Mood shot for Washout showing landmark mid prop and blue’s side of the map 
Initial outline for Washout, noting dynamic bridges controlled by capture points. 
Day one layout with mid, dynamic bridges, and rough outlining of back points. 
Layout improvements including new spawn areas and new dynamic spawn routes. 
Spawn area barricade extensions, flank field extensions, and out-of-bounds areas define the near-final layout. A new point-controlled flank path was added to the cliffs in each field. 
If red control mid, their bridge extends for easier pushes forwards. If Blue controls Red’s B, Red’s flank and spawn doors are shut 
Callout names for Red side (mirror for Blue)
Washout (WIP)
One of Team Fortress 2’s more interesting Attack/Defend maps, CP_Steel, has an interesting quirk. Rather than a locked progression of capture points, the attackers can capture the defender’s final point at any time – a tough feat at first, but for each preceding point they capture, a new element of the map opens up. Doors unlock to reveal new flanks and new routes, giving successive pushes an advantage.
This kind of point-driven map dynamism was something I wanted to explore in my second level design jam project following Scaffold. Washout, then, is a 5cp map that trades a sprawling progression of play areas and rolling spawns with a smaller, almost King of the Hill shaped layout where every point you gain or lose unlocks some new element of the battlefield.
My first plan for this was to have each team’s forward point close a bridge on the opposing side of the map, denying their opponent traversal to mid. I quickly switched