[WIP] de_diversion

[Radu]

de_diversion is a classic bomb/defuse map set in an industrialized rural area. More info to be added later*

Design principles:

- simple three lane layout

- smooth navigation flow

- readability

- open spaces

- 5v5 competitive balance

Overview image (updated to current version):

Download link:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzBrHgxfRBqwQ3ZrU1BrZTgyQXM/view?usp=sharing

Screenshots:

de_diversion v1:

de_diversion v2:

de_diversion v3:

 

Change log:

v2 changes:

-reshaped stairs on B paltform
-clipped stairs on B platform
-clipped fence on B
-fixed sniping angle from B platform to T entrance to B
-added cover on B entrance from T side
-made T entrance to B tighter
-reshaped generator on B
-added second smaller generator on B
-removed most wooden crates on B and reshaped the place to add more natural cover
-removed fence on middle
-completely reshaped A
-changed skybox texture

v3 changes:

-fixed bomsite A/bomsite B mixed signs
-cleaned A
-added ramp/platform on A
-moved A connector to mid closer to middle of the warehouse
-reshaped A connector to mid
-made A entrance from T side wider
-made A entrance from CT side a bit tighter
-reshaped A long from T
-remade middle
-remade CT route to middle
-removed old connector from T side B route to mid
-added vent from T side B route to mid
-reshaped B route from T
-reshaped T spawn

 

Edited September 26, 2015 by Radu

[Michael Greenwood]

The biggest thing I see when looking at the layout is both sites have a very narrow opening to get into them as the only path except mid. This means mid control is by far the most important strategy and the layout you have would most likely end with it being very CT-sided. 

[jackophant]

So, I like where this is going. I didn't play the first version so I can't comment on any changes, just what I saw:

(You have your bomb signs / radar sites mixed up. The first bomb trigger you place is always called A, and the second B, so just swap the triggers around and you'll be OK there, but for this feedback I will refer to them as North and South)

Anything of vague importance can be smoked off very easily. It's pretty ridiculous. Mid is massively CT biased, and I think only possible to traverse as T because we could afford the numbers to overpower (when people were moving as a group).

Both sites can be held off with a single smoke which isn't very exciting, but more because each entrance is broadly the same: a corridor with a tight doorway and an area where you can hide inside.

The North bombsite feels the most natural to me and I don't really have any complaints. The connector from the long route there to mid though is lazy. It just weaves back on itself which breaks flow and adds time unnecessarily.

The South bombsite has too much going on around it, and pretty much nothing on it. The little green mark on that sight signifies a rather powerful position for CTs as well. As the walls are concrete the only gun shooting through anything is the AWP right now, and the wall splitting the site in half is pretty imbalanced because of it. Very easy to set up the bomb so an AWP can sit back and pick people off through walls for defusing. It's also very hard to retake as the bomb is always wide open and there's so much off site cover for Ts to mess around behind.

Mid is a clusterfuck if I'm honest. Very wide, lots of long angles and lacks any sort of form. It basically has a great big no mans land in the middle of it and EVERY entrance into it is exactly the same size and most of them have ceilings. They also converge on almost the same point which feels really flat and boring. Speaking of which... The entire map could do with a bit of height variation, it's very flat right now.

You have a lot of dead space around areas that isn't really used, or if it is, would benefit from having it trimmed out to streamline the routes. Your long paths to each bombsite are also very bland, and you could reshape them slightly to maintain timings and be a bit more interesting than a zig-zag

That's all for now, I'll update if anything comes to me. Apologies if it reads a bit sporadically, but I also left comments in the chat if you've picked those logs up yet.

[Radu]

Thanks for the detailed feedback, Jack! I had no idea the first bombsite trigger will always be called A. 

The last two playtests made it perfectly clear what the issues are, but I'm glad you took the time to go into more detail. I will probably make the entrance to the bottom site larger to prevent it from being held with just one smoke; I'll see how I can clean the site, make it a bit more open and add some platform for height variation. I'll see about adding more height variation though the entire level as well, but it won't be anything too radical.

My main concern at the moment is middle, which will clearly need to be remade from scratch.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Radu

[jackophant]

Right now mid is too wide imo. Or, if you want it that wide, you need to have a significant height difference or something. Because of its width there are some very large, long angles that can be held so it's quite hard to scan and just smoking off an entrance isn't enough as there's so much room to move about.

The cover also lends itself more to camping than to getting out of an entrance and playing from behind it.

The other issue is number of entrances to mid. Typically mid is like a + shape, T's enter from one end, CTs the other, and the middle connectors are contested to some degree. You've given each team their own mid connectors, but CTs have more so they can come from whatever angle they want.

It also works as a ridiculous flank and on a 5v5 would put a lot of pressure on the CTs who pretty much have to watch 1 entrance each in your typical 2/1/2 split:

• 1 CT on A watching long
• 1 CT on A watching connector
• 1 CT watching mid
• 1 CT on B watching long
• 1 CT on B watching connector

It's OP for CT in a 10v10, but in a 5v5 it's really spreading the team thin.

[Radu]

Small screenshot update on the new skybox and lighting

Edited September 26, 2015 by Radu