Here's my feedback for RC4A.

1. Move or remove redundant health/ammo packs.
In lobby there are small health/ammo right around the corner from the medium health/ammo and it feels redundant. Moving the small packs closer to the entrances to last, or removing them entirely would probably be fine.

https://i.imgur.com/udooLKE.jpg

2. Add an additional path to exiting last.
It is very difficult to push out of the last point lobby because all of the current 3 doorways can be spammed from the shack position on the point. Further, the upper doorway is directly facing the point so it is a highly spammed door, the shutter is easily trapped or people can hide outside of it, and the lower entrance puts you at an extreme height disadvantage. Drawing inspiration from snakewater, with its 4 exits from last, I suggest adding a new exit from upper lobby out to the forward spawn balcony. A door here most importantly would not be easily controlled from the shack position, and would serve to help people pushing out of last to draw eyes away from the other main choke points.

https://i.imgur.com/e1eOZ99.jpg

Another option, could be a vent connecting through the large block here that leads out to the balcony. I could see it even being a 1 way door, only being useful pushing out of the building and not letting people in from the balcony, so that it doesn't introduce any issues with defending the lobby or backcaps.

https://i.imgur.com/bdtaXXV.jpg

3. Reduce the size of the fence above the 2nd point.
Right now the shed is an incredibly powerful position to defend 2nd from and to spam all the choke points, but you are so well shielded from any return spam because of the fence next to it. You can easily use the shed as cover and just shoot over it, while leaving little of your body exposed, and most crucially without much of the surface of the shed being exposed. By reducing the size of the shed a little bit (shown in red), you could reveal more of the top of the shed, leaving open a sightline for spam and splash to be sent from lobby to help to dislodge anyone sitting there (yellow). This would still block the majority of the sniper sightline from the upper exit across to the flank path.

https://i.imgur.com/UI7REIC.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qYkKGsJ.jpg

4. Remove the clipping on the small rail next to the mid house dropdown.
You currently get stuck on this railing, which hinders the flow of using the dropdown.

https://i.imgur.com/Ajdnplh.jpg

5. Utilize the space under the bridge on mid.
I personally preferred having the point on the low ground because it introduced unique dynamics of risk/reward when going for cap time. But even if you decide to keep the point on the top of the bridge, I think something should be under there just to give some sort of incentive to ever go down there, since the stairways are pretty cool anyways and it would be a shame to see them completely unused. Even a small health pack under the point would probably suffice.

https://i.imgur.com/Fmf5y9j.jpg

Hope it helps. Good luck.

Glad to see an update is coming. Here's some feedback I've gathered based on many playtests of version RC1A.

1. Standardize the spawns for both sides.
From my experience, the BLU team tends to spawn more skewed off to the left side of the spawn room, while the RED team tends to spawn more skewed off to the right side of the spawn room. Generally the right side of the spawn is preferred to be used as the main exit, so it currently gives a small advantage to the RED side. Unless you centralize all of the spawns, the spawns on the RED side should be mimicked.

https://i.imgur.com/IpgrYYT.jpg

2. Remove the clipping on the spawn garage props.
By climbing on the tank and then across the tops of these garage doors you are able to get pretty much any class on top of the shed, which is a position that should probably be reserved for classes that have high mobility so that defending doesn't become too easy.

https://i.imgur.com/9wMvSVh.jpg

3. Raise one of the walls on last to give an option for a soldier wall jump.
Since some have voiced concerns over last being difficult to break open, offering an additional option for the offense could be useful. If this wall was a bit higher, soldiers entering from the shutter hallway could have additional options for getting into the fight or going for plays/forces.

https://i.imgur.com/0IlgG1k.jpg

4. Reduce the size of the building on the 2nd point.
Right now I would say the single biggest issue on the map is the flow of the 2nd point. Neither attackers nor defenders really have great options for fighting around the point because of the obstruction of vision/mobility due to the sheer size of the building. Often you get awkward ring-around-the-rosie fights happening here. Also, when one team pushes from the opposite side, it becomes very difficult to rotate to the other side to apply pressure. I would suggest to keep the balcony that overlooks the front chokes, as well as the side shed structure, but remove the majority of the building (outlined in red), and potentially replace it with a new height structure that can be jumped over and landed on.

https://i.imgur.com/R3CJYet.jpg

5. Standardize the cover of fences on the 2nd point.
On RED side there is an additional fence blocking some sightlines present, whereas it is missing on BLU side. I believe the fence should be on both sides, mimicking how it appears on the RED side.

https://i.imgur.com/PtcxBkP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Xy7atCr.jpg

6. Widen the side path on 2nd.
The side path on 2nd is a bit narrow and could potentially be widened up for more free movement.

https://i.imgur.com/GAmhsFg.jpg

7. Replace one of the rocks on 2nd with a fence.
The rocks on 2nd are very large and take up a lot of space, lending to a cramped, cluttered feeling at times, especially if you are walking on the low ground. This rock on 2nd could probably easily be replaced by a thin fence, like some of the other cover around the area, and still serve the purpose of blocking the sightline, but taking up far less space. This could potentially be done with some of the other rocks around the map, but this seemed the most obvious one to start with.

