[WIP] de_bali

(Old stuff below)

Workshop Description: A religious extremist group has been spotted at shrines and temples all across Bali, Indonesia. For years this group has been known for targeting, attacking, and destroying any and all places of worship. The national counter-terrorism unit has been dispatched to protect the sanctity of these Balinese relics.

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After looking for a unique location for a map, I came across the island of Bali, notable for it's tropical landscape and volcanic terrain. There are many tourist attractions on the island; the one I focused this map around is called Tanah Lot, an ancient temple still used by monks to this day. It is a very unique structure - It was built and carved entirely of rock, and resides "in the ocean" - or at least quite a bit away from the shoreline. Waves are constantly splashing up against it, and during high tide the entrance to the temple is completely covered by the sea. This is the main setting for my map; my A-bombsite resides on top of it.

The B-bombsite was more of a creative afterthought based on the terrain around Tanah Lot. It is seperated from A-site by Middle, which is located in a cave underneath a mountain. The B-site is designed after a small, concealed area for prayer and meditation. This site was not based off of any real-world location in particular, but it will contain artifacts resembling those used in Balinese architecture.

Changelog:

Spoiler

v1_1_1

Spoiler === Overall === - Lots of clipping! Movement should be smoother around (1) poles on A-site (2) house on CT->B path (3) other areas with props. - Added props and details to help make the map easier to play. - Shouldn't feel as barren anymore. - Out-of-bounds limits are mostly defined. === CT Spawn === - Improved path to B site; it now cuts the sightline from spawn and provides cover. === B Site === - Added a back-of-site CT area to fight long distance (provided you don't get easily smoked off). - This area can also help survive safely when a bomb-explosion goes off (~20hp is taken when in the far corner).

v1

Spoiler === Completely new layout === == A-Site - Is now located on the western side of the map, no longer #EastSide - The route has an immediate left-path option for T's, instead of a late right-path one - It has been remodeled to make the site itself larger and more fun to play on - Has a lower beach portion parallel to mid (may be called second-mid? not sure if I want to keep it or not, playtesting will determine that) - I want to change T-stairs, it's very long and exposed. The route itself is alright, but I don't like being seen from T-main, or from A-site looking down. == B-site is untouched. - I want to add a height variation for CT->Back of B, because you can snipe from CT Gate into and past CT Spawn. - Will add stairs up, (at this point, you are now safe from gate) walk around a closed hut, then ramp/stairs down into Back of B. == Mid - Still similar, mostly added on to it. - It now connects to T's main path towards A-site, and it has a connector in the center going towards CT's main path to A-site. == CT Spawn - Is now raised up, will be displaced later - (The spawn will be in a village with several closed-off huts.) == T Spawn is untouched.

Well, time to resurrect this post

About a month and a half later, I'm finally happy to present the newest iteration of de_bali! The original layout has been scrapped, and finding a new one took me quite some time. After 4 cycles of frustratingly going back to the drawing board and reworking design flaws with the previous ideas, I finally settled on the layout I wanted. Voilà:

It was such a relief to finish this first step (at the same time I felt jealous of everybody who already had a completed layout beforehand), so I ended up taking a few days off to brainstorm how I could incorporate my ideal environment with the upcoming greybox stage. With those ideas in mind, I shaped the map around a couple major landmarks:

(1) T-spawn as an ancient relic site with statues ("Gunung Kawi")

(2) Middle as a market-lane with a large hut in the center

(3) Pathway to A-site as a wooden interior with an octagonal Balinese building, housing a traditional statue

(4) A-site as an emptier version of an outdoor Balinese temple located near a cliffside; the inaccessible portion of which will have more buildings and shrines

(5) B-main as a blend between a Bali hotel lobby, and a natural cave aesthetic

(6) Outside B-stairs as a blocked off walkway with a far-reaching view of rice terrace villages

With about a month's work, the greybox was done and all the timings were working exactly as planned. For A, CT's can push beyond the site and arrive at the statue choke-point just in time to spot T's approaching it. For B, CT's have time to reach the site, plus a few seconds if they decide to push early. Mid is CT-favored by about 2 seconds, meaning they can reach cover on either the left or right side of top-mid when T's arrive at bottom-mid.

