Attack/defend seems to be the most popular type of map. The key to any good map, I think, is some role for most of the classes to play. Castle is very sniper friendly, which is great fun for snipers and frustrating for everyone else.

Valve has nailed the type of maps they've done: fairly compact, easy to follow, etc.

What I want to see from user made maps are some of the larger, more spacious maps we saw from time to time in Team Fortress.

Also, I'd like to see someone experiment with wholly separate paths separating the typical "two base" setup.

Imagine a baseball diamond. Pretend home plate is one team's base, and 2nd base is another team's base. How would you get from your base to theirs? Well, you have two separate, completely isolated paths. Anyone taking the "1st base" route is completely cut off from someone taking the "3rd base" route. The two paths between the two bases are completely isolated from one another, meaning someone on one path would have to go to their base (or the enemy's) in order to make their way down the other path.

Something like this would be neat for full-server CTF matches, which have a strong tendency to become stalemated. Essentially, you split a team's offensive and defensive efforts into two. Defending against flag runners requires communication as to which path the flag carrier is bolting to. The idea is to move the defensive game out of the bases themselves (design them so that the bases don't offer much in the way of choke points) and bring a team's defenses out onto the pathways between the bases.

Right now, CTF defense involves sentry guns at the choke points that are right next to the intelligence. If you eliminate the choke points inside the base, and instead make the paths between the bases the choke points, you get a completely different defensive dynamic (and, necessarily, a different offensive one too).

(Note: an important part of making larger maps is to avoid making them too "open". Sniper sight lines have to be obscured so as to prevent complete territory control by long-range snipers. Instead, you want a lot of scattered structure and rubble for players to duck behind and cover-hop to and from, giving you that nice American Gladiators "avoid the tennis ball gun" offensive approach.)

Funny. I've been meaning to do the same thing, Series Parallel. GWJ exclusive and all that. I'm still learning the basics with hammer tool, but if you need any sort of help making your map, I would love to contribute. In fact, I already have a rough map panned out, just waiting to get all the necessary techniques down and the SDK updated to get started.

I really enjoyed Canal Zone in the original TF. Have they remade it yet for TF2? Because if they haven't, you might have a hit there.

Like Blood Gulch?

Alright guys the maps coming along nicely and now I've got a question: do you want a map bigger or smaller than 2Fort? So far it looks like "bigger", but anyone have a different opinion?

Well, for starters, what do you mean by bigger/smaller? Overall level cube volume? You could make 2fort like level a lot "bigger" by adding additional passages between sides. Or more twists and turns through various tunnels. Or carve out parts of the underground and add rooms. Or you could just straighten out what's already there and put the same distance of the gameplay into a larger volume.

So I guess I just refined my own question... is bigger = more distance to run through, or is bigger = greater volume the level is contained in?

Even though I'm terrible with them, I like the idea of having sniper-friendly areas (like maybe the home plate to thrid base has a nice long stretch in it). It strikes me that you would also want a good amount of cover in those areas -- gotta make the snipers work for it, at least. That seems to be the problem in Castle; wide open areas with nowhere to hide from the snipers. Make the route sniper-friendly, but have cover points along it.

Also, even though it's more of a pain to make, I really like non-symmetrical CTF maps. You know, because you're making these maps specifically for me.

I'd time the run time from base to base in 2fort. I bet it is almost exactly double the average time to run from point to point in every section of Hydro. I bet you'd also find that these are similar to the run time between spawn and bomb site in the most successful counterstrike maps.

Valve has really had the time to make their level design a science, so I'd suggest using their knowledge as a starting point. Check their run times and try and orient your map to a similar scale. If you do give alternate sub routes, I'd maybe try and make them meander a bit, so you trade safety for speed.

I think 2 main routes combined with at least 1 choke point seems like a good formula. If you add secondary routes and find they're too easy to exploit, it'll be easier to remove them then add them.

One easy trap to fall into with any CTF style map is that if there's too many routes, recovering once the flag is capped is nearly impossible.

Weeee....My first TF2 Map! Look, an undefended capture point...Weeee

There's no one around here, let me play some axe-guitar while I capture this thing

THERE'S NO ONE AROUND HERE...I'm so lonely, I feel like dying...Booooo

Not bad for my first day fiddling around with hammer, I expect to build something showable in a few weeks. I couldn't get the resupply closets to appear in game, they work alright when you get in the area they should be...well...

Have you had the same problem SeriesParallel? Hope to see what you come up with too