I've recently played on a couple custom map servers with interesting maps (bought TF2 for the fianceé, yep she plays, be kind to HotPocket if you see her around), and thought I might offer them up to the community for possible inclusion on Tempest #3. If posting in the forum isn't the proper way to suggest new maps, please forgive me.

I'd be in favor of including all or some of these maps, though they are listed in my relative order of preference.

• Foldtown [Link]

Foldtown is a four point CP map with a couple twists. First, it's quite a unique map for TF2 in that it is very dark. Often it can be hard to tell if the person you see lurking is friend or foe (which would be murder on maps with FF, but even without it's still a little unnerving). It also has two capture points situated about equidistant between the bases, either of which can be taken at any time. Given its layout the map can be a little confusing, but part of its appeal is its open nature. People can be on buildings, in buildings, and the straight distance between the two bases is small enough you'll never know what will be right outside your door.



 

• Doorman's Towers [Link]

Continuing this theme of obscurity, Doorman's Towers is another visually distinct map (CTF this time). Each team has a very tall tower with intel on the roof (and you can guess the easiest way of transporting it down!), connected to each other by bridges and a couple bunkers. But defenders have to be careful -- the spawn point in the basement is lined with hidden rooms, some with health packs and others with invisible walls and tunnels leading right into the enemy base! I'm a little bummed out that the water in between the bases is off limits, but it's still a blast to play.



 

• Snofort [Link]

Maybe it's just that it's so seasonally timely, but Snofort is a good CTF map for the times. It's a bit smaller than either 2fort or Doorman's Towers, but has a nice theme and a bend between the bases to keep it from becoming a sniper's paradise. The two lodges have both a direct, outdoor route and mine shaft from behind. The mine shaft actually leads into both the base itself and an air duct that drops right into the intel room! It also has a non-destructible companion cube by each base that gets batted around during combat. It's probably not a contender for a permanent resident on the server, but if we're at all interested in rotating some maps in and out to give the server variety, I can't think of a better or more appropriate map for this time of year.

So there you go. The poll should allow you to pick any combination of the three options, and the direct links should let you download the maps (put them in \Steam\steamapps\[name]\team fortress 2\tf\maps, and type "map cp_foldtown_v1" (or whichever map) in the console to load) to try them out if you can't find a server hosting them. I don't know if there's a limit to how many maps we can put in #3's rotation, or if we want to limit it just to keep there from being too much variability. If we had to eliminate some from the current rotation, I'd recommend doing away with Stronghold, Lazytown, and/or Dustbowl (since we now have a 24/7 Dustbowl server).

What say you guys?

I know it's only been open since Tuesday, but the vote seems to have quieted down a bit, and 11 for and nothing else seems likely to be insurmountable.

So when can we expect to see them make an appearance on #3? I'm itchin' to get me some Foldtown.

(btw, I'm no pro but I'm moderately good with Photoshop, if you'd like me to doctor up the motd)

Defiantly! That's the kind of enthusiasm we like to see around here!