CTF Desolate

Hello, and thanks for checking out the map.

First off, this is actually DTF_Desolate, not CTF.
DTF stands for Deliver the Flag, which is just a fancy way of saying that this is the football gamemode that pops up every once in a while.

For anyone who doesn't know, there is one neutral flag in the middle of the map, and the teams have to compete to push the flag to the enemy's base 3 times to win. Either team can pick up the flag, so the carrier being killed usually results in the enemy gaining possession of the flag, which makes the gameplay very active.

So far, I've tested this map on a server I frequent, and it seems to play out quite well and has gotten good reviews. The biggest problem currently seems to be getting players to overcome the mindset of "THERE'S A FLAG, I MUST TAKE IT BACK TO MY BASE!!!!" despite the arrows, HUD indicator pointing to the enemy base when you pick up the flag, and a message at the beginning of the map telling everyone what to do. Due to the generally positive reviews of the map once people get a grip on the gameplay, I figured that it was time to upload it here and get a bit more experienced feedback so that I can make layout adjustments before I start detailing heavily.


So give it a test run, tell me what you think, and I'll probably sign it up for a gameday or two if it's well recieved. Thanks in advance for any advice and critique you can give me, as I very much appreciate it. Hopefully I can make this a solid map, since I enjoy the football gamemode despite it being relatively unseen.

[MetalKev]

I walked through the map and liked what I saw. Even though it was mostly dev materials it still gave a great sense of atmosphere (I got a very prison-esque vibe off it) and design wise liked how the top level of the midfight connected to the bases. My only issues were
a) The area which included the capture zones on either base seemed kind of sparse. It would've been nice to see something besides the turbines, but without playing the map take this with a grain of salt.
b) In one section (the tunnel which runs roughly from the midpoint to the side of the base) I didn't know which way to go and had to take a guess which way led to the red base, so a few more signs in the tunnels would be helpful to new players.
These are pretty minor things though, so I look forward to playing it on a gameday sometime.

[Jack Riguel]

First of all, awesome of you to experimenting with the gamemodes. People may say otherwise however it allows for some good experimentation, which is the only real way you'll learn anything in level design.

Just a couple things I noticed:

You WILL be bitched at for this, if there's any major no-no in tf2 cosmetics it's flashing/coloured lights. In an alpha's scope it's pretty trivial, but just a head's up.


There's really no reason for this to be down there, water is in itself a "heath pickup," as it's a counter for pyros and it gives player an escape route to leave the battle. Also, it's really big, and the fog distance makes it hard too see in front of you


Either one of theses roofs (the one I'm standing on or the main one in front of me) needs to be risen or lowered, right now it's at a teasing crouch-jump distance yet is too high. Also your level's ceiling for this area is WAY too low, average out the height of a vertical rocket/sticky jump from your highest reachable ceiling and give it another 256 units.


OH GOD TRAPPED IN A TRANSFORMER SEND HELP

Also what Metalkev said about the flanking routes is right, it's pretty much just a labyrinth of hallways.

By all means though, throw it up for the next gameday or sit around in chat and see if anyone starts throwing the words "impromtu" around. I'd suggest at least giving a little more vertical room and taking out the flashing lights before you do.

[Jeremy]

hehehehe dtf

*ahem*
Looks pretty good. You might add some hazard tape around the capture zone so it's really clear where the capture points are.

[evicted]

Sorry about the week of nothing, but I was on spring break. Anyway, I'm back now and I've done everything except raise the skybox, so I'll get that done and have the map on a gameday very soon. Thanks again for all the help so far.