https://i.imgur.com/JjcUqfM.jpg

8. Fix sticky trap spots in details.
Like some of the other feedback here, this is very specific to the detailing props being used, so if they will be removed when the theme changes, this shouldn't be relevant. The flower pots in these window props that are plentiful on the map do not have any clipping, so stickies can be hidden in every single one of them. These kinds of traps are probably too extreme in this quantity around the map, so I think it should be prevented in the majority of situations, but 1 or 2 throughout the map are fine.

https://i.imgur.com/HAkWtmw.jpg

9. Remove the awning above the mid-connector-building entrance on the 2nd point side.
These awnings are very strong aggressive defending positions or hiding spots, which is good to have, but I think only having one would be sufficient. With two awnings, it becomes very overwhelming to try to push through the building entrance here. The awning immediately above the doorway should be removed, which would allow people to move through the doorway with more confidence while still having to worry about the second awning as a viable hiding spot.

https://i.imgur.com/cbqb8Iy.jpg

10. Smooth out the archway path terrain to facilitate rollouts/rampsliding.
Because the ground on the archway path is very bumpy, it can be very difficult to get any sort of consistent rampslides off it, which is something a lot of people desire to do during rollouts. Making it a bit smoother or ramplike could make it a lot more intuitive for people on rollouts and also give people a high skill option for mid, that will likely make people enjoy the map more.

https://i.imgur.com/Dd0IjYQ.jpg

11. Clean up some of the ground clipping on mid.
As you enter mid and hug this wall, the clipping of the rocks along the ground and the small ledge do feel a bit awkward.

https://i.imgur.com/Z4tZJZN.jpg

12. Adjust the mid forward spawn positioning/pathing.
The forward spawn on mid currently opens directly into the fountain being right in your face, which is a bit awkward and jarring. Adjusting the spacing or positioning of the spawn or the profile or positioning of the fountain could help with this. I know you said the frontline assets may be removed entirely, but if the fountain somehow is being kept, a custom clipping of it could be useful, since it has some annoying splash-eating properties especially on the very top ring.

https://i.imgur.com/sg2m1OH.jpg

Hope it helps. Good luck.

If I recall correctly, last season during playoffs mu had to reinstall Windows entirely to fix it.

The clip in question is taken completely out of context. The person I was speaking to (frogtree) is someone I've dealt with before as a streamsniper/troll and who has had previous reports against them in TF2PL for smurfing/alting, so I was approaching the situation with a bit of a combative demeanor, hoping to discourage them from doing anything disruptive in the game. When I heard them speak and compared it to previous times I had heard them speak, it seemed suspiciously different, so I thought it was a sign that they were trying to hide their voice on purpose. Uncovering alts is something I do regularly as an admin, and I thought this was just another alt to investigate. I can see how it can be misunderstood, and I am sorry about how the confrontation went and the confusion that followed. The next game we played together on the same team with no issues whatsoever. If frogtree is someone that is transitioning I was completely unaware, but would not be bothered by that fact. I have played with countless people in a similar position and have never made it a topic of contention. Everyone knows I'm much more focused on the game itself than on the personal lives of the players. As far as people's identities go, I'm very live and let live.

The person posting all this is a proud member of KAT and the Mireal Fanclub (racist and transphobic harassment groups) and uses plenty of derogatory names on his own, as you can see in these screenshots:

https://i.imgur.com/MVn0yGK.png
https://i.imgur.com/tM4ftOJ.png
https://i.imgur.com/JQ22giP.png

Their attempts to smear me through out of context clips only serve to distract bystanders from their actual stances. I'm not one of your fellow bigots.

Witchhunts based on lies help no one.

EDIT/update: https://i.imgur.com/JUGLYAy.png

The biggest issue on the current version of the map lies in the size of the choke points. The connectors between each point are too wide/open so the areas are very difficult to hold in general, and become next to impossible to hold at any sort of disadvantage. Since people can flood through every doorway and there are so many options for skybox walljumps, holding aggressively is impossible, and even holding at midrange is extremely risky. The only way to avoid getting wiped when defending at a disadvantage (by getting surrounded and your exits cut off) is to hold very passively, so points get given up for free when otherwise you might see fights. By making a few of the chokes smaller you would greatly improve this issue. In the following screenshots, green lines are where I would suggest adjusting the choke boundaries to, and any blue lines mark spots where clipping could be smoothed out a bit.

https://i.imgur.com/Z9kkjiX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XBmMQIX.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/d8Fxco2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6XFqF3v.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wDzvgqs.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MEoGeEM.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/4St73IL.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ST5hOKd.jpg

