Maps
The biggest difference between Team Fortress 2 and Team Fortress Classic is graphical. The Source engine allows for far more detail for not only the models, but the maps as well. Some of the maps featured in TF2 are remakes of TFC maps, such as Dustbowl and 2Fort, but the difference between the originals is night and day.
Lumberyard Arena Lumberyard has an unbalanced structure, with one half of the map climbing up towards a large mountain peak, while the other dips down into a valley. A series of rooftops at the map’s center serves as the key battleground area, with lateral flanking being the key maneuver at ground level. When the capture point becomes active after 60 seconds, multiple entrances open up into the central control point, which becomes the focus of the fighting as the match nears its end. Lumberyard is one of the few Arena maps without water, and contains only a single health kit. The kit sits on a log above a deadly pit, making it a great ambush spot for Pyros, Demomen, and Soldiers to send unwary enemies to their deaths. |
Ravine Arena In contrast to Lumberyard, Ravine has a far more open ground level with emphasis on control of four key choke points. A series of canals in Ravine’s lower level provide an excellent opportunity for stealth kills and flanking maneuvers. Like all arena maps, the capture point in the middle becomes active after 60 seconds. |
Steel Control Points A complex Attack/Defense control point map, with some unique gameplay. Unlike most TF2 maps, capturing a control point modifies the layout of the map, opening and closing routes for each team. As a result, the offensive team has a wide variety of tactical choices around how they'd like to assault the final point. Should they use Scouts and Soldiers to rush the final point with only the routes they start with? Should they go for the side control points and open up more routes to the final? Should they capture extra points to shut down the defender's routes? The many choices keep the map interesting for a long time, providing a wide variety of experiences in a game. |
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Turbine Capture the Flag A CTF map inside a large industrial compound. It's clean and straightforward, making it easy to learn, but its well balanced layout ensures there are still a wide variety of strategic choices for teams to make, and for individual classes to shine. Competitive teams and players have already popularized this one. |
Fastlane Control Points A control point map with five points, in the style of Badlands. Its symmetrical layout provides for high-speed and well balanced gameplay, while the multiple indoor routes, connected to larger outdoor arenas, provide a wide set of interesting and varied combat spaces. The arena-style control points require solid teamwork to capture and hold. |
Goldrush Payload Gold Rush is an entirely new level featuring a new gameplay style called Payload. The level is split into three separate areas with intermediate capture zones inside of each major chapter. The teams are split between offense (Blu) and defense (Red) similar to Dustbowl. The goal for the Blu team is to push the bomb payload through the level until it reaches the next capture point, eventually destroying all three of Red's major bases. Blu pushes the cart through the level by standing near it, with the cart moving faster when more people are close by. If no one has pushed the cart forward after 30 seconds, the cart will begin to move backward until it is pushed forward again. |
Dustbowl Control Points, Fast Capture Speeds The Red team must defend 6 control points spread across three territories. The Blu team has to capture each point in sequential order, twisting around a canyon and mine shafts on a march toward Red's rocket pad. Confusing passages and lots of tight corners make for some intense fights over the control points, which only require a Blu Scout seconds to capture. |
Granary Control Points, Progressively Faster Capture Speeds Each team must capture five control points, the map starting with two on each side and one up for grabs in the middle. That middle control point has a medium capture speed, but then each point closer to a team's base takes significantly less time than the last. All control points remain locked except for the Red and Blu points next to each other and are thus being contested. |
Gravelpit Control Points, Slow Capture Speeds Until End The Red team must defend their radio tower (Point A), radar dish (Point B) and laser gun (Point C). The Blu team has to capture both the tower and the radar before they can go after the laser, but they can go after either point first (or both at once), and they're locked after a capture so Red can't take them back. Points A and B take a long time or several players to capture, but Point C takes a Blu scout mere seconds. So far this is the one TF2 map that has more than one control point to go after or defend at a time. |
Well Control Points, Progressively Faster Capture Speeds TF2 takes the TFC classic, Well, and converts it from a capture the flag to a control point map. Like Granary, each team must capture five control points, starting with two on each side and one up for grabs in the middle and all control points remain locked except for the Red and Blu points next to each other. Be aware that the train tracks in the middle of the map are active and deadly! |
2Fort Capture the Flag TF2 takes the TFC classic, 2fort, and... recreates it almost exactly, only this time around it's loaded with eye candy. Blu and Red occupy identical bases differing only in color scheme and building materials and only separated by a short bridge. Their goal is to capture each other's intelligence briefcases. Dropped cases return to their base after one minute. If you're a veteran TFC player, all you need to know is that the flag room elevator's been replaced with stairs, and that's all that's changed. |
Hydro Territory Control, Fast Capture Speeds Hydro is a slightly confusing and unique map comprised of six stages with two control points each. Unlike Dustbowl, however, Blu and Red are both attacking and defending in each stage, and the stages don't get locked upon a win. Therefore, a particularly aggressive match can see teams moving back and forth around the middle territories multiple times before one team is backed up to its home base. |