sws ctf towers concept
Hello all.
I've been thinking about creating a map for the Skulks with Shotguns - Capture the Gorge game mode. I have a concept but I'm not sure how well it would work.
Basically I'm thinking of building a symmetrical map featuring 2 identical (mirrored) buildings which act as the red and blue bases. Here is a crude drawing:
As you can see there would be 3 paths between the bases:
*
cranes on the rooftops. 1 (or 2) of these.
* Leap between stationary dropships between the rooftops (fastest path, but can't use if you are carrying gorge)
* On the ground. Lots of cover and things to jump on/from, but also vulnerable to attack from above.
Thoughts?
I've been thinking about creating a map for the Skulks with Shotguns - Capture the Gorge game mode. I have a concept but I'm not sure how well it would work.
Basically I'm thinking of building a symmetrical map featuring 2 identical (mirrored) buildings which act as the red and blue bases. Here is a crude drawing:
As you can see there would be 3 paths between the bases:
*
cranes on the rooftops. 1 (or 2) of these.* Leap between stationary dropships between the rooftops (fastest path, but can't use if you are carrying gorge)
* On the ground. Lots of cover and things to jump on/from, but also vulnerable to attack from above.
Thoughts?
Comments
Maps with a lot of vertical space tend to not play quite as well. Also, you should think of the spectators when designing a map. Level-over-level doesn't work well with the overhead view.
Keep in mind that a huge reason the skulks with shotguns mod exists is to give some great practice for skulk movement and shotgun aim alike.
This idea could work as long as you have a couple of other paths to choose from as well.
I've heard that some people were interested in casting games in SWS, which then leads to what BeigeAlert said about spectators. Something to keep in mind.
I think a couple vertically separated paths from one end to the other like this could have some very interesting gameplay in SWS capture the gorge. If you take the time to climb to the higher path, you have an advantage over players who took a lower path because you can drop down to them very easily, but they can't fly up to you.
Lets say you grab the enemy team's gorge. If you go down to ground level, you have some cover and plenty to jump on and over, and the least amount of time is spent exposed outdoors. If you go up the crane, everyone can see you but you can see them too so there are no surprises. You can jump off any time you want and land practically anywhere. Or if you have a really coordinated team, maybe you can relay the gorge across the dropships in the middle where nobody will be expecting you to go.
Likewise if the enemy steals your gorge and gets ahead of you, not all is lost. You can leap from dropship to dropship and possibly beat him back to his own base. Or if you happen to be up on the crane when it is stolen, you are pretty much guaranteed a chance to take the gorge back.
You don't get these kinds of options on a traditional map.
However it is also fair to say that climbing vertically sucks because you can't walljump UP and it could be tedious scaling any particularly large structure at normal running speed.
You are absolutely right about a larger central platform. That would probably be necessary to keep you from running out of energy and having to stop on a teensy airborne dropship. I think it would be nice to tune it to be difficult but not impossible to make it between each ship with just one leap, such that with perfect timing and no shotgun firing, you could make it all the way across the map via this path without losing momentum.
This. It's an extremely fast-paced game, and any time you have to break your rhythm of wall jumping, it really really sucks.
If you can maintain the visuals without going insanely vertical it might work. So forget ground floor to roof as playable area and huge height difference, just have a path across several close skyscrapers alla mirrors edge, with cranes, chains and in-transport building materials providing the alternate paths, and small gaps for the thrill. having everything closer together will make it easier for you to provide interception routes and avoid a lot of the rhythm problems.
Potential for some great visuals here if you manage to get the layout to work. Wrapping your concept/design around an existing CTF layout is the shortest path to engaging gameplay. Quake layouts work great for SWS so far, and you'll be able to skip a lot of tweaking and tuning.
Edit: Addition about the shotgun play. Long line of sight fire fights with shotguns take a lot of fun and tactics out of a firefight, while you can technically shoot someone out of the cranes the gameplay becomes better when people can intercept and joust.
Perhaps I will try that, and avoid having long, largely disconnected paths in the map.