TF2 - Would anyone be interested in...?

Phal

Phal

Phal

Soldato
Joined
19 Jul 2004
Posts
4,087
Location
Shoreham by Sea
A server with a rotation of a few GOOD custom maps?

I like custom maps but I get annoyed because most custom map servers are either 32 man spam fests... Or theyre 32 man insta spawn spam fests :p

What Im proposing is a 24 man server with default spawn times and a decent rotation with the latest versions of good maps.




The maps Im thinking of at the moment are

CP_Broma - http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/53436

This is a Gravelpit style CP map. Its been around a while in various betas but this is the final version. It plays well and looks good :)



CP_Fallout - http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/61442

This is a new style of gameplay. It has 3 points like Gravelpit but the points can be captured in ANY order and both teams are fighting for the points. Its a very different layout but it definitely looks like it could be fun.

CP_Freight_B3 - http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/59565

This is a regular 5 cap map like Badlands/Granary/Well etc. It has recently been adopted by the MPUK Pickup server and seems quite popular :)

TC_Meridian_B1 - http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/61940

Even though this is a beta, it looks damn good! The designer has decided to go with a tropical island theme and I have to say it looks good. Imagine the Lost island but TF2 style and thats what you get :)

Rather than the usual CP style TC maps, this map is CTF. Each team is fighting for each others intel for control of the map and 1 cap wins the round.

CP_Boulder_V1 - http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/61301

This is a Dustbowl style assault map but seems styled like Badlands in many ways with lots of different levels and passages etc. There are 3 stages to this and it plays pretty well.





Ive played or walked around all of these maps and they look awesome and Id love the opportunity to play them with a server full of people :)

If people are interested then I could change the map rotation on our server and schedule a time for everyone to get on there one evening :) The server has HLStatsx too.

If anyone knows any other custom maps which look as good as official ones, please feel free to suggest them to me.
 
Last edited:
Yeah :/ Same maps get tedious! Ive developed a particular hatred for Dustbowl because its just so damn overplayed :'(

Anyway, Ill make a post when its all ready and then ill try n spam it around etc :D
 
Custom maps generally have serious gameplay/balance flaws in my experience, though I have been pleasantly surprised by a few of them.
 
Durzel said:
Custom maps generally have serious gameplay/balance flaws in my experience, though I have been pleasantly surprised by a few of them.
Click to expand...

The ones Ive selected are pretty good imo but yeah, I wanna get them played so we can tell for sure :)



Ive played Broma quite a few times and that plays well. The last cap can be hard to get into but the same can be said for Gravelpit which is the same map type.

Boulder has the same flaws as Dustbowl since its the same map type although Id say it has less bottlenecks so its harder for defenders to lock the place down.

TC Meridian will have the same flaws as Hydro no doubt although not nearly as bad plus its a nice map to play just because its a different environment.

Freight is a classic symmetrical cp map with plenty of room so that plays well :)

Fallout is the only unknown since Ive never played a map like it where there are 3 cap points and a free for all battle for them by both teams in any order.
 
Yeah Turbine is ok and officially it is a custom map I suppose but since it was released with the last Pyro patch, it might as well be an official map now and gets plenty of play :)

Its also fairly bland looking compared to the other maps I wanna test so Ill probably give it a miss but you should really try the maps I listed above :) just download them and start a lan server to have a walk around them ;) they look awesome and play well too.
 
Yes Yes Yes. Big fan of the custom maps, especially some of the ones you've mentioned (haven't seen Meridan yet but will check it out).

I'm always looking for custom map servers and normally end up high-pinging in Germany or the US. Even my own clan won't let me put custom maps on our server! I'm sorry, I know Dustbowl is an excellent map but after about a 1,000 visits I think a change is a very good thing.
 
I've come across some other excellent custom maps that I can't remember the names of, I'll check them out.

cp_corporation (it's up to about beta 3 now). 3 stage map, I think it's great.

cp_aqua (looks great but too easy to defend still)

cp_shock (looks good but bad performance last time I played)

moonwalk (beautiful and different)
 
Rezident said:
I've come across some other excellent custom maps that I can't remember the names of, I'll check them out.

cp_corporation (it's up to about beta 3 now). 3 stage map, I think it's great.

cp_aqua (looks great but too easy to defend still)

cp_shock (looks good but bad performance last time I played)

moonwalk (beautiful and different)
Click to expand...



Yeah, Moonwalk looks nice but CTF generally isnt as popular in TF2 as it was in TFC :( Afaik, the guy who made Moonwalk is the same guy that makes CP_Boulder_v1 :)


Havent tried Corporation or Aqua so I might look at those when I get home :)

Shocks was alright but its been around quite a long time now. Like you said the FPS on there is generally pretty awful lol :)

Wanna keep the list of maps down to 8-10 max really so people only have to download the cream of the crop etc :) but ill look at em
 
Last edited:
Well team balance is always an issue :P

A perfect team balance system would be one that is continually balancing as people join / leave the server and that would be annoying since some players would be swappy every 5 minutes :P

On the other hand its not fun losing every few minutes because your team sucks :p





Anyway :) Once I have the server configured properly Ill make another post on here :D hehe
 
Not sure how many BIA people would be there :P lol they always whine about custom maps although its usually just an effort to wind me up :P
 
Phal said:
TC_Meridian_B1 - http://www.fpsbanana.com/maps/61940

Even though this is a beta, it looks damn good! The designer has decided to go with a tropical island theme and I have to say it looks good. Imagine the Lost island but TF2 style and thats what you get :)

Rather than the usual CP style TC maps, this map is CTF. Each team is fighting for each others intel for control of the map and 1 cap wins the round.
Click to expand...

Meridian sounds very interesting. Looking forward to it:

The map originated out of a desire not unlike VALVe’s- to introduce a new environment to TF2. However, an important aspect of planning a map is to design for the game in mind, rather than bending the game to your idea. Important aspects of the design philosophy behind TF2 are the influence of spytech and the emphasis on illustrative rendering. Meridian’s setting is grounded in one initial concept: the classic image of a hidden island base, its surface innocent from above, but riddled with tunnels, caverns and technology below. Obviously the palette of materials from TF2 alone would not be able to realize this concept; yet, with a handful of custom natural materials, the island could look very much tropical, and along with some new props, the entire base could be recreated with the existing assets. As custom mappers, the ratio between time spent on new assets to effect generated by these assets is important, as it is to VALVe, but another limiting factor is filesize. The more we include, the less likely you guys are to stand the download, so the overarching philosophy is to do more with less. To this end, many of the custom props were skinned using existing textures; props themselves are relatively small files, but their skins can be quite space consuming. Lightmaps were optimized on larger walls, and repetitive detail was reduced to propwork to make the lightmap information even smaller.

Meridian, from the start, was going to be a TC map-yes, just like hydro, the map no one plays-despite its gorgeous scenery and balance. To avoid hydro’s pitfalls, its problems were first identified, such as:
§ Players are usually lost due to the constant shifting of pathways
§ Stalemates occur very often
§ Defense rounds favor the attackers too often

A solution to a lot of these problems was found in the form of a new gametype. Meridian is actually a tc-ctf map: instead of capturing control points to gain access to areas, players must capture the intelligence from their opponents in order to gain foothold. The dynamic nature of the TC mechanic eliminates the problems CTF maps generally suffer from- a certain air of stagnancy- while the in-and-out motion required for CTF eliminates a lot of the stalemates TC suffers from, and simultaneously makes attackers defenders when needed; a team whose intel has been stolen can intercept the courier as effectively inside the enemy base as inside their own. The effectiveness of this solution was proved when, during one stage of development, the CTF mechanic was replaced with CPs, to players’ consternation. Stalemates occurred at nearly every point and the excitement of the rounds was lost.



Regarding players’ sense of direction, a key problem with Hydro has turned out to be the low level of distinction between cap areas. To address this, Meridian was split into two distinct sections and then furthermore defined in each area. The first half of the island would represent the façade of a primitive cultured island; straw huts, ruins and temples dot the area. However, transitioning into Red-owned areas, the players would begin to see the underbelly of the island, sinister and highly technological- pipes and conduits coursing throughout concrete bunkers, data storage rooms and global plans laid out plain across tables. A multiplayer map needs to tell its ‘story’ without being invasive; a perfect example is goldrush. Looking out of Blue spawn you can see the bomb production; you guide this bomb through various Red areas and eventually deposit it into a secret Red base. The exciting part of a multiplayer map’s story is that although the general gist may be seen on its sleeves, the detail areas will continue to elaborate upon the story as you look more closely. Be sure to explore Meridian thoroughly, as there may be a few surprises here and there. As the map was formulated, it helped to create a similar ‘story’ to the map, which could shape the architecture and vice versa. Red became the schemers of a plan to unleash a mechanical weapon of large scale; their operation required a submarine bay to deliver the parts. A planning area was erected to carry out the entire mission. Further towards the sea, a village would stand, housing a geothermal generator below its rickety surface. An old temple, falling apart, would be hollowed out and telecommunications installed. And finally, Blue would dock their seemingly harmless boat on the island, to prepare to thwart Red’s plans. And so the 6 areas were established: Red’s hidden lair, volcano, housing the Uberbot, and their submarine bay, while Blue would have the boat, the village and the temple to attack from. By establishing contrast between the areas, players immediately made the connection in their head between areas and their short names-lair, volcano, sub, village, temple, boat-and were able to learn the layout far quicker than a TC map might normally take.



Detailing fleshed out the relationship between the areas, and some incredible propwork was done to give each area its distinctive name. And playtesting, of course, occurred at every step of the way. There are so many things that can go wrong with a map! But in the end, it is the releases that validate the tireless efforts, and seeing happy players enjoy the new environment.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom