Introduction
I enjoy designing using SDK Hammer on my spare time. Most of the time I do it just to maintain the thoughts I stumble upon when playing other games or when thinking up ideas that could work in any of the Valve games.
With this project I wanted to take everything that I’ve learned though thousands of hours in SDK Hammer and create a map with a clean and simple layout, easy to learn while still maintaining good esthetics.
Specifications and Tools
Counter-Strike map for the Bomb Defusal 5v5 game mode
Developed on my spare time
Created using CS:GO SDK (Hammer)
Current state - Alpha
Focus on simplicity and angles
Playtested with Friends and BOTs
Due to my current job I can’t upload the Level to the community page!
Will hopefully be available there in the future!
My workflow
Four Square Layout
Looking at the paths in the map, the focus should be that there is always a path to fall back on or “rotate” towards. This becomes more important the more map control the attacking team takes, opening up more routes to rotate in the map.
As is the case of most CS:GO maps, the focus point when looking at the design always comes from taking control of the middle part of the map. This will get either team to control most of the main paths and rotations, thus gaining the advantage.
Four square design is a Level Design concept that almost always fits Counter Strike levels, where there are areas that will have a pivot point in the middle where almost all paths go towards.
Four square design is a Level Design concept that almost always fits Counter Strike levels, where there are areas that will have a pivot point in the middle where almost all paths goes towards.
I’ve been focusing using my four square design to give easy linear access to middle but also providing a visual difference in the different four squares.
Another important aspect in working around four square design is to have easy and understandable paths towards the main paths. This also means that paths should make sense when rotating back in the map.
Choke points
Having a good amount of choke points is essential for a good layout. The goal is to allow for multiple strategies when playing as the Terrorists, while not having too many so that the Counter-Terrorists (CTs) can’t comfortably hold them off without a full team of 5 players.
de_soleia has 4 important choke points, as per usual in CS maps, the focus is to control middle part of the map.Most common places to hold as a CT have more than one possible choke point to watch. This rewards communication and a more dynamic playstyle for the CTs.
Sightlines
I have strategically blocked sight lines across the map to not overwhelm the players with too many angles to check at the same time. My rule of thumb when it comes to FPS Level design is to never let a single defender have more than two angles to watch at the same time. Even if this is a technique that is hard to implement, I have tried to make sure it happens throughout the map.
When placing protection on throughout the map, I wanted to make the level balanced for different types of weapons, but at the same time the players should not be overwhelmed by the options. What I mean with this is that every site shouldn’t have a close-range, middle-range and long-range all close to each other. Having a variety of long and short sightlines throughout the map also allows for different weapons to shine, not making a single playstyle too overpowered.
Breakdowns
Bombsite A
Bombsite A is located by a tower standing alone as a landmark for both the Terrorists and Counter-Terrorists to see when they spawn. The path there for the attacking team are two paths. One going under the tower through an underground to pop up on a ladder. While the other path is a more of a fast-paced approach, which is to run up the stairs towards the choke point that comes from middle.
CTs only has one path to the site, which is to get over the bridge to get there. This site is best defended by 2 people if divided so that one player can make good use a close- ranged weapon while the other player can take a more long-range approach. Making use of the long sightline for the sniper and the close-ranged weapon to defend from the underground.
Bombsite B
Bombsite B is located next to the castle in the middle of the map and has a closer proximity to the middle. The strategy around this bombsite is to have defenders rotate in and out of it while one player holds the long sightline down towards T -spawn.
For Terrorists the focus should be to overwhelm the players defending here by splitting up using smoke grenades and flashbangs. This bombsite is the easier one of the two to capture, but much harder to defend after the bomb has been planted, since CTs will have 4 different paths to attack from.
Reflections
Every map I make is a learning experience, and there are things that I definitely will take with me when I make my next map. My biggest issue moving on with this map is that it won’t be community tested. Since I can’t post it on the community due to my current employment, I can’t really get any player feedback other than internal testing with my friends.
My focus starting to build this map was to have really tight timings. The more I built and added to the level, the more off the timings became. The timings still work, but they aren’t as clean as they were in the initial block-out. This was due to my focus on paths and angles.
What I am proud of is that I designed a very nice looking and versatile level. Players will always have landmarks to locate where they are and where they want to go. The level also seams together really well. I’m also happy with the bombsites and the versatility in using different strategies to both attack and defend them.
My next step with the map is to try to find more people playtesting. This will give me some more clear feedback on angles and timings, but also everything around the layout, the landmarks and the overall approach to the map.
