play in 2008. Like dm_duel. Simple, neat, but not something I could really find myself coming back to very often.
It's just not super unique. Like aside from the map being arena mode, and it being a symmetrical gamemode as opposed to asym, there's just not a lot that differentiates this from its compadres from the official game.
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@half
Joust commits a common cardinal sin of arena by not incorporating some sort of gameplay/layout element to reduce round fatigue. The layout is super easy to grasp and play on, which is good, but there's nothing here for variety. Mid is basically a flat plane. The underground route feels quite separated and railroad-y. I can have some decent fun playing this map for a few rounds, but it gets stale for me more quickly than most arena maps.
Gamemode: It's arena. Gameplay: Doesn't really do anything new or innovative with its areas. Aesthetic: Pretty generic medieval (though executed fairly well).
Fits right into medieval mode. Texture choices and geo look nice, though I think the elliptical holes are a bit strange-looking. Interior lighting is pretty nice and atmospheric. Could be better if asymmetrically detailed or with a bit more detail in OOB spaces, I think.
@Fiddleford
This map is enjoyable. Despite being very simple I ended up not feeling the repetitiveness of arena as much as I do on other maps. I wish the middle was less flat. Decent map.
It's Arena, not much unique here but there aren't many medieval arenas out there.
I wish the map was more finished, I ended up giving it lower score because of that. The lighting is quite good. I wish the map wasn't as gray. The detailing could be more assymetrical. I really like the underground area's detailing. This map has a cool vibe.
@Gruppy
Overall fun layout. I like the amound of options to leaving spawn.
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Decent Valve style medieval artpass. Looks nice.
@robopan
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Joust's final score is... 6.8/10!
 

Katsu! :3

Veteran Cat
aa
Jul 30, 2021
952
667
A/D Colliseum, by @MrComrade
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Judge
Gameplay​
Uniqueness​
Aesthetics​
@Katsu! :3
I think it's fine it's just incredibly boring to be honest. Like I have to make my own fun as opposed to the map just being fun on its own, it's really upsetting since I think it'd probably be good without Medieval mode being a factor.
There's just not really anything unique about this. The only thing imo that differentiates this from DeGroot is that with DeGroot, there is the timer mechanic. This don't got that and it honestly suffers from that.
It's just got no appeal to it, man.
@half
This map does not feel made for medieval. Its layout is far too wide and sprawling, and the objectives are placed too far from each other. DeGroot Keep pyramid-style A/D works in medieval due to the close proximity of the points to RED's base, so they can sufficiently defend them by either sitting atop the castle walls and spamming down projectiles, or dropping down onto the point to melee fight. It also doesn't matter a whole lot if you aren't able to defend both points, since after a while they'll have to be recaptured anyway. Here, RED can realistically only try to defend either A or B since they're so far apart. Once both points are inevitably capped by BLU, BLU's walk to C is still very lengthy, and they're forced through a hallway into the cage that is the C point. Most of the gameplay during this point is just players walking in there separated from their team and dying. On the off chance that BLU does get a good push in, the combat space around C can be decently interesting and fun, but more fighting happens in the hallway instead. Overall, I think for this map to work in any way for medieval, it would need to be completely re-thought out.
Gamemode: It's DeGroot Keep's gamemode without the unique parts of it. Gameplay: Genuinely, I think the A and C point designs are actually fairly unique and interesting, but the rest of the map feels really uninspired and generic. Aesthetic: It's dev textures with minor medieval flair thrown in.
It's dev textures. The A point area is somewhat visually interesting for an alpha, but other than that, not much going on here. Some non-dev texture choices feel a bit at odds with the theme the map is going for. I also don't really understand how the map's layout/theming relates to its name (this is not factored into the ratings, though)?
@Fiddleford
The map is quite large for a medieval map, making the fights very sparse. A lot of the layout is flat, besides Last, there are no areas where combat is fun. The map would have been better if it was shrunk down.
There isn't really anything unique about this map. It's just DeGroot Keep but without the unique timer.
The map is obviously unfinished so I can't talk much about it. Doesn't feel very medieval to me but that's probably because it's A1.
@Gruppy
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@robopan
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Colliseum's final score is... 3.14/10!
 

Katsu! :3

Veteran Cat
aa
Jul 30, 2021
952
667
A/D Moby, by @G.bo
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Judge
Gameplay​
Uniqueness​
Aesthetics​
@Katsu! :3
I actually think there's a lot of potential here in Moby. I found it surprisingly fun, especially considering my first impression of it was not great haha. Seriously though, this felt really good to play on and I think with some fine tuning could be a fantastic example of a linear medieval map! I loved playing on the pirate ship, it was just the right size and it was cool watching people try to dive into me and slice at me when I was defending. I think a major issue of the map really is letting people on BLU walk in front of RED spawn somehow??? Like they don't even realize it half the time, it's super bizarre.
No Comment
I mean hey it's an alpha map. It don't even look bad for alpha it's just, well, not very detailed. What is here is pretty good though, I think the pirate theming is a fun and new direction to take a medieval map and I want to see it be fleshed out.
@half
Moby's primary issues stem from its routing and flow. It just feels like there are a few too many routes all over the place. I strongly dislike that one route completely avoids the first point and basically lets you get straight to B/RED's last spawn unopposed. The routing into B is really split, which I don't think necessarily works for medieval. I think the only reason BLU tends to win on B is because they have momentum from A, and have four separate entrances to come in from, so they can just easily get through, hop on the point, and overwhelm RED. It really feels like there is a lack of a "main" route here, which is definitely emphasized even more in medieval. Axing some of the side routes (or having them converge into a main route), widening the desired "main" route and having it be a central choke would improve this gameplay a lot. I think the point designs are fairly interesting and have a lot of potential; the rest of the maps connectors and flow just don't feel nearly as good.
Gamemode: It's 2CP A/D... somewhat distinct from existing medieval maps, but in quite the same vein. Gameplay: Pretty unique overall; point designs help contribute a lot to this. Aesthetic: Kind of generic theming, but elements like the fish help it stand out a bit.
Moby is really basic looking and doesn't really scream "medieval" to me. Some of the detailed areas around A feel kind of at-odds with what the rest of the map is going for; they feel more generic-medieval inspired, whereas the rest of the map has a fishing/nautical theme that could be more heavily leaned into. I have to say, I really like the brushwork fish on the map -- they're pretty neat.
@Fiddleford
The layout is really maze-like and unintuitive, especially around the 2nd control point. For some reason BLU team can enter their spawn which is right around the 1st control point. It's a cool spy map though.
It's not very unique.
It's unfinished. Doesn't really look like anything special to me. At least it sort of feels medieval unlike some other unfinished maps.
@Gruppy
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@robopan
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Colliseum's final score is... 5.55/10!