Aerospace (Alpha)

[Noodle King]

Me and Gz are working on a new project, Aerospace. This is my second entry into the Mapcore Csgo Mapping contest, and Gz's first. 

Aerospace takes place entirely on a resort luxury airliner as it flies through the sky. It is still very early in development, and our ideas are ambitious. However, we have managed to put together a solid design for the alpha. It's going to need tons of work, but it functions. Since Aerospace is still in very early development, we'll be taking all the feedback and suggestions we can get.

Note that Aerospace is very far from a finished product. Placeholder assets are being used and everything is subject to change.

Workshop: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1095542813 

Some more screenshots:

Spoiler

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2017 by Noodle King

[Noodle King]

Alpha 2.0 Is Out!

Lots has changed in this update. After getting lots of feedback from play testing, we've modified the layout lots to better suit competitive play. 

#6: Big Update:
-Reworked the maps layout to better fit competitive play:
-Lengthened the entire map by a considerable amount, making the timings for each side more reasonable. 
-Added a new area on the lower level for the T's aproaching to B. 
-Shifted B-Site back. 
-Added a new area to the upper level for T's. 
-Completely re-did mid to better suit the theme and provide more cover.
-Removed the mid connector to A. It gave the T's way too much map control if they were able to reach it from mid.
-Added a new passageway connecting the T's entry to mid with the tunnel leading to B-site. 
-Reshaped the path T's take to get to the top floor from spawn. Now it is a switch-back staircase opposed to a boring ladder. 
-Added some minor detail improvements. 

-Overall, this update improves Aerospace in almost every way. For the top and bottom levels, more area has been added in between bomb sites so that engagements take place in other places as well. More area gives the CT's more options on where to defend, giving the map more variety. In fact, more area across the entire map has toned down the gameplay from casual and fast rounds to something more slow and tactical. The removal of the Mid connector to A may need to be substituted with another alternate way to get to the top level, but we'll see how it plays out. As for mid it'self, I think it will play much better than old mid. It now has some meat to it, not just an empty cube-shaped room.

The updated radar. I gave it a bit of love in this version, but its still not final. 

New and improved mid as seen from the T's side. Its got more cover, takes longer to get to,and doesn't give one team an overpowered  advantage to hold.

New "long" area on the t's aproach to B. This area will make for some interesting long distance plays. Also, the doorway on the right gives the T's a safer passage to the site, but they have to risk crossing the bombsite sightline to get there.

New corridor for CT's. On the far right is the entrance to CT spawn. In the middle is the entry to mid, and on the left is the passage to A. This corridor makes it so that CT's don't get to mid in seconds. A similar setup has been added on the T side as well, I think mid will play a lot better with this update. Although the negev and auto spamming was fun while it lasted.

The final major change I'll mention is this new area on the top floor. On the right (Off screen) is the T's entrance into this area. It basically acts as a "long" for the A approach. Also, with this area making it a longer way to A for the T's, it allows CT's to push up and be able to hold more ground before site. Before this update, almost all the engagements took place right in the sites. Now there some other engagement points that the CT's can either chose to push and hold or stay back and wait. 

 

Thanks for reading, tell us if we're on the right track, and have a good day

 

 

Edited August 18, 2017 by Noodle King

[fewseb]

Any reason why all the chairs in the plane are roller chairs?

[Noodle King]

Like I said in the original post, placeholder assets are being used, though it would be hilarious to have a bunch of roller chairs on a plane during turbulence  But we're working on some custom assets, the main issue is getting them imported into the game, but we're making progress. 

[Noodle King]

Work has begun on detailing some areas! For now we're just working on areas that we know aren't going to need as many changes. Right now, T-spawn and a bit of the surrounding area are almost done. Take a look:

T Spawn

T-Spawn to mid connector

[Noodle King]

Finally got some custom models imported in game! Take a look: 

Mid, now with a unique logo sign (seen on the far right) and a new chair model that better fits the theme of an airplane.

The new wing model, as see from the window on A-site.

No custom models here, but it shows some of the theming we're going for.

[Noodle King]

Been working on some more models for the passenger areas:

New and improved chair model, now with more detail and rounder edges

An overhead compartment for luggage storage.

A classic-styled airplane window.

[Jiro]

Guyz this is amazing ahaha a map on a flying plane. Looks gorgeous. 

