Moonrat
Noob
So, what themes are the easiest, and what themes are the hardest to create? Well let's dive in some!
Difficulty will be rated on a 1-5 scale. These ratings are subjective, and not necessarily indicative of each map, some bigger maps and others combining themes can be harder to detail. This should be taken lightly as a general assessment of difficulty.
This Google Spreadsheet can be a good reference to see what maps are in certain themes in TF2:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lC5OGbQiP9gNgyGKKnnO9SN2VbJZDr4ZPYIkXewQs00/edit#gid=0&vpid=A2
1. Mines (2)
Mines are something rather common in TF2's setting. The theme often consist of mostly wooden structures and caves which have rails and supports throughout them. The main difficulties in making a convincing mine is 2 things. One is making the area look run-down, as a mine would not be the cleanest place. The other difficulty is displacements. You might be in man-made caves, but there is still going to be a lot of rocky walls surrounding you.
Advantages of the Mines theme
- Extremely versatile, there is few places where a mine isn't realistic. You can ship just about any theme with Mines, and it still works.
- Very good for RED, as most of the buildings are natural wood and warm colors.
Disadvantages of the Mines theme
- A high level of displacements
- While it's great for RED, BLU suffers from it lacking in their cooler colors.
Some example maps that use Mines well
- Dustbowl
- Ravine
- Gravel Pit
Reference
http://i.imgur.com/Q33hf9t.jpg
2. Farmland (1)
Farmland sounds more difficult then it is. TF2 loves it's facades, and Granary gives us an extensive set of Farm props and such to use. Expect rooms filled with grain and hay, and lots of wood with some occasional sheet metal to break things up. This theme is very easy to create for two reasons. For one, you don't need complex brushwork unlike the Mines theme. Two is that it's flat. If you are bad a displacements, that is a godsend.
Advantages of the Farmland theme
- It's very flat, meaning you need minimal displacement work.
- A ton of props to use with it, and a lot of great textures.
Disadvantages of the Farmland theme
- Also relies a lot on wood, but you can use metal and concrete at points.
- Meshes poorly with any themes outside of flat grasslands.
Some examples maps that use Farmland well
- Granary
- 2Fort
Reference
http://i.imgur.com/Kyn7Ncy.jpg
I'll continue this guide in later post, as there is a character limit on this forum
Difficulty will be rated on a 1-5 scale. These ratings are subjective, and not necessarily indicative of each map, some bigger maps and others combining themes can be harder to detail. This should be taken lightly as a general assessment of difficulty.
This Google Spreadsheet can be a good reference to see what maps are in certain themes in TF2:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lC5OGbQiP9gNgyGKKnnO9SN2VbJZDr4ZPYIkXewQs00/edit#gid=0&vpid=A2
1. Mines (2)
Mines are something rather common in TF2's setting. The theme often consist of mostly wooden structures and caves which have rails and supports throughout them. The main difficulties in making a convincing mine is 2 things. One is making the area look run-down, as a mine would not be the cleanest place. The other difficulty is displacements. You might be in man-made caves, but there is still going to be a lot of rocky walls surrounding you.
Advantages of the Mines theme
- Extremely versatile, there is few places where a mine isn't realistic. You can ship just about any theme with Mines, and it still works.
- Very good for RED, as most of the buildings are natural wood and warm colors.
Disadvantages of the Mines theme
- A high level of displacements
- While it's great for RED, BLU suffers from it lacking in their cooler colors.
Some example maps that use Mines well
- Dustbowl
- Ravine
- Gravel Pit
Reference
http://i.imgur.com/Q33hf9t.jpg
2. Farmland (1)
Farmland sounds more difficult then it is. TF2 loves it's facades, and Granary gives us an extensive set of Farm props and such to use. Expect rooms filled with grain and hay, and lots of wood with some occasional sheet metal to break things up. This theme is very easy to create for two reasons. For one, you don't need complex brushwork unlike the Mines theme. Two is that it's flat. If you are bad a displacements, that is a godsend.
Advantages of the Farmland theme
- It's very flat, meaning you need minimal displacement work.
- A ton of props to use with it, and a lot of great textures.
Disadvantages of the Farmland theme
- Also relies a lot on wood, but you can use metal and concrete at points.
- Meshes poorly with any themes outside of flat grasslands.
Some examples maps that use Farmland well
- Granary
- 2Fort
Reference
http://i.imgur.com/Kyn7Ncy.jpg
I'll continue this guide in later post, as there is a character limit on this forum