All of that being said, here are some screenshots showcasing my currently part-detailed, part-greybox map.

A-pavilion:

[spoiler

[/spoiler]

A-site:

A-connector:

B-site: (should be familiar if you playtested this map long ago :))

Just finished up a playtest, thanks for everyone who showed up and gave feedback

Here's a quick look at what the new layout will look like. I took your suggestions into mind and tried reshaping the map to flow better and contain less dead-space.

Well, time to start Hammering away and making all the changes! I'll probably playtest the edited map with another group within a week or so, just to get some other perspectives on it.

Finally got a free day to work on the map! Here are some updates:

1) Overall size has been reduced

I used the minimap reference in my previous post to help me redefine my layout, as there were problems with empty space and needless areas. I went back to pencil and paper to draw out a new version of the map layout, this time trying to "squish" the old one vertically. It worked quite well; most of the areas that were trimmed off ended up being large paths branching from T-spawn. This reduced their timings to sites, but I countered this with a new CT-spawn as well. I brought the CT rotation path closer "in" towards the map, so timings are shorter overall. With both of these improvements done, the chokepoint areas ended up about the same, they are just reached quicker by both sides.

Here's a look at the Terrorist path towards A. Notice how much less space it takes up! There used to be a hedge maze type thing here.

2) Added a B-connector, replacing an entrance to B

I decided to get rid of the side-door entrance to B-site for a number of reasons: it provided for way too fast of a rotation for T's, it was a hassle and created weird angles when trying to defend the bombsite, and it felt out of place with the rest of the site aesthetically. So, in its place, I added a connector that serves to both slow down rotations from B-site to mid, and eliminate an unnecessary chokepoint on the bombsite.

Note: this new path could potentially position Terrorists behind the defending CT's, allowing for an easy possession of the bombsite. However, there's no way that a group of T's could get to the connector itself unless they obtain complete mid-control (due to a lack of CT presence, killing CT mid-player, etc), and by that time CT's should already be aware of the incoming T's and will have time to reposition suitably.

Here's how the new Middle looks:

And here's a good angle showing the different paths one could take after obtaining mid-control. To the left, there's a vulnerable path towards A-site. Going straight, you can wrap around CT spawn. And to the right, you can noisily approach B-site.

3) Removed building at B-Long

The "library building" that was located on the Terrorist path towards B turned out to simply be a problem-starter, so I got rid of it. It was a completely free, unpunishable cover option for T's, was too enclosed and annoying to check, and it wasn't serving the purpose I intended for it, which was a sniper spot. So in its place, there's now a simple balcony with some tables to hop on and see over the railing, if you so desire. This just gets rid of another one of the pointless areas that were abundant in the previous map version.

With all that being said, I hope to schedule another playtest soon so I can get some feedback on how my improvements helped the layout overall! Hopefully I'll get a solid version completed soon, and then finally begin the detailing process. I'm looking forward to trying my best at meeting the competition deadline (as it scarily gets closer and closer)

Made some changes since last week:

1) Added bridge/underpass at Top Middle, and moved CT Spawn closer to A

CT's were getting to B too fast -- they were able to push all the way into the Terrorist lobby area, making it super unfair to unsuspecting T's.

2) Raised height of B-heaven

Previously, T's were able to take B site and walk into "heaven" at the same time -- this made the spot pretty useless as CT's, as it did not prevent T's from simply pushing through it (imagine heaven on B-site Cache being at ground-level... it's usefulness would be severed). Now, terrorists will have to clear the spot with a smoke/molly to plant safely. It is possible to get into heaven from the site itself, but it requires a well-timed skilljump from whitebox, meaning whoever performs it would be fully exposed for a good couple of seconds.

3) Prettied up the B Lobby area

The path from T-spawn to B has been slightly detailed, so the terrorists will now pass through a hotel lobby before reaching the site. The windows and walls have been adjusted as well, allowing grenades to be thrown from the building onto site (for terrorists), and from site into the building (for counter-terrorists).

4) And lastly, most importantly, the make-or-break point of the map

Added a crate in connector for some cover on the right side of the wall. (super important)

Playtest coming up soon hopefully! Detailing will be able to begin soon afterwards.