[map] cs_deathroom

This is a a discussion topic for the map "cs_deathroom" by 8chaos which can be found here

Map description:

10v10 arena style level inspired by the combat arms level.

Map screenshots:

I am gonna download this one and check it out.. but from the screenshots it looks great. I like the way you did the fog... I also like your attention to detail in some of the pictures. Keep up the great work!

thank you!! let me know how it plays for you, any feedback or suggestions would be great!

Okay let me tell you all the stuff I really liked about your map first.

I really like the ROUND START deal at the beginning, I can see how that would get annoying over time though, but it is a real nice feature. I also like how you did the opening screen. The Green gas from the toxic container is a nice touch and I need to learn how to do that. For being basically 2 rooms with a middle combat area separating them it is nicely done.

Some stuff I think needs work..

The red lights in the back halls is way to bright, the fog could be thinned down just a little, but it is a nice effect.. The FPS for such a small map were in the 10-20 range and that is not good at all. Maybe try to optimize it some with area_portals or hint brushes. The vent decals you used would make for a great little side sneaky rout to the hostages for the CT's. that is if you made it into a pathway.. it would also be a way around that green gas. The sky light is a nice feature too, just a bit over bright as well.. you can not see the neat brush work past the beams of light when looking up.

Maybe also try the brush based fog, I think its Func_smokevolume, or func_dustcloud. that may give you a better look, and you could use less of the sprite smoke, if at all.

Over all I like the map, its has some great details and sneaky bits.. I also like how you laid out weapons in the racks on the second floor with a little MUHNAY there too.. lol. This would be a great gungame map..

I had some time to run around this map by myself. Sorry, I don't have any multiplayer feedback, but I do want to echo some of Muhnay's concerns.

The map is adequately detailed and looks nice. It took me a moment to realize it was symmetrical, because I thought I was going in a loop visiting the same place, until I realized the color difference, which is a nice touch.

The fog is a bit much I think, but I suppose it gets the disillusioning effect you are going for. I like the HDR, but it is a bit overblown in most areas. Pretty much all of the red lights are way too bright. The overhead light in the hostage room is extremely blinding when looking up at the nice volumetric effects. Even a lot of the hall way lights are too overblown. I'd place an env_tonemap_controller to get a better hold that HDR in your map.

Also, When you say a 20v20 map, dang, really? That's A LOT of people for this map. I mean sure, it's nice to have that capacity, but I wouldn't say this map was made for 20v20 people. It's smaller than most killboxes and those don't even have that many in them (sometimes).

Player clips would be nice in that center crate loading area (hallway). There are a lot of protrusions from the posts holding up the catwalk surrounding it, and they're easy to get caught on if you're running through it. I would buffer them up a bit with player clips. See here about what I mean.

And my last point: I didn't check FPS, but I did enable wireframe mode, and I can tell this map isn't very optimized. For it being so small it is holding a fair amount of detail and content in each room. Being in one "deathroom" doesn't stop rendering the other, even when it is clearly not visible. I would totally suggest looking into some areaportals for those big automatic sliding doors separating the two rooms, that would be a good first start at cutting down the frames. If you're looking for more info on that, I humbly redirect you to my favorite optimization guide here: http://rvanhoorn.ruhosting.nl/optimization.php?chapter=intro

Think of it as like a checklist.

To conclude though, I have to say I like the poisonous gas canisters, but I was expecting it to clear after a little while. I guess the rounds will be too short for it to matter any way, but a repeatable event like that could add more interest and strategy I'd imagine.

Oh, if you're a terrorist and you decide to hop your way around behind the hostages, I couldn't find a way to get back out with all the props in the way. I had to kill the hostages to do so. Maybe rearrange where the hostages stand, so terrorists can reach that bullpup in the back.

Nice looking map though with cool features and a nice detail polish and layout. Thanks for posting!

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