Interview with Mapper of Goldrush and Badwater

We all know that pl_badwater and pl_goldrush are two very popular maps. To confirm this we can see that in ETF2L Season 4 they will be played 5 times in Division 1 (whereas fastlane will only be played once). TF2Maps.Net have made an interview with the mapper behind those two maps, where he talks about his mapping process, Valve and the community.

Is it possible to simplify this development process into bullet points for general reference?

1) What gameplay type should the map be?

2) Initial map blocking phase. If the gameplay is new, code will be written in this phase.

3) Initial playtesting phase – I like to start collecting playtesting data as soon as the initial blocking phase is complete. The map should have signs, and fully functioning entities before the first playtest. Use as few details as you can in this period, because it allows you to make adjustments to the level very quickly. It also means you can make major adjustments if necessary without throwing out a lot of detail work.

4) Continue to playtest! Once the changes made to the map are getting smaller and smaller, the artist can begin to work on the map. Usually there will be some high-level art concept defined at the beginning of the process, but this is not essential.

5) When the art is done, we playtest continually to find exploits or bugs in the map. Clip brushes are used to smooth catchy edges, and to prevent players from getting to areas they we don’t want them in.

6) Finishing touches are added like cubemaps, soundscapes, HUD messages etc.

7) Release!

Read the full interview on TF2Maps.Net

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