I have finally finished sorting through all 70 or so entries that I received when I threw
down the mapping gauntlet and am hosting the last bunch on the servers right now.
Defenestration maps have been on the servers for over 3 months. I THOUGHT it was a game
mode that I had thought up, but having seen the variety and ideas everybody else has come
up with, it’s no longer the thing I had envisioned when I first released my own map
for it on April 1st. And that’s not a bad thing! It has shown me -and hopefully many
newer players- that Counter-Strike doesn’t only have to be defuse mode. The original
hostage gamemode DOES have purpose. It CAN be fun, it can be funny… and could even
potentially be balanced.
Unfortunately for defenestration, I don’t think the windows proved to be a crucial part
of the experience- which kind of renders the name obsolete. Not only that, but what are
you meant to use for the gametype? De? Df? I think that’s what most people have settled
on. Though I really should have thought it through before making this gamemode in the
first place. The defining feature of the Defenestration gamemode was more about the CT’s being able
to reach the hostages before the terrorists could, and then being able to save them in
dramatic, and often suicidal, ways.
I don’t know what I’ll be doing next with the servers, I feel like this gamemode has
run its course but there’s always the possibility that I re-host the favourites from every week
if enough people want that. Let’s see how this map collection does for now. I have chosen
6, each with different reasons to be played.
And, in addition to these is GALE, which was that level with fog and nothing but windows
everywhere. This has been completely redone and is now more like a quake arena littered
with explosive barrels, powerups and boost ramps. There’s even a turret you can control,
and things you can pick up. The hostage positions are still randomised and you’ve got to get
them into the back of this helicopter, which can be done fairly quickly if you know the
right boost ramps to use. Now onto the 6 new maps.
I’ll start with Obsidian, since it’s the prettiest looking map here. And while that
doesn’t mean it’ll play the best… it might do, cos the layout’s pretty robust
too. But let’s talk about these graphics! I think the map might be half-finished, what
with all the white textures. But it goes beautifully with the black obsidian and red lava that
you’ll find flowing down many of the map’s surfaces. And yes, it does kill you. Quickly.
The colours remind me a lot of Portal, actually. I did want to feature this map a bit earlier
on, but I didn’t like how far the CT’s had to run with the hostages, so I suggested
it was moved to the volcano in the middle because how could you NOT have that as the
hostage rescue zone. If it ends up playing poorly because of it then you can blame me,
and I’m sorry for ruining what might have been a perfectly balanced map with that suggestion.
When I first played Cubes, I felt it was a traditional style of defenestration map, much
like the one I had originally made. And I realised that, while I’ve hosted many that
play quite differently from that first defenestration map, it might be time to host some that stick
with the original spirit of the gamemode. And that’s what this one does. It’s mostly
a large, open central court-yard with lots of platforms and tunnels leading off from
it. It has launch-ramps, watery drops, a scary cloudy hole and a bit of parkour. I think
it’ll play relatively well, and even if it doesn’t, I don’t think it’ll take
many changes to get it there.
What I like about Sacrifice is that it feels like a dev-textured version of a map that’s
been tested thoroughly. It’s extremely small, but with lots of unique angles and cover.
Every round will be a fast, frantic affair. Now don’t be mistaken- you don’t have
to plunge down this pit to rescue the hostage. You have to reach the truck just here, but
the tricky jump over the pit is one of the fastest ways of getting there. It all seems
nicely thought out and it’ll be easy to get behind the enemy team if you rush fast
enough and use a few tactical grenades at the right times.
Deeseeyes is another classic defenestration layout, with CTs starting down low and having
to quickly rush to reach the hostages before the terrorists block their path off. Manage
to reach them in time, though, and there are several ways of reaching the hostage rescue
zone in just a matter of seconds. I like this because I don’t expect a team to be fooled
by the same thing more than once, so I expect each round to be like a dramatic version of
rock-paper-scissors as one team discovers an advantage, then the other works to find
ways of turning it to THEIR advantage. I feel like there are some parts of this map which
won’t see much use, but then I imagine if a round drags on for a while then it could
lead to more depth and variety for the stragglers to try and utilise to claw victory from the
jaws of failure. Or vice versa.
I feel like Hillside is one of the simplest and easiest maps to learn. I can’t see how
there will be much variation on how the teams will play this one. It’s pretty obvious
where they need to go, and where the enemy team will appear from. But is that a good
or bad thing? It’s an open map so I think smokes will be a must-buy here, and if CTs
can coordinate their efforts to throw down a wall of smokes to the hostage rescue drop
then it’ll be a beautiful thing to behold. It’ll either be a super-fun map, or one
that people will quickly tire of. But I feel like it’ll have to be played by real people
before we can know which one it is for sure. I suspect the key to balancing will be about
repositioning the hostage-rescue drop so that it’s JUST the right distance away to be
challenging, but still possible for either team to win at.
And lastly, RISE. As CT’s, you have to reach the top platform to rescue the hostages. I
very nearly didn’t feature this one because I thought it would be too much effort to get
up there, but the more I played this one, the more ways I discovered of getting up there.
You can sneak down below and behind T spawn, or you can boost each other up the quickest
route. OR you can run up the thinnest, fastest stair-cases ever. Or you can simply use the
lift. It leads to enough variations, and is small enough that even if the hostages can’t
be saved, the journey there should be fun enough to be worth doing. Also, while the
map is pleasantly lit and constructed, it’s strange to see more detail OUTSIDE the playable
area than there is in it.
So in case this is it, thank you to everybody who made, or played on the defenestration
gamemode. Let’s hope Valve makes this the focus for the next operation!