Excellent thoughts Reaper, I will consider this. I am thinking of adding some barriers around the ring to afford protection from above, and some other tricky stuff will be tried. There will also be teleporters to either side of the ring in the big lower arches. Screenies have been updated by the way.

PS... dont be afraid to jump into the yellowy lit ring in the middle level

there are two teleports, one on either side.

Yah, I'm going to lose the fixtures. They started out as kind of floating lamps with a sci-fi kind of feel, but did'nt translate well, plus they use up valuable FPS-age. By using the existing tuts in the editing forum, I decided to use a func_door for the lift. It goes up real well, by player touch, but it won't go up when you are at the top and want to go down. I'm thinking a trigger multiple at the top or something to actuate the door, but I really don't know (yet.....)

Any suggestions?

Well, since beta 1 was such a resounding success I have proceeded to beta 2.

In this version I have:

1.) re-textured most of the map.(I went for a cleaner more uniform look).

2.) Added a combine ball spawner in the central upper-most corridor. (This was always my plan)

3.) Changed the lifts (Jetsons Tubes) from func_doors to func_tracktrains. (They operate more like what I had in mind this way)

4.) added/re-arranged weaponry

5.) reworked the underwater areas for appearance and connectivity/performance.

Just in case, heres some screenies:

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b21.jpg

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b22.jpg

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b23.jpg

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b24.jpg

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b25.jpg

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b26.jpg

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b27.jpg

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b28.jpg

http://gamersdiner.com/images/dm_hiatus_b211.jpg

and of course, a download:

http://gamersdiner.com/downloads/dm_hiatus_b2.zip

I honestly don't think this is a terrible start. However I was wrong once before. (don't ask)

Remember this is a beta and will most likely grow a bit and mature as well.

I really like the maze-like feel to the layout; it took me a while to get my bearings but once I got familiar with it I could see all the deathmatch/multiplayer possibilities. I would def. add more lights cause some places are just way too dark...

I really like this glasstube lift!

I had some trouble with getting up on the wallledge thing, kept bumping into the light props.

I'll have a proper walk-through soon. Good job!

I apologize as well for not commenting in beta2, but the map looks fine from what I can tell.

My problem (why it's hard for me to comment on the map) is that I'm one for looks that resemble a place. Being that this map has no setting and is a pure dm map meant for gameplay, it alludes me as to what its purpose is other than being your project while on your hiatus. But I shall attempt a gameplay critique.

But a quick ?looks? crit: the map looks clean, even though it has dirty textures and whatnot, the lack of props, decals and textures other than metal (on purpose right?) make it seem very sterile. The brushes match up nicely; looks very optimized. Also, no misaligned textures, a very good job on that part. I love the detail on the trim for most surfaces, makes it look 2x better. It just doesn't look fresh (beyond the round architecture). It's like I've seen it all before.

Gameplay crit: Well, I believe you have achieved your goal by not making it just another killbox; it's far beyond that now. It has enough routes to make any player have to strategize their next move. The map certainly has an open feel to it while at the same time keeping the players from seeing one another. The round layout is what sets this map apart, and is the shining star for it. The gimmicks work (Jetson tube, teleporters, grav lifts); they add that extra spice needed in a strait-up dm map.

Props: the props to me seem like they were a last minute idea. This highly diverts from the apparent thought put into the weapon placement. Well props are a weapon themselves! Their placement should be just as important. Also, the kind of props, their mass, their carrying angles, and so on are important to keep in mind. I really like the placement of the saw blades, that's what works for placement, and also the exploding barrels! As far as the regular barrels and the engine blade from Ravenholm, it just seems very random; but in a map with no setting, I suppose it doesn't hurt anything. Now don't get me wrong, you don't have to put every prop up on a pedestal to make it seem thought out, it just needs to be an adequate prop for an adequate location. I noticed the seemingly random ones were placed along the sides on the upper levels. For example: Placing small bricks and things in a large open area, makes your chance of your victim escaping seem more certain than if you had a large tub to throw at them, while perhaps there were nothing but small bricks, my choices of gravity gun ammo type would be much more slim, and make the idea of picking up the brick that much more appetizing. But if you were to place that large tub next to the small brick, I'd go for the large tub, it makes the brick seem useless then. Choke points are always great for prop placement.

Sorry, this seems more like a rant than anything, but it is my two cents on the map, and my attempt at making a gameplay critique (not to mention the pessimism). Sorry about that; this map is a very good symmetrical, general dm map, and worthy of more praise, I just can't relate with it very well. I'm sure someone else here has better things to point out. But this is a very well constructed map that strays far from anything with a "killbox" label on it, and I recommend people download it and give it a test, I'm sure it's quite enjoyable online.