Arid

Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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Arid
(Capture the Flag)
[[Built for the TF2Maps.net Competetive CTF contest]]
By: Frazer "The Midget" Grant.
Contact: Frazer.Grant@hotmail.co.uk
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Arid is a CTF map by Frazer Grant, for the TF2Maps.net Major Mapping Contest #4.
It features:
  • Badlands' Environment Settings
  • "Invade" CTF Play
  • Smaller than most maps
  • Clipping

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Thanks To:
Tom "zpqrei" Pritchard - help and support
-kJ- guys - 6v6 testing!
Acegikmo - for the environment gallery
Rexy - for the sexy pack of alternative rocks.
DarkerSideOfYourShadow - The epic Flatbed Trucks
HojoTheGreat - For the awesome Flatbed Truck Compressed Textures
Psy - For the time saving Invade CTF Prefab
 
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Exist

L6: Sharp Member
Oct 31, 2009
306
136
We had a small (1v2) test, so I'm not going to talk about gameplay, but there are the spawn doors and the route that leads to no where to fix. Overall, a nice small map, would play again :D

If it worked well with 1v2, I'd love to see how'd it work with 6v6

It would be really interesting for a small map to work like that. :)
 

Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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Alpha 2 Out!

  • Fixed a bug that let the enemy team open respawn rooms
  • Moved a computerwall model out 1 unit on each side to stop funkiness
  • Added a brush at spawn to help stop spawncamping
 
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Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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Quick Playtest today produced 3 or 4 things:

  • Buggy Main doors
  • Scouts are OP in general
  • Red face of Doom on the sides of two planks
  • Mid area is kinda useless for some classes
  • Lengthen the time taken to get from intel to intel.

Anything anybody wants to add/give me ways of fixing said changes?
 

Mr. P. Kiwi

L5: Dapper Member
Nov 22, 2009
244
95
I played it a bit, with bots... And from the play testing I found out that the soldier class is mostly useless! I would suggest adding places that are good for soldiers - like rocket jumping places (that he could get to).
(This would be also good for demoman class for sticky bomb jumping...)
 

Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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Alpha 3 Released!
  • One of the small health packs changed to an ammo pack on mid planks
  • Fixed Main Doors being buggy (opening when either of the triggers is stepped in)
  • Added a little cover in mid, makes it so Scouts can't run straight through.
 

Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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After the 10v10 or so playtest today, I want your feedback. As much as possible pl0x >:D
 

Westerhound

L5: Dapper Member
Feb 5, 2009
248
104
Ended up more like an arena for killing people than taking the flag for me, which is kinda how I pllay all CTF maps, but this was more tho. The center is a bit too big maybe. I ended up sniping (with a rocket launcher) from the top of the tower many times, simply cause it was more fun than running in and taking the intel. Taking the intel is boring cause
A) Theres a SG that kills me half of the times I try
B) Once I have it I can run 10 meters, rocket jump, and in most cases rocket jump again, and suddenly Im standing 10 meters from the our intel/the capping zone. Just way to easy :/

The tower is a bit OP. Seeing that there are 5 healthkits in the entire map (which of two are outside the spawns, being REALLY useless), one is up there, only reachable buy Soldiers and Demomen (or Pyros if they are good, which is rare, and they dont do anything on top of the tower anyway).
-Remove top floor of the tower, way too high and OP with the health
-Add ammo on the ground (under tower maybe), not just into the spawn and onto places only people with magic jumps can get
-CARVE a hole into the intel room wall and dig it deeper in. A Demoman can jump from one intel room entrance to another (I think), and seeing how close the intel is to the door, ZIS IS BAD. Either that or put a roof on top of the entire map (I suggest doing the first thing).

Of course its balanced towards 6v6, and a SG can be so much more awesome, but in this map the SGs seemed kinda powerless :(
 

Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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changesfora4.png


How about this? An extended higher area (not much, but longer)
Instead of the framework thingy I have right now, have a top floor, completely shut in, bar some access areas (floor and roof I'm thinking)
Add archways from the side higher areas to the mid ones. (with cover on the sides)
I'll add more cover somewhere else as well, can't think right now.

I wanna change the mid as much as possible with as little comprimise to the small, simple bases. I don't want teams to be able to effectively turtle, and most of the fighting to happen in/around mid.

EDIT: I will work on this and release alpha 4 on Friday. By then I'll have created a completely new middle area, or worked that one to suit my needs. Anybody else got comments?
 

Rikka

L5: Dapper Member
Feb 10, 2009
208
388
You will finish this map. You will not waste this name.

Or I will kill you.

Or think about it, anyway. Hope to get a chance to try it soon.
 
Dec 25, 2007
566
439
The middle of the middle--that is, around the fences and the central mound--actually worked quite well, except I think the tower is a little too powerful, especially with health and ammo up there. It was the corners (around where your yellow marks are above) that were too flat and open, with huge sniper sightlines.
 

Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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Alpha 4 Released!
  • Slightly altered areas with medium healthpacks near intel locations.
  • Added an extra building outside intel towards middle
  • Removed Health and Ammo from the top of the middle building
  • Removed some cover from the top of the middle building
  • Added health and ammo to the slightly rasied middle area, on both sides.
  • Started basic texturing in the red intel location

I want to see how the more health plays out, and hopefully removing the stuff at the top of the tower makes it so soldiers cannot camp for as long/as much. These are the two things I want the most response on please
 
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Jindo

L3: Member
Aug 6, 2009
121
123
This is probably the fault of bz2 compression, but after I uploaded your map to my server's fast download service, and downloaded from there in-game, the map's lighting outside made it unplayable:

ctf_arid_a40003.jpg


I'll try installing the map directly from here and see if that fixes it.

EDIT: Nope, I'll do my best to resolve this issue, but if I fail to then I will have to skip this map for now (I won't completely abandon testing it of course.) If I do manage to resolve the issue then I'll post much later after we've tested it with some results/comments/feedback!
 
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Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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Alpha 5 Released
  • Re-made environment lighting (I accidentally deleted them)

Really sorry about that Jindo!
 

Fraz

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Dec 28, 2008
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We had a small playtest today.

What I gathered:
  • Boring, needs something more
  • A bit open in areas
Anything else?

From Jindo's (awesome dude btw) testing thingy, people commented:
Here - Do you guys agree?