[RA7]

On 25-8-2017 at 2:17 AM, Jiro said:

Guyz this is amazing ahaha a map on a flying plane. Looks gorgeous. 

https://gamebanana.com/maps/155398

[Noodle King]

After our last play test, it's becoming more clear that the overlapping 3-layer design isn't working out as well as we expected it to. There are a few fundamental errors with the whole idea inside of CS, some of which are our fault, some of which are not. First, the radar is basically useless, it's extremely hard to tell where someone is by looking at the radar, above you, below you, or right in front of you. Similarly, sounds from all 3 floors can be heard from all around, once again making it difficult to determine where a sound/enemy is. Lastly, it is kind of hard to navigate a 3 layer level. It makes sense to me, I created the layout after all, but for everyone else its a maze. 

So, after some thought and experimentation, we're gonna completely ditch the 3rd floor and follow some of the feedback we've been getting. We're essentially in the process of merging the mid and A-site floors into one, with the bottom/cargo floor remaining similar. This way, the map will be more similar to the classic stacked-bombsite styled maps, most prominently nuke, but also reminiscent of Overpass. With just two layers to worry about, there won't be as much disorientation. Plus, my hope is that the somewhat linear design of a plane will make it easier to navigate, even though the floors are still stacked on top of each other. This is a massive change, I'm basically rebuilding half the map, so it will take time. Thankfully, the parts of the art pass I've done so far won't be to greatly affected. Considering how big the changes are, not a lot of work is being lost. The next couple of days will consist of fiddling around with different ideas, then finally polishing and integrating them into the map.

Thanks for reading, all the help we can get is welcome, so please leave a comment telling us what you think!

Edited August 28, 2017 by Noodle King

[Roald]

I havent played the map and havent seen it ingame so yeah this is just a suggestion out of the blue (or what ever that saying is). I guess you could use three levels, but just make sure they wont be stacked on eachother or overlap too much.

It feels to be a difficult task to create a steady layout with so low space to work with but I like the fact you go for it! Its cool to see you take the feedback with you and you are willing to work with it no matter u have to change the part that contain artwork already. Goodluck mate!

[fewseb]

17 hours ago, Noodle King said:

it's extremely hard to tell where someone is by looking at the radar, above you, below you, or right in front of you.

I dont know if you've done this yet, but you can have multi-layered radars that show different layouts, the new nuke has this.

[Rad]

Just now, fewseb said:

I dont know if you've done this yet, but you can have multi-layered radars that show different layouts, the new nuke has this.

Yeah but even with them, it's really hard to locate your enemy plus 3 layers on top of each other makes it impossible.

[Noodle King]

1 hour ago, fewseb said:

I dont know if you've done this yet, but you can have multi-layered radars that show different layouts, the new nuke has this.

The radar does currently have multiple layers. It's easy enough to read, but once you add bombsite icons, player icons, etc, it becomes really difficult to see where everything is.

[Noodle King]

Holy hell I can't believe I actually did it. It was a huge change, getting rid of an entire floor, but it was for the better. After a couple of play tests, it became more apparent that the 3-floor design just isn't compatible with CSGO. Maybe it would have worked better if the levels weren't right on top of each other, but staggered levels makes no sense for an airplane. Anyways, The new 2-floor design is going to be easier to learn, more fun to play, more accessible, and will restore the radar's usefulness. 

#8: Massive Update:
-Merged together the mid floor and top floor. Ct's now spawn at A site. There are now only two floors to worry about.
-Detailed a good portion of the aproach to A.
-Reworked the connectors between levels. 
-Added tons of new custom content.
-Improved lighting.
-Reworked theming in passenger areas.
-Added signage to lead players to where they want to go.
-Created a new radar.
-Created a new bot navmesh.

 

Screenshots of the new update:

Spoiler

The new radar, once again, didn't put too much love into it. I probably won't until the full release. The top image is the top floor, and the bottom image is the bottom floor. I think this 2 layer layout is going to work a lot better, so we'll have to see how it plays out.

I'm having a blast detailing this area. Most of what you see is custom content, textures and models. Underneath the "Nation" sign you can see the new directional signs I made based off of the nuke ones. Now getting around should be easier since there are signs telling you where to go, and the layout as a whole is much simpler.

Here's a good example of how I'm shifting the theme away from a Fisher-Price solid color palette to a more luxury oriented, warm palette. I feel that since the themes between the cargo area (bottom floor) and the passenger area (top floor) are so different, we don't need to color code them so harshly. You can tell what floor you're on by looking around. I've still subtly kept in some color coding, such as blue signs for A site, and Red ones for B.

Here you can see some new textures and models. 

Tell me what you think, are we on the right track still? Notice anything that needs improving? Any help is appreciated, Thanks for reading!