[CS:GO Wingman] de_dozen

de_dozen is an in-progress CS:GO Wingman 2v2 map scheduled for full release in September 2020 as part of the Source Engine Discord Wingman Level Design Contest. At this stage I have published a v1.0 beta build of the map, in the hopes of finally having some playtesting done on it. This is the second map project I've started in hammer (see de_shortbloc for my earlier work). The theme and design was incepted in early May, so this release represents about a month and half and a little under 100 hours worth of work.

Original moodboard:

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Layout sketching (pre-alpha):

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Alpha walkthrough video:

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Initial Skybox planning:

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Beta version screenshots

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More screenshots available on the workshop page. Please send any feedback or criticism if you give it a try. At the moment there's still a lot of work to do, between detailing, optimization, and fine tuning lighting, sound, displacements. I've mentioned in other threads, I find myself much more focused on detailing rather than brushing, so I have no doubt there may be some gameplay flaws I overlooked. Thank you in advance for your honesty in that department.

More updates to come.

Radar file has been updated with v1.1. I realized some walls and pathways were missing, also wanted to try out a new color scheme:

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After dealing with a stand-in brush "model", I've finally got my hands on a proper egg carton from: https://grabcad.com/library/simple-egg-carton-1

Unfortunately the author did a bit too good of a job on it, and Crowbar was not able to compile all of the geometry, so I had to decimate the hell out of it:

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It turned out a bit wonky after removing so many faces, but at least now I was able to get it compiled and in game. For my purposes I think it fits fine:

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(Sorry for the bad lighting, this was a fast compile) You can see the original brush model I was using toward the back.

The initial version of de_dozen has been out for about a week now, but there's been a lot going on since then. Loads detail improvements, fixes, soundscape implementation, and more will be coming in the next update, which I plan on publishing the second week of July.

So I was going to wait until next week to update, but a lot got done in the past few days, and I'm going camping this weekend, so Beta v2.0 is now on the workshop:

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Changelog for this version mostly included detailing, but a few other fixes:

-Many detail/optimization improvements -Displacement adjustments -Added improved egg-carton static prop model -Aligned drain grate textures in cage room -Fixed clipping and getting stuck in flag displacement -Fixed reflection issues on chicken cages -Implemented rough soundscape -Added low-density fog -Radar adjustments

The radar has stayed mostly the same, but I think I've finally settled on a color scheme:

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More screenshots on the workshop. Thanks for having a look!

The remaining work has turned into testing, fixing, detailing, repeat. So updates are coming a bit more quicker now but with a little less content each time. I'm on beta v2.3 at the moment, and I'm hoping to have a full release by version 3.0. I don't expect any more major changes to the map, so this will likely be my last post here until the final release.

A few minor improvements this time around but I think everything is starting to look a lot more put together. The most noticeable improvement is the interior lighting in Village (chicken cages) and Office. Now you can actually see all of the hens in their not-so-happy homes:

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Brightened Office Overview:

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Completely ignoring what I said two days ago about not posting more updates until the final version is ready---

Kind of a major change here. Blocked off the top of machine and mostly hid the refrigeration unit. When testing this myself, I always felt that it was a super awkward location. I'm hoping that fencing it off will steer gameplay towards the big jump coming from long, or more rotations through the loading dock double doors.

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Took a break from hammer this morning in order to make a hype video. Because 80% of making a map is marketing, right?

Playtesting on Sunday revealed some pretty serious clipping and collision issues I had totally overlooked to this point, so the past few days have been spent checking through all of my props, sending about 1/4 of them to the trash bin, and removing physics from another half of them. That, along with other changes made based on feedback from the playtest, seemed like enough major changes to bump the beta version to 3.0, and allowed me to write one of the more entertaining changelogs I've done so far:

v3.0 Beta: -Major clipping and collision improvements -Added skylights and removed excess props and clutter from bombsite -Added scary toilet to lower T corridor -Tried to cover up headpeeks from Site to Long and from Connector to Stairs -Expanded window from T Spawn to Corridor (can now run through without crouching) -Switched to expensive water in drinking trough -Increased overhead space in Hell (can now run through and only crouch to site) -Added arrow decals so no one gets lost -Detail work is by and large completed

The major changes are an overhaul of bombsite including skylights, smoother clipping on the ramp, and a lot less junk lying around:

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Better look at the skylights:

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The displacements at sidepath have gotten a complete overhaul to try and improve the clipping. There's still some work to be done here but at least now it's a lot smoother with fewer sticky spots.

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I've added a handfull of arrow decals to try and guide players a bit more through the level on T spawn:

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Hell/Long A:

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Long A:

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And a small indicator that the vent in Office does go actually somewhere:

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And finally, for future reference, Scary Toilet:

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Finished up some clipping adjustments and other final tweaks. Dozen is now in full release! Thanks to the playtesting group for feedback and for everyone else following along. This will be my last update in this thread. I've got some ideas floating around for a new project, so new a thread is likely coming in the future.

de_Dozen (Rel v1.0)

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