DOWNLOAD B4: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/72hr/cp_derecho_b4.bsp.bz2

During the previous weekend, the TF2Maps.net 72 Hour Mapping Contest ran. I went and made a 72 hour 5CP map alongside many others, and I thought I'd come here and see any feedback that you guys might give.

The map is called cp_derecho, based off of the (pending) theme of a storm front, and a type of wind storm called a "derecho" (hence the name).

I designed the map with strong hold areas, strong flanks, and an emphasis on height variation and open arenas. It also has a spire on second. Additionally, the shortest walk to mid is very quick and simple to do, but becomes a less useful route to use once the initial rollouts are passed (therefore balancing out the quick routes and making the other options more viable).

scout - 9:43 (17 seconds to mid, counting initial 5 stationary seconds of the map)
pyro/engi/sniper/spy - 9:40 (20 secs)
heavy - 9:36 (24 secs)
medic - 9:42 (18 secs)

I haven't tested enough to see what the best rollouts are in the map, but there are some really cool jumps for soldiers on the map, due to all the height variation.

Some SCREENSHOTS:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/72hr/2013-07-22_00001.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/72hr/2013-07-22_00002.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/72hr/2013-07-22_00003.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/72hr/2013-07-22_00005.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/72hr/2013-07-20_00004.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/72hr/2013-07-22_00010.jpg

This map was made in 72 (nearly) sleepless hours.
I don't proclaim it to be good, but it was tested quite a few times in that span and I just wanted to post it here in case it turned out to be something good. The detailing is hasty and rushed (due to the timelimit) so there will be some problems. Feel free to give any feedback, and cheers to a new project alongside my other ones!

Thanks for going about and writing this up, it'll surely be helpful for me and many others.
After this UGC season, however, I'll be releasing rc1 of Edifice and will be editing the map. Depending on feedback, I may or may not edit the spawn times/cap times. If I do, I'll post what I changed here so you can know about it and change it when needed.

If anyone thinks and of these should be changed, don't be afraid to post here with your opinions. The most likely thing to change will be C cap time, I think ~10 seconds with 4 people on it might be a little much, as it will occasionally allow a full RED respawn wave before the cap is ¾ of the way completed, if the scouts go down and there is 1 or 2 times cap rate on the cap. Who knows, though, because I'll still need to see if this is a negative thing or not.

Thanks for analyzing this!

he's referring to the time on the round timer that is displayed when you reach mid, counting down from 10:00 when the round starts.

aka, scout takes 18 seconds to get there, medic 20, sniper/pyro/engi/spy 22, heavy 26 seconds

those train tracks
they better have trains

Thanks for bringing your issues up, after the current UGC season(s) end I'll update the map to rc1/b5. I won't be updating the map during the current season because some people may not see the update or may have played their matches before the update.

I think it was just an issue with the typing of the links from the original poster, they should be fixed in that thread now.

I'll be participating as well, designing a 5CP map hopefully aimed towards comp, or starting a 5cp steel-esque design I had sketched for awhile...can't decide yet but I'd better soon haha.

Will be fun, i'll be streaming: twitch.tv/phideltatau.

Good luck to all the entrants and hopefully we'll get some good starts on some good maps!

you found me out :3

b2 released
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/koth_canopy_b2.bsp.bz2

general changelog:
- Added jump route with crates from mid ground to mid ledges
- Adjusted fog and render distances
- Added general clutter and props under stairs etc
- Added windows to open up various rooms
- General bug fixes
- full ldr and hdr Cubemaps
- HDR (although it's barely noticable)

i'd love if people could pug it because who knows it might be more fun than viaduct~~

until then i'll leave you with another screenshot:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/2013-06-08_00002.jpg

Yeah, Edifice is certainly closer to being esea-ready than this, haha...
although I won't be making any changes to it (Edifice) until its tests and matches have been played on it in UGC and CEVO. I certainly won't forget it, though.
Thanks for the kind words, and a beta 1 will be released shortly...hope you all enjoy, haha!

Replace it with what? Another 5CP?
Of course, I have nothing against those, but as the map creator of Edifice I beg to differ on the point that it isn't "new" or "fresh". It shares the same gametype as GPit, yes, but as you can see by this entire thread, it obviously plays pretty different than it. If it did play like it, then why would there be this thread?

I'd just like to know why you keep bashing the map without giving any criticism to what is actually wrong with it. As I said earlier, the map's bound to have problems. You can't just expect a perfect map instantly.

