CP_Rainier - 5CP Push Map - Current Ver.: A7A

[Will T.]

Rainier is a 5CP push map using the alpine theme. It draws inspiration from both Valve-made stock 5CP maps like Granary and custom 5CP maps like our own Warpath2.

Download the most recent version here:
CP RAINIER A8

Screenshots (current as of A8):























I feel that the layout is nearing its final form, which means that the map is approaching Beta status, at which point the layout will be all but solidified, with any further non-aesthetic changes being limited to minor tweaks. If you have any major layout feedback, now is the time to give it! Don't be shy - if you feel that something would be improved by being altered, I'd rather know now than never.

All versions to date + changelog:

CP Rainier A8
-Revived after hiatus
-Added a third entrance to the final point
-Enclosed a staircase near the final point to eliminate a potential long sightline
-Made inner rooftops of side buildings at mid player-accessible
-Added props to most inaccessible rooftops to make them visibly obstructed to players
-Removed the last of the dev textures from mid
-Opened up interiors of buildings between forward points and mid
-Lots of detail props added all over

CP Rainier A7A
-Removed an obsolete player clip brush on the RED side that could interfere with gameplay near the final point
-Detailing tweaks

CP Rainier A7
-Removed a sliding door near the forward points
-Removed a window in the forward buildings near the forward points, for optimization as well as aesthetics
-Removed a doorway at mid at the ends of the forward buildings opposite the spawnrooms
-(Mostly) Fixed being able to see out of/through the map from the death pits at mid
-Reorganized skybox brushes to make detailing the rooftops of buildings easier (much more reorganization still to come)
-Lots of detailing additions and fixes all around
-Added hint brushes to doorways and windows (should help with optimization)
-Func_detailed several map objects that should have been already, but weren't for whatever reason
-Added more arrows to guide players forward through the map
-Various other adjustments, corrections, and cleanup

CP Rainier A6B
-Changed map name to Rainier
-Fixed a misaligned texture on the shed near the RED final point
-Fixed dev textures still visible on the BLU side
-Changed the lower floors of the central building at mid from wood to metal
-Minor detailing tweaks on the RED side

CP Rekkit A6A
-Fixed an incorrect/missing texture on the BLU side
-Added missing player clipping on the RED side
-Fixed some misaligned roofs on the RED side

CP Rekkit A6
-Massive visual overhaul across the entire map
-Converted all ramps into staircases
-Fixed spawn doors opening for the wrong team
-Redesigned the building at mid to further improve indication that the roof is inaccessible
-Widened narrow hallways in the forward buildings
-Widened bridges connected to narrow hallways in the forward buildings
-Removed a side hall from the forward buildings
-Removed an open doorway on the forward buildings leading to mid
-Pushed a wall in the forward buildings near the staircases out slightly
-Redesigned forward spawnrooms near forward points:
--Made the upper floor exit easier to access
--Moved the resupply cabinet further from the door to avoid exploitation of its position by those inside (i.e. shooting out the door while getting resupplied constantly)
--Made the ground-floor door larger
--Moved the ground-floor door further back from the point
-Removed a portion of the flanking route between the first and forward points
-Removed a ground-floor doorway in the side building near the final point
-Removed a second-floor corridor leading directly to the final point from the building beside it
-Added a sniper nest overlooking the flanking route near the final point
-Added nobuild to all control points

CP Rekkit A5A
-Increased the exterior height of the side buildings at mid
-Added a placeholder structure to the top of the cap building at mid
-Changed the middle entrances to the bases at mid so that the roof begins at the same height as it does on the rest of the building
-Removed the inaccessible bridges in the alley between the forward and final points (these will likely be re-added later with a different look)

