pl_hydro_b2 -> https://tf2maps.net/downloads/pl_hydro.11070/ (Yes. I found a PL version of the map that everyone has a love/hate relationship with.) pl_cooler_upward_a4 -> https://tf2maps.net/downloads/cooler-upward.11152/ (I know it's in early alpha, but I figured we could give it a shot.) pl_ququmannz_rc2 -> https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=841291955 (Pretty sweet jungle themed map. I set the max players to 24 because I feel it's a bit cramped for a 32 player clusterfuck. There's a male announcer and the plane takes off with the cart at the end.) pl_frostward -> https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=577236574 (The love child between upward and abandoned upward. We can see if plays well. I'm worried about people's FPS drops in the tunnel after the first cap with all of the crystals in there.) pl_rumble_rc1 -> https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=887223759 (This is the non-Halloween version of the same map. Set max players to 24.) cp_ambush_rc5 -> https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2007331583 (Kinda small 2CP/3-stage map. Set max players to 24 for that reason.) cp_cabrakan_rc4 -> https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=736951789 (Just an absolute gorgeous jungle themed map. 5CP.) cp_goldrockgulch_b5 -> https://gamebanana.com/maps/119087 (The father map to Warpath. It's a TFC port.) pl_goldrock_rc2 -> https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=454262056 (Set max players to 24. Small desert themed PL.) cp_propaganda_b19 -> https://tf2maps.net/threads/propaganda.28921/ (A 5cp map taking inspiration from process and sunshine.) pl_skyfortress_a15 -> https://tf2maps.net/downloads/pl_skyfortress.2961/ (Another early alpha map.) cp_powerground_b1 -> https://tf2maps.net/downloads/cp_powerground.2840/ (The mapper converted his ARENA map to a 5CP map and it's pretty solid for B1.) pl_emerge_b3 -> https://tf2maps.net/downloads/emerge-pt-2.1629/ (Single stage PL map. Set max players to 24. My initial thoughts on the map were it wasn't my cup of tea, but we'll see how it plays.) We can always up the player count on those maps currently set at 24 players max. I can list those in a separate thread with map links if y'all want.
We managed to play a bunch of the maps Matt added last night. Wanted to leave some thoughts on them while the memory is still fresh: pl_hydro_b2: It's sort of hampered by the desire to use all the parts of Hydro as-is. There's remarkably little modification made to the map geometry, and routing players through the map is what suffers the most because of it. Even after multiple rounds of the map I noticed a lot of players taking large, unnecessary detours. With that in mind, it plays surprisingly well for what it is, and the concept is interesting, but it's probably a ~6/10 map overall. Good enough to keep on the server and check out every once in a while, but I don't see it being a crowd-favorite. pl_ququmannz_rc2: I think this was my favorite of the night, and it seemed relatively popular with the rest of the server as well. Great aesthetic. A lot more flanky than most of the maps we play. I can see some people disliking that design, but in practice it meant that Blue could always find a flank to get to the cart, and in exchange Red had options that prevented Blue from turning their brains off and just looking forward. There's a good chance that nobody will cap the last point with fast respawn on (more so than usual!), but I'll take 3 fantastic points to play through over nothing. A solid 9/10 for me, and I think it's just fine at 32 players. pl_frostward: It's abandoned upward with snow that seemingly doesn't crash the server. It has essentially no gameplay changes compared to regular upward. It's pretty! I don't recall how many upward variants we have, but I'd like to keep the number small. Don't we have some "pro" variant? Let's take them one off and use this one in its place. pl_cooler_upward: I have a sneaking suspicion that this map would play better than regular Upward. No joke! There's no deliberately annoying mechanic like cooler_badwater's map-wide microphone. The second point, i.e. the worst one, has been changed to a CTF-style capture. I posit that this alone would allow a coordinated Blue team to actually succeed at this point and prevent the worst and most boring of the typical stalemates that Upward engenders. That said, my one reservation is that the first point has been transformed into a CP-style capture which might be worse for Blue? I'm not entirely sure. I think it's fine. The mapmaker made a few changes to make it easier for Blue to attack, and I don't think the cap actually uncaps over time? Not really sure what number to put on this one, but I'd take it over frostward, for example. pl_emerge_b3: A smaller map, but plays surprisingly well. Red has a ways to walk on all points except for the last so it plays well with fast respawn, first and foremost. This can be somewhat confusing on their end for the first point, but enough paths are gated off after it that I think it stops being a problem. I noted no really optimal sentry spots for Red, but I did for Blue. For being a bit on the small side, there are many flanks, and the corridors, entry ways, and rooms in general are large enough that it makes spam not optimal. I think we played it when we had a full server even and it went pretty well. Easily at least a 8/10, though I'm not sure if I would argue to bump up the player count from 24. cp_cabrakan_rc4: The one non-pl we got to. Is secretly a steel-type map, which everybody only found when, after 10 minutes of failing to capture the 3rd point, somebody on Blue found E and literally nobody else, on Blue or Red, had any idea how to get them. I think I need to play this one a few more times before I can give it a fair evaluation. It does a lot of unique things that I don't think we as a server really grokked in our two rounds on it. For example, on the third point, both Blue and Red actually approach the CP from the same direction. This meant that Red had areas to flank from and disrupt Blue, but as the same time Blue had a chance to cut off the shortest routes to the point and force Red to make large detours. This never really came into play, though, because only two or three people figured this out. The ungrokkability is not really to the map's credit, but I had a lot of fun on it, and it seemed to me that Blue had a fair advantage in attacking.
Well yesterday, I checked out your map listings, and I sent 40 maps to matt for you guys to test, and im sure you'll like most of em. Its a mix of A/D, Payload and some others. I dont know about MVM, but yeah. Just looking forward too it. Also sorry Matt for the 40 maps spam lmao.
I'll look over your list over the weekend, Raptohr. Thank you Mastermind for the effort and time put into writing that post. It helps us get an idea how people are responding to certain maps. That is the type of feedback we're looking for. Makes it easier to figure out which maps to keep on rotation and which ones are relegated to being called up by admins only.
Glad you enjoyed pl_ququmannz_rc2, and posting the feedback like what Matt said, and I have a feeling you'll like the other half of the aztec/mayann maps I have suggested in the list he has to review :3
I'd like to request the 24 player cap be removed from pl_ququmannz_rc2 and pl_goldrock_rc2. Some parts are a bit cramped in both, but they seem to have a variety of flanks to help with that. I imagine that they will be no more chokey at the final points than any of the other popular pl maps.
