cp_castle4

Vilepickle · 05-11-2008, 08:09 AM

The map cp_castle3 has, at long last, been updated to cp_castle4. This version fixes many of the troublesome issues of version 3 such as campable spawn doors, overly large stages (stage 3), and adds features like another CP to stage 1. The map also looks much better than version 3, which should be a welcome change. If you are running Castle right now or have stopped running the map, I encourage you to check out this version, because it is quite a bit different.

README (full changelist):
http://vilepickle.com/map/readmes/README_cp_castle.txt

Screenshots:
http://vilepickle.com/map/screens/tf2_cp_castle

Download:
http://vilepickle.com/map/cp_castle4.7z (7-zip)
http://vilepickle.com/map/cp_castle4.zip (zip)

If you're interested in a collection of all of my levels (including the new Castle4), you can download "The Pickle Jar" from my maps page at http://vilepickle.com/maps.php

Thanks.

**PANDAmonium** · 05-11-2008, 12:20 PM

Couldn't sleep, but I had this to look at. I ran through it alone, just to get a feel for it... some thoughts (gameplay comments speculative, as I could not exactly play a full game by myself):

First, the visual upgrade is incredibly amazing. It's totally sexy now. I always thought v3 was way too cartoony, but now it looks very sleek. I enjoy the lights on the walls, makes it seem kind of late afternoon, one of my favorite times of day.

The first stage is now a 2 part cap. This should improve flow a bit better, as instead of running a huge distance, you now cap a point much closer to home first. The second point looks much the same as the first, but it should be harder to spawncamp. The second point is hard to cap already, it's kind of boxed up... but it wasn't impossible, and the anti-spawncamping measures should be a relief.

Second stage is pretty different. The sniping at the beginning is heavily restricted thanks to the new roof over the big ramp down to the first point, but it's still possible. The first point now has a little overlook, makes it a little easier to take the point or defend, depending on which team has it. Second point now allows the attacking team to get a nice higher-ground attacking point, which should make it a lot easier to assault. Again, an elevated exit helps fight spawn camping.

Third stage is the most dramatically different. I'm not sure why there's a ramp up above the starting gates for the assault, it seems useless, but oh well. The first point is a lot closer now. There's a lot more attacking and defending elevated areas. The ravine now has a ramp back up to the defending side. The point is now a lot closer to the bridge (the second point, that is. Makes it easier to assault).

Overall, the improvements all seem aimed at making games flow better, which is EXCELLENT in my opinion. Too often you spend a lot of time walking a long path on older versions of this map, and too often games dragged. Now, defending seems like it would be harder, but definitely not impossible.