Setin

I honestly preferred the map way back when you didn't have this snow theme on it =P. Anyways, it does look good but some of the custom props you have in here seem a little too sci-fi for the area currently. 

*** Update 11/22/13 ***

Thanks for the competitive playtest today guys! I recorded and watched it; learned a lot. The main thing from this playtest was that bombsite B was too easy to take. I've added in a small ledge near the T stairs to try to alleviate this. Still working on detailing. Just went through and replaced all the dev textures. I'm trying out making custom textures because Source doesn't have many that would work for my theme. Any suggestions are welcome.

*** New screens ***

Just added our new beta trailer!

New Trailer:

https://vimeo.com/82026981

Hey guys, my team and I have been building this game over the last 16 weeks and we could use some more testers. Hymn of the Sands is an isometric action game/dungeon crawler with light RPG and puzzle elements. You play as a recently deceased Pharaoh on his journey to conquer the trials of the afterlife. You wake up in the netherworld, and your buddy, Anubis, guides you through your temple as you gain new powers.

Please try out our game and fill out the questionnaire at the end! Thanks!

http://hymnofthesands.weebly.com/

I'd like to get in an actual 5v5 playtest in this weekend if possible.

The third one was very disappointing to me. The multiplayer was crap and the single player was just okay. Uncharted 2 was better on both fronts. Hopefully this one will go back to what made Uncharted 2 great.

*** Updated 12/15/13 ***

Look to bottom of page for update.

Since this map is so different from what I started with I've decided to just make a new thread for this one. I promise it won't go through a full remake again =P. Anyways, after today's playtest I'm pretty confident in the map and what I want to do with it. It's a modern corporate plaza area. 

Feedback from de_plaza_alpha3 (11/10/13).

I'd like to get mine up again for this Sunday's test. Want to try it without the path from Mid to A, also some other changes. Changed T spawn to B as well (only 1 path now instead of a split path).

Oh man. I can't wait to see the finished version. This is already looking pretty interesting. I'm a big fan of the sci-fi mixed with nature theme.

Senturas map:

I really like the setting, kind of like a castle or something with a river going through it. Seemed interesting. It was fun to play and seemed well enough. 

The dark spot right behind A (the closest site to CT spawn?) seemed like a camper nest and players could see through that window to the entrance of the site. It also seemed like this site was literally never used by T's to plant the bomb. You may want to look in on that. The other site though seemed pretty good. Maybe some more cover on the bridge would help.

Does anyone have any feedback for my map?

I'd like to get a test in for my map on Tuesday if one is available.

Rising water is a single player, standalone level for Half-Life 2: Episode 2. On his way to a rebel outpost with Alyx, Gordon gets into some car trouble. With split second reaction time, Alyx is able to jump out of the buggy before Gordon accidently drives it into an Antlion cave. After recovering from the fall, Gordon realizes the cave is not only full of Antlions, but the water in it is rising fast from the rain, and it is full of leeches! Gordon must climb, run, jump and punt Antlions with the gravity gun to get to the top of the cave before it is too late.Rising water is a single player, standalone level for Half-Life 2: Episode 2. On his way to a rebel outpost with Alyx, Gordon gets into some car trouble. With split second reaction time, Alyx is able to jump out of the buggy before Gordon accidently drives it into an Antlion cave. After recovering from the fall, Gordon realizes the cave is not only full of Antlions, but the water in it is rising fast from the rain, and it is full of leeches! Gordon must climb, run, jump and punt Antlions with the gravity gun to get to the top of the cave before it is too late.

Download: http://hl2ep2.gamebanana.com/maps/176954

I like how I'm in both of those pictures.  =D

Anyways on to feedback:

I liked the layout, especially around A. I felt like it was way too hard for Ts to get to B, maybe they should reach that inclined route before CTs? In mid, change it to stairs or a ramp, something easier than a car jump to get to the balcony room. Also move the other car in mid closer to the wall so it's easier to boost on. 

Looks very interesting. Love that first screen especially.

I'd like to get my map de_monsoon back up for testing this Sunday if there is a spot available. I've gone through a lot of reworks with it. 

JeanPaul - I feel like you are jumping the gun a bit there by canning it. The map has good potential, and while it had a few issues, nothing that cannot be solved with some solid iterating. It is also quite a memorable map. The outside site is already good. The interior site was really the only big issue, but that could look excellent with the right work. It has opportunities for using light well like these (CS:GO) shots.

 

For what it is worth, I have been playing the Operation Bravo maps, and they play a lot better in the hands of the public, than they ever did in the playtests. So if you are canning the map based on the two tests we had of the map, I would urge you to reconsider!

Ditto. Don't give up on it yet. I gave up on my monsoon map partly because I was just lost as to where it would go and didn't think I could recover it. I am currently reworking most of the areas, but the overall theme and high-level basic layout are very similar. I enjoyed playing your map in the tests and actually did have a lot of fun with your inner area. There were some issues but I think they can be fixed. I really liked your map. 

 

I have this problem as well. At first I'm always really motivated, but after a time I just hate everything about it. Would you mind sharing what steps you take now to help prevent you from loosing your motivation?

 

Losing motivation with what? maps as a whole? Or just detailing? Greyboxing?

 

It's mostly with the beginning stages. Trying to get a good layout. I understand that it takes a lot of playtesting to get a layout to be good, but for some reason I sometimes get this feeling that if I don't get it right the first time that it may be unable to be salvaged. I might also just be lost on how the end product should look so i wouldn't know what to do. 

I follow those same procedures for the most part. I just need to be able to get past these mental issues and work. Once I get into detailing with my map I am fine, I usually have a lot of motivation. I just get stuck in the start.

I have this problem as well. At first I'm always really motivated, but after a time I just hate everything about it. Would you mind sharing what steps you take now to help prevent you from loosing your motivation?

Amazing work!

I like that new helipad Puddy, but why does it have the "+" on it? Is it medical? I think changing it to a large "H" would fit better.

Okay so after today's playtest I got a lot of feedback saying that the previous version was better but that this new version had some nice things as well. Let me go over what I got and if anyone agrees/disagrees or has any suggestions please feel free to comment. 

Feedback

- The previous version was better

- Site A in new version was a problem (too many turns)

   - The previous version was liked for being indoors

   - Both versions seemed to lack interest and were the least played site by far

- The new version of mid is better, even though it seemed to be used less than the previous version

- The new version feels more maze like, less open, walls need to be lowered/have different heights (the uniform height and size was just to make it faster, not meant to be representative of final product)

- Doesn't feel like you're pushing out through a chokepoint into an area (e.g. de_train)

I have some further questions.

- Did you prefer the new or old version of CT/T spawn?

- Did you prefer the new Bombsite B more?

- Did you feel like the new mid needed a path to B?

- If the new A site became more open would you prefer that over the indoor version?

Currently I'm thinking of going back to the previous version and switching the old mid out for the new one, then tweaking from there.Thanks again for the playtest guys!

*Updated 8/12/13

New pics of updated layout and of a new layout.

I'd like to get mine in on that Tuesday test as well.

*Updated 8/9/13