Map Name: cs_knifeedge (beta 1e)

Author: Liberal.Nyulism

Release Date: November 14th

Number of Spawn Points: 64

Size: Medium (but simple routes that are easy to learn)

Screenshots:

The web site includes a number of thumbnails and screenshots: www.screamingneurons.com/ignorance/knifeedge.asp

Download:

http://www.screamingneurons.com/ignorance/knifeedge_files/cs_knifeedge_beta1e_files.zip

Bug Reports:

Please post bug reports on SteamPowered forums at or email them to [url=mailto:liberal_nyulism@hotmail.com]liberal_nyulism@hotmail.com.

Info:

INCLUDES

• There are two hostage rescue zones, near each spawn.

• There is only one hostage.

• All necessary files in one bsp, so it's a file-copy-installation

• .NAV file for bots.

• The overview map, despite that it costs a meg to do it.

• A number of new textures, and a lot of blended textures

• New models for Weeds, Shrubbery and Sheep, and others

• A new soundscape, with many new sounds

STORY

In the mountains of northern Afghanistan, is a small village of stone houses nestled up against the base of a mountain. It's early spring, and the snows that cover the mountains have started melting. The stream is still covered in a layer of ice, and just after dawn on this march morning, the air is cold and foggy. The sheep huddle together on the still barren fields, and the soft thunder of the waterfall can be heard from a distance. The village appears abandoned, and the area is quiet. But Terrorists live there, where they grow poppies, and make heroin for sale in the west, and they keep the village for use as a hideout and as a factory for their profits. Unfortunately, a spy has found the village, but he was caught, and is being held hostage in the center of the village. Now, Blackhawk helicopters have landed on the southern edge of town. The Terrorists know that a rescue mission has been launched.

STRATS

The approach routes are very carefully timed so that rushes result in conflicts in specific locations. And while the layout is deceptively simple, the number of strategies you can use is almost unlimited. In particular, how you split your teams will greatly affect the game play.

The map's layout is a cyclone model with both teams spaced equidistant from the hostages, and rushing to a center arena. The village is constructed so that the terrorists come in either straight or to the high side, and the CT's either straight and to the low side. Both can flank the other team within the village, or by the ground route around the village. You can get in and out of the buildings, and easily onto the roofs, and there are at least three different ways into the village center for each team. This layout creates the effect of the teams coming out of the woodwork in a central arena, if they both sprint to the center. The teams can also try to flank the low route outside the village, and the timing is set so that smokes, flashes, and snipers all play in that tactic.

Most of the routes that are interesting require you to break down a door or window, and this includes getting the hostages. The sound gives away your location.

The web site has a full list of the different strats that I used to plan the game play.

EASTER EGGS

• There are two easter eggs on the map. One about myth and heroism where you can get a grenade, the other is an AK with one clip.

INSTALLATION

• Copy the BSP file into you cstrike/maps directory

• Start CS:S, select Create Server, and from the dropdown, select "cs_knifeedge_beta1a"

• I recommend that you use seven bots (your processor will get eaten with more of them).

FPS

• I'm getting 140+FPS near the edges of the map, 100FPS in the center, 90 in the good areas, and 70FPS in the slowest areas.

TECH SPECS

Build Time approximately 200 hours over six months.

Compile Time: 30 minutes/56 minutes

Triangle count: 32167

Optimized: 749 visible clusters (0.00%)

Total clusters visible: 148738

Average clusters visible: 247

Average clusters audible: 435

Overview: scale 11.00, pos_x -6623, pos_y 7109

OPEN ISSUES

• bad window/shutter texture (normal map problem?)

• one vis chimney problem

OTHER MAPS BY THE AUTHOR

de_ignorance - set in Iraq, and full of political commentary, it's a great map for strats and especially for playing against bots.

http://www.screamingneurons.com/ignorance

THANKS

I want to thank the people on the SteamPowered and VERC forums who made this map possible.

In particular: Nudel, Wolf, Zombie@Computer and of course, WiseMX.

Map Name: de_ignorance (release candidate 2 -final)
Release Date: 5/5/2005
Spawn Points: 64
Linux Data: Yes
Map Size: Approximately Italy/Dust + 20%
Theme: Dust
Info: www.screamingneurons.com/ignorance/default.asp
Screenshot(s): (see them on the web site)

This map is set in Iraq, in the old quarter of a sprawling city. It uses ideas from a number of the popular maps: cs_italy, (the apartment route) cs_militia (the tunnel route), de_inferno (gamble on which route the T's have taken and try to recover from mistakes), and it's largely based upon de_dust's traffic pattern (rush to center conflict area, and an underground tunnel), but with extensive additions.

I wanted a vehicle for my economic, social and political commentary, and a map rich enough in play value to hold their attention for a long time. Experienced players will be able to play this, and invest in getting good at the map with little effort. Newbs can take a cautious approach and still survive if they're careful.

The map is very fun to play. It is a large space, and that tends to make the game something other than a twitch festival. You have to do some thinking, or estimating of your opponents. Careful feinting will allow you to dominate your opponents. There are too many routes to cover cheaply, but many shortcuts to recover from bad guesses. The strategy uses a half-circle pattern with each route taking longer. Shortest is direct to the temple. The longest route is a hail-mary through the sewers that comes up behind the church at bombsite B, that forces the CT's to either waste a man and camp the position, or rush back to the area once they don't find the bomb - a weak T-team can regain the initiative by working together ratther than by just having better reflexes.

The apartments are a high-conflict area for grenades and close combat, but whomever holds the apartments has an advantage covering the routes to the temple bomb site. The bridge and the alley effectively turn the map into a figure-8, and opponents can come from just about everywhere at once. Smoke makes it worse and bodies end up everywhere. The Church is an attempt to recreate the B-site from de_mansion, with multiple exits and multiple levels and is very difficult to either take or secure. The strategy is to rush the temple, the A-site, listening for the T's on the way, then returning to the spawn, which is the B-site before the T's can hold the church. Extricating T's who are spawn camping is one of th best parts of the map. There is a single ak47 in a crate in the sewers in the dark, to make the first round or two a little more interesting. The sewer system runs the length of the map, is the longest route, and gives access to the underground ramp, teh top of the ramp, and the rear of the church, making it a close quarters battle area that Newbs will probably enjoy.

I have spent countless hours playing it. Timing routes. Editing bot navigation. Tuning it. It's a good map. You have to decide if it's a great map. But I think I succeeded. It PLAYS well. With bots. With others. I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks