Chokepoints
by Egir Helgrimson

      In this article I'll try to layout a map from how I want the chokepoints to be. To the right you can get an idea of what we are going to make. Every good map is remembered from its chokepoints, since this is where players meet and where players get frags. After all this is a first person shooter game, so getting frags is mostly what it is all about.

Timing

      In order to get people meating each other we need to have them reaching the same place the same time. Given that they move with equal speeds, and given that they start at the same time we have reason to believe that chokepoints are placed in the middle of the path from one spawn to another.

      Then one could think that we can make one long tunnel with an angle and just let the two opposing teams encounter eachother there and make the best chokepoint ever by doing so. That would look something like the figure below.

      This is not far from the truth, however this can be improved quite a bit. The timing is perfect. unfortunately timing is not everything.

Forcing the players towards the chokepoint

      There is nothing to stop any of the teams to stay at spawn with snipers and wait untill the other team tries to storm. Clearly we need something to force the two teams to get to the chokepoint as fast as possible (making them move with the same speed). Luckily this is not deathmatch hence we actually have objectives. In capture the flag games it would be brilliant to place a flag out there. If you have played dod_caen you may notice that this is the layout basic that has been used repeatingly - and it works very good.

      This is not Day of Defeat (nor is it Sands of War for that matter) hence we have no flags. But we do have hostages and bombsites to place whereever we please. So considder that we made the entrance to a bombsite right at the chokepoint. Or we could make a path to a bombsite, that doesn't really matter, since the chokepoint will be an important place to visit nomater what. Now our layout looks something simular to this:

      Now the terrorists will rush towards the bombsite in hope that they will reach it before the counter terrorists get to the chokepoint. And the counter terrorists will rush towards the bombsite aswell hoping to prevent the terrorists from entering the bombsite. Ladies an gentlemen, we got ourselves a gameplay, however it can be improved even more. This gameplay will work if the counter terrorists gets to the chokepoint in time, but what if they don't. Obviously it will be hard to take over the bombsite from just one entrance, especially when an entire team of terrorists are awaiting you to do so. Hence we need an additonal entrance to the bombsite. This entrance should be for emergencies only.

Implementing a more dynamic gameplay

      We cannot afford that the counter terrorists can get to the bombsite faster this way than through the chokepoint since that would make the chokepoint pretty useless. So we need to add a few bottlenecks to the alternative path. Further more it would be a brilliant idea to have a bombsite at the counter terrorist spawn. The terrorists needs a path towards there aswell. Lets make a little change in our layout.

      Now lets introduce another kind of chokepoint. The "sniper alley". in short terms its just a long tunnel that the terrorrists and counter terrorists will enter in each their end the same time. Very optimized for snipers. Again we need to make sure that there is a reason for chosing this path, and not just staying back and camp. So we will make this a combined entrance to both bombsites, so that counterterrorists are forced to cover it. We will make this route a bit longer than the other so that you get to chose wether to rush or to snipe. Now lets place this "sniper alley" underneath the path leading out of counter terrorist spawn along with some other interresting spots.

      I'll just run through the few spots added on the picture above.

• stairs 1 - These stairs provide a route to the sniper alley to for the counter terrorists to use. By being stairs this route appears different than the other exit from counter terrorists spawn. They also give attacking terroritsts a different type of approach compared to the other entrance.
• stairs 2 - These stairs are placed in the middle of the line of fire in the sniper alley. This works as a fast escape route and as a reason to go for a walk in the sniper alley
• stairs 3 - These stairs made to get the terrorist a bit out of ballance when entering the sniper alley. Giving the counter terrorists a change to try and cover the arrea first.
• safe room It is not ment to be all to easy for terrorists to place the bomb, so this room is where they assemble first and then rush when ready. The room is easy to cover in both directions.

     So, now I have noticed only three things that needs to be improved. If you as terrorist want to attack from the other route you will use quite a bit amount of time, traveling all the way back to spawn and then forth again. Hence a connection between the main route and the sniper alley is needed.

     Another thing that can be improved is that the bombsite at counter terrorist spawn needs a safe room. The last thing that needs to be improved is the long and repeative mainroutes.

      Yay - problem solved. I expaned the counter terrorist spawn to make it less square. I added a connection between the mainroute and the sniper alley. And I made a vertical visblock at the terrorist route towards the chokepoint. Its not easy to see from the figure, but its suposed to be a road going under a building or something, so that the building will block the line of sight.

Conclusion

      I conclude that laying out the map after simple ideas of how I want the chokepoints to be is a very good idea (given that this is a good layout ofcourse).

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