[CS:GO] De_BigAssStatue

[NikiOo]

A big ass statue is being constructed on an island in the middle of the ocean so it can be visible from 4 continents. A hostage has sneaked in...

If you've taken part in the Mapcore playtest 3 weeks ago here are the changes I made since then:

• Adjusted the angles in B site Hut, which were an issue before. Also added a yawning and some more cover to shorten the sightline towards the site.
• B site cover completely reworked. There is now less cover to defend the site and it's strategically placed in order to encourage the players to watch each other's backs since there is no perfect spot to defend both entrances from.
• T side mid route has been slightly simplified, therefore making it more valuable for rotating between the sites and fixing some unfair spots.
• A 'catwalk's headshot ramp has been replaced with a climbable drop with a ladder and a box, also there is a door there now. The door is an experiment, it's also supposed to be breakable.
• Some changes to CT spawn, including a fence you can look over into B site by stepping on a stack of corpses. This seemed like an interesting feature to retake the site so I decided to try it out.
• Added a ladder from A site to A catwalk next to the underpass so that CTs can more easily and quickly rotate.
• Added some Hands and one Leg has been lifted to make space for the new path.
• Blocked the sightline where CTs could push forward into the A main chokepoint and look into the T ramp.
• The divider fence between Left Mid and Right Mid has been slightly lowered. You can now boost a teammate over from both sides, but cannot solo jump over.
• Some other small changes, including blocking off some spots where players could look over walls into other areas of the map.

Overall what I'm trying to do is encourage CTs to play more forward positions, instead of defending from the actual site itself. I don't want CTs to be staying in B site. I want them to play forward and only fall back if they get pushed by the Ts. Ts also now have more control over top side of Right Mid so they can work with that towards taking control of Middle overall. It's also easier now for Ts to hold their positions.

Again thanks to ZooL for the awesome dev texture!

BigAssStatue's layout is inspired by Overpass and it's actually not as big as it seems.

This is how map control is distributed at the beginning of the round:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1297030515

Some more screenshots:

Spoiler

As for the other maps, De_Glace is on hold, I'm still working on De_Carfactory's layout, it requires a lot of research. And I'm hopping between this one and the other sever maps I'm working on, that you don't know about.

Edited March 13, 2018 by NikiOo

[Vaya]

are dev textures meant to hurt your eyes

[NikiOo]

On 3/14/2018 at 3:44 PM, Vaya said:

I love these dev textures of yours 

Thanks you, Vaya! I'll make sure to use them in all my maps.

Edited March 16, 2018 by NikiOo

[NikiOo]

Did some texturework and added some custom shipping containers:

Most of the containers will be replaced with more interesting geometry. Working on some custom rocks and stuff.

Here is the reference:

Update coming soon to the workshop.

Edited March 18, 2018 by NikiOo

[NikiOo]

Redesigned A site:

It is now a warehouse with a BigAssHand™ and something else.

Some other small changes.

Updated to the workshop:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1297030515

[NikiOo]

Damn, I'd forgotten I've made a topic about this and I was almost gonna make a new one.

So here's the new overview of the latest update:

I believe I've dealt with most of the issues that were brought up in the last playtest, mainly the middle area. I've previously fallen into the trap of ignoring the feedback completely reworking areas instead of fixing what's wrong with the current ones, but this time I had to do some big changes to mid. It was overly complicated and very long to rotate through so I've simplified it a lot. Changing middle also required me to rework the entrance to A site, and I also had to get rid of the upper area that was outside the warehouse because I couldn't justify it's existence thematically.

I've also changed the color theme of the map, as I've put into use some of my own textures and models. The reference was more grayish and had cyan green, which I tried but I've come to the conclusion that it's not very good on the eyes, or at least it doesn't look good with the construction theme. Instead I've gone with more warmer colors: yellow and yellowish green. The rocks are also placeholders and will be replaced with more high quality models and materials.

I've shortened the travel times to choke points overall, even as far putting the CT spawn in a quite awkward position, which was necessary due to the long distance between the sites and the choke points being too far from the CTs.

So here's T spawn:

Only thematic changes. I had get rid if the large cliffs.

Here's B Long:

I've done some more detailing on the outside and I'm working on making it more obvious that jumping down is going to kill you. I don't want to block it off completely, since I think it takes away from the gameplay, and I hate it when people complain about this with no justification.

Since I got rid of the crane in T spawn, I decided to move it here:

And this is the area some people complained about in the previous versions:

The problem with it was that CTs could run up to underneath the yellow containers and it was very difficult to clear. I didn't want to get rid of this one way, just for the sake of this one problem, so I did some other changes in an attempt to fix it. I've lowered the ground so that now if CTs drops down, they will make noise and with the new timings Ts should be able to hear it. There's also water for extra noise. I've also blocked off the corner in front of the containers so CTs can't hide there. I'm still thinking of how to make it easier for Ts to clear that spot under the crates just in case someone has snuck in, but I think overall the elevation change adds an interesting dynamic to the way this area is played.

And yes, you can still look through the crane.

This is the new middle area, looking from B connector:

It might be difficult to understand from the screenshots but the building on the right at the second screenshot is basically upper A and it is controlled by the CTs. Ts also need a boost in order to get over that railing so they're gonna have to use the door most of the time. The direction they are coming from is the left side on the big concrete base for the legs of the statue.

Here is a screenshot from inside the door room:

Looking into A site on the left.

And there's also that boost spot where the blue tarp is. It requires a boost from both sides. I don't know how often this will be used but it could be used to surprise the CTs or from CTs themselves to make a peek for information into A main or go for an early frag. It also adds some treat for a CT playing door and so he needs to be more aware.

