My first and probably only map for Opposing Force: Capture the Flag. No one plays the mod anymore. It ended up for that because it just it HAD to be a CTF map. So I looked at my options. If it were realistic, I could find some fledgling mod that would die to have it probably, Firearms might even have the gameplay mode. There's also TFC, but I don't like TFC. There are only two CTF mods remaining that I know exist for HL, AG and OP4. Adrenaline Gamer, however, has far fewer weapons, no barnacle (which the current incarnation of this map relies upon), and lots of tau whores for players. Tau and CTF just don't belong together in my opinion, so that left the dubious choice of OP4. I've had issues with members from the community, but I also know a bunch of decent players that moved over to S&I, so I swallowed my pride and went for it. If you are making a mod with CTF, and feel a map of this aesthetic would fit, CONTACT ME. I really want to get this map out to a wider audience.
Now about the map itself. It consists mostly of a contrast between a Xen world and abandoned industrial infrastructure. It seemed an odd choice at first, but it just seems to work so well. My lighting came out incredible, nearly by accident, it wasn't til I was nearly done with the map that I realize just how well I contrasted the light blue lights with the more amber industrial lights. Some of the areas are a bit simpler than I intended, such as the corridor from the machine gun to the flag and the rpg pit of death room. Well, the reason is I started running really low on planes, and had to start optimizing. The final build contains almost exactly the limit of planes allowable in a HL map. I really enjoyed building this map, especially towards the end when every brush had to be so delibrately placed, and that's all that really matters to me.
On the gameplay, there's basically two flags in completely symmetrical bases. Since the bases were built prior to making this a CTF map, there is far less team color than you'd expect. I put a few signs in very spefici locations outdorrs, which, combined with team-colored grapple spots, should be able to keep you oriented. I had one tester on prior to these color additions and he had very little trouble figuring out where he was. Most of the play will funnel through the middle at some point, but there are alternate and longer routes. Likewise, a few of the weapons, sugh as the machingegun, sniper rifle, and RPG, are in locations that require a bit more time and going out of your way to get, which I think is a cool thing. There are 9 power-up spawns, including two per side that are tied to a team. The flag is protected slightly by a bunch of spores, use this to your advantage whether attacking or defending. The flag is placed so that those defending have the choice of long or short-range combat. See if you can figure out how to trigger the Easter Egg shown amongst the pictures below. |