And to add another point, the map isn't even finished yet. There are still many versions until I actually get to a final point. For now, I wanted to get it tested in a semi-serious environment, that's why I wanted it in UGC. If you don't like it, you don't have to play it, just please, as the map creator, useless feedback like yours isn't very helpful at all; try to actually give a reason behind your opinions.

(On a side note, after the testing at UGC and most likely CEVO there will be a new version - be sure to write down and post what you think should be changed! thanks and have fun!)

WE'RE (ALMOST) NOT IN ALPHA ANYMORE

Alpha A4A Released! https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/koth_torque_a4a.bsp.bz2

I've detailed 90% of the map so far... this will probably be the last iteration before beta. Hope you all enjoy! The map will get an official rename once it hits beta. "Torque" isn't the best name, I'll probably change it to "amazon", "canopy", or "piranha". Those are all pretty cool names.

Testing is cool so if you do so please return results asap! I know, I went crazy on the detailing side of things... hopefully that won't impact the gameplay!

Changelog:
Detailed a ton
Displacements everywhere!
Jungle everywhere!
Optimized a little
Clips
General flow optimizations
A few discreet layout changes

Screenshots!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/2013-05-26_00015.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/2013-05-26_00016.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/2013-05-26_00018.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/2013-05-26_00019.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/2013-05-26_00020.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/84556731/koth_torque/2013-05-26_00022.jpg

well considering it's just the summer seasons it's not that much of a big deal.
it got added just so it could get some testing in so I could actually make it work for a possible esea season. right now it obviously has flaws, but i'd like it if everyone who plays it at least tries to have fun and give good, constructive, but not slandering feedback. remember, mappers are limited and if feedback isn't prepared in a constructive manner you might end up isolating the only people who can make new things to play on, whether it be 5cp, a/d or koth.

regardless, i hope everyone tries to have fun on it and remember, it's just the summer season so you don't have to take it totally seriously.

it'd be cool to see some customs played, like cp_vanguard, cp_edifice, pl_cashworks, etcetera; not so sure how viable that is though. depends on the map, really.
will be fun nevertheless. as long as the map isn't ridiculously small, any map should in theory work, except for maybe multi-stage pl/cp because that would probably take forever. I also see no 5cp maps in the pool, that's probably due to the massive stalemates that would occur between 20 players... although there are some big 5cp maps that aren't viable for comp that might be able to be used for this.

As I work on the map I will fix things but I will not be making drastic changes.

A list of things I have already done:
- Fixed spawns on both sides
- Covered RED 2nd spawn
- Made walls on last equal height and position
- Made second yard symmetrical with respect to the silos
- Corrected various asymmetries such as the small staircase on BLU last and various hiding spots that are on BLU side that are not on RED
- Corrected the RED exploit on 2nd near lunchbox where you could taunt on a door frame and see into yard (post #38)
- Made clipping in various places smoother so that players would not get stuck running besides walls

Proposed changes from others and my notes on them:
1. Opening up choke into yard. I don't think this would be a great change at all, as it would drastically change the dynamics of the map, where pushes into yard would be a whole lot easier. It may also change rollouts, and alter the roles of the classes at mid - not the best thing to do for a 'fixed' map.
2. Widening various doorways and raising door frames a bit. This might be useful in certain areas, such as doorways into mid, and might be an easier and less drastic way to open up areas without much impact on the map's strategy - a possible change that I might add to some doors if it seems like a good idea.
3. Changing second to be less clustered. This is something that would probably be best off for a remake, not a fix. I'm not about to change second in such a way that players feel like they're playing a different map.
4. Widen/change dropdown. I might give the actual dropdown area a bit more space, to make the exit slightly easier to jump into - but it might not be worth it. The route might become more powerful than it should, but as it is now it really isn't a worthwhile route for anything, so that might work.
5. Displace some of the ground to make it a little more interesting. This could be an option on last, but the main issue is that on BLU second, the ground isn't even a displacement, it is a large concrete brush. Changing the land on second to be a little more variable might also cause minor height discrepancies and any amount of hills will surely change splash registration to something that might not be as reliable as flat ground.

All in all, I like these ideas but I'm not sure if enough would be changed to consider it a replacement for normal granary. Any other ideas that I passed should be brought back up again and any suggestions are welcome.
Once I get the SDK working again, this project will probably be finished and released for the community to use, since I know some people would probably like fixed spawns and fixed asymmetry.