Forum

We have now reviewed the submitted maps and have decided for the best maps with most potential of becoming a new favourite 5cp map.

Our plan is to have 4 top teams of equal strength to spend one evening playing 4 maps and let them rate the maps regarding how well it plays in 6v6. (Optimally we would want to have clans spend more time on each map, but we want to find a winning map as soon as possible, and with all the leagues and cups atm. this one-evening solution seems to be the best.)

Furthermore we will also make a vote on the playtest pickup channel, so the active playtesting community can have their say.

Whichever map receives the best ratings will be crowned the winner!
The winning map will get a 1-day cup hosted by ETF2L and there is a good chance it will get into the secondary map pool (some of the other top4 maps might as well).

To do all of this we will need the 4 best maps. After hours of walking through and discussing the various areas of the submitted maps, the panel of judges have decided that these are the 5 best of the submitted maps (in random order):

[Map name: Judges’ comments]

cp_yukon: (ash_ridge)
– Easy to learn
– You can use a lot of different strategies on middle including a sniper
– There were worries about 2nd being too easy to defend but in _rc2a these seem to have been fixed
– They suggested that the tower to the right of 1st point should be useful, for instance that soldiers could jump up there making it a high ground you would want to control both when defend and attacking.

cp_waste:
– A well-made map with attention to detail
– There are lots of possibilities around the middle point
– There were concerns about the size of the map, especially the area between 2 and 3 (however it might not be a problem if the spawn times are working properly)
– The ‘turbine’ area beside the 2nd point should probably be removed, it seems unnecessary – instead add a different way to get on top

cp_afterdusk:
– It is a very straight-forward map
– Middle is quite simple and is very granary-like
– 2nd point: It is annoying that there is a water pipe but you can’t go into it even though it’s open
– 1st point: Probably needs more defense/details/props
– This map has to be tested some more in the playtest pickups to decide whether it will be top4 or not

cp_gullywash: (worselands)
– A lot of the ideas in this map are borrowed from badlands which isn’t in line with the contest (the purpose of the contest is to get NEW maps, not remakes of old ones).
– However, this can hardly be called a remake since each element from badlands is being used quite differently and plays out in a unique way.
– It is already a well-known and favourite map by many players
– The last point has 4 entrances (+water if someone sneaks in there) which could prove difficult defending last (and especially pushing back out)

cp_outlaw: (mapnel)
– This map is very big, the middle area is huge – where should the medic go?
– The paths are long (like walking from one side of middle to the other)
– However this map has been played a lot in pickups and the response has mainly been positive
– This map has to be tested some more in the playtest pickups to decide whether it will be top4 or not

As you can see we are not quite sure whether outlaw or afterdusk should make it into the top4, we will make the decision as soon as possible (it will be dependent on how active the playtest pickup is).

To sum it up…

The next step is to eliminate either outlaw or afterdusk. Then we will assemble four div1/top div2 teams that will spend an evening playing the top4 maps. And the active playtest pickup players will also have a say. When the winner is announced ETF2L will host a 1-day cup for the map. The map will also make it into the maplist of the pickup channels I manage, and hopefully it will also be put in the secondary map pool.

That’s it for now. I want to thank the judges for helping me out: Predz, numlocked, Renegade, Amonsilas, Oggy, Shintaz

– F2

I liked follower the most. :/

We used cp_waste_b2.

PS. Round doors rock!

My input for my first pick, in no particular order.

cp_yukon: (ash_ridge) latest played on rc3

-Great visual appeal. The unique texture style not already in the game is refreshing.
-Unique layout and design. The path setups are very dissimilar to any other maps ive currently played, especially the popular ones.
-Sniper class is useful on all points, but never extremely useful, or overly hard to counter without your own sniper.
-Middle point works well for all main classes in the core 6v6 fight. Some custom maps make playing very difficult for certain classes (for example soldiers on freight middle); these issues dont occur here.
-Last point is well balanced in terms of defending. The more secure you want to make a single entrance, the closer you must get to it, and in turn, the more danger you put yourself into. There is high visibilty from certain areas, but its not as easy to hit the enemies you can see. Pipe is interesting.
-A number of reasons make Spies effective on 2nd and 1st points. One of these is the ammo kits being large and along the main paths. Another is that you can jump down under 2nd, uncloak, and charge up in hopes of unprepared enemies.

-Some issues would be that all the exits from 3rd into second can be seen and defended from many positions. I personally would like to see the author experiment with the newest entrance unravel to the lower area of 2nd, rather than the upper (looking onto the point). Forces defenders to spread out slightly more.
-Another issue would be that on the last point the lsaer tower could be made into something more useful. Height advantage is always something tangible to fight for and that is key on all of Valves maps. Its a great way to give Soldiers something to fight for, and gives peak moments in battle. My suggestion would be to create ramps similar to that on gravelpit around the middle layer of the radio tower, connecting to the cliffside. Shouldnt connect to bottom, shouldnt go too high up. In general should be a good way to combat enemies on the house without having to get up close.
-Another small issue is that there is no story here: most maps, especially the great customs, have some hidden element that Red and Blu are fighting for technology or territory, usually over weapons. Missiles and Laser Towers are all there for this reason, and there is a distinct lack of this here! Something to consider to lighting up the last points maybe.

Will post the remaining top maps from my perspective soon!

We will try to use the latest versions. However, we must expect the mappers to write a link to their latest version on their map thread here on ETF2L as we don’t check tf2maps.net or any other mapping site for newer versions.

I’m looking forward to Renegade’s feedback on afterdusk since I barely got any feedback from the playtest channel for the last month or so. No feedback, no map improvements I’m affraid.

No hillside? : <

Yeah, hillside was a good map. What happened to it?

Outlaw, being only in b1 has the most potential as I see it. The gravelpit influences are clear, and it just needs more versions and more testing.

My first choice though is for gullywash. It’s been thoroughly tested and has proved itself to be a very fun map.

EDIT: Renegade, I agree with your analysis of yukon, but if you look carefully at the last point, there are several ledges which a soldier can rocket jump to. I think the tower is more to fix snipers from having a line of sight onto both exits