Declined Trade US: extend the map into the space area

[RenZ]

Greetings all, it's common knowledge that a lot of people do not like the new trade maps due to the nature that they're quite small and desire to go back to older designs such as Portal v4 which were huge despite the fact that the old trade maps did not have as active of a playerbase as they are now.

I however have a bit of a compromise that can be done to make the map bigger, without changing much of the formula that works, all that I am suggesting is make the space portion of the map accessible. The ground there is solid, only the props with the exception of the statue have no collisions.

That is all, even if nothing changes I'm happy with how it is now, but the space area seems a bit wasted if we cannot play in that area.

 

[Seminal Inhalation]

Would definitely be nice to have the current map expanded upon.

I think something that would appeal to all parties would be adding a teleporter to the "top secret" doors that are in both spawns that allow you to go out of bounds or even into the skybox. Could even add teleporters in the out of bounds areas that take you back to the main area, that way not only is the map is bigger, but gives people that have a problem with the spawncamps another exit to fight back.

This door btw -

 

[RenZ]

Would definitely be nice to have the current map expanded upon.

I think something that would appeal to all parties would be adding a teleporter to the "top secret" doors that are in both spawns that allow you to go out of bounds or even into the skybox. Could even add teleporters in the out of bounds areas that take you back to the main area, that way not only is the map is bigger, but gives people that have a problem with the spawncamps another exit to fight back.

This door btw -

yeah kind of like how we used to have it sometimes, that was a long while ago actually.
The saferoom was on the other side of the map, and wouldn't receive teleporters for a good while, first it was TP's at the soccer goals then eventually they moved into the saferoom.

 

[Jermaphobe]

The debris field can be one-way accessed when you roll no clip or have an admin no clip you in. IIRC I never set build restrictions out there since players have no normal means to get there so an engineer could build a teleporter there until someone destroys it or engineer switches classes or leaves.

That area is intended as off limits by normal play because the player can see things they’re not intended to see. (Skybox/real world desync primarily (you can see the desync in the play area if you look hard enough in the right places but it’s not something you’ll notice without looking for it)) and some of the objects scattered around in the debris field will really fuck with nav mesh. Only solutions either not mesh the debris field (it isn’t in the current version) or remove the problematic objects

I wouldn’t mind opening it up as a play area but it’s not entirely up to me. I’d probably mess around with gravity in that area if I did open it up but IIRC it requires certain commands being set to 1 on the server side to work. I know some servers run with these commands set to 1 but I don’t think trade does.

 

[n3k();]

Hello

The map is really nice as it is. I really liked the new things like the skybox and the 2 small blocks where you can hide from snipers.
I really like the map to be small.

I would like the fake hats in the peacefull area to not be just in front of the window, because, at the end everyone is looking at the arena through the window or are showing themself here. It would be cool to have more light near the window so we can show our cosmetic to everyone :-P.

The control point is very useless. I would love if putting the cube on the control point would trigger something. It's not easy to bring the cube here so it would be nice if it was rewarded ( or punished, with a big explosion killing everyone ) :D
Or if you could activate the vocal announces when someone is capping...

The boxing area is really nice as it is, but I think it should be more punitive against players who leave it.

But that's not really important, you made a great work on this map !
I used to not like it, but every modification have been an improvement.

Thank you ;-)

 

[Bottiger]

We do not want to turn the map into a large playground for f2ps to explore. It is meant for trading. The server originally died because we just accepted any random map and the map became bigger and bigger until you could not see anyone else to trade with. This is going to piss off f2p players who aren't there to trade, but it seems to be worth the trade off.

 

[Seminal Inhalation]

We do not want to turn the map into a large playground for f2ps to explore. It is meant for trading. The server originally died because we just accepted any random map and the map became bigger and bigger until you could not see anyone else to trade with. This is going to piss off f2p players who aren't there to trade, but it seems to be worth the trade off.

Thought F2P's can't trade anymore, did they change that?

 

[KinCryos]

Thought F2P's can't trade anymore, did they change that?

any items that originated on their account (IOW, drops) would be untradable until they upgrade to Premium, that was always the full extent of the restriction on F2P trades.
they could still receive items via trading, and then trade those out

 

[RenZ]

We do not want to turn the map into a large playground for f2ps to explore. It is meant for trading. The server originally died because we just accepted any random map and the map became bigger and bigger until you could not see anyone else to trade with. This is going to piss off f2p players who aren't there to trade, but it seems to be worth the trade off.

Hmmm makes sense... though I don't think adding on another 1/2 of the map will make as much difference as if we went back to a huge map like v4 just have to clean up some of the desync and make adjustments to the skybox, though that's likely not going to happen anyways, and I've no true insight onto how to run a tf2 server and keep it populated

Either way it was just a random thought I had while playing so I wanted to try and suggest it.

 

[BadmanoftheBrine]

Why not have a dedicated room for trading? One similar to the safe space, but purely for trading. Could require two people hit a button at once, perhaps?

Almost every time Im on, literally noone takes the trading seriously.
"Is this a trade server" they'll ask, and almost always someone will say "no"

As well, Jetpack is an option in the server. Something a lot of people hate when they cant deal with it, and another thing people love to go fast with. Extending the space into the space itself would be a neat idea for Jetpack users to duke it out, potentially with hidden air currents or springs to spice things up.

The boxing ring is one of the more favoured hiding places for people that cant handle fighting, as well as the safe space. So its not like there isnt already some form of protection for those that just want to play dress up. Heck, most people come on JUST to wear cosmetics they''ll likely never be able to afford. The spawn itself is also a good form for them. Throw a mirror (if thats even doable in Source) to help them. !tp only lets you see so much, having to constantly taunt just to see the rest.

 

[RenZ]

Almost every time Im on, literally noone takes the trading seriously.
"Is this a trade server" they'll ask, and almost always someone will say "no"

this is true, like half the people come here for the dumb shenanigans whether it be jetpack, donor, the item command, or a mix of the 3.

trading occasionally happens here, the rest of the time is people either friendling or killing eachother.

 

[BadmanoftheBrine]

>jerma dumbing my response cos he didnt think of these first teehee

Seething aside, as a regular of Trade Ive seen more shitposts in voicechat than I have successful trades. Ive seen people BEG for items more than actually giving anything for them. MOST people use it for wearing things they cant afford, and the majority complain when they're killed (thank fuck friendlying isnt a thing in Trade)

Way I see things, half my bans are because youre not allowed to put anything funny in voicechat. In fact my current one is literally the result of me JOINING IN on someone else doing it.

Practically speaking, we could do with
1) More open space for Jetpack. You get stuck on everything and its janky that way
2) Soften voicechat rules TO AN EXTENT. Im not saying outright let people shit on the mic. If its infuriating the server, let them votereport, and an admin can just sort it out from there. A lot of the fun of trade is funny noise. Trade requests should take priority, however, seeing as it IS a trade server. (forgot to mention theres also !ignore AND ingame mute, so uh yeah)
3) More personal rooms for traders to get a better look at someones items.
4) Fix !bp. Cant ever use it cos its either outdated, broken, or just doesnt work. Its incredibly handy for checking prices. ESPECIALLY ON A TRADE SERVER
5) Keep the Trade part of the server as its priority, and a secondary function as a messing around server. Ive personally never seen the whole point of !items if its meant for actually selling them. Just seems counter productive to show off items you dont have to people who want to buy them. Make it less serious if youre gonna keep that function.