Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

de_barista
Max 1 Apr, 2015 @ 5:23am
Map Review by TheCatOfWar
First off I just want to say how beautiful this map looks. The detailing is stunning and I can tell there's been a lot of love put into this map.

Gameplay wise, the layout is interesting and original but to me there are a few flaws, The main one being the spawn-to-bombsite timings for terrorists, which to me seem far too long (ranging at 20 to 30 seconds). I feel as if this will give far too much map control to the CTs, who could take powerful forward positions, however I can't say definitively having not played the map with real people. For the bots, on the other hand, the CTs seem to pull off a devastating rush every round. A few passages were far too long, for example CT to A site, which meant that anything but rifles were almost entirely ineffective. This goes of much of the map actually, which makes me feel this will be a very 'momentum-based' map, where shotgun, SMG or pistol forcebuys will be of little use. While this isn't a *massive* problem, it's something you ought to address should you wish this map to become operation material.

The amount of grenadethrows and stratergies is somewhat limited by the fact you can't throw smokes over most buildings etc due to the closed skybox.

My other main problem is the clip brushes. They're far too intrusive and frustrating. A prime example is THIS https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417596841
At least make the clips make sense, by putting an object there that looks like it would block your way. Another example is https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417597783 and https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417597992 which both make zero sense from a player perspective. You also seem to have used it on the foliage based cover which results in amazing things like this happening https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417598429

Moving on, you have used almost entirely model-based cover (like the cars) which tend to have innacurate clips and obscure shapes. For example this car to which you can see through it from one side but not the other. https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417600662 & https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417600198
There's a reason why most maps just use crates.

The lighting in the level is overall very good, with the sun angle really complimenting the houses. I will metion these screenshots though: https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417603265 https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417603188 which shows one room with the light coming from nowhere and the second whows ridiculously bright lights, both of which are pretty interesting :P

As mentioned earlier the detailing is great there could be some improvements, like
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417604497
where the floor looks really weird, I would advise just using a blend texture rather than these weird sharp angles.
Also the reflections which seem to be reflecting vertigo (default), so you either didn't include cubemaps or forgot to build them. https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417608431

The map is overall quite optimized but I did get the occasaional frame drop when entering new areas, most likely due to the amount of foliage.

You seem to have used some form of bomb clip around the outside of the level, however I still found several places where the bomb could be irretreiveably thrown:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417607177
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417607151
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417607134
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=417607106
Just so you know :P


====[Final score]====
Layout & Balance: 13/20
Grenade throws & Stratergies: 15/20
Theme & Setting: 19/20
Detail & Graphics: 18/20
Radar alignment & quality: 10/10
Optimization: 9/10
Total: 84% (Not a bad score at all)

Please note that while I've listed many things I DON'T like about this level, the good far outweighs the bad and I'm just saying improvements and nitpicks.

====[Conclusion]====
This map is gorgeous and I can really see it going somewhere, but there are a few small issues that need to be fixed first.

CATch you later
Last edited by Max; 1 Apr, 2015 @ 5:40am
< >
Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
EddieLTU  [developer] 1 Apr, 2015 @ 7:42am 
the patchwork is ok, it's just pakrat that does it job and ignores the blendmodule
Max 1 Apr, 2015 @ 7:55am 
Oh ok then. :P
But yeah, keep going you have talent man :D
< >
Showing 1-2 of 2 comments
Per page: 1530 50