Avalon

[Guest Engynear]

de_avalon

So full disclosure this is my first map.

It isn't nearly to the quality of some of the other maps I've looked at on this forum, i'll acknowledge that. 

I entered it into this competition to force myself to fight as hard as I could to bring it to a competitive level, instead of just something to mess around on with friends. I'd really appreciate any and all feedback/tips , especially with detailing areas, as that's where I struggled the most here. 

 

I first started designing this map 5 months before I downloaded the editor. I liked the idea of a seaside map, based on the city of Avalon, California. I thought a pier would add a level of verticality that isn't so popular in most competitively viable maps.

So I got the editor at thanksgiving, and have been learning the trade ever since.

After buying prime to get the editor (i already had earned it, but still had to buy it), I binged 3kliks mapping videos to get started, eventually switching to TopHattWaffle's content for the trickier bits.

I switched to a Wingman layout after realizing how hard it would be to make a full map, but about two weeks ago, after discovering this contest, I set to work on B site. So, if anyone is wondering why B looks so much worse, there you have it.

I neglected the skybox, building and deleting it a few times before just kinda meh-ing it. It will work, i suppose, but if I had another month I'd focus on that for probably half of it.

 

Let me know what you think! I'd love any suggestions.

Happy Mapping!

Workshop is down rn so heres the bsp, ill link the workshop page once its back up

de_avalon.bsp

[Guest Engynear]

Here’s the steam ID, https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1985943202

[mtchromatic]

The map feels very much made of brushes. All the buildings, dock, and things are big, thick, boxes.
Theme also feels a bit mish-mashed, as a result of using only stock props.
As for layout, the Terrorists get to A much faster than B, probably a result of it originally being wingman.
Sites feel hard to defend from on the sites themselves.
Overall looks nice for a first map, good displacement work, keep in mind, TopHatWaffle will teach you infinitely more about mapping than 3kliksphilip, especially in regards to making models.

[Engynear]

2 hours ago, mtchromatic said:

The map feels very much made of brushes. All the buildings, dock, and things are big, thick, boxes.
Theme also feels a bit mish-mashed, as a result of using only stock props.
As for layout, the Terrorists get to A much faster than B, probably a result of it originally being wingman.
Sites feel hard to defend from on the sites themselves.
Overall looks nice for a first map, good displacement work, keep in mind, TopHatWaffle will teach you infinitely more about mapping than 3kliksphilip, especially in regards to making models.

Yeah i'd say thats entirely accurate.

 

The way I see the A balance is that while T's get there real fast, CT's keep some powerful sight-lines into site that keep it 'somewhat' balanced. I've only playtested a little, and without a full ten man, so I can't really say. You're absolutely right about the sites. 

I'm looking into props now. It seems complicated, but I think they're incredibly important for exactly what you said, the theme. Hopefully custom props will make detailing easier.

Thanks so much for the feedback! I'll think about making it less brush-y, but I don't really know how to go about that. Maybe just some fancy decals and details. B-site i'll give more cover once I figure out how best to. If you have any ideas i'm all ears. I might take a page out of inferno's book and give it a few pillars or something.