[WIP] Pillar

So.
After countless hours (too much for a first map ahah) I decided to create his topic.
Yeah, the name is a little bit lame, but anyway. This is still subject to change.
Before going anywhere, you can find the map and the screenshots on the repo.
Btw, don't hesitate to tell about the license, I actually took the same as Xonotic.


First, let me explain the way I see this map.
I wanted it to be scaled for TDM/DM. But, given the size of it, high-scale team deathmatch. Maybe it's a little bit overscaled right now, but I heard (cc Spike29) that you actually can rescale it at compile time, so I guess I would do that if necessary.
I mainly play Insta+hook, so you might feel that while playing it. But, as I know that Xonotic isn't only based on this gamemode, I tried to make it interesting even without a hook.

Atmosphere
I wanted to have that precise feel of non-logical Xonotic architecture. Yes, it does not make any sense, that is why I like Xonotic. Because of that assumed non-realistic gameplay, you are free to make whatever you want to do
I wanted it to be beautiful, and kinda surrealistic. I hope you'll like it.
I'm gonna make an interesting track that reflects the atmosphere of the map. I got some drafts done, so I just need to add some stuff and the track would be ready to use.

Gameplay
Well, that kind of stuff needed few iterations. First, I based my map on a level in a famous game: Thief. The said level is called Mages Towers. As you can see, it differs a lot from the original thing, as I needed to adapt through iterative processes.
There are few things I tried to keep in mind while creating the map:

• As you go up, weapons become more and more powerful. 
  
• As you go up, you got a better view of the battlefield: it gives you a interesting advantage. 
  
• However, as you answered me so kindly in one of my previous posts, Xonotic can be based on noises the opponents make. So I decided to have this constraint: if you want better weapons, you have to pay the right price.
  
• Consequently, going on higher grounds requires you to use the blaster (which would hurt you) or to use teleporters/jump pads, that make noise. This is the drawback I wanted.
  
• Get the player lost, but not too much. The way I actually see it, would be a total mess with teleporters/jump pads. But, with the symmetry (which is not that much of a symmetry) you would be able to understand in a glance where you are, but  not too fast.
  
• Make it three-dimensionnal: one thing which is interesting with Xonotic is that you have to take into account all dimensions, as your opponent(s) are able to attack you from everywhere. And a lot of different access points to a lot of different areas.
  
• No dead-ends. I try to extensively use teleporters/warp zones to avoid breaking the flow (i.e making you slow down). I want the gameplay to be fast (given it's Xonotic, no surprise here ahah).
  
• The player might have to make large detours to reach some areas. Well, in fact, you got a choice: either you decide to loose life, or you can use wisely the teleporter system/jump pads to reach this location. Sometimes this is faster if you know the map.
  
  

Status of the map
This section is subject to change a lot. Right now, I roughly got 70% of the basic layout (brushes) done. I still have to make teleporters, jump pads and stuff like that.
Still needs some work on scaling, but the thing is mainly here.
The weapons placement is not done yet, as I might need some advices on that, after you would be able to play it a little bit (well, it's not gonna be playing, but just testing it).
Lighting is still needed, on dark areas especially. I'll see that later.
I still need to refine some areas (like, if you are moving quite fast, no need to break the flow by having stupid brushes in your way).
I don't use trickshots like bunnyhoping, strafe etc, so I might need some feedback from people who actually use it, to know where I could put such things.
I didin't decided on a theme yet, I might need some advice from real designers/inspired people. I'll see how it goes.

Additionnal notes
Sorry for that release, this is mainly for demo purposes. Some parts of the stuff are here, the best you can do is actually guess.

The thing is just not good right now. I'm gonna work on it a little bit more.
What I wanted is just some feedback, I mean, does this map inspire you in some way, would you play it once it's refined/done?

But you can see the spirit of it, do not hesitate to give me some advices about it right now, from the screenshots, from what you see.

Hi,
I jumped around a little bit on the map.
The Map looks good especially this part:

Like you said the map is a little to big, but I like the layout.

I found this bug, where you can through this wall:

EDIT: I looked at the map file and I saw this:

Is it supposed to be like this?

Thanks for your kind feedback.
Yes indeed, this was a mistake. Forgot I didin't texture that part.
About the size: I'm not surprised that you feel it's a little bit too big. So I decided to cramp it up a little bit, to see what we're gonna get. Maybe that way, people would actually like to go higher because they would feel cramped on lower floors. And the tower would seem higher, I guess.
So that's what I'm doing now, update to come very soon.

Edit: okay, I did reduce the size today. I think it's much better now, given you don't need hours to cross the whole map.
It still takes time just by walking, but if you bunny-hop it's not so long.

I also retextured a lot the floor, and made some minor architectural changes to fit better the atmosphere of the map.
I'm at the point I need external feedbacks on the whole layout, before starting to make the whole tp/jump pads stuff, so don't hesitate to try it an reports problems (if there are problems). If you try it you might want to get the minst/hook to explore it, there is no access between the different floors yet.