CP Rekkit A5
-Made capture zones larger at mid and final points
-Replaced some low fences with tall ones, and added tall fences in places where the map formerly ran right up to the skybox
-Detailed out the sheds near the final points
-Added paint swatches underneath all health and ammo to mark where they are even when pickups have been collected
-Added temporary textures to the building at mid
-Added arrows throughout the map pointing toward mid, to aid in navigation
-Added team-specific overlays inside the building at mid to aid in navigation
-Added a small ammo pack to each of the balconies inside the building at mid
-Added death pits near mid at the edges of the map
-Removed all railings at mid in order to improve navigation/flow
-Removed the middle walls in the forward buildings
-Added a new doorway to the forward buildings leading to mid
-Changed the ammo pickups near said doorways from medium to full
-Raised the ceilings in the forward buildings
-Opened up the interiors of the buildings between the forward and final points
-Created a new hole between the first and second floors of the buildings between the forward and final points - explosive-jumping classes can go up to the second floor, and anyone can go down to the first floor
-Changed all brush-based doorways to match the thickness of the prop-based doorways in the map

CP Rekkit A4
-Redesigned building at mid again to put the ramps to the second level on the outside.
-Moved ramps near the side buildings at mid slightly to aid flow through the area.
-Further improved explosive-jumping potential in the corridors near the forward CPs.
-Added player-clipping on numerous doorways to make moving through them smoother while hugging the walls.
-Numerous fixes for objects that were not quite aligned with the grid.

CP Rekkit A3
-Significant changes to mid.
--Moved numerous doorways to new locations.
--Added a couple of new doorways.
--Removed some sliding doors.
-Redesigned the central cap building.
--Opened up and redesigned the lofts overhead - they now serve as a second story for assaulting/defending the middle CP.
--Expanded the entire building and added stairways within leading up to the lofts.
-Finally fixed the missing window frame prop near RED's forward CP!
-Raised the inaccessible bridges on the side-paths near the forward CPs so that soldiers and demos (especially demos) can explosive-jump through the corridor.
-Fixed some misaligned textures.
-Adjusted lighting on the final cap, among other places.

CP Rekkit A2
-Raised the skybox significantly.
-Opened up a lot more space in the interior areas, mostly in the buildings between the middle and forward points.
-Replaced several sliding doors with open doorways.
-Removed a few objects that were there largely as a means of blocking long sightlines.
-Expanded the final CP buildings a bit, and consequently shrunk the balconies next to them.
-Replaced all existing small health packs with medium ones.
-Added health and ammo pickups to the side hallways in the buildings between the mid and forward CPs.
-Added a small health pack to the sheds in front of the final CPs.
-Moved health and ammo in the buildings across from the final CPs closer to the door near the base.
-Re-aligned all textures on the BLU side to match the RED side.
-Other miscellaneous tweaks.

CP Rekkit A1 Fix
-Fixed game-breaking door bug (doors would open/close with wrong triggers).
-Fixed doors in the side buildings near mid appearing in the air above the buildings when opened.

CP Rekkit A1
-Initial release.

Testing for this map will be planned and announced in this thread.

[CoyoteCreed]

I would join an organized testing.

[Will T.]

I found a couple of rather derptacular mistakes I made involving the doors in this map, including one that makes them flat-out not work when there is more than one person in the map. I'm uploading an updated version shortly once I make sure I've fixed everything.

EDIT: Updated! Link is in OP, or here so you can be lazy.

[M's]

I don't mind at all playtesting it, I have a habit of finding areas that are able to be exploited.
If one of the Ops guys could load it up on the events server I'll give it a run.

[Zork Nemesis]

I took a walk around, did some rocket jumping, here's what I think:

First a few problems (and remember, this is my own opinion, do what you feel is better in the end)
Overall, the map feels incredibly congested. You've got bottlenecks and tight spaces everywhere. There's hardly any room for soldiers or demos (especially demos) to explosive jump anywhere. There's lots of routes to each point, but many of them are narrow hallways that are only about a person-and-a-half in width. Spying on this map would be difficult due to not being able to physically get around the other team, much like Turbine's vents. Sniping on this map would also be a pain due to a lack of open sight lines.
I think you overdid it on the gates that open when you get close. Especially around the middle point. The rooms off to the side would probably work better without the gates. The windows are fine but I feel like those gates don't need to be there.
I do admire the design of the last point, though I think it could be a little bigger in size. Not too much, but given the very cramped feel, a bit more open space would be nice.
Speaking from a rocket jumping standpoint, the ceiling is a little low. There aren't a whole lot of places to jump up to though so it's not as big a deal.
The health and ammo distribution is a little scarce, especially at the last points.

Some comments
I know you haven't put details in, but I'm seeing a good look going on. I especially like the sections between 2 and 3 where a railing is blocking you off from the skybox; I imagine you'll make that appear as though you're on the edge of a drop and that railing is holding you back.
The alpine skybox choice is pretty nice as well, that's one I'd like to see more often. I trust you'll make the place look like an industrial complex in the end or something along those lines come texture time?
Just as a note, you have some windows that look directly into the final spawn rooms. You should make those windows one-way so that you can only see out of them and not in them. Conversely if you do that, you may want that respawn door come out a bit elsewhere so it gives you a bit more time to react to respawning defenders.
The interior of the central point; I think you should add a second floor on that point to give more angles of attack. Right now it's basically a room with six doorways. Removing the fences from those lofts and putting in a ramp or back stairway will add a height aspect that will make soldiers and sentries more useful for fighting at the middle.

It's not a bad map, it's a good start and it's fully functional as it is, but I honestly feel that the closed spaces and bottlenecks give off a majorly cramped feeling. I would see about opening up the map a little more, and making the control point spaces a bit larger before you work on anything else.

A large scale test does need to be conducted. If we could borrow the event server for an hour or two we could probably do better. Alternatively setting up a bot nav mesh and testing with bots would be rudimentary, but it would provide some combat insight.

[Flash]

How soon do you want an actual playtest? How about next Wednesday night on TV2 for Custom Map Night?

[NerevarineKing]

How about next Wednesday night on TV2 for Custom Map Night?

[Will T.]

How soon do you want an actual playtest? How about next Wednesday night on TV2 for Custom Map Night?

That would work for me! I might make a handful of changes by then as well, so there may be an updated version available by then. Is there a deadline by which I should have a test-ready version?

[Zork Nemesis]

How soon do you want an actual playtest? How about next Wednesday night on TV2 for Custom Map Night?

I would recommend we test an alpha map like this in private; it's too early to be displaying it to the public, especially since it's mostly dev textures.

[Will T.]

How soon do you want an actual playtest? How about next Wednesday night on TV2 for Custom Map Night?

I would recommend we test an alpha map like this in private; it's too early to be displaying it to the public, especially since it's mostly dev textures.

That is a good point. Could we do an event-server run instead? Once the layout is more finalized and it starts to look less dev-texturey and more like a real map, then it might be ready to go semi-public.

[Flash]

Ya we can throw up on the event server instead, that shouldn't be a problem. Still want to shoot for next Wednesday or would you like more time?

[Will T.]

Next Wednesday ought to be good. It'll depend on how much feedback comes in between now and then, but I'd predict probably not more than one or two more versions will be made by that point. I have an A2 in progress with most of the major changes implemented at this point (I work very fast ), so that one ought to be ready within a couple days, possibly followed by one more iteration before Wednesday.

[black_and_blue]

I'd love to participate in testing this map, but unfortunately on Wednesdays. If it were Tuesday or Thursday evening I'd be more likely able to participate.

[The Domer]

What is this map designed for? 6v6, Highlander, 12v12 pubstyle?

[Will T.]

What is this map designed for? 6v6, Highlander, 12v12 pubstyle?

Mostly it's just meant to be a vanilla-style 5CP. It has enough spawns for 32 players, but as with most TF2 maps it's ideally played with no more than 24.