CTF 1fort

Due to a clerical error at General Realty Network (GRN), a plot of land was contracted to both RED and BLU concurrently. Not wanting to take the issue to court (Yosemite Legal Workers (YLW) tend to have really boring courts), they instead took it to the battlefield.

1fort takes the idea of two enemy bases built absurdly close to one another a step further by actually housing them in the same building. The two teams' intelligence offices are separated by a single pane of indestructible bulletproof glass, so your goal is within eyesight from the get-go.

The battle plays out at dusk in the middle of a dense forest, and works best with mid to large-sized teams.

Gameplay
CTF can be a fun game mode, but I feel that many players have grown tired of it in TF2 due to the lack of new and innovative maps that allow players to do more than sit behind sentries and wait for the enemies to show up. CP and Payload maps are far more popular on the majority of servers I've visited, so I decided to build a CTF map that attempts to incorporate the type of fluid attack/defend movement found in those game modes.

The exterior design promotes a circular gameplay model as opposed to the back-and-forth which is typical of most CTF maps. Additionally, three main routes between bases allow each team greater opportunities to attack and defend their designated zones while discouraging turtling as a main defensive strategy.

Release notes:

b1
-addition to lookout tower allows better view of courtyard
-widened defending sniper window in tower
-widened alcove under lookout tower
-minor optimization changes
-some gameplay signs added/removed/relocated
-additional spectator cameras
-widened computer shelf in intel room to allow some buildings
-various clipping fixes
-added 3D skybox (forest has trees now)
-added rails to sewer bridge

a6
-fixed spawn doors clipping through wall
-fixed exploit where you could pass the intel through the window
-smoothed several player clipping problems
-spent an hour trying to fix an error that didn't exist
-removed limit on flag caps per round
-optimized some areas for better performance

a5
-moved ground floor spawn further from central stairs
-lowered tree stump with health on it (again)
-intel room doorways widened
-better indication of certain non-accessible areas
-replaced mid ammo pack with mid health pack on storage crate outside
-removed small health pack behind pine tree
-fixed clipping on boxes in sniper tower
-sewer hatch reshaped to allow building on top
-window breaks for humiliation round

a4
-removed walls around central stairs on second floor
-removed breakable glass from lookout tower windows
-dirt pile under lookout tower no longer climbable by regular jumps
-added nobuild zone under lookout tower and over sliding doors
-glass window breaks when timer reaches zero. maybe. i think.
-new night sky/outdoor lighting scheme

a3
-repositioned spawn rooms and exterior door to encourage main route around building
-increased size of health pickup on balcony and in sewer
-additional outdoor lights added
-ammo pickups added outside
-sealed off stairway window on lookout tower
-directional signs added/moved throughout
-second floor corridors widened

a2
-widened windows in lookout tower
-decreased size of health pickup outside intel room
-added additional health pickup on 2nd floor
-added detail/replaced most ugly dev textures
-some nobuild areas added
-added ramp up to large storage crate outside
-smooth player clipping added to many signs/models

[BagOfChips]

I like the story and the layout

[DaFatCat]

Sounds fun, the indoor areas look a bit bland though.

[shpladoink]

Originally Posted by DaFatCat

Sounds fun, the indoor areas look a bit bland though.

Agreed. I'm doing my best so smooth gameplay out before I get to too much detailing.

Big changes coming for a3; I'm shuffling some spawn locations and doorways around to make the main routes a bit clearer to players. Planned release date late this week.

[l3eeron]

I'm really counting on this one, 'doink!

Don't let me down!

[Mar]

Wow, looks nice for an alpha.

I'd like to see more light in the map. TF2 is a brighter game then CS or Halo which is more of the vibe I'm getting here. I wish it felt warmer.

Also maybe a more original name since it gives the impression that this is a remix of 2fort. Maybe something more like flag_next_door or neighbors or 1_base. But 1fort is just too close too 2fort and people might look at the map expecting similarities to it.

PS. I love that glass by the intel. Makes sentry camping just a bit harder. And you know how much I hate sentries. >

[shpladoink]

Updated to a3. Major changes listed in first post.

[shpladoink]

Version a4 released!

[shpladoink]

Thanks to all of you that checked 1fort out at gameday this afternoon. I apologize for not being present, but I did watch the demo, so I'd like to address some of the comments you guys had.

First of all, I was surprised at all the positive reactions. The group that played seemed to catch on to the layout a lot faster than the guys on the server I usually test on. As for the lighting, version a4 was released shortly after the sniper/spy update, so I hadn't had a chance to properly tune the new night atmosphere from the old skybox I was working with.

There wasn't much turtling in the couple rounds played today, but I attribute that to the fact that most of you were spending time checking out the map rather than wrenching a gun in a corner for fifteen minutes. I'm considering removing the spawn door on the second floor that leads towards the intel room because it seems to make it too easy to camp the intel and rebuild sentries. Design that prefers the defenders in CTF is one of the things that makes the gametype largely less exciting than the others, so I'm seeking all means to give attackers the edge regarding getting around defenses.

I haven't come up with a solution for a good teleporter entrance spot yet, but the little alcove next to the first floor spawn and the second floor balcony seem to be popular places. Teams can really benefit from a forward base in 1fort, so this is something I want to improve. I don't play much engineer, so any Pro Engie advice on the matter would be appreciated.

I'd love to implement breaking the window for post-round humiliation (I've been trying to get it to work since version a2), but so far the best I can seem to do is have it break for sudden death, which I'm doing away with in favor of stalemate. If anyone can help me figure it out, I've posted a thread on the subject right here.

The next release will be b1, so it's (hopefully) mostly aesthetic and optimization changes from here on out, save for a few tweaks to walls and significant models.

I only know of two servers that have 1fort on rotation/nominate list, so please give me a heads up if you decide to put this on your server so I can learn how it fares in a more public environment.

[Not_Yet]

i liked playing this yesterday, very good but as you said the only fault was basically no engineer spots for teleports