will2k

I don't necessarily agree with the balcony route to CT spawn. I used it once or a few times to rotate back to A after the bomb was planted there. It's a quick way to get to the rounded hallway connecting CT spawn and A bombsite. Dropping down there does make you lose a few HP points, so if you choose to keep the balcony after all, there should be something down there to break your fall. Other than that, I agree with all your points The balcony had originally a cargo container + 2 crates underneath it to make jumping easier (you could even climb from CT spawn into balcony) but I removed them prior to the test in the last version. If the balcony stays, then I guess I have to reinstate those props in their place.

Thanks for the feedback kinggambit and thanks for being at the playtest. The 2 areas you circled are in fact flagged on my dev sheet as "to be removed" from 2 weeks ago . Those 2 areas were kept from my old maps (op4_haste and cs_derelict base) as alternate passages but proved to be unused during the early playtests. I kept them however till the mapcore test to confirm how a full server with human players will react to their presence. Obviously, the "to be removed" flag is valid and they will go in alpha2. As for the catwalk, I believe it is an integral part of the strategies used in the map but as the playtest showed, it favors CTs and empowers them with strategic locations not instantly availabe to Ts. I don't think I will remove it completely; I think I will further develop point n°3 in your reasoning (inaccessible to T's) and find ways to make the catwalk accessible to T as soon as they reach mid without the need to reach bombsites and rotate back to catwalk. Thanks again for the helpful thoughts and feedback, appreciate it Stick around for alpha2 playtest soon

gf=priority Haven't seen you for a while on Steam, how have you been mate? Once I have alpha2 ready, I'll pass you a copy to test

I would like to thank everyone who joined the playtest yesterday; feedback was appreciated After this first playtest, my to-do list for alpha2 is as follows: - move mid tunnel further to the right towards A so CT on catwalk don't have an unfair direct line of sight on T coming from this tunnel (CT can see T feet when still in tunnel) - move the vent in B next to metal door so CT cannot cover it easily with the main entrance (coming from T spawn) - Possibility of removing the window at B. If i keep it, it will be enlarged to further expose the defender behind and allow for more flash/grenades tactics through the window. - Add some more cover in parking lot (near the 2 rusted cars to eliminate chances of CT rushing from B shooting any trailing T still going to A in the back) - Enlarge all windows to allow bigger space for peeking and grenades lobbing. If anyone from the playtesters has further feedback/suggestion, please post it here in this thread. All feedback is welcome Thanks again for your time and hope to get alpha2 version very soon for a second playtest. Hope everyone enjoyed the map Will2k

Greetings Please take note that the map is scheduled for playtest tonight on the mapcore server at 9:00 PM GMT+1 (actually GMT+2 since it's summer daylight saving time) At this early alpha stage, I'm mainly looking to see how the map plays to make sure the layout is solid and address any suggestions/complaints that may arise before moving to detailing and further art passes. However, if anyone has feedback/suggestions related to other aspects of the map, feel free to voice them out. I'm open to all suggestions/inspiration sources and all feedback is good Thanks in advance to everyone who shows up tonight or gives feedback afterwards as well as to everyone who will playtest the map on their own time and come up with suggestions. Thanks Will2k EDIT: Your first impressions might be that the map is a bit on the big side but once you play a couple of rounds, you'll quickly find it very easy and logical to follow the layout .

Here's a temp overview of the map. Temp radar overview Please note the map in its alpha1 version is scheduled for a playtest on mapcore server on Thursday, May 8 (Thanks RZL). Thanks in advance to everyone who joins the playtest

More STALKER is always a good thing I wish they could switch "Survarium" into single player instead of multiplayer FPS

Since you are adding custom signs, how about one attached to the fence where lions/other predators are supposed to be, that says: "zoo shalt not feed the animals"

Done that before, twice (with the addition of pursuing a second master degree) Change can be intimidating and overwhelming but is always needed to shake up the status quo. Good luck for the transition and hope everything settles down as smoothly and quickly as possible

Great read, thanks for sharing Thrik

Great work It has a certain Blade Runner/Deus Ex futurisitic vibe.

