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ctf_thorns (90% done)
Soldat Forums - Soldat Maps & Map Making - Mapping Ideas / Discussions
knudsen
April 17, 2006, 3:07 am
Notice that this is my very first post, which kinda reflects my experience with soldat mapping.

I really like Soldat. But I too many maps are very much about being airbourne and fastpaced quake-like action. That is fine for some, but since i really suck at this kinda gameplay, I dont enjoy it very much. What I like to play is the maps where space is more tight and you have to stay at the ground and cover if you want to stay alive. I also like teamplay better than deathmatch games, again this might be due to the fact that I really suck at deathmatches and need teammates to blame for my low score. :)

All this has resulted in my own map: ctf_thorns. I have aimed for the following:

- Minimal flying map. (Fuel for about 1-2 sec's of burst. Just to help you jump)
- Turrets to cover your teams advance/keep enemy from running with your flag.
- Thorny, sinister, sandy, rocky kind'a feel.
- Scenery to hide in and provide a sence of depth.
- Lots of places to cover. But nowhere where you are remotely safe.

It is just about 90% done as the subject states. "90% done" means the following:

- Terrain design is how I like it.
- Scenery is how I like it.
- Playtested with friends. (Who seemed to enjoy the map)
- Bot waypoints made. (Playable but kinda ugly)

All I need to do now is make the waypoints better so the bots dont seems quite as retarded as they do right now, and I'll post a pms file in here somewhere. What I would like right now is ofc comments! Do you like the idea? Is it even remotely original? Etc.

Oh... and here's a screenie from polyworks. It's kind of a large map for an overview screenshot. I plan on doing some detail-screenies later.
[URL]

EDIT: And here it is: Version 0.9.
Screenshot: [URL]

EDIT: Verion 0.9.3 with buildings: (I shouldnt have called it 0.9 so soon. Alot is going to happen before I feel it is ready for the "new maps" tread. :/)
Screenshot: [URL]

Map file: [URL]

The map also has a description and downloads on my own site:
[URL]

ifizzy142
April 17, 2006, 6:12 pm
cool, thats a niffty map. looks very fun for team play. Personally though, i would put a ceiling, a ceiling of doom! but thats just me, without a ceiling it tempts me to try to fly, which obvoiusly i wouldnt be able to because of jet restictions. and eclosed space just makes a more
sinsiter feel to me.

somy suggestions are
-cieling of doom
-and maybee some spykes of doom hanging from the cieling of doom as well to give it that thorny feel

good luck with your maps!

Keron Cyst
April 17, 2006, 6:21 pm
Two central stat. guns aren't needed. Just put one.

Take advantage of BG colors instead of just black-paintbucketing.

Put a lethal, low ceiling to stop M79ers (nuless jets are set to Lots or higher and you intend it to be that way, which I doubt).

knudsen
April 17, 2006, 6:24 pm
@ifizzy142

I appreciate the friendly words :)

About the ceiling of doom. A low ceiling would make the map feel more threatening, sure. But I like to keep the feeling that the thorny passage below to middle platform is a cave. And a cave inside a bigger cave is just a cosy room.

@Keron Cyst

The flat space between the two turrets are used as a droppoint for the vest, medkits and cluster nades. I wanted it to be like a hill to fight for, both for the supplies and because of its turrets. If I made it just one gun, I would have to remove that flat space, which also tends to host some fun massacres.

About the ceiling. What do you mean by "lethal ceiling"? If you mean lethal polys... I dont get the point.
I can see what you mean about the M79'ers, and I'll try to add a ceiling because of that, just see how it looks.

EDIT: And what do mean by "black-bucketing"?

ifizzy142
April 17, 2006, 6:32 pm
woah! i just played your map knudsen! that cave really is cosy room, all those roots are really cool. but i agree with Keron Cyst about only one stat gun. with only one gun, teams could have to fight for it, a good distaction while other teammates sneak under =) oooo, thinkning about all the stratiges makes me all warm and fuzy inside.

Pr0digy
April 19, 2006, 2:19 pm
Another route might be good, like a higher route, along with a ceiling, unless you want that kinda of "more open" gameplay.

Deleted User
April 21, 2006, 5:25 am
It all looks good.
But add more polys to the middle of the map.
I sniper who just spawned at red can point his sniper to the right and fire and get a kill.
This makes spawn killing from across the map a reality!

knudsen
April 23, 2006, 10:27 am
I've replaced the two weird camonet cave thingys at team bases with tiny buildings to match the new church between the two static guns. The church should make the spawn killing jrgp mentioned impossible, which is a good thing. It also makes it a bit harder to use m79'ers to blow people off the static guns from cover, and that might be good but I'm not sure. My main concern is that the top is turning into a real hellish place. Before you couldnt camp at a static gun because someone would come along with a m79 and blow your brains out from behind hill with the other gun. Now all you can do from over there is get a nade close enough to blow you away, not kill you. So in order to take out a gunner from the other side of the church you would have to blow him away with your m79 and man the gun at your side so he couldnt just run back. If you are lucky you would get to shoot him when he tries to rush back to his static gun.

You can also cover pretty effectively behind (or inside :P) the benches in the church, if you manage to get there. At least when playing with bots the church tends to get covered with bodyparts and is just not a very nice place to be.

I was working on an alternative route to the flag: a mine shaft running below the other parts of the map. But it all just got to big. I realise that the map is to small for larger teams, but I ussually play private games with 3-4 players on each team, and it would get a bit to big for that. But the mine might return next weekend, I think it would fit into to new scheme the map has gotten.

Oh.. I've also smoothened the polys a bit and made it a bit easier to hide from the mounted guns when climbing uphill towards them. The shading was altered a bit, nothing revolutionary just tan->grey->purple instead of the old tan->purple and the sky was made tan instead of red. Someone complained that the red team could easily hide in the roots while the blue team would be very easy to spot.

KamikazeDuck
April 24, 2006, 7:18 am
I really like this map.
When I first saw all those roots, I thought they made the map look stupid but now I think they set the map apart from the others (in a sort of good way), and of course correspond to the name.
It seems you really want to get this map perfect so I'll try and give you some criticism, okay maybe one thing, and it isn't really a problem with the map, It might be good if you were able to get up on the church roof to grenade the people on the turrents, it depends if you want people to camp on this map or not.