Friday, December 12, 2008

Map creators - be inspired!



Recently we visited the U.S.S. Hornet in Alameda, CA. This was our second time touring the old ship-museum, and the first time since starting TF2 gaming. As we walked through the narrow corridors and I noted all the signs and arrows on the walls, there was one thought that pulsed in my brain:

This would be a great environment for a TF2 MATCH!!!

Wow, the ambience was perfect. Steel walls and floor. Thick ropes, cables, pipes everywhere (floor, walls, ceiling). Stairways, hatches and catwalks. Large panels of switches, readouts and gauges. There was tremendous variety available in terms of space:

  • the upper flight deck was huge and open

  • the hangar bay was big and open yet could be easily cluttered with large crates and stationary aircraft for cover

  • rooms of varying sizes and with a variety of props (offices, comm rooms, torpedo maintenance, machinist shop, engine room, sick bay, bathrooms, bunk rooms, mess halls, briefing rooms, etc.)

  • the tight corridors are similar to the vents of some maps like Turbine and Black Mesa

  • several decks offer opportunity for multi-stage movement if you want a longer game
I'm no map creator myself, so I only know enough to recognize the potential. I'm guessing it would best be a cp map. It seems to me you could have a capture point on the bridge and a few below decks. Maybe one on the open flight deck, although I don't know the pros/cons of taking/defending wide open spaces.

You could have a sort of officers vs. mutineers scenario: One team starts on the bridge, the other starts in the bowels of the ship or in a small building at the far end of the flight deck. Each trying to take control of all the cap points (maybe 5 total points).

It might be tricky, but I suppose you could do a payload map, too. Try and escort the bomb from the flight deck down to the engine room or something (or from the bomb room to the bridge).

Just imagine all the fun you could have on a ship like this! Surely I'm not the first to think of it. Does anyone know of any maps set on an aircraft carrier?

If not, here's an open call to the map makers out there (yes, I'm talking to you, Blade!). Take a look at some of these photos I brought back with me, and be inspired!

Create another masterpiece, this time set on an aircraft carrier! Pleeeeeeeease!

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