WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

Well ill start with this instead, can a well placed smoke grenade disrupt the balance of a map? Could it undermine the importance of a specific encounter? How would you design your maps around this?

yes

Maps are designed with that in mind, with some lanes or choke points having a width to allow them to be blocked off entirely by a smoke. Other areas however can be wider to prevent being completely smoked off or require at least two smokes.

When designing a map for cs it's important to keep in mind how certain utilities can affect the map control. Once you know how they work, you can start to design your areas with more intent and account for some situations.

A parkour course not suitable for the faint of heart

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another angle

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Molotovs can be used to check corners and area denial right? How do they differ from frags as far as use?

Quote from Soldat Du Christ

5 minutes ago, Soldat Du Christ said: Molotovs can be used to check corners and area denial right? How do they differ from frags as far as use?

They deal more damage and have bigger AOE.

Ok cool, last q for today, is there any way to set up static cameras in your map so you can take the same frame perfect picture as the map develops? Or do you just have to try and recreate the same frame each time

type "getpos" into console and save the result (which will be a setpos-command) in a text file. by executing the setpos command later, you will teleport to that position and view

Thanks guys ?

I've finally finished all the chambers for my MG obstacle course map. Now I'm currently adding more details. I've decided to stick with the simple floating space platform theme, but I also decided to add trees and plants to make the map have more of a space terrarium vibe. You can see some of this in the screenshots I attached.

I also made a teaser showing off what I've done so far. Yes, you can make it rain bananas if you know where to look:

Finally, what's the current deal with dynamic lights in CS:GO? From what I've read, it seems like CS:GO was especially terrible at that type of lighting, but apparently around 2017, the engine was updated to better handle that. I've managed to create not so terrible looking toggleable light on this map using a light and light_spot combo (thank you cs_mansion), but have CS:GO mappers found a better way to have light switches?

I just wanted to share progress of this location. Still a lot of work, but I'm of good faith.

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Im so excited to show you guys my layout, its looking really good so far! Still working on the logic, haven't started building it in hammer yet

You can do it! Layout logic is probably the main reason I haven't finished a map in years, it's hard for me to get something that I'm happy with.

Quote from mandy lane

On 7/10/2020 at 2:41 AM, mandy lane said:

looking nice, but weird lighting on the wall on the right.

Quote from Soldat Du Christ

On 7/8/2020 at 7:14 PM, Soldat Du Christ said: Ok cool, last q for today, is there any way to set up static cameras in your map so you can take the same frame perfect picture as the map develops? Or do you just have to try and recreate the same frame each time

You can place dev-cameras in the editor, they will take a screenshot as the map is loaded.

I feel like there are many engagements that almost require you to purchase equipment like flash or smokes or frags, or at least it makes it very difficult to push through choke points without them, all three chokes on dust 2 come to mind really.

What if a checkpoints where balenced enough so that you don't HAVE to purchase equipment to even the odds? You don't HAVE to use a frag or molotov to check corners or make educated guesses because you are empowered as an indovidual to deduct the corners as you progress through a lane. You don't HAVE to flash before you break through a choke point because that engagements is nuanced and balenced for both teams.

I imagine the result of this would free up the players budgets to use towards more experiemental/ dynamic plays. What do you guys think?

Quote from Soldat Du Christ

37 minutes ago, Soldat Du Christ said: I imagine the result of this would free up the players budgets to use towards more experiemental/ dynamic plays. What do you guys think?

I'm fairly certain CS players would hate it.

They like what they're used to, and you can't exactly expect them to change their behavior either. Counter Strike is an incredibly established concept and at some point as a designer one really has to ask oneself, if the experience one intends to design is at the core of the game that one is working for. Maybe it just makes sense to realize some ideas in a different game, because the gameplay you want to enable is simply not what an engine or concept was built around.

As I have expressed before, try your best, I would love to see something great come from a new approach like this, just don't set your expectations too high.

PS: Also, if you would like to keep asking questions, maybe make a thread for it or add it to your current one? Posting here without any WIP to show kind of defeats this thread's purpose. At least that's my opinion on the matter.

Quote from Soldat Du Christ

1 hour ago, Soldat Du Christ said: I feel like there are many engagements that almost require you to purchase equipment like flash or smokes or frags, or at least it makes it very difficult to push through choke points without them, all three chokes on dust 2 come to mind really.

What if a checkpoints where balenced enough so that you don't HAVE to purchase equipment to even the odds? You don't HAVE to use a frag or molotov to check corners or make educated guesses because you are empowered as an indovidual to deduct the corners as you progress through a lane. You don't HAVE to flash before you break through a choke point because that engagements is nuanced and balenced for both teams.

I imagine the result of this would free up the players budgets to use towards more experiemental/ dynamic plays. What do you guys think?

Not sure if I understand what you mean, you don't have to do that on any of the chokepoints on dust 2? Can't think of a single angle on dust 2 you can't check one by one on the top of my head (at least assuming both teams arrive there on time and no one has utility). Could you give an example what a chokepoint would look like vs. a dust 2 one for example?

Yeah ill stop after this response, i agree with you banana, once an identity is established it's hard to get players to open their minds to bigger and better things. This is not exclusive to csgo, in my experience most competitive scenes are like this.

And Nakroma, pushing A bomb site there are are several crates CT could be hiding behind, and both side of the choke exit CTs can sit in those corners and just wait.

Also if you push far right B bomb site, you almost always have to flash each time to guarantee a safe exit. I've seen both instances sooo many times. War Owl made a video about player roles and one of them was litteraly a suicide role because of how hard it is to break chokepoints. You have to send one guy in to die just to reveal the enemy locations so that the next guys will have the information they need in order to then properly advance.

CSGO is all about optimising very repetitive engagements and using every inch of leverage you could possibly squeeze out of the few options you have. And people seem to like this i guess