Team Fortress 2 CTF level [image heavy]

#1

I’ve been working on a concept for a capture-the-flag level for TF2 since shortly after it came out and, now
that the SDK has been updated, I figured I’d get down to building the actual level.

    Just to give an idea of what I have in mind for the overall feel, think of being in a deep desert ravine with 
   a stream running down the middle. I got tired of industrial settings, so this should look mostly organic.
    
     So far I just have some sketches of main features I want and a couple of tests I did before the SDK was 
  updated, but in short order I hope to have a playable version up for anybody to take a crack at playing in.
     
     So, without further ado, here's what I have so far.
     
     Sketches:
     
    This would be at the very center of the map. It's a multi-level rocky column from which you'd have a good 
 view of most of the map—good for sniping and being sniped. There should be paths going up the cliffs so that 
 you can easily get to different levels of the column.
     [img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/xkostolny/tf2level001.jpg[/img]
    
    This is a cavern right beneath the column in the above picture. There'll be a small cavity in the base 
of the column that will let you drop down into this cavern.
    The different holes lead to caves which should go to the different bases. Still not sure how good an

idea this part may be, so some playtesting will definitely be needed.

    This is a really rough image of what things should look like if you were standing at the base of the column

in the center of the map and looking towards a base. The main thing I wanted to get across is the shape of
the cliffs above, not necessarily the actual look of the base.
Again, playtesting will be needed to see how well a layout that looks like this works with cliffside paths.

    Here are some cliff tests I did in Hammer a while ago when I was trying to see if I could get the shapes working:
    
    [img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/xkostolny/valleyscreen001.jpg[/img]
    [img]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29/xkostolny/valleyscreen002.jpg[/img]
#2

nice start. only thing i ould say is be careful with the open areas. dont want to over balance it for the snipers… maybe if you had some kind of cover near the middle… just to stop it being such a fish in barrel kinda thing. i get the feeling i might have misunderstood the layout a little so i couldbe wrong… could you post up a really rough overhead map of the outdoors of the map?.. and remember the bible… make sure there is more than one way into every area :stuck_out_tongue:

#3

Very cool idea, and I can’t wait to download and play it (I’ll be willing to playtest it as well, just send me a PM). I do agree with blastzone though. Many times I’ve played custom maps that were too open and allowed snipers to basically dominate everything. Providing plenty of cover in the valley is a good idea to help prevent this. Otherwise it seems you have a pretty solid idea of what you want to do. Another suggestion would be to perhaps make the paths on the cliffs just a bit wider so it wouldn’t be as hard to fall off. Some cover around the cliffs (boulders, shrubs, etc) would help as well and make it appear more natural. Good luck with this map though!

#4

I knew I forgot to mention something; there should be caves going from each base to various points along the cliffs. Here’s a (very) rough layout that should give you some idea of what the final ought to look like:

I’m still not quite sure where the best places for caves and cover ought to be, so don’t take that as anything more than a super-rough sketch of a super-rough idea. :slight_smile: Also note that there should be caves underneath everything as well, so those will provide more places to go.

#5

The one major thing i can see about this map is that i’m wondering if there is enough room to get by someone on those ledges. This will lead to blocking people off while in these parts, soldiers will reign supreme due to the enemy being utterly unable to mitigate damage from a near hit.

#6

hell yes
i can’t wait to see how this turns out…
i will have some constructive crits in the future, not time right now :eek:

looking pretty cool so far though, especially since tf2 is the best game ever

:thumbsup:

#7

Should turn out cool! May need something to prevent everyone from going sniper. From what I remember on doing caves in Hammer, you have to do some planning, make sure the celing floor and walls match EXACT before you start to deform it. It gets tricky if you start getting complicated tunnel systems. (maybe you already know that though)

Ill be checking up on this one, good luck.

#8

blastzone:
I’m going to try my best to keep it balanced for all the classes, so I’ll definitely take care to make it so it’s not too easy to rack up kills as a sniper. One of the things I I’m planning to do that should more or less mitigate this problem is having the sections of cliff that jut out from the rest overlap heavily. This should make it harder for snipers to pick people off because they’ll be popping in and out of view if they’re running along the cliff paths or the bottom of the gully.
I also plan on putting a lot of nook and crannies along with caves so that there are lots of ways to get from one place to another.

Zealotlee, Raane:
I’m definitely going to make the paths wider; in that little test area I made, one could hardly run along the cliffs without feeling like they were going to fall off. That’s fine in a single-player section, but I realize that something like that is completely unacceptable in multiplayer where lots of people might try to go to the same place along the same path.

dpizzle:
Thanks! I look forward to the critiques and criticisms; they can only make it better. :smiley:

Auctane:
Yeah, the caves are going to present an interesting challenge. I’ve done some cave tests in hammer and they turned out pretty nice, though you’re right about having to lines things up perfectly. If there’s a single unsealed edge, it can throw everything down the toilet. Using displacements with noise will save me a lot of work as long as I can balance it with good brush work.

