wip [CS:GO] Cusco

Minos · July 17, 2020

It's a little Off-topic but is Terragen still a thing? Last I checked the newest versions output amazingly realistic results I agree that the CS community won't accept a Bloodborne-like skybox, but variation is nice. I remember one of my favorite things to do back in CS 1.6 was to look at the different skyboxes - anyone remembers the skies for 3d-mike's maps, de_laguna etc? Having a beautiful and unique skybox will go a long way to make a map stand-out. If Terragen doesn't work, I'm sure there's a way to convert skies from cgskies to Source format (wouldn't be too hard to set something like this in a modelling program, just place a sphere and turn the camera around to take the screenshots).

-- Edit

Kokopelli · July 17, 2020

@FMPONE @blackdog @Vaya @Lizard @Minos

Thanks for all the feedback guys, you make good points. I haven't played too much with the skybox/lighting yet as I've been mainly focused on the layout, but I definitely would like to give it some love to make the map really stand out. The current lighting is the way it is because I do understand that players are psychologically drawn to brighter maps and visibility is such a big factor in how enjoyable the experience is, so I kept it simple. I hope to find a way to make it distinct without giving players any added anxiety or frustration.

When do you guys find yourselves playing around with lighting the most? During blockout? During art pass? Or is it persistent throughout development?

@Minos Thanks for sharing those resources! I'll will look into them further.

@Radu What did you use to make your skybox for Chlorine? It is a lovely one indeed.

Going to schedule a playtest for next weekend.

Radu · July 17, 2020

I actually followed Psyrius's tutorial that Minos posted earlier.

Lizard · July 17, 2020

6 minutes ago, Kokopelli said:

When do you guys find yourselves playing around with lighting the most? During blockout? During art pass? Or is it persistent throughout development?

Mostly in blockout stage then tweak if needed when set dressing. The problem with this approach is that you get used to how map looks and feels like. Its super hard to change lighting drasticly later on + you can have problem with custom assets that just dont look good with new lighting.

blackdog · July 17, 2020

1 hour ago, Kokopelli said:

When do you guys find yourselves playing around with lighting the most? During blockout? During art pass? Or is it persistent throughout development?

I'm not one that can give great advice, but experimenting in blockout seems to make the most sense as compile will be faster, if anything. Get sun direction, angle and overall temperature early, to tweak later like Lizard said.

I guess if you have a good idea of the art direction, have the assets, you can do an art test detailing an area or two that will inform the rest of the map.

Lizard · July 18, 2020

What I also like to do is to take an area from a greybox that I'm sure wont change much and do artpass on it. Sort of test scene for lighting and assets.

Kokopelli · January 22, 2021

Thanks all for your input. Made some gameplay improvements to the map based on reviewing demos and playtester feedback. Feeling good about these changes. I think they address the core issues and improve the logic of the map. Let's see how the next playtest goes this week.

CHANGE NOTES

[A SITE]

Moved plant zone to truck
Reworked truck shape to eliminate headshot angles when a player is on top
Moved boostable propane cannisters to side of truck to eliminate headshot angle
Widened A main and added boostable crates near warehouse entrance

[WAREHOUSE]

Forklift now boostable

[MID CONNECTOR]

Redesigned connector to reduce the number of sightlines visible at once when pushing to/from A-mid
Rerouted to B-mid for smoother rotations

[B-MID]

Slightly reworked elevation to create a defined pit area
Added some cover
Added a trim on T stairs

[B SITE]

Redesigned cover on bombsite
Closed off part of crypt
Reworked main entrance from CT spawn
Widened balcony and added some cover
Balcony now fully wallbangable

[T-SPAWN]

Widened area in front of cathedral entrance
Moved some T spawns back

Edited January 22, 2021 by Kokopelli

Kokopelli · February 8, 2021

UPDATE PREVIEW

BALANCING CT SIDE

After last week's playtest I've been working hard on refining the A site and the pathing around it. CTs were feeling overwhelmed and so the focus has been on improving defense for the CTs. What seemed to be causing the most issues for CTs was the A mid/mid connector area. For Ts, although the angles could be cleared one by one, it proved to be too impractical. But for the CTs it was even worse because they could be so easily overrun by T rushes and were punished for extending. So I closed off the entrance to connector from A mid.

UPDATED RADAR:

With this change, each team can now fully control a mid connector before any engagements. When CTs take control of A mid, they are rewarded with another connector to B mid for flanks/rotations. When Ts take control of A mid, they gain another entry point to A site. The same is true for B mid and B site respectively. Think this will greatly improve the dual-mid dynamic.

SIGHTLINE NERF

Another small but significant change was eliminating this long sightline from top of A mid to A site, which was cutting the site in half and making it real hard for CTs to rotate into the site safely. This new big piece of cover serves to block that sightline while also helping Ts find cover on the approach into the site—plus CTs can also boost up onto it to gain some interesting vantage points.

BETTER DEFENSE

Another focus with this update was improving CT defense on A site. I altered some of the geometry and placed two vendors stands to give both defending and attacking players better cover to work with. This helped eliminate even more long sightlines across the site.

IMPROVED A SITE COVER