CTF Middle Of The Ocean

Small 10-14 player CTF map set on a structure in the middle of the ocean at sundown.

This is my first TF2 map so mostly it's been a learning experience, but I'm fairly happy with the result. Anyway feedback is very appreciated so don't hold back any criticism.

[Tarry H Sruman]

Some better screenshots would be nice, preferably an overhead that shows the whole map.

[Wael]

Alright, sorry about the crappy screenshots. Also an overhead shot wouldn't work because of fog.

Type fog_override 1 and fog_enable 0 in console to disable fog.

[MangyCarface]

Looks really good for a first map, reminds me of vilepickle's early stuff- what this means is that you're going a little overboard with the trim in your interiors. You're also using primarily interior materials for your exteriors. On an architectural note, such steep roofs are typically reserved for alpine environments, to help mitigate snow. Not a big issue, but you should at least change up the material on the roofs to something TF2 uses more often for roofing.
Presumably your water is insta-death (sorry, at work, can't test) Just know that this is a hugely frustrating feature to have in anything but miniscule amounts.

[Wael]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MangyCarface

Looks really good for a first map

First TF2 map also first map in I think 2 years, been making maps for UT99/UT3 for a while now.

Quote:

reminds me of vilepickle's early stuff- what this means is that you're going a little overboard with the trim in your interiors.

I'll tone it down a little, something's been bugging me about the way the map looks and that's probably it.

Quote:

You're also using primarily interior materials for your exteriors.

I'm not too familiar with TF2 textures yet, I'll try to find something more appropriate.

Quote:

On an architectural note, such steep roofs are typically reserved for alpine environments, to help mitigate snow. Not a big issue, but you should at least change up the material on the roofs to something TF2 uses more often for roofing.

Again I'll find something more appropriate.

Quote:

Presumably your water is insta-death (sorry, at work, can't test) Just know that this is a hugely frustrating feature to have in anything but miniscule amounts.

Yes, the water is insta-death.
I should mention that the layout is largely based on an older map so it wasn't built for TF2 gameplay specifically in mind so if anyone has any layout change suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Anyway thanks for the thoughtful response, it is very much appreciated.

[Idolon]

Two things, one layout-wise and one detail-wise:

While this sightline won't for sure be a problem, I can see it being one. I drew in some walls, which would eliminate the sightline but still give snipers in those positions something to shoot. I'm no expert, so take this advice with a grain of salt.

Crossbars like these look odd when they aren't made of wood, and architecturally aren't spytech-ish. I would suggest removing them.

[Wael]

First of all thanks for the feedback.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idolon

While this sightline won't for sure be a problem, I can see it being one. I drew in some walls, which would eliminate the sightline but still give snipers in those positions something to shoot. I'm no expert, so take this advice with a grain of salt.

Funny you should mention that because originally the middle part of the upper bridged was raised so snipers couldn't see all the way across but that severely limited what a sniper could do to the point where I felt they were almost useless, so I lowered the bridge. Anyway I'll test it out with the proposed walls to see if that works.

Quote:

Crossbars like these look odd when they aren't made of wood, and architecturally aren't spytech-ish. I would suggest removing them.

That won't be a problem, the more I looked at the interior the more unhappy I was with it so I've decided to redo most of it.
Anyway assuming I can keep up the pace I should have another beta ready within a week.

[Wael]

This is what I've got so far, I still need to do another detail pass and tweak some things but this what it's gonna look like.
Also the environment ambient lighting shadows are irking me so I'm just gonna replace ambient lighting with a bunch of point lights or spotlights.
P.S.Is there a way to make the light prop match the light color without having to alter the texture?




What do you think?

[Fr0Z3n]

Something about that red lighting seems unsettling.