Thank you Marcos I was greatly influenced by classic maps such as "lambda bunker" and "boot camp" ever since I played them some 14 years ago and I'm trying to keep more or less the same old school visual style. As for the layout, I'm still tweaking some bits and pieces and I'll definitely upload an overview in this thread very soon; stay tuned. Thanks again for your comment. Squad, thanks for the support mate The overview will be added very soon and a playable version will follow shortly; I'll keep you posted on steam

haha, thanks mate that was my intention with the word play

Greetings I present to you my new bomb/defuse project, de_forlorn which is still in early WIP stage. I started it 3 weeks ago and the map currently consists mostly of flat backbone brushwork and placeholder items to test the layout which is being done over the past week with some friends over LAN. The map is thematically inspired by Half-Life and Opposing Force for some old-school deserted base/facility gameplay and atmosphere. It has a new layout geared towards fast competitve gameplay with plenty of strategies to use; it has also new areas in addition to some reworked areas from 3 of my old maps (that follow the same theme of an abandoned base similar to Black Mesa facility): op4_haste (2001) - Opposing Force, lonedm (2003) - Half-Life and de_derelict_base (2011) - Counter-Strike Source. The map features fast rotation times/routes on floor level as well as on catwalk/upper floor level (14-15 sec for A-B). It also has corridor action suitable for SMGs and shotguns, outdoor space for some rifle action, sniper nests with exposed back for some reward/risk gameplay decisions, vertical gameplay for some interesting strategies, viability of grenades bouncing on corridor walls and around corners, player readability against walls, easily identifiable wallbangs (metal doors and catwalks) and an alternance of cold blue-ish/warm yellow-ish lights to enhance readability. I kept the fog, color correction and post processing to bare minimum to avoid hindering gameplay and visibility. The player models will be anarchists (black) vs FBI (green) for easier identification which also fit well with the backstory of an anarchist group raiding a recently abandoned base to blast open some secure doors and loot available hazardous content. Free time is a bit of an issue these days but i'm trying my best to keep a steady rate of work/progress on this map. Thanks for reading and I hope to have a playable/testable version very soon. I wish everyone a Happy Easter. Will2k CT spawn Bombsite A Bombsite B T spawn Middle T-A tunnels

Hey Pampers, thanks for dropping by I usually host my papers on my mediafire account and keep a second version on Gamebanana since the site is primarly there to host custom content related to gaming. I wasn't aware that mapcore has hosting services too and if you think hosting my work here will be beneficial, then why not . I'll keep that in mind for my next upload Jason , thanks for your input. you're right that without ad block, those pesky ads are annoying for everyone. I didn't upgrade my free hosting plan since I wasn't actively trying to land a job in the gaming industry. I guess it's a bit late now to make the switch to the gaming industry ; I should have made the jump some 12 years ago when i was still in my early 20s and the industry was still blooming out of its infancy and still accepting "amateurs" Thanks again mate and hope you find the 2 papers helpful and enjoyable to read.

I have edited the original post to include direct links to this paper as well as the previous one for easier access and for the complete Source engine optimization package. Thanks and enjoy.

Whenever there is a war/battle, Sun Tzu will fit in Thanks for your support

Playing through Serious Sam 3 Bought it during steam Christmas sale in 2012 and only now I got the time to play it

The free plan of tripod hosting is still ad-based. I usually have ad block enabled and don't get the ads but even without ABP, the site will display a thin horizontal ad banner on the top that won't interfere with browsing the site and won't open any pop-up or take you to other sites unless you click on it. I'm not sure what happened with you , maybe browsing from a tablet exhibits this behavior? or you inadvertently swiped the ad? lol yeah I've had this Tripod site since 2001; before that I used Geocities to host my site but they kept their free plan at 5 MB storage in 1999-2000 and I had to make the switch to Tripod when they offered 'gasp' 20 MB of free storage lmao (end of history lesson ) Thanks for the support mate, appreciate it

The big greybox you see is the moving train you crawl under Aha..the combine-train conductor is on strike I presume

What happened to the "train in motion" sequence? Great visuals so far

Hi everyone I'm sharing with you my latest technical paper/tutorial where I tackle the issue of methodically testing the frame rate and optimization setup in Source engine (with regards to level design). This paper is the logical sequel to my comprehensive Source engine optimization paper released over a year ago titled "Man vs. Engine". I had it planned since January but only got to finish writing it now. I believe it should prove helpful for beginner & intermediate mappers while providing a good read for expert and veteran designers. The paper is in PDF format (28 pages, 5.9 MB) and can be downloaded from my website's tutorials section: Optimization Testing in Source Engine For the folks who are not fond of reading , please note that the paper has 8 pages of text while the rest is made of in-game & in-editor documented screenshots. This paper will shed some light on how to properly test your optimization system in a methodical way that I personally use when testing my own maps before release or when testing friends/other persons’ maps in order to advise them on the ideal optimization setup. Thanks and have a nice read Will2k EDIT: I am including direct links to this paper as well as the previous one for easier access. Optimization Testing in Source Engine (April 2014) Man vs. Engine - Winning your optimization battle against the source engine (March 2013)

Hey ICS, Glad to see you here on the core. Haven't seen on GB for a long time. To OP: what ICS mentioned is true. You can refer to the Steam subscriber agreement for further details especially sections 2C, 3D, 6A and 6B (http://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/)

Great article. Closing the trilogy in style Great work guys and congrats on next operation

Someone should report that referee to FIFA