First new custom map added that isn’t from one of the CGT group. I found this one on the Steam forums and was impressed with the circular attack/defend layout of this map. It looks like it could be a lot of fun (maybe not so much for snipers) and it’s fairly well built (minus the lacking 3D skybox).
ccp_circlejerk_rc1 by WhatIsSchwa
Aw man, what a night to miss. I was building a new playground for the kids all weekend and was too tired by the end of the day to stay awake.
If custom maps are being added on a case by case basis, how about warpath? It seems to be on servers that also have lazytown but never NEVER run lazytown!
I’m flattered you guys are trying out my map. This is my first attempt at hammer so I certainly do not qualify for the professional aspect of CGSociety. I would also like to note the artist that designed the HUD and all the posters/textures was Citrusmirakel. The game mechanics were conceived by Hovis.
My design goals were simple:
For the most part I think I achived my goals nicely. The winning team is always the team that does a better job mobilizing a balance between offense and defense. No class (including Engineers) can solo-defend a site, so all classes become useful for both assaulting and defending, and trying different combinations actually yields varying results.
There is a mild learning curve. At first it can be difficult to understand exactly where to go. The combination of learning a new map and gameplay variation has proven to be slightly overwhelming for some players. However, I sincerely beleive threre is enough variation and depth to this map that the payoff is worth the time invested in learning it. Having gamers like yourself willing to give it a try really brightens my day. Thank you.
-Aaron
We had about 10-12 folks playing it last night for the first time. I think the general consensus was along the lines of “what am I supposed to do?” and “where do I go?”
Yeah there is a learning curve. I ran around on the map earlier in the day with Swizzle so I was familiar enough with the layout to not be completely lost. But I did find myself getting turned around a lot and heading the wrong direction to where I wanted to go.
I think the main problem is the signs (cactus, boot, pagoda and igloo) aren’t as clear as they should be. It probably would play better if you had only two signs (castle = defend / sword = attack) and big arrows pointing left/right. And place them right outside of the spawn points.
I’m not sure but some spawn points are inside the circle and others are outside? This is really confusing. If you spawn inside the circle you exit right to attack. If you spawn outside of the circle you exit left to attack.
Don’t get me wrong. The map was fun to play and it looks great. I just feel it’s not intuitive enough and lacks enough visual clues to aid in first time players jumping into the game. We’ll keep in rotation for awhile to see what the rest of the group thinks of it.
You’re welcome to join us Friday and Saturday nights for our regular events. We play an alltalk server, so you should get plenty of feedback.
I’m not against custom maps but I do think if we start introducing non CGtalker maps it should be very, very slowly as to not give anyone too much of a map familiarity advantage too soon? Maybe a new map once a month or so?
Recently, the cg talk deathmatches have been my only ‘trigger time’ with TF2 and I’d hate to get lost on new map after new map.
BTW Wyatt, didn’t you say Lazytown sucked? I’ve never tried it.
I thought the general feel of Lazytown was it was just really awful. If we introduce new maps to CGtalk, emphasis should be on the quality of the map, it’s appearance and its gameplay. I think if it’s lacking too much in any one aspect it shouldn’t be added… possible exceptions to maps with outstanding gameplay. Something amazingly unique.
We totally need more CGTalker maps, or maybe start drawing in map authors to join our games for feedback, get a good community of great players and solid mappers.
I have to agree with everything Kirt said about circlejerk (I feel so uncomfortable typing that 
).
Also, I’m going to have a new version of happyvalley ready later this week. Should be good to go for Saturday’s game, though I can’t say for sure about getting it in by Friday. That’s when Dominance War starts and I’ll probably be terribly distracted for the entire day.
I’m not going to overload the server with new custom maps. I told VanillaChicken (since he’s been graciously hosting the files for fast d/l) that I’d put up a new custom map from outside of CGTalk one at a time. So when a new map goes up, one gets removed. We’ll have to discuss with VanillaChicken if we decide to keep one on permanently as a player favorite.
