KotH Frostbite

SSX

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Feb 2, 2014
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z0S8Hgc.png


Welcome to The Mountain Pass Station! Beware of the frostbite causing temperatures here.

We supply all of Mann Co with it's goods of Weapons, Crates, and Hats from coast to coast. Be wary of the trains as you step out onto the loading platforms, they will not stop for you!

-Map is made by shadowslasher11X, do not upload to other websites without permission. Ask before decompile. Thank you.
 
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SSX

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Feb 2, 2014
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That's alot of detailing for an alpha. You might want to think about just blocking things out next time, as small details make it more difficult to make large layout changes.

I have a weird way of mapping, I'll normally do a few versions, if I don't like it, I'll scrap it. Then there are times like these where the original map was all blocks and I scrap the original, but slowly go through the process of looking at what needed improving.

This one by far aims for what I was looking for in a map like this. And it seems to fit the tf2 feel I was going for.

Besides, working around large layout changes has never been a huge issue to me. It's the smaller parts that drive me nuts.
 

SSX

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Feb 2, 2014
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The floors of the buildings are actually marked, only thing is you can't see them due to the whole...lack of indoor lighting thing atm...
 

Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
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Sep 5, 2010
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The floors of the buildings are actually marked, only thing is you can't see them due to the whole...lack of indoor lighting thing atm...

Thats fine, but you really might want to consider doing it to the front faces of the exterior buildings. Map readability is key, more-so than ever since player readability has diminished a bit in the past few years.
 
Sep 19, 2010
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Wowzas, looks like you've put a lot of work into this map. Hope it plays well! Looks interesting, so I'm definitely looking forward to playtesting this.
 

SSX

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Feb 2, 2014
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Updated to Indev_2.

Indev_2
-Fixed light_environment to be a solid dark shade
-Added more outdoor lighting.
-Added Interior Lighting to some of the buildings
-Added 2 small health kits in the under area of the point
-Added some optimization brushes

To-Do:
-Light up the area better
-Optimize map more
-Add in the Train dynamic
-More health and ammo kits
-Add Capture Point function
 

SSX

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Feb 2, 2014
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Updated to Indev_3.

Indev_3
-Lit up more area on the red side.
-More optimization...ish. (Area Portals in Spawn Rooms are working at least...)
-Red Spawn Room setup
-Traaaaaaaaaainz!
-Added in medkits and ammo near mid

To-Do:
-Do everything again, cept on Blu's side with a simple horizontal+vertical option.
-Figure out how to efficiently optimize the map.
-More lighting on the exterior areas, and some interior areas.

Pics:
zoBZDAP.jpg

hRn4uGq.jpg

ymQcT5c.jpg
 

SSX

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Feb 2, 2014
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Good news, if I might be able to get this map out for this weekend's game day. The lighting is decent enough to where players can see what's happening, and both spawns are finally setup.

Just need to add a few clip textures, and we should be good to go. :)
 

SSX

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Feb 2, 2014
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Alright ladies and gentlemann's, it is officially up, the first Alpha version of koth_frostbite. Let's see how much crap you can nail me with. lol
 

Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
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Sep 5, 2010
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Here's where I'd put hint brushes. I'm not 100% sure these are the best spots, but they are a start.

The big purple square is more/less either a skybox block over the building, or a large hint brush (I would suggest using the skybox).

Remember to make the hint brushes with SKIP texture first, then apply the hint texture on just 1 face (I would say mostly the faces that are facing the point).

For the one that is just flat with the point area, you can just make that straight across and Z-fight with the plan, it won't affect anything (as, it's getting cut anyways).

Don't forget to add in those area portals too.

frostbite.jpg

frostbite2.jpg


PM me if you have any questions.
 

puxorb

L69: Emoticon
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Dec 15, 2013
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This map needs some optimization. Almost the entire level is rendering at all times...

39C76CCF9CD0BD43D618A51DCD032F8B3DC1FCE1
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
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Nov 14, 2009
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From the looks of things, Badlands is the map you want to look to for optimization inspiration; it's got the same "lots of buildings with big spaces in between" thing going on. But I'd recommend starting with skybox brushes stretching from the roofs to the "ceiling"; that would probably take care of a lot of the large buildings that aren't blocking the view behind them.
 

SSX

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Feb 2, 2014
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I really don't know if I want to finish this or not...I got some optimization with Area Portals working, but everyone's 2nd complaint other than FPS is the long range areas, something I'm not willing to change. Along with the large area...speaking of which, why the hell is everyone always so picky about stuff?

I got tired of the norm of small KOTH maps, wanted something a bit more open for Demo's, Soldiers, Scouts and Snipers. I wanted to nerf Engi down to a battle format where they'd be more willing to set up teleporters and use mini-sentries at midpoint. Heavies and Medics need to plan out ubers efficiently, to get the most effect out of them.

So why the hell do people always expect the same formula over and over again. Does no one want to try a little something new every now and then?

"Big area", Adapt dammit! You can't always expect the same situation all the time, and it gets boring if you're prepared for those same situations all the time. People need to be challenged when it comes to gameplay, because there has not been much of a change to how TF2 maps play in nearly 3 years.

CP maps normally have 2 holding points. (Per Map)
PL(R) does the same, cept it's more than 2 oftenly.
KOTH has 1 holding point, and that's right outside the room.
 
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ManBeaR

L2: Junior Member
Apr 20, 2014
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Well, koth means king of the hill, so moste of the action is suppused to be on the "hill" (in a metaphoric way, of course). Having large areas doesn't really make more holding points, it just spreads the battle more out. In the end you will probably get maps like hightower or doomsday, not at all saying those are bad maps, but they generally plays out kinda goofy.
 

TheBestUsername

L4: Comfortable Member
Jun 25, 2013
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Hm. That circular door in your fourth screenshot looks really awkward and cramped. You might want to reconsider your approach to that area.

Also, I think what ManBeaR means to tell you is that, if you design your map the way you're intending to, you'll end up with a "deathmatchy" sort of level where players generally tend to ignore their objective and just focus on killing each other. That's not necessarily a bad thing (Hightower will always be my number one favorite map), just keep in mind that if your map turns out that way, it will probably be better suited to pubs than comp play (again, not a bad thing, just something you might want to be aware of).
I should point out that I don't know if ManBeaR is correct in his assumption or not; I meant only to provide you with some information, not to tell you what you should or shouldn't do with your map.

I agree with you about people being a little too focused on tradition in their maps (especially in the case of 5cp push maps, there's just so much more you could do with Control Points than that), but in the case of KoTH I feel that it is supposed to be small so that all attention is directed towards the central point. I don't think your problem is size so much as openness, however, but I could be wrong. Why don't you put this in a GameDay and we can see if your map works well or not?
 
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