[map] dm_backwash

This is a a discussion topic for the map "dm_backwash" by aaron_da_killa which can be found here

Map description:

A small, abandon, overgrown dam located in the heart of a northern hemisphere alpine forest.

The Dam was built on a small creek that branched off a large river and was used to serve a small town roughly 35km south west in 1963. However due to the towns growth in the recent years, the dam was not supplying a sufficient supply of water and become obsolete 35 years later.

The Dam has now been left behind and is no longer maintained, and as a result has become over grown and graffitied on.

If you would like more information on this map, please go here.

Map screenshots:

de_thunder an old CounterStrike Map could be re-done and this is a great concept for that map. This one is really pretty. I love the skybox with the trees and surrounding mountains. I really feel I am in the North West, but in spots it looks and feels more South East, swampy. Over all though it is a very decent map that looks and plays well. I give ya 4 stars!

It's not gonna win any awards, but for a first level in the engine it's a decent effort. You've clearly picked up how to use the displacement tool to good effect really quickly, as the terrain encasing the level looks great. Sadly what's inside that terrain isn't quite as impressive; it's a very flat, single level arena with what seems like a fairly random assortment of buildings and props scattered around. Some odd design decisions and glitches as well, of which I'll mention a couple...

• Why have a pit with a ladder in/out if you're only going to put a stunstick inside it? Any combine players will start with one so it isn't REALLY a weapon you ought to place in most maps, and even if they don't already have one, players won't go into such a risky spot for such a nothing pickup. Dead ends, particularly with such a dangerous route out like a ladder, really need something to make it worth the player's time. I'd say a combine rifle with one or two of the bouncing balls would be suitable.

• Is there any way to get onto the main building roof? You've got an RPG and RPG ammo crate up there, but I couldn't find any way up there that wasn't via noclip. I'm guessing there is no way up due to the nodraw faces up there and the remaining RPG was an oversight, but that just makes it clear the map isn't finished. It's a shame it isn't accessible as vertical levels are exactly what the map needs. You have one or two minor rises and dips, but why have a 32 unit ledge when you can have it 128 units, where it'll start to make a difference to gameplay? Then you could link off from there onto the building roofs, or an accessible cliff ledge. Would be nice to bring some of your nice terrain into the playable area.

• Only one way into/out of the water isn't going to make it an appealing spot to visit. Ideally you'd want at least two ways out, and preferably the option to get to a less exposed area, such as a (short) underwater tunnel that leads to the interiors of one of the buildings somehow.

• The instant death fall isn't nearly obvious enough that it'll kill you. It's a reasonably short drop in terms of HL2DM gameplay, so people will assume you can survive it. The death certainly made me go "oh...that's not right".

• The big trash can seems to function weirdly. You can jump-crouch into the thing, but then your screen starts shaking around and you seem to glitch into the side walls.

• Some of the ammo boxes open and work as they do in game, others just sit there and have weapons spawn on top. Try not to confuse players with things like that - make it act the way they expect it to, which is the way that it works in HL2 itself.

Anyway, I'm sure you've learnt most of these lessons already Looking forward to seeing what you do next time around.

Ah, thanks for the comments guys, it was a nice surprise to see 2 comments in one day!, after so long of nothing :).

Inregards to your comments Reno, its always a previlage to hear from somebody who is in the biz. Now, this map has quite a strange design. I wasn't really focused on making a map that was built for multiplayer, the weapon placement is borked, the spawn point placement was added with little thought and there isn't much opportunity for fun gameplay situations. I was just focused on making a small decent environment.

To be honest, with the stun stick, I didn't know combine spawned with it, I just enjoyed hitting things with it- so I added it.

As for the RPG, DAMN! you have really sharp eyes, the rpg is an easter egg in the map. You may have also noticed a static skull on the roof, there are 5 skulls on the map just for the player to find. The way to get up there is you need to build a staircase with physics objects, it isn't impossible, I've done it before many times. Anyway, I thought I textured that roof with a brick texture?

And yeah, the ammo box was a tough one for me, I knew that it would be totally irrational and confusing if the box was also used as a static prop and had weapons ontop of it, but I wanted a military looking create to symbolize weaponry nearby. I tried looking for a custom skin so I wouldn't get the two confused, but in the end, I just promised myself I wouldn't do it again.

Anyway, design wise, the map is absouloutley horrible, the frame rates are pretty bad and the design with the map, along with the placement of items just isn't for multiplayer. But I will say I am semi pleased with how the environment turned out, ofcourse it has flaws, but I really tried to give the map visual consistencies and make the environment convincing, and I think that I did an alright job at that, at least compared to earlier work. I would like to make a map set in the same environment with a completely different design, once with height variation and one that follows multiplayer design philosophies.

I think that the time between the end of this map and now, I have learn't alot about level design, I like to think that my maps rely less on prop based detail and more on brush work now than they did before, and I also like to think that I can optimize far better than with this map.

And thanks for your comments Muhnay, I'm glad you enjoyed it :D! I guess the swamp with an alpine environment dosen't go together well.

Looks to be well executed. I like what I see of the atmosphere from the screenshots, downloading now

Great job

Cheers guys

I like the screenshots very much so, because I myself don't map with source yet, need to read all the tutorials first, but I absolutely love what you've done with lighting. You've given the map a sense of warmth, and I like that in outdoor maps. A sense of heat. Reminds me of Commandos2 a little bit. If you've played it you'll know what I mean. Very nice, I'll download it. Regarding ReNo's comments, can't you take them in and then work more on this map, and then resubmit a second version to this website? Because I like the look of this map very much.

Ok having played it now, I'll give it 4 stars, feels just as hot as it looks in the photos. Very nice map. I guess a downside could be the frame rate count, too many polys I guess. I agree with ReNo about his ideas. Playability would be much more enjoyable if the playable area was expanded into the mountainous part of the map. Overall, a Very nice effort. I hope I'll be able to map as good as this some time soon(I gave up on mapping after I had to focus on my studies, gave up HL1 mapping for a while, so want to get back, and also into HL2 mapping).

Very good effort!

Thanks **Dedi**

It seems you polished this one up a little since I last saw it and man, this is a pretty impressive first Source map. It's a shame the layout and brushwork has so little height-variation to it, which brings the map down as a whole.

Usually, prop-placing is a delicate matter as it is either overdone or non-existent. I hardly ever congratulate mappers on (non-custom) prop-placement since it should be a more a final step in decoration rather than a sophisticated design-decision. But somehow, you seem to have gotten it just "right" with this map. I guess you started way to early with the prop-embellishment, but it works. I see hardly a prop that wasn't put to good use. Like that tree growing in the middle of the creek... very nice. Same goes for most of the displacement work.

Congrats, aaron, this looks very advanced.

This map has a lot of potential, but there are a few issues with it as is:

1. There are too many props, you trip over them constantly

2. Not all weapons are in the map as far as we can tell.

3. As is the map is too small, but there are several ways you could expand it into a really great map

4. FPS is poor in some area and could be optimized better.

It would be a shame if you dont continue work on this map.

Thanks for the comments guys