#1
26·10·2005, 14:13
shutdown2
By Cheese
- Game:
- Team Fortress Classic
- Map Type:
- Capture the Flag
- Released:
- 8·2·2000
- Ideal Team Size:
- 8
- Teams:
- 2
- Downloads:
- 459
Download Now (1.21 MB)
What was once a legendary map, with the most coveted defensive position of all time, has now sadly become an overplayed and widely hated map. This was not always the case however….
Shutdown2 is the sequel to the old school map shutdown_l, both of the same author, and reuses but also improves upon some same design principles (that being; having lasers barring enemies from reaching the flag unless the security is deactivated). While shutdown_l was a decent map for its time, its major flaw was the distance between the security and the flagroom and due to the size of both it was unclear which one should be defended. Most teams opted to defend the security but once this was down (a difficult task in itself) your flag would be pretty much gone.
This is where Shutdown2 comes in to save the day. It does away with the need to defend the security and instead Cheese has created a map that is much more balanced and played more to the style of traditional TFC maps (such as 2fort): with clearly set out positions for defense.
Shutdown2 is almost always played with 4 defense and typically arranged in the following fashion:
-Soldier ramp
-Soldier flagroom
-Soldier plank
-Engineer flagroom
Variations of this setup depend on team capability and playing conditions. Many soldiers find plank a hard position to play and often choose to defend it as a HW instead. While in high pinging circumstances (such as for international matches) a HW is normally used in the flagroom instead of a soldier.
The reason why this map used to be so loved was because of the primary defensive position: the ramp. The hordes of offense that stream up the ramp at insane speeds is no doubt on of the greatest defensive challenges in this game. Very few people know how to or have the skill/reflexes to successfully defend this position, with only a handful of members in community able to say “I scored over 100 playing ramp soldier in a war”. This milestone is why I describe ramp soldier as the most coveted position of any TFC map; everybody wants to be able to score over 100 there. Not only is there the potential to get huge amounts of frags from this position, there is also the added challenge of hitting middies.
Now, I don’t claim to be any sort of expert at soldier or playing ramp soldier for that matter but I think I understand how it needs to be played. After watching countless Euro demos and the Aussie master himself (ferm) it appears that the way to stop the flow of enemies coming from ramp, heading to the flagroom, is through two main principles:
-Keeping the lift up at all times (Engineer’s job) so as to force the enemies going ramp to only attack in one direction, towards the T.
-Making a wall of spam (ferm is very good at this
) with timed combinations of nails, rockets and general grenades.
Of course, this is not going to guarantee a 100+ score. The ramp soldier needs to also have deadly accurate rockets and decent shotgun aim; this is to ensure that you have enough ammo for the maximum amount of enemies that can attack. One final prerequisite of the ramp soldier is to be able to time his resups well. A badly timed resup could be the difference between killing 15 enemies without dying and your flag getting capped within the next 30 seconds.
So far your probably thinking “Well this map ain’t any fun, only one position is good to play”. This is the greatest misconception of Shutdown2. I find that both other soldier positions are equally as challenging and as fun to play, often preferring to play plank soldier of ramp soldier. This map can also be one of the most enjoyable and satisfying for playing engineer with a decent ramp soldier too.
The above description is only half of what you need to know to play this map though and emphasizes how in-depth Shutdown2 really is.
Shutdown2 can be played well with a variety of offensive lineups. Most commonly 3 medics and a scout are used. The key to flag movement in Shutdown2 (using this setup) is mass ramp attacking with the aim of overwhelming the ramp soldier so that the scout can get through easily. Attacking ramp is done through either DMing the ramp soldier or attempting to rampslide straight past him. Since you all know how to rampslide, I’ll keep the explanation brief:
Coming through front door you can conc (HH typically) from either the left or the right side depending on your intention. This will give you massive speed up the ramp. As you slide up the ramp you should be aiming where you want to go and when you reach the top of the ramp press the duck key to come off the end of it (a successful one will having you shoot into the T).
Once in the flagroom the primary aim is to conc and throw the flag out. A good throw would see the flag on the flagroom floor (not the ramp, this is even more difficult to move). Second to this would be taking the sentry gun down or DM the flagroom soldier.
When the flag is on the flagroom floor I feel the best plan of attack is to whore the plank. With brute force DM (and possibly some tricky scout moves) the flag should be quickly out of the flagroom, past the T and to ramp/top ramp. To avoid slow movement and returns from here most of the offense should be attacking ramp, keeping the sentry gun down and the soldiers low on health and ammo (with the occasional medic or scout run through plank to get a touch).
Other tactics may be employed for offense, again depending on team capability and playing conditions. Spies are often used by many teams instead of a scout and high ping matches tend towards a medic only lineup.
Overall, this is an extremely well balanced map and while it has a steep learning curve; it is probably the most in-depth and long lasting map you can ever play. I hope to see a revival of it for the HL2 mod Fortress Forever.
Shutdown2 is the sequel to the old school map shutdown_l, both of the same author, and reuses but also improves upon some same design principles (that being; having lasers barring enemies from reaching the flag unless the security is deactivated). While shutdown_l was a decent map for its time, its major flaw was the distance between the security and the flagroom and due to the size of both it was unclear which one should be defended. Most teams opted to defend the security but once this was down (a difficult task in itself) your flag would be pretty much gone.
This is where Shutdown2 comes in to save the day. It does away with the need to defend the security and instead Cheese has created a map that is much more balanced and played more to the style of traditional TFC maps (such as 2fort): with clearly set out positions for defense.
Shutdown2 is almost always played with 4 defense and typically arranged in the following fashion:
-Soldier ramp
-Soldier flagroom
-Soldier plank
-Engineer flagroom
Variations of this setup depend on team capability and playing conditions. Many soldiers find plank a hard position to play and often choose to defend it as a HW instead. While in high pinging circumstances (such as for international matches) a HW is normally used in the flagroom instead of a soldier.
The reason why this map used to be so loved was because of the primary defensive position: the ramp. The hordes of offense that stream up the ramp at insane speeds is no doubt on of the greatest defensive challenges in this game. Very few people know how to or have the skill/reflexes to successfully defend this position, with only a handful of members in community able to say “I scored over 100 playing ramp soldier in a war”. This milestone is why I describe ramp soldier as the most coveted position of any TFC map; everybody wants to be able to score over 100 there. Not only is there the potential to get huge amounts of frags from this position, there is also the added challenge of hitting middies.
Now, I don’t claim to be any sort of expert at soldier or playing ramp soldier for that matter but I think I understand how it needs to be played. After watching countless Euro demos and the Aussie master himself (ferm) it appears that the way to stop the flow of enemies coming from ramp, heading to the flagroom, is through two main principles:
-Keeping the lift up at all times (Engineer’s job) so as to force the enemies going ramp to only attack in one direction, towards the T.
-Making a wall of spam (ferm is very good at this
) with timed combinations of nails, rockets and general grenades.Of course, this is not going to guarantee a 100+ score. The ramp soldier needs to also have deadly accurate rockets and decent shotgun aim; this is to ensure that you have enough ammo for the maximum amount of enemies that can attack. One final prerequisite of the ramp soldier is to be able to time his resups well. A badly timed resup could be the difference between killing 15 enemies without dying and your flag getting capped within the next 30 seconds.
So far your probably thinking “Well this map ain’t any fun, only one position is good to play”. This is the greatest misconception of Shutdown2. I find that both other soldier positions are equally as challenging and as fun to play, often preferring to play plank soldier of ramp soldier. This map can also be one of the most enjoyable and satisfying for playing engineer with a decent ramp soldier too.
The above description is only half of what you need to know to play this map though and emphasizes how in-depth Shutdown2 really is.
Shutdown2 can be played well with a variety of offensive lineups. Most commonly 3 medics and a scout are used. The key to flag movement in Shutdown2 (using this setup) is mass ramp attacking with the aim of overwhelming the ramp soldier so that the scout can get through easily. Attacking ramp is done through either DMing the ramp soldier or attempting to rampslide straight past him. Since you all know how to rampslide, I’ll keep the explanation brief:
Coming through front door you can conc (HH typically) from either the left or the right side depending on your intention. This will give you massive speed up the ramp. As you slide up the ramp you should be aiming where you want to go and when you reach the top of the ramp press the duck key to come off the end of it (a successful one will having you shoot into the T).
Once in the flagroom the primary aim is to conc and throw the flag out. A good throw would see the flag on the flagroom floor (not the ramp, this is even more difficult to move). Second to this would be taking the sentry gun down or DM the flagroom soldier.
When the flag is on the flagroom floor I feel the best plan of attack is to whore the plank. With brute force DM (and possibly some tricky scout moves) the flag should be quickly out of the flagroom, past the T and to ramp/top ramp. To avoid slow movement and returns from here most of the offense should be attacking ramp, keeping the sentry gun down and the soldiers low on health and ammo (with the occasional medic or scout run through plank to get a touch).
Other tactics may be employed for offense, again depending on team capability and playing conditions. Spies are often used by many teams instead of a scout and high ping matches tend towards a medic only lineup.
Overall, this is an extremely well balanced map and while it has a steep learning curve; it is probably the most in-depth and long lasting map you can ever play. I hope to see a revival of it for the HL2 mod Fortress Forever.
#8
26·10·2005, 18:24
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Bluefox
why are you reviewing old maps? when can we expect to see a 2fort review?
also, sd2 is probably the best tfc map ever made |
and yes it is probably the best tfc map ever made, thats why i kept dribbling on about it.
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