The next biggest issue I'd say would be the health location on middle. In the current position, it is quite awkward to access, especially for any demoman rolling out to mid, injured medics, or for teams after fighting their way through choke. If the health pack was more in the open near the banana stand, I think you'd find fights becoming more spread out across all of mid rather than being so stacked towards the cave/cafe area. Perhaps you could add a small health/ammo in the old spot if it seems necessary.

https://i.imgur.com/dqJXyb4.jpg

A clipping spot that should be smoothed. Backing into this room you can easily get caught here next to the stairs.

https://i.imgur.com/TVPKL6d.jpg

This perch should be removed. It allows you to see over the wall without being shot.

https://i.imgur.com/BtmvEYS.jpg

The majority of this room goes unused since the two passages are right next to each other. The wasted space could be reduced significantly.

https://i.imgur.com/kjO8g4p.jpg

The geometry of the points themselves and the immediate surrounding areas are quite nice, so with just the few changes to the chokes bringing the flow of the map to a more reasonable place, I think the map will be in a pretty great spot. Looking forward to the next versions. Good luck.

Excited to try out the maps and have a productive and constructive event. We need as many things like this as possible to promote change in the community. Thanks for putting in the work to organize everything, luc.

Thanks for working on new features for us. Hope the tests go well and we can build upon this into bigger and better things.

Whatever conspiracy narrative you're trying to weave has no basis in reality. There were representatives from every single potential invite team known at the time, and the entire thing was publicly streamed (https://www.twitch.tv/videos/303159134?t=1h41m04s lasts about 2 hours). If you had wanted to join in, you'd have been more than welcome. I get that your team was formed last minute and was unable to contribute to the discussions while they were still relevant, and that is far from ideal, but to be frank, even if you had been there and planned to contribute anything along the lines of "this item is annoying" I doubt you would have really made much difference in the outcome of the decisions.

Before you post, please actually look at the S29 whitelist. The only unbans were Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol, Atomizer, Cow Mangler 5000, Mantreads, Dragon's Fury, and Gas Passer. I'm sure tri can chime in on how the decisions were finalized, but it was mostly settled on after discussions during the preseason invite meeting where consensus was that adding this incremental batch of items would be seamless, which I'm confident you'll find that to be the case. Along with the other changes to the league structuring, this is best whitelist yet and should be the new standard that other leagues catch up to. Props to tri and ESEA for pushing for progress this season.

Great news. Should have really positive effects in the long run to discourage sandbagging, or rather to encourage playing the division you're most capable of. If we get to the point where people are fighting to play in invite rather than avoiding it we'll have done something that's never been achieved before. After this, the next thing I think ESEA should consider is stronger enforcement of professionalism/conduct rules (proper aliases, no forfeits, etc) to continue the strengthening of the community and it's culture of healthy competition. Thanks tri and ESEA for being willing to change structures in a way thats unique to TF2.

Removing badlands and granary for more modern style maps will do so much good for the map pool and flow of matches. Make it happen.

If anyone else needs a PC rental for i63 and finds they're sold out, PM me and I might be able to help.

Sorry for the delays, but just like every other prize from every other season, they will be delivered.

Esports Arena seem interested in doing Rewind 3. Relax.

A few changes.

Picking Order Adjusted
Team picking order is now A-BB-AA-B-A-B. This means that the team that gets first pick will also get the last player remaining at the end of the picking process. This is intended to equalize the picking advantage between captains and provide more balanced games.

Amateur/Open Division Changes
The Amateur division has been renamed to the Open division. Open division will allow join of levels 4-10 and queue of levels 1-10. Essentially, anyone who has leveled out of Beginner or been allowed a division moveup may play in the Open division. Open division will be a place for players of all skill levels to mingle. It will be under the same strict behavior enforcement as Beginner division.

Join those divisions here: NA Open, EU Open

New Cooldowns, Bans, Rules
-Abandoner penalty has been increased to 1 week. Don’t leave games. We hope this change will make abandons much more uncommon.
-Permanent bans will be handed to any users that deliberately or repeatedly disrupt the experience of other players and the smooth operation of TF2PL.
-Any live matches with an abandoner (entire 5 minute grace period passed, outcome of match not clearly decided) can and will be canceled if an admin is informed. Any concluded matches with an abandoner that need Elo reverted now can and will be properly handled. We're implementing a new pathway of communication with FACEIT to ensure the reversion of Elo in ruined matches.

Regarding Reports
All reports with no specific evidence will be discarded. It is highly recommended that you provide screenshots, chatlogs or stream VODs of the situations you are reporting. All reports with specific evidence submitted will be evaluated normally.

Medic Prizing Adjustment
Medic prizes for the top 4 medics by ubercharges popped will be delivered in the form of Mann Co keys. Prizes will scale per division, with no ceiling, and no rounding, as follows: Beginner - 1 key/100 ubers, Open - 2 keys/100 ubers, Advanced - 3 keys/100 ubers, Invite - 4 keys/100 ubers

Prizes from S3+4, in accordance with these changes, will be posted tomorrow in the Discord. Be sure to check if you won anything.