And this is where it comes out onto the site:

Not many changes have been made to the site itself. I'm considering blocking off the big gap behind the site, but it's just more exciting when it gets chaotic with smokes and flashes everywhere and there's also the danger of falling to your death.

Now here is A main:

This is the choke point as it approaches the site. Changes were necessary because of the route to mid. It's not much different from the last version, it's only pushed back a little towards T spawn and the angles are a little different. You can also jump on the yawning roof of the building to the left. Probably gonna clip it off. Needs some more testing. But yeah, this way it's a little safer for CTs to push up if they so desire, because they have this hidey spot where the wood is leaning in the corner and the catwalk to mid is now halfway lowered so they don't need to do 90 degree flicks upwards.

Here it is from another angle:

You can see there's a ladder at the end and it leads to the main route to middle and also looks straight towards the boost.

And this is the T side of middle:

There's the boost to the right and to the left is the other entry. This boost could be very powerful for CTs but it's also very exposed. Might not be used very often due to how close it is to the main path to mid, but I still think it will have some interesting implications.

B site is still the same in terms of layout:

Am I posting too many screenshots? Probably not...

I'm gonna try to put it on the workshop by the end of the week.

 

Edited June 5, 2018 by NikiOo

[NikiOo]

Made some more changes to the approach path to B site:

Before:

After:

Basically I've extended the warehouse more towards the site and I've moved the connector between the two areas closer to the site.

Firstly this shortens the long sight line of the lower entrance to the site, which now makes it more viable for pistol rounds and rushing with SMGs.

The upper path is pretty much more suitable for long range weapons, while the lower one is better for pistols, SMGs and a tad bit of shotgun.

It also makes it a little easier to defend by 2 CTs, while the lower path also gives them a good option for pushing up for information.

On top of that, this deals with the bunch of bad angles, both inside and outside the warehouse, shifting the crossroad to 2 triroads.

Some more screenshots of the changes:

Spoiler

Also added this wooden stuff so it's not as viable to play under the crates as CT:

And now some quality of life improvements on A site:

The back of the site is now slightly elevated, rather than lowered, lowering the height difference, especially towards uppers. It also makes it much easier to clear as T, and feels better playing behind the statue.

Here's the full overview:

I'm stepping up my radar game with the gradient background.

I recently discovered that I can insert images from Imgur, as I'd already reached my MapCore Attachments limit, so I'm gonna be flooding you with more of these. Better prep yourselves.

[Andre Valera]

I like the direction you took the map, what are your plans to differentiate each of the sites thematically? (unless of course... that's top secret information)

[NikiOo]

2 hours ago, Andre Valera said:

I like the direction you took the map, what are your plans to differentiate each of the sites thematically? (unless of course... that's top secret information)

Well for starters, A site is inside a warehouse, while B is entirely open. There are going to be a lot more natural hills and cliffs surrounding B site and a lot of orange and green. For A site I'm thinking I might add some blue lights as it's one of the few interior areas in the map so it's gonna have orange and blue.

Also on B site one of the hands of the statue is sitting there, while the other one in B is still being assembled. Here's one of my references for B:

I don't know what the statue is gonna be made of yet. Gonna have to do some more research into it.

I'm definitely gonna try and make them look as distinct as possible.

[NikiOo]

So I evened out the ground in middle, which makes areas such as T plat and CT balcony (I just made up those names) easier to access, and angles are better 

And a complete rework of the cover on A:

The goal was to get rid of this long angle that allowed CTs a very advantageous angle from CT straight to A main:

So this position isn't nearly as viable as it used to be, but there are more positions in the back of the site with good cover to defend both A main and heaven:

So right now this site is much more close range than it is potentially going to be much easier to take on pistol rounds, however there are more positions to check and if the Ts are too slow they are risking getting flanked from middle.

[NikiOo]

So I did some timing tests to see how BigAssStatue compares with other defuse maps and I compiled a couple of graphs:

Spoiler

Thought I'd share them with you peeps.

Meanwhile, I'm doing a visual update with some new rocks and stuff:

Spoiler

I can always replace them at any time with more high res geometry and textures, but I think they're not that bad right now.

I don't think I'm going to make any more large scale changes to the layout, only individual areas.

[jakuza]

Rocks are looking really cool. I would revisit those containers you showed in the 2nd shot though, the shading on the frame and panels looks messy.

[NikiOo]

The godhand is here with a terrible texture:

So you're actually bombing something now.

Tryna make the warehouse interesting.

I think it's time to start making some more theme specific props to replace these dust2 crates cause they're starting to look a little out of place.

[NikiOo]

Progress is being made.

Just wanted to share some more of my nonsensical over the top stylized warehouses.

And guess what! There are actual ventilation fans behind these grills:

And the colorful orange camo panels on the warehouses are a psychological trick to make the parents of the kids who ones used to play in the desert, which is now a construction site for this giant statue, to subconsciously perceive the construction as a positive for their kids. Orange is statistically the 3rd most loved color by kids of the age 1 to 18, as well as parents between the age of 25 and 35 as well as 50-69, unfortunately though there is a gap of orange disfavoratism between the ages of 36 and 50, which is then satisfied by the inclusion of the color green in most of the crates on the map, which is apparently the third most loved color in that age spectre.

Edited August 7, 2018 by NikiOo

[NikiOo]

Decided the rocks were a tad too smooth and stylized so I reworked them:

Before:

After:

*here's without the normal:

Didn't get into too much detail cause I wanted to keep the shapes consistent and thought it would be more difficult to notice the repetition with simpler geometry.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.