I’m not going to stick to a regular schedule either. If I see something that looks like fun and I feel that everyone is growing tired of the current custom then I’ll change it up. One of these spotlight maps may stay on for a couple weeks or a couple months. It depends on the players approval.
I’m also looking at maps for obvious flaws (like enemy team access to spawn areas, no round or timer events and unbalance toward specific classes). If there are obvious map flaws I’m not going to even bother.
There are signs everywhere in the map, it is just that everyone ignores them. The players ignored arrows too. There is a mysterious tunnel vision that happens when playing. I really did pound my head against a wall trying to figure out ways to make it more obvious. The unique icons for the HUD was necessary for co-ordination, “GET TO THE IGLOO” will become a familiar rally cry.
I’m not sure but some spawn points are inside the circle and others are outside? This is really confusing. If you spawn inside the circle you exit right to attack. If you spawn outside of the circle you exit left to attack.
Every spawn is oriented that when you leave you attack to the right. In addition, as you leave every spawn there are signs that indicate which direction the nearby sites are. Again, I don’t know how to make this more clear, as nearly everyone seems to miss them.
I appreciate the kind words and feedback. I’ve added your server to my favorites and will be certain to drop by.
-Aaron
Also, if anyone is interested the mechanics for the maptype are posted on the Dev wiki.
TF2 wasn’t meant to have the CPs arranged in a circle so there is one bug… or… feature, yeah, lets call it a feature.
Players cannot “block” the capture.
I think this happens because both teams cannot have the “prerequisite” required point. So far no-one else has had any other ideas or solutions. If you’ve encountered this bug (er, feature…) before and somehow overcame it I would really appreciate the help.
The effect is has on gameplay is negligable. But still, it is something that irks me.
Also, if one team manages to capture three points before the other team captures one it has to declare a victory because the lousy team no longer would have a spawn. There is a logic observing the CPs and it catches the bug, but I wasn’t able to figure out how to change the victory message. Ideally it would say something like “X dominated!” Instead it says “X defended!” which is completely wrong. Again, help would be appreciated.
-Aaron
WhatIsSchwa - I see the signs everwhere, but the problem is that they sort of blend into everything else. That and they are small and difficult to read unless you run right up to them.
I think what you need is big and bold images to direct the players. In tc_hydro, for example, you can’t miss the huge circular arrow signs attached to the side of the cliff faces. The red and blue pops from the muted background color pallette. I don’t think your signs do. Which is why they are being missed.
Yeah, they are there and if you take the time to look in the spawn room, outside the spawn room and around most doorways you will see clear indicators to which route to take. However, with the quick pace of the game noone wants to bother with concentrating on background details for directions. It should be painfully obvious even while running by at Scout speed.
I agree with a new non cg talk related custom maps. Im all for keeping the custom maps made by people made from CGTalk, but since we only have two so far it could be a good idea to introduce outside maps. Maybe a “monthly favorite” where every month we play one new custom map, then when the new month begins we switch it up for another one. I think it will help spice the monotony on server.
Warpath is an awesome map by the way, although it is a little big, but we seem to be gaining more and more people each week. I played one the other night with two big trains riding next to each other, one red and one blue, flying through the desert. I forget what it was called but it was one of the better ones I’ve played.
I don’t have to worry about Valentine’s day, though I’m more than a little miffed that this is happening the day before Dominance War.
I’m going to get nothing done!
what better way to celebrate Valentines than running around with an itchy trigger figure yelling “Damn Spies!” at the top of your lungs…
QUESTION!
By show of virtual hands, how many people would like me to get Escher beta 7 out the door? I was kind of holding out until it was “flawless” but I guess there are enough changes to make for different gameplay.
I’ll decide tonight whether to rush a copy out to Kirt and Vanilla or hold out until more bugs are spotted in Beta 6.
I have to ask … why point out problems on ver 6 if you may have already fixed them with ver 7? Hell yeah we want to play the new version! LOL