csWaldo

Participants:
General questions:
How can I stay updated on the contest? React with the mountain emoji in the Discord welcome channel to get the “Big Adventurer” role and get pings when there are updates. 🆕 Where can I get my map playtested? While the slots on the hubs are a great way to test maps at a bigger scale we do recommend using regular playtests before your map gets on the hubs. These playtests are possible on multiple mapmaking discords: Playtests can be scheduled on the source engine discord for nearly any time with at least 48 hours notice. You can book playtests on MapINK with at least 36 hours notice. The Mapcore discord also offers playtesting. My map didn’t make it through the greybox stage, can I join another team? Yes, you are allowed to work on ongoing contest entries. How can I ask any further questions? We have a dedicated discord channel called ‘Big Adventures 2024’ during the contest, please ask any questions there. 🆕 My map was previously uploaded on the Steam workshop but not set to public. Can I enter the contest with it? Yes, you can. 🆕 The name of my map has not been decided yet. Can I choose the name later and still upload it to the workshop already? Yes, just update the workshop entry you submitted so the Steam Workshop ID of the submission does not change throughout the contest. Questions about slots on the hubs:
When are the contest maps rotated on the hubs? The maps are rotated each Friday at 18:00 CEST. How do the slots on the hubs work? During the Open stage, each map is given a chance of a one-week slot on the FACEIT hubs on a first-come, first-serve basis. Each week, a maximum of 8 contest maps will be featured on the hubs. The mapmaker can submit their map for a slot in one of three batches. These are organized in the following way: Batch 1: 10 May - 07 June 2024 Batch 2: 07 June - 05 July 2024 Batch 3: 05 July - 02 Aug 2024 If you want your map to be included in one of these batches, you have to submit it before the batch’s submission deadline, which are the following dates: Batch 1 map submission deadline: 05 May 2024 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) Batch 2 map submission deadline: 02 June 2024 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) Batch 3 map submission deadline: 30 June 2024 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) With the submission of the map you can choose a preferred one-week slot on the hubs. You might be assigned to a different slot within the same batch due to operation reasons. We reserve the right to reject or remove unplayable maps. Once all map slots within a batch are filled, new submissions for the batch will not be possible. After the submission for a batch is closed and the slots are assigned, the list of maps in the slots is published on Discord. Your map will then be playable in all of Mapcore’s 5v5 hubs during the assigned slot. What do I need to think about when booking my slot on the hubs? As stated in the rules, the workshop entry you submit cannot be changed throughout the contest. If your map advances to Stage 2, the same workshop entry you submitted for Stage 1 will be used again. The submitted workshop entry has to be set to ‘public’ and remain public during the whole contest. The code in rule 13 should be in your workshop entry’s description: [url=fce.gg/mapcore][img]https://i.imgur.com/60HRCdw.png[/img][/url] Where can I see how many slots are booked already? You can see it in this excel sheet. How can I book a slot on the hubs? You can book a slot through Google Forms. After all submissions for a batch are closed, slots are assigned and the list of maps with their assigned slots is published on Discord. Why do I have to book a slot in hubs in advance? The process to get maps on the hubs involves a lot of background steps which take a lot of time. Due to this, the maps are only added in 3 batches, which requires maps to be submitted before the set deadline. I do not want to upload my map to the workshop yet. Can I still book a slot on the hubs already? A workshop entry is needed in order to book a slot. You can however upload a very basic version of your map when you create the entry, and update it before the slot you booked starts. Can I update my map while it is on the FACEIT hubs? Yes! You can update the workshop entry you submitted at any time. 🆕 If you update your workshop entry and choose to edit the description in the workshop uploader the code block with the image and link to the FACEIT hubs will break though. Why should I keep the same workshop entry throughout the contest? Due to how FACEIT have to add maps to the hubs, the workshop entry has to stay the same all throughout the competition. You are free to create more workshop entries, those cannot be added to FACEIT though. How can I get in contact with the players on the hubs? There are a few ways to get in contact with the players: On the Mapcore discord in #hub-chat-and-help Write in the hub chat of the 5v5 Mapcore hubs on FACEIT in EU, NA and SA or even play some games there yourself 🆕 How can I see how often my map was played while it was on the hubs? Type ”!matchcount” in #hub-chat-and-help on the Mapcore Discord. 🆕 Can I get a list of demos of the games on my map? Yes! Type “!games <map_name> <amount of matches you want to see>” in #hub-chat-and-help on the Mapcore Discord. You will get links to all match rooms, from which you can download the demos if you are logged into FACEIT. 🆕 How can I best use the data from the matches on my map? Download all demos and follow these instructions: How to use CS Demo Manager and Power BI to get summarized data about your map
   
Players:
How can I play the maps? You can play on the 5v5 Mapcore hubs on FACEIT in EU, NA and SA. Please make sure to subscribe to and download the maps before queuing, as this might take a while! Why are the maps on the hubs changing so often? To give all maps a fair chance to get played, every map can only be on the hubs for one week. How can I give feedback? We mainly recommend 2 ways: Write a message on the Mapcore discord in #hub-chat-and-help Comment under the workshop entry of the map.
 