I should have some screenshots of the start of the level some time tomorrow for you guys to look at.

#9

I really love the whole Warner Bros. Wile… uhh, I can’t spell… Holy hell… Anyway, I love the use of the cartoon feel of TF 2 put to use with your design concept. However, I agree that it is very likely to become sniper alley very easily. Perhaps you may consider tunnels down under the ground that basically just go straight a bit then come back up to add some cover from snipers.
-> -> ->
—\ ---------/ /---- (I’m in class learning Assembly and thus, ASCII is my friend)
…_–>_/… (stupid forum code erased my alignment with spaces)

You may likely prove me wrong, but your overhead illustration seems very linear, just straight back and forth. Maybe consider an elbow turn at the center, just to break up the straightness of the map.

I do look forward to what you wind up with and will happily help you playtest it when you’re ready. I hope that custom content has a place in the TF2 world instead of the rediculous opposition it saw in Counter-Strike.

#10

I agree with kromano. Turning the valley into an elbow-shape would GREATLY reduce turning the map into a sniper alley. It would also make it look a bit more interesting as well as natural, seeing has how most canyons are winding (canyons are nothing but ancient erroded river beds anyways). Where I don’t agree with him however is having both bases on the same side of the canyon. Perhaps instead you could make the canyon an s-bend shape. Also, the first drawing is a bit confusing. Are there going to be multiple ledges along the sides?

#11

kromano:
Thanks! I hadn’t thought of doing short tunnels like that through the ground, but that’s a really good idea. I’ll also consider the elbow idea since it seems like it’d add a good amount of interest to the level, but we’ll see.

Zealotlee:
The s-bend does sound good, and I agree with you that it might be kind of weird to have both bases on the same end of the map. We’ll see how it plays out.
Regarding the ledges; I plan to have two different levels of ledges on the sides of the cliffs right in the center of the map where there’s going to be the column so that players can go to the middle level or the very top level of the column. There should be a fork with one side going fairly level and the other fork going up.

Screenshots!



After screwing around with the current rough build of the level, I’ve found that the only areas on the ledges that people (unless they’re completely uncoordinated) will have trouble with are the areas that jut out towards the opposite wall. I’ll still make them a bit wider so that you could have a couple of people walking abreast, but to help with the possiblility of people falling I’ll just put guard rails and rocks in strategic places.

#12

looking awesome so far! finish it,i am sure i want play this one!

#13

Paradise for scouts and snipers ;D

#14

Mio:
Thanks! :smiley: It’s going to be a while before it’s finished, but I’ll try to update often.

CooKiez:
Ha! Only right now. There are going to be a few pretty open areas, sure, but there are going to be even more enclosed spaces once I start working on the caves and bases.

Screenshots!

The view from just outside one of the bases:

The view from where a good sniping point is going to be above the bases:

The view towards a base from the center of the map:

Things that need changes NOW:
-Still obviously way too easy for snipers to dominate.
-The bottom of the canyon has some extremely tight areas that need widening up.

Stuff that will be added next:
-Actual bases.
-The large cavern and caves.

#15

what color scheme are you gonna go with? just curious

#16

brilliant, very tight, i hate levels that are big. giving it depth and feeling of proximity is very good design.

#17

dpizzle:
I’m going to try for something light-colored and bright. I’m not really planning on using custom textures unless I really have to because I want it to integrate well with the feel of the maps that TF2 shipped with. I also want it to be light so that there aren’t too many shadowy areas outside; lighter textures mean more bounced light.

PoodleBoy:
Thanks. I want a nice balance between fairly open areas and tighter, more cramped ones, but we’ll see how that turns out.

#18

nice map design… will be interesting to see it textured. I dont forget to add some nice details like plans and shrubs in the corners and some small rocks…

Also go a bit wild with the areas you dont get to play in… IE the very tops of the cliffs, have lots of nice silhouttes or trees and towers etc, as it helps break up the skyline.

Looking forward to seeing how this plays. Infact you might want to knock out a blocked out complete version and have it playing on a server to see if there are any major weakspots that need corecting sooner ratehr than later.

#19

nintenjo brings up a good point about playtesting a basic version before you start with the details. Seems like a timesaver to me. Also, in the first two screenshots, what is that circle? It looks like a portal kinda. Secondly, I want to try to learn hammer myself and start doing some levels. Where is a good place to start?

#20

First I would like to say this is a really excighting level cant wait to play it!:scream:
so keep it up!

Zealotlee Go check out http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page
every thing you need is here
also check out www.3dbuzz.com they have a good set of free HL2 hammer video tutorials