I know Gambit isn't the prettiest map right now in the competition, that's for sure! There are some really beautiful maps! I'm so happy to see so many people designing CS maps, and such a great interest in Level Design in general! Story: I designed Gambit specifically for competitive play. To do this, I studied maps I felt worked really well in competitive play (mainly Mirage, Cache, Dust2 and Inferno). From studying these maps, I started to notice very similar qualities in each, and I'm sure other's have picked up on these as well, but I just wanted to share what I found. Key layout elements: Paths & Flank: 3-4 choke points across 3-4 paths. Only 1 way into CT spawn for Terrorists to flank (through the mid connection).Sightlines: Dust2, Mirage, Cache, Inferno - all keep their sightlines as few as possible, while also keeping their sightlines clean (without distracting props or elements that break line of sight, not too many cover objects.)Bombsite-To-Mid sightline: One bombsite has clear line of sight directly to the mid choke point. This is a sightline I find a lot of mappers forget- the importance of this sight for competitive play is essential, as it allows 2 CTs left alive to cover all choke points (1 CT in each bomb site).Prop placement: Props should only be placed near chokepoints and for cover in key positions (such as bomb sites). Having too many props on the map breaks line of sights and slows the gameplay down.Timings & Rotations: A to B in ~ 13 seconds. This rotation should also be very clean for CTs with only 1 possible location for T's to shoot them in the back from. No location on the map should be more than 30 seconds away (knife running).Consequence of decision: (especially for 1 Terrorist choke point): The maps I studied all had one choke point very far away from the others. This means that Terrorists cannot easily move up the map simply by changing direction. They are required to move along a parallel line or even backtrack to another choke point, never move forward.Mid control is key: Both teams should be rewarded for pushing up and poking for information in mid. Which brings me to..Poking for information: Both teams should gain distinct and clear advantages for pushing up and poking for information on the enemy team (especially CTs).Players rarely have to look both left and right at the same time (and when they do, it's in the CT rotation area): This is a key design that removes randomness and camping spots. If a player has to look both left and right at the same time, there's a 50% chance they chose the wrong direction, and get shot in the back, this is frustrating, which brings me to my final point.Players should not be fighting with the map, they should be fighting the enemy: Smooth navigation is key, and tight spaces and awkward angles become frustrating. The player should not feel like the map even exists for the most part, as movement should be smooth through-out (except for where movement is specifically slowed down, near choke points and key locations (such a T's flank into CT spawn) I just wanted to share some of the design process I discovered while working on Gambit. The map has some ways to go, but I feel the design is very suitable for competitive play. I would love to hear more feedback, and look forward to continuing to develop it! Thanks! Screenshots: (please note, the art/detailing is a WIP)
Will Howie changed their profile photo