Always thought this would be an amazing theme. Looks cool already!

I'm new to this map making. Last time I made a map was for call of duty during my quake2 days. I'm not experienced enough to tell you if it will work with Doom. The only modes I've played in CS2 is deathmatch (which is cool) defuse and hostage. Have never tried the other modes. I'm 50 years old and found a new hobby, map making. I've always loved art. Even the textures in this map will all be not in-game. I'm sure many are laughing at my idea but the contest said your scored in fun, originally and polish.  Some of these maps I've seen on here are to large for time it takes to plant the bomb. I believe having 2 forced battle Zones will force action within 12-15 sec. The bypass to A or B 10-15 seconds. I'm going against all map theory with this map. I want this to be a fun high detailed geometry map. I must design it with VIS in mind or even the fastest card will slow fps down. I don't want dead space in this map. I'm sure I won't win lol.  I looked up map judges and maps they made are beautiful. So if that's the standard I'm going to have to master map lights to even have a chance. The more advanced geometry is what judges are looking for. I love video editing as well. With video you want to choose certain colors that offset. Neon red green blue and warm light and white color balance. Cs2 walls need to be light so models can stand out. If this was call of duty or quake2 it does not matter. Sorry for rambling on. Thank-you for showing interest in my post.
 

Environment can be a great inspiration for your layout. Finding interesting real life places that fit your theme and creating gamified versions of them is a great way to start and expand on a layout. It's not a bad idea to have a rough idea of what the floorplan might end up being too. In my experience you get the best results when you use both and dont stick to either of them too strictly.
But I would suggest blocking out your map one major area at a time. When you build everything all at once its difficult to make it all fit together. Building one large, coherent area first and then expanding on it might be easier.

Will this map be able to run doom?

Will this map be able to run doom?

FYI there is also SourceOps for blender wich automates exporting models, brushes and displacements from blender to csgo ?
 
Concept looks cool! Love seeing unusual places seeing used.

FYI there is also SourceOps for blender wich automates exporting models, brushes and displacements from blender to csgo ?
 
Concept looks cool! Love seeing unusual places seeing used.

We finally managed to push another update. This one is again gameplay related but we are making some progress on art as well.
 
Changes:
we completely reworked the pathing towards B and cleaned up T spawn and the canal in the process approaching B without being heard should be easier squeaky should add a bit of extra spice and opportunity we changed around the cover on A site a bit

A post mortem sounds like a real nice idea. but first we need to actually finish the map ?
One thing we'd like to do is a video fly through spanning over all the versions from start to finish.
 
As for teamwork: We synch our files with googledrive and use lots of instances within our main map file. This way we can work on different parts of the map at the same time. We communicate mostly through discord where we also keep our references.
Our roles are somewhat like this: Waldo is doing art including modelling and texture work while I'm working on general geometry, layout and from time to time radar. But we tend to stray from this formula and switch it up from time to time.
 

Since we consider the layout to be more or less final, it's time to step up from the greybox and to get some art done.





 
This includes fleshing out a skybox.

Here you can find the new Mapcore logo and its usage guidelines. Download is included in the post and includes both .png and .svg files.
Mapcore Logo

The Mapcore logo includes a two-color logo, full-color logo and a monochrome logo.
Mapcore Mark

Mapcore mark includes a single-color version, a full-color version and monochrome versions.
Colors

These are the Mapcore colors and the Mapcore gradient. Single color logo can be any of the colors.
Safe space

The logo needs some breathing space. Use the circle in the Mapcore logo to determine minimum amount of space between the logo and surrounding objects.
Using the Logo

The logo can be used on any type of background, however the appropriate version should be chosen.
Full-color logo can be used on most solid backgrounds, using the light or dark version of the logo depending on the luminosity of the background.
Use the single-color logo if the full-color logo doesn't have enough contrast with the background.
Use the monochrome logo on backgrounds with a lot of color information.
Improper usage

Don't:
Rotate the gradient Make the Mapcore text any other color than almost black or white Use a non Mapcore color Add a drop shadow Change the typeface of the Mapcore text Change the size of individual elements Rotate the Mapcore mark Change the color of individual elements Change the spacing of individual elements Change the gradient Scale the logo non-uniformly Blur the logo Stacked Logo

Stacked version of the logo can be used on light backgrounds, where the logo is the main focus of the graphic.
 
Hope you'll find these guidelines useful. Here is the download for the Logo resources:
mapcore_logo.zip

Getting the timings just right was always a challenge on this map. The current timings should be so that rushing CTs can just about peek into B long as the Ts are approaching.
We had issues in previous versions with CTs getting to B long too quickly. Once CTs have pushed it aggressively, they can see quite far into the T area and therefor get a lot of info on whether there are any Terrorists around B. Thats why the timings currently are the way they are. We're scheduled for a playtest next Tuesday though, so we will see how it actually goes. We pushed around timings for a second or two with every other update and we might have to do it again after the next test.
Very glad the bombsites are getting a positive reception though. Took us a while to get here.

Getting the timings just right was always a challenge on this map. The current timings should be so that rushing CTs can just about peek into B long as the Ts are approaching.
We had issues in previous versions with CTs getting to B long too quickly. Once CTs have pushed it aggressively, they can see quite far into the T area and therefor get a lot of info on whether there are any Terrorists around B. Thats why the timings currently are the way they are. We're scheduled for a playtest next Tuesday though, so we will see how it actually goes. We pushed around timings for a second or two with every other update and we might have to do it again after the next test.
Very glad the bombsites are getting a positive reception though. Took us a while to get here.

Getting the timings just right was always a challenge on this map. The current timings should be so that rushing CTs can just about peek into B long as the Ts are approaching.
We had issues in previous versions with CTs getting to B long too quickly. Once CTs have pushed it aggressively, they can see quite far into the T area and therefor get a lot of info on whether there are any Terrorists around B. Thats why the timings currently are the way they are. We're scheduled for a playtest next Tuesday though, so we will see how it actually goes. We pushed around timings for a second or two with every other update and we might have to do it again after the next test.
Very glad the bombsites are getting a positive reception though. Took us a while to get here.

I love what you've done with control room, the curved wall suits the area perfectly. Not sure how I feel about the B changes. The site feels a lot better, but it feels like the T area of the map is a bit too big now. I think now that Ts have two entrances to B gifted to them, CT spawn could be moved maybe 1-2 seconds closer to B, so that CTs have the option to contest Long B. This wouldn't affect A Long timings too much, but would have the knock-on effect of giving CTs a chance to contest house with correct utility usage. Super excited to see how this map plays, the bombsites themselves are amazing.

Watching the fly through makes me want to reinstall CS ? lots of interesting angles

We finally managed to push another update. This one is again gameplay related but we are making some progress on art as well.
 
Changes:
we completely reworked the pathing towards B and cleaned up T spawn and the canal in the process approaching B without being heard should be easier squeaky should add a bit of extra spice and opportunity we changed around the cover on A site a bit

We finally managed to push another update. This one is again gameplay related but we are making some progress on art as well.
 
Changes:
we completely reworked the pathing towards B and cleaned up T spawn and the canal in the process approaching B without being heard should be easier squeaky should add a bit of extra spice and opportunity we changed around the cover on A site a bit

We finally managed to push another update. This one is again gameplay related but we are making some progress on art as well.
 
Changes:
we completely reworked the pathing towards B and cleaned up T spawn and the canal in the process approaching B without being heard should be easier squeaky should add a bit of extra spice and opportunity we changed around the cover on A site a bit

We finally managed to push another update. This one is again gameplay related but we are making some progress on art as well.
 
Changes:
we completely reworked the pathing towards B and cleaned up T spawn and the canal in the process approaching B without being heard should be easier squeaky should add a bit of extra spice and opportunity we changed around the cover on A site a bit

We finally managed to push another update. This one is again gameplay related but we are making some progress on art as well.
 
Changes:
we completely reworked the pathing towards B and cleaned up T spawn and the canal in the process approaching B without being heard should be easier squeaky should add a bit of extra spice and opportunity we changed around the cover on A site a bit

It's been a while since we posted a proper update here but a lot has changed in the last two months.
 - B site has received a full rework
 - rotations are faster and simpler
 - mid was reworked to make it fair and fun
 - outside A now has a tunnel connecting it directly to B site
The version shown here should be live by tonight and we are hoping to finalize the layout soon.
Feedback is, as always, very welcome and maybe I'll see some of you in the next playtest ?
Radar:
Screenshots:
 

The last leak has been plugged so I've been able to run my first full compile in about two months. I don't have many screens since I've decided to scrap the current 3d Skybox, but all in all, everything is moving into the finalization stages. The biggest remaining items are the skybox rework, a good pass over all the lighting, also fixing the radar since I haven't touched that for several versions now, and finally just general adjustments and fixing little things. I've updated the workshop listing if anyone is interested in having a look.
I've set a hard release target for end of September, so any unforeseen catastrophes aside, my next update in this thread will hopefully be the last.
 

Football pitch at CT Spawn

Slums at Long B
 

General overview of T Spawn/Lower Mid area