de_executive - Classic CS:GO in a fancy office

[twoski]

Hey dudes, i got the mapcore link from the csmappers subreddit. I've been working on this map on and off since last September, and i published a playable alpha on steam around November. The map is designed to be played competitively (i hope).

I polished the map enough to make it playable and nice on the eyes, now the toughest part will be balance testing it and making revisions as necessary. I have only been able to test it with a group of 4 or 5 players so it's tough to find the serious problems with the map. I have been in touch with one of the guys who handles reddit community night so with any luck i'll be able to test this map with players soon.

Known Issues

• The map lacks detailing in some places. Mainly on the T side, the buildings need more trim and stuff.
• I don't know if i like the lighting/skybox currently. Need more input from players.
• Indoors area may need more verticality but this will be tough to add if it is really needed.
• Outdoors area on T side may be too wide open. Need more input from players.
• Shadowmap scales need addressing.
• I don't like the soundscapes but i'm working with what is available.
• "Main" A entrance from atrium has the potential for a second door - not sure if this will be needed or if the map is fair as it is.
• Minimap needs some styling, i want to hold back on that till the layout is perfect though.

What I Need From You

I haven't been able to test this with players (except i got a friend to help me with testing the spawn positions and making sure map timing was roughly what i wanted) so a lot of my design is just guesswork. 

I need critiques, and potential ideas for how to make the map more fair and interesting. Bug reports too, i think i crushed most of the bugs but there's probably a couple of visual issues here and there.

Semi-Brief Map Description

Executive started out as me trying to make my own variant of cs_office but with a bomb planting theme. I enjoy the layout of office with its long hallways and tight corners so i tried to mirror that but at the same time take a different approach stylistically. The map more or less follows the standard layout you'd expect on a competitive map like dust or cache but with a couple of caveats.

The 2 main entrances to A that terrorists will commonly use need to be approached differently. The vents have a breakable cover which will signal to the CTs that you are attempting to enter that way. If you can manage to get through vents (difficult, especially if there is a CT guarding it) then you are rewarded with a very defensible area directly connected to the bomb planting zone. A Main is connected to an atrium which will be heavily contested by CTs and Ts. Controlling the atrium means you can either move into A or instead cross over through mid to B, or even go up through mid and take the back entrance to A which is mainly accessible from CT spawn. The CTs should always try to keep control of this area as it limits the options available to the Ts. 

Terrorists can also attempt to move up through mid, however this is a dangerous path with little cover. It's the sniper alley you expect to see on any comp map. If you have balls of steel you can attempt to smoke the kitchen area connected to mid and sneak up, however it's best to just have a sniper keeping his eye on mid and gathering info.

There is only one entrance to B available to the terrorists, unless they take control of mid. With a couple of smokes you can block CT visibility and push onto site, but CTs can also attempt to smoke off your entrance and stall you. If terrorists manage to get past this choke point they have some limited cover as well as a point of interest which can greatly improve their control of B: a window leading to an outside balcony area which grants them better cover and vision into B. The windows, when used right, can give terrorists a huge advantage at B. Snipers have limited vision through them from outdoors and once the bomb is planted you can have someone hide outside and force the CTs to check before defusing. The bomb can also be thrown up onto the balcony from below so you can avoid showing it to the CTs or dropping it in a dangerous spot. It is in the CT's best interests to stop the terrorists from pushing out and forcing them into cover. There are 4 entrances to B, plus the window, which makes retaking B difficult, but since only one of these entrances is immediately available to the terrorists, the site should be more defensible initially.

Rotation times on this map are slightly shorter than average if you take the middle route, and depending on how fast you move, about what you'd expect on a map like Inferno if you rotated from B site to A site. The quicker rotation times are counterbalanced by there being a few more tricky hiding spots on both sites which should be cleared before defusing.

On to the fun stuff.

Media

Check out all the screenshots i took of the map here: http://imgur.com/a/yx3yA

Workshop Page

Subscribe and download here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=544972528

If you enjoy the map please give a thumbs up so i can get a little more exposure! It's hard to get noticed out there. 

If you have comments or crits, post them on the workshop page or here. More input from mappers and players is always good.

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2016 by twoski

[Promulle]

So I decided to take a look around. Here are some of my thoughts.

The first thing I think about this map is, that the lighting, which looks to be white/greyish, looks boring to me. Others may think different.

Some things I noticed:

Spoiler

These elevator areas are for my understanding of no use to the gameplay at all. Block them off. (look at cs_office for an inspiration how to do)

The clipping on this thing in mid(?) causes some strange behavior.

This Screenshot was taken without noclip. It is kind of a glitch, that you can stand there, I do not know if players are supposed to be.

Those stairs are not clipped. (I know those do not contribute to gameplay but still)

The following things may just be my taste of how I like maps.

Mid seems to be not much more than a straigt line (awper's heaven)

This outside area is pretty big for only being a small entrance to B.

Does this entrance really have to be that narrow? (not good if more than one player wants to travers it)

I had trouble finding the vent to A, maybe turn the open side of the vent towards T spawn (shown in the picture below)

If it does not mess with the timings.

Those were my thoughts I had initial about it.

[twoski]

Thanks for checking it out, i made some changes based on what you posted. Added some clips, fixed others. I also got rid of the lower elevator since the lobby already has a lot of good positions for CTs. The upper elevator is a little more critical since if CTs are retaking long A they need a sort of emergency hidey hole since the catwalk has very little cover. It also makes for a good hiding place for Ts.

Mid is a pretty big sniper alley but generally i think CT snipers will be a little more forward (in the kitchen), trying to get the best view of the T side door. I made it so that CTs will struggle to get vision on Ts if they stick to the right hand side of their entrance, so it is possible for the Ts to "sneak" into B main. T snipers will generally try to stay outdoors protected by their stairs. This gives them view down mid and also cover if they duck quickly. I drew a quick diagram to show what i mean, with red lines denoting visibility blocking items.

 

As you can see from that line of sight down mid into the kitchen, there's a blind spot directly below it where Ts can move down into B main. Those dots are roughly where the CT and T snipers will reach at the same time. Ts can also move behind the cement truck to avoid being seen by the CT sniper, but there is a small gap in the truck marked by a blue line that i think CT snipers can see through.

The upper green dot is another key point that CTs should take, as it gives them vision into the atrium and also limited view down into the B connector (although slightly obscured by the door).

The claustrophobic doors at B connector are there mainly to block visibility into kitchen (because that would be way too much visibility) and they also help create the visibility denoted by the white lines. So as you can see, the CTs spots both have clear sight into B main but only one of them can see into B connector. It is a bit cramped, but that's mainly because there are 4 entrances to B and ideally, a smart group of CTs would pick different entrances on a retake since B connector has a fairly large blind spot.

As for the vent, i had to put the entrance on the other side since it gets too difficult to exit on the outdoors side. The entire street would be able to see someone entering or exiting it. With the hole on the other side, CTs can jump out without revealing themselves to the entire T side. But you are right, it's hard to tell where the entrance is at first glance, maybe i'll add more signage to make it obvious.

The outdoors area is a bit bigger than i wanted, mainly just because i wanted to give snipers a little breathing space. I'm not too sure how i could make it smaller without ruining the setup, it's something that i think will need more playtesting.

 

Edited April 10, 2016 by twoski

[Promulle]

Ah ok, thanks for the explanation. Some decisions are much now clearer.