My map idea

[Surf314]

OK, let me start this by saying I have zero mapping experience or knowledge of any kind.  That being said I have an idea for a map and if it is good enough I was thinking about trying to make it.

The idea for this map would be an attack and defend vertical map.  Red starts out at the top of a very tall tower and blue starts off in a construction office type shack a little ways away from the tower.  The tower would have 3 points.  The first point at the base, the second in the middle and the last at the top.  The idea of this map is a very cartoon-y construction site.  The base would look mostly finished and the top would be mostly wierd gangways and other stuff.  I wanted the wall of the second point to be entirely destructable, but more on that later.

The way the gameplay would work is that red will always have a height advantage.  The two side walls of the tower would be made up of things that make it like a platformer.  Talented scouts and soldiers would be able to climb up the sides and gain entrance to the tower in order to attack red from behind.  This will help with some of the height advantage red has.  Also snipers.  I wanted to make this a very fun map for snipers but with a catch.  Above the construction office I wanted there to be 2 "snipers nests"  One would be a trash compactor with a trap system like caff's.  Above that would be another good sniper area that is a part of the trash chute.  Now if possible this would be connected to an actual trash chute that comes from the side of the building.  I wanted to have a frictionless chute that demos could drop pipe bombs or stickies where they would fly out into the room with the sniper.  The goal is to have these two nests be the only places with a good vantage point, and have a couple snipers be vital to help combat reds height advantage, but the downside is that you are in constant danger of getting killed in a trap if you aren't paying attention.  This is also why I thought that the front of the second point should be destructable so that blu soldiers and demomen could blow it out and get help from the snipers when capping the point.  The third would be mostly open but only have a good shot from the upper sniper nest so all that is needed would be a demo to cover it.

That's basically it.  I wanted it to have fun platformer action on the side for blu with lots of health packs for sollys and demos that try and risk it (and scouts that suck and fall a lot).  The back would probably be inaccessible or blank to prevent spreading the action too thin.  Red will have quite an advantage raining explosives down and using pyros to airblast people off and the front of the tower would be a snipers paradise if they could stomach the constant danger they are in.

[Eschatos]

Interesting.  Get to it!

[Surf314]

Actually now that I think about it the back should have a ledge at point 2 filled with water and then the ground behind it with water so that red could jump off without getting any damage to get to the middle and lower points.

[Geoff]

Surf, my original map was almost exactly like this.

[KarthXLR]

Surf, my original map was almost exactly like this.

QFT. honestly, you almost copied it completely.

[Dave]

[quote author=Jeff link=topic=1019.msg26505#msg26505 date=1217535174]
Surf, my original map was almost exactly like this.

QFT. honestly, you almost copied it completely.
[/quote]

still awesome idea tho

[CaffeinePowered]

Two half finished towers, like a construction site, blu starts out in a shed or across the street, one tower close to blue allows people to climb up and enter higher levels.

The main larger tower has 3 points, ground, middle, and roof, one round map.

I could see something like it being 5 levels so you have some dead space in between, some sort of blue tower is like 4 levels and lets you "cross over" on the in between levels 2 and 4, also allows you sniping and attack vantage points.

[Surf314]

Two half finished towers, like a construction site, blu starts out in a shed or across the street, one tower close to blue allows people to climb up and enter higher levels.

The main larger tower has 3 points, ground, middle, and roof, one round map.

I could see something like it being 5 levels so you have some dead space in between, some sort of blue tower is like 4 levels and lets you "cross over" on the in between levels 2 and 4, also allows you sniping and attack vantage points.

This seems like a really good tweak of the idea.  I wanted to concentrate the snipers though because I didn't want people to spam the class as this would obviously be pretty fun for them.  And the traps were also to serve that same effect.  Snipers are cool but too many sucks because A) no one likes getting insta-gibbed by someone in many cases you don't even see B) when sniper seems fun a lot of shitty people choose it and your team goes to hell because snipers really only serve to support and can't do a good job capping or anything.

Also I thought that some of the outside walls should be similar too the rocket adventure maps where you can wall jump up if you are good or scouts could climb if they are good as well.  Maybe this would also curb sniper overuse because people who aren't good will gravitate to the class they think are the most "neat" so you'd just have a lot of falling deaths instead of too many snipers I guess.

Also my original plan had the main tower tapering off as it goes to concentrate the fighting.  I've noticed most multi-stage defense maps are the best when the points get progressively harder to cap.  As in the first point is defensible because of the set up time but really you just need to run down the clock here, the 2nd point is more defensible and a really good team could hold them here and the 3rd point takes a lot of work but is possible if the attackers are organized.

[hawtpawkithero]

I've been looking for ideas for a map. Give me a sketch and maybe i'll give it a try.

[Surf314]

I've been looking for ideas for a map. Give me a sketch and maybe i'll give it a try.

I have jack for artistic skills, and by jack I mean less than jack. And by less than jack I mean that I have trouble with stick men.

[Eschatos]

[quote author=hawtpawkithero link=topic=1019.msg26719#msg26719 date=1217617132]
I've been looking for ideas for a map. Give me a sketch and maybe i'll give it a try.

I have jack for artistic skills, and by jack I mean less than jack. And by less than jack I mean that I have trouble with stick men.
[/quote]

My skills are probably less than yours, but I can still draw out a concept on graph paper.  It really helps when constructing.

[hawtpawkithero]

[quote author=Surf314 link=topic=1019.msg26721#msg26721 date=1217617718]
[quote author=hawtpawkithero link=topic=1019.msg26719#msg26719 date=1217617132]
I've been looking for ideas for a map. Give me a sketch and maybe i'll give it a try.

I have jack for artistic skills, and by jack I mean less than jack. And by less than jack I mean that I have trouble with stick men.
[/quote]

My skills are probably less than yours, but I can still draw out a concept on graph paper.  It really helps when constructing.
[/quote]

kay 0_o

[Surf314]

I will try my bestest.  Having computer issues so it might be a bit.  Also I wanted to play a bit in the source SDK to see what is available and maybe flesh out my idea more.  Unfortunately I have to see things and then figure out what to do with them when I have to get down to specifics, I can't work the other way around.  Maybe why I'm so shit for drawing ???

[hawtpawkithero]

well drawing creatively and making blueprints are completely different things. Just use a ruler and graph paper and you shouldn't have any issues.

[Surf314]

Its a spatial intelligence thing, Ive taken a test out of curiosity.  Basically I'm incredibly adept at mentally taking things and orienting them and putting them together.  But as far as scaling and creating things in my head from scratch I am really really below the average.

Basically I need some stuff to go off of otherwise I'm completely lost.

[hawtpawkithero]

Its a spatial intelligence thing, Ive taken a test out of curiosity.  Basically I'm incredibly adept at mentally taking things and orienting them and putting them together.  But as far as scaling and creating things in my head from scratch I am really really below the average.

Basically I need some stuff to go off of otherwise I'm completely lost.

Translation: I'm uncreative.

[Geoff]

Seriously, this is a fucking carbon copy of a map I was working on before.

[Surf314]

Seriously, this is a fucking carbon copy of a map I was working on before.

??? But I've never seen your map.  And as far as being uncreative I am visually uncreative I generally work with words and ideas.  In that respect I am quite good.  Like I said I'll try to see what I can do in hammer and if I can't handle it I'll let someone steal the idea.  In which case just tell me what you need me to describe.

[Mission Difficult]

Surf has a spy in your organization.

[KarthXLR]

Surf has a spy in your organization.

*Looks around suspiciously*