Oooooh boy this one is actually pretty interesting.
I have gone ahead and downloaded the map to playtest (because that's what I do) and found it to be surprisingly good for its concept. Right now it's not in a state where it would be a good idea to add the map now, but it has a big potential to become very good.
I won't go too much into detail in this post, but I will leave some clips and screenshots from the map that I find interesting
Screenshots/Clips
Comment
The cells are decorated as Buses
Every once in a while this mini-train passes by
You can control the Crane. Plus there are 4 vehicles you can drive around, each with different controls. Quite a fun Combo I'd say.
MVM upgrade shop
Pressing the Cell button shows which person opened the cells
Side questing time
FOUR minigames on a single platform
The most influential factor which makes this map not that great is its comically large area size. Not even wip_remake and bootcamp can compare to this monstrosity. If that and a couple of other, not-so-important-issues, were to be fixed, it could very well fit into the map pool.
This map is obnoxiously big and would prefer it to be scaled down and the sightlines to be fixed. Obviously, some very cool portions of the map but some glaring issues as well.
I am sure @Semicolon Backslash has a lot to say about this map so I'm interested in hearing his thoughts.
Both maps have terrible sightlines, but I don't even think that is a big deal.
My only issue is with how spacious the map is right now, but that's something that can change as the map gets updated.
It may not be the most balanced map, but I think this map brings enough to the table to become a map thats played once every few days to keep things fresh
First off, I can't really comment on the secrets, minigames or other bugs atm, I won't have the time until this weekend to properly playtest the map. I also don't think we should be using the existence of other bad maps on our rotation to justify adding more, if your dog poops on the floor you clean it up you don't poop on the floor next to it.
Now for the actual map, my biggest complaint is the layout.
Unlike the two other giant maps (wip and bootcamp) this map is divided into 5 sections which isn't a problem in itself its just the execution that's poor. There are only small narrow paths connecting most of these segment together which would make each segment easy to lock down. There is also no cover aside from a few buildings and vehicles placed right next to said buildings which make the map feel super empty (not how I'd imagine a downtown personally) but it also gives the map sitelines that rival bootcamp.
The minigames would probably be the map's strong point, don't get me wrong there are some misses and hunter would likely be banned but some stuff here is genuinely unique. The only problem is that nothing is explained and barely anything is labelled so I can see new players being clueless on how to operate games or what the games even do.
Some other miscellaneous complaints I have
- Not a big fan of the armory breakable being right next to the upgrade station, I feel like people will constantly accidentally run into it
- Speaking of the upgrade station, since the upgrades persistent over multiple rounds, there's going to be a huge power gap between people who join the server late and those who have been there since map start, even moreso than Miami since once you get the upgrade you keep it.
- The map's HDR is tolerable but it does make text placed on white surfaces harder to read
- The mix of tf2 assets and hl2 ones looks ugly
- The reflectivity of some floors looks wacky
I would like to comment more and probably word my feedback better but I'm running out of time so I'll wrap this up here for now.
The map definitely has potential, I know I made that gif comparing this map to bunker but that's all a joke this map has more interesting stuff going on than in that one and I think it has a better chance at being saved, that being said I don't think the current version of this map is ready for panda and I hope many regulars getting dickrode around the map isn't influencing their vote. And black trigger if you're reading this, this is actually a super impressive first map, I'm sorry if I sounded harsh but I just want you to improve. What you've made here makes my first few maps look like they were made by a baby.
Heya, Wanted to playtest the map a lil' since I heard some good and bad stuff throughout.
Don't like giving super long essay reviews so ill just go into some bullet points about what i liked and didnt(if its caused by technical issue on my side feel free to tell)
Cons-
Seems super empty at first glance
Textures and layout feels out of place and random in certain places
I dont know if this is my settings(i suspect it is) but alot of textures glow too brightly for me(ill provide examples)*
Lighting throughout the map feels either too much or too little
Alot of areas in minigames have no gracing period (floorboards shattering, getting into vehicles)
some minigames feel like a trap for favorizing blues(Hunter and tank battle come to mind)
Texts are too thin imo
map borders are invisible(this is entirely stylistic but it feels somewhat jarring.)
you can kill shotgun
In terms of cons, I feel like the map is gonna be very grueling to play in as a regular with high ping, That might not be a concern to some, But we do have alot of players with high ping(Euros and what not). Otherwise alot of these can be mitigated easily with some stylistic changes, I dont really know how you can remedy the size issue other than jampacking alot of stuff in between even tho that might not be the greatest choice either.
Pros-
Many unique experiences, especially impressive for a first map
I like the addition of upgrades alot(I hope it gets fleshed out into its own unique thing like miami)
Well designed minigames that dont feel copy-pasty (Obby, Clime and Speedrun)
You put surf on obby, that will make alot of people cry(Good)
You can kill _Black
For pros the map feels pretty well-made for your first map released, It's pretty impressive. Someone else probably already said this but it does have alot of potential, not just the map but the creator themselves.
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While I do like the map, I'll have to echo what's been said by semi that the map is still not ready to be put on Panda, some things do truly need to be fixed before it gets added for real, beyond texture issues. I've said it before but the map definitely looks like its gonna be for lack of a better word bad to play in high ping and somethings help alleviate that without really taking away the difficulty of minigames in general imo(Mainly speaking about obby, speedrun and sweeper).
If im asked to describe the map in a single word, I would say "Incomplete"
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the small medic crosses that float around are incredibly cute
Basketball instead of soccer is good variety
"Go behind me doktor"
Dodgeball apparently has no text indicator for its place(or is too thin to see)
its probably easy to just slip away in the start of the round as a red
Initially, I wanted the map in but after playing it I can't help but feel it just isn't refined enough for panda servers, we are the community that has some standards and this map just isnt good enough.
But it has a lot of potential, like a lot and there is a great map in there, I'm so excited to see where this map goes in the future, but that time in the rough shouldn't be on panda taking 45 minutes of my life.
Trigger obviously has put a lot of time and effort into the map, his passion is so obvious but we would be doing him a disservice if we just added a weaker version of a map we know can be better.
I’d want to wait to see if there is going to be an update that maybe addresses issues outlined by semi, it seems like some well placed fencing and props, coupled with some more connections between different zones could make this map more balanced. This map just seems like it’s going to be extremely skewed to the blues, especially since the guards don’t have damage falloff.
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