KotH Lumberduct

Namieo

L1: Registered
Mar 3, 2013
23
4
Lumberduct (A4)

After trying to map for a year or so for a custom game mode that's (seemingly) mapper-unfriendly by design, I decided to give up and apply what I learnt into creating a map that I could actually test properly, upload without having to perform ancient rituals, and expect not to break only when it's on the server.

A better name is to come.
 
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Namieo

L1: Registered
Mar 3, 2013
23
4
Parkour Fortress. Fun enough to play, but with absolutely no way to test anything offline and absolute minimal documentation. Without any way to test offline or even any reference for lengths and heights, maps are often uploaded broken, exploitable, or both. God help you if you want to make anything that deviates in the slightest from basic time run, because not only does the mod offer very little besides parkour mechanics, but a thousand unseen forces (and more exploits) work against you to break whatever gimmick you try to create. On top of this, the mod's creator all but abandoned the mod, so there's no hope of anything new being added or something being fixed.

The last straw was when the singular combat-oriented map broke at the plugin-level, so that there was literally no hope of any map that wasn't basic time run. I was already just about completely done with PF at that point, but that map was one of the few really fun ones.
 

LeSwordfish

semi-trained quasi-professional
aa
Aug 8, 2010
4,102
6,597
This looks like a pretty interesting map. The point layout is nice- makes a nice change from the standard badlands- and I think the scaling is pretty good, generally. I also really like how the one-way doors and heights mean that it should be quite hard to push far from the point.

I'm concerned about how wide it is, though. I suspect that the area outside the "barn" is very narrow and doesnt have much cover, making it great for snipers.

I think the other issue the map has is that it's all very tall. You could probably cut most of it in half vertically, and get a better effect- as it is now, the high ground is very powerful since, as well as the usual height advantages, your opponents shots are probably being affected by damage falloff.

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Try and avoid raising up points like this- thanks to the way splash damage is calculated, rims like this block splash damage so rockets fired at the ground outside the point don't damage people on it. Considering how many ways there are to fire down on the point, I'd strongly suggest changing this.

f727611b5e.jpg


I really like these windows- it gives you a chance to splash damage back against soldiers spamming down from above. However, you can only sometimes fit under them? It's wierd- try it and you'll see. You might need to move them up by 16 units or so. (That'd also mean you don't need to crouch to crawl through them.)
 

Namieo

L1: Registered
Mar 3, 2013
23
4
I'm concerned about how wide it is, though. I suspect that the area outside the "barn" is very narrow and doesnt have much cover, making it great for snipers.

I'm somewhat at a loss for what to do with the side area. I guess I can throw away the last shred of my original idea and get rid of the train so I can add brushwork to block off the sightline?

I think the other issue the map has is that it's all very tall. You could probably cut most of it in half vertically, and get a better effect- as it is now, the high ground is very powerful since, as well as the usual height advantages, your opponents shots are probably being affected by damage falloff.

I can flatten some of the areas relatively easily, but because of the sloped roof, I can only flatten the center area so much. Nevertheless, I made my best effort and made it slightly lower. I'll get to the rest of the areas soon.

Try and avoid raising up points like this.
Done, and replaced with a visual indicator of the cap zone.

I really like these windows- it gives you a chance to splash damage back against soldiers spamming down from above. However, you can only sometimes fit under them? It's wierd- try it and you'll see. You might need to move them up by 16 units or so. (That'd also mean you don't need to crouch to crawl through them.)

Only being able to enter the windows by crawling is intentional. On that note, however, I've removed the topmost windows after several people had difficulty entering them.
 
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Namieo

L1: Registered
Mar 3, 2013
23
4
I've incorporated the feedback from above and from an impromptu test into the next version of the map (A2), which is out now. See the changelog (or go to the download page) for more details.
 

Namieo

L1: Registered
Mar 3, 2013
23
4
After getting the map into a post-gameday test and receiving additional feedback from others, I've created a new version of the map (A3). Again, see the changelog or go to the download page for details. Asides from scaling down parts of the map somewhat, I'm starting to feel pleased with the current layout, and I don't think I'll need to modify it extensively from this point.