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Beta Map [MAP]WF-Hill 400

SCUM suggested the pine needle texture (amongst other improvements)

As I just said to Nymets, I will start posting half* the silly ideas I come up with just so it seems less like I'm skipping the Quality Control that is the public.

Trench system (or one big trench) at the peak of the rise ending at the top of A cap:
A trench or two at near the edge of A with a few parts made of tin / log roofs. While there are substantial concrete bunkers on the map, I thought some varied, ramshackle wooden and hastily improvised defences would add some variation to the map. Perhaps to look like a desperate last ditch at some extra barricades to help against the coming american onslaught. With the new, blown to bits concrete bunker added it may be a bit much, but maybe it could be the Germans admitting with the loss of the bunker in a shelling "Right, that did not work, we need to fix this". A larger dugout with a radio and ammo (to replace the old tin lean-to) could have soil piled up at the front to bolster defence. For visual storytelling there could be a few spades and dirt piles behind the trench, maybe even some logs or other construction bits.

Extra damage to the hill:
Looks like this is already being worked on, stuff like extra craters, burnt out trees looking more burnt out (and still burning) and possibly some extra damage to the current buildings. The bunkers look a little clean IMO and could do with some more chips of concrete taken out of them, plus more scorch mark decals. The bunker in the centre of the map is possibly the one that looks the cleanest and needs a bit of a scratching.

Beefier defences (visual):
Mainly as aesthetic bits to help with the atmosphere on the map. I know the Dragons teeth have been sorted to something a bit less random, but I think maybe a barbed wire line all the way around the hill would help with the look. At the front of A there can be big holes in the fence like its already been hit by arty / sappers, but if the fence surrounds the whole hill it would make it look more like a fort rather than a liner video game map. Also on the sides of the maps its a lot more open so maybe there could be bunkers / pillboxes as well as walls and trenches along the side routes. Sure you cant use them, but as said it would make it look more like a hill fort than a game map.

Thicker treeline before A:
Three fold reasons.
1) Its a forest and probably needs some extra trees to help with believability, even if it is just for a small area.
2) Extra cover for the incoming attackers. Not all of it will be solid, but you can at least hide in the bushes.
3) Noticed you can more or less mark the back of A from the attacker spawn point and more than likely do the same the other way. That seems a bit easy so adding more trees wont make it impossible, just a lot harder.

There are some more bits I have not mentioned here (I pester the poor guy about 4 times a day with my stupid ideas I swear) but it'd be nice if someone challenged my waffling and pointed out how stupid these ideas are.

*If I posted all my silly ideas the game would have duck ponds with animated ducks included before a lot of balance issues. Duck ist Krieg.
 
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I played it 3 times yesterday with an eye on layout and playability, a couple of times as TL. Since I hadn't needed to look for radios, I never had turned around and realized the village was right at our backs. :rolleyes:

I like Scum's ideas of making the hill look beat up and previously fought over. As well as appearing like it's approachable from any side and not just a lane. I think the minefields are good for that, as well as more wire. I'll second his suggestions of more rough cover, debris, craters etc. I would caution against having too many bushes and healthy trees, they would have been either cleared and used by the defenders or destroyed by previous fighting. As a defender, you would want to eliminate cover and open up lines of fire. Lots of crap on the ground though to crawl behind.

With more cover for Allies, maybe a couple of fixed MG's up high? So, if you wanted to rake fire at A or B, you'd have to run back to them.

Images:
http://i.imgur.com/5h2QqWw.jpg

http://www.pbs.org/thewar/image_viewer.php?img=S2765&caption=H%FCrtgen%20Forest

The bunkers in this area evidently were often painted green and the dragons teeth were much bigger, @3-5 ft tall. FWIW.

And, since the actual initial assault out of the town came under mortar fire, a few mortar emplacements up near the top?

To break the fighting into 3 acts, (Approach/assault/last stand) I'd suggest starting at least in between the houses, if you want to add to the village to make it more believable, farther back behind the first row would be great. Having an approach to the hill will help establish it as an objective and attacking across the flat adds tension.

I find that the A cap is too close to the next, they're really stacked up. Once you cap A, axis hardly has to pull back, so the fighting and arty coming down on A feels the same. If you started in town, you could pull the A cap down closer to the foot of the hill and provide a nice objective for the approach.

You could also use a solid line of wire uphill from A cap that was blowable like you have on Omaha. Axis would have to decide whether to blow it themselves to get into A and down into the approach or leave it intact as an obstacle for the Allies.

Here's how I envision it.

Approach: Leave town, cross the heavily cratered field to gain the safety of A, in the tree line with debris to cover behind, just up from the foot of the hill. Axis can call arty on the field, heavy mg fire out in the open. Allies will have to suppress mg's, smoke the field and call their own arty to eliminate Axis near A.

Assualt: Much as now, with the goal of capturing and controlling the bunkers on the slope. With wire added as a potential choke point. Maybe engineer blowable only? I like giving engineers a purpose, but that might just be me....

Last stand: I think you added a final "observation" bunker? Maybe use something substantial like the last bunker in Betio or the control tower from Rako? More wire?
 
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I would caution against having too many bushes and healthy trees, they would have been either cleared and used by the defenders or destroyed by previous fighting. As a defender, you would want to eliminate cover and open up lines of fire. Lots of crap on the ground though to crawl behind.

I'll agree with most of what you said in your post, and I even agree with that above quote, but the suggestion for more foliage is a line of sight issue plus arty mixed with the small map size. Right now from the base of the hill you can mark the back of A which will result in an easy beginning for the attackers.

http://i.imgur.com/wCscs0v.jpg you can see the new bunker there in the background. It would be very easy for the American commander to run and get a mark quick on the strongest German hardpoint in A. If the defenders drop arty on the attacking positions the attackers, if smart, could move around any arty the Germans drop due to how wide and open the flanks are. I was thinking, in terms of the ridges in that image, the first ridge leading up has some trees and then on the plateau there have a dense copse, then the next ridge up would be the lead to A, which would be bare with maybe a lot of tree stumps (part of it cleared for defence, part of it if there is a trench network to say "where do you think we got the wood from?") and then up the ridge and beyond would be leading to B. The base of the A cap could have the barbed wire around it.

Essentially this is down to the map size I think. I agree it could be bigger with a steeper hill, but it was designed to be small so its working with what is here.

Obviously just my two cents.
 
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Working on all of these ideas. Think you will like the results.

A few more updates:
 

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redux900.jpg


Updated to WF-Hill400B3

Download WF-Hill400B3 Here

Subscribe in SWS Here


Changelog 12/08/2015


  • Fixed bulletproof Foliage
  • Adjusted position of all 4 Caps
  • C and D now enable at same time and lock when BOTH are Captured
  • C is completely below ground
  • D is completely above ground
  • Made larger entrance to Axis side of Bunker
  • Germans spawn closer prior to B being captured
  • Added Ambient Artillery in the distance
  • Modified spawn protection
  • D longer to cap (30 secs)
  • Replaced Leaf texture with pine needle texture in Terrain
  • Modified falling leaves to be brown and orange rather than green
  • Added more trees, bushes, rocks, craters, and debris everywhere
  • Added burning trees
  • Right side bunker access for attacking Allies is now a Satchel Obj
  • Added a port hole at same location for Germans to defend from
  • Added destroyable barbed wire around perimeter of Hill (grenades or satchels)
  • Added small trenches in A
  • Added more mine fields near perimeter of hill E and West ends
  • Added a new texture for large rocks
  • Added new concrete texture and Damage Decal
  • Added a fortified building in the rear of D
  • Added several destroyed sdKfz meshes to map
  • Lowered volume of Owls
  • Added Crow sounds
  • Added a radio in D
  • Added Another fixed MG in D
  • Added Ammo Resupply in D
  • Toned down overwhelming reverb when underground
  • Added an electrified Radio Antennae in D
  • Added a new damage system (Electrocute) to environment...for fun :p
  • Added many more Dragons teeth of varying sizes
  • Tripled number of destructible objects on map
  • Added 2 mins to time
  • Added light snow falling
  • Improved Bots capping abilities (still not perfect)
  • Modified lighting slightly
  • Brightened Fog slightly
  • Door to the bunker in D no longer explodes automatically
  • Added No Arty Zones to both Village spawns (Axis and Allies)

A huge Thank You to

  • SCUM82
  • LugNut
  • Beskar Mando
  • Simon
  • Lemonater47
  • Moskeeto
  • RandomPerson


For their input and assistance in this large update. :IS2::IS2::IS2:
 
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Every time I play that map.... "Am I nuts or does anyone else hear owls!?" :p
:D
You can. I've been trying to stress two things about RO2 since it's release. Many people are only hearing a portion of what is available to hear. And believe me, I've spent some time researching sound behavior in this game. IF you have an upscale audio card and IF you set in game audio settings to 128 bits, you will be able to hear everything rendered. If the mapper includes pigeon poop hitting the sidewalk, you'll hear it.
 
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I played a number of rounds today with mostly bots, it's a much richer environment and feels bigger. The summit of the hill is going to have epic battles, lots of bunkers, cover and room to flank. Wooo!

I found a couple of bugs:

1) The fixed mg at D won't traverse to the right, only left.

2) Can we mantle up on the barrels at the radar thingy? Please?

3) Bots can levitate in this bunker, but I wasn't able to.

4) I tossed 2 nades trying to blow this section of wire and they both bounced off an invisible wall and blew up behind me. I went back and couldn't replicate it, fwiw. The map shows where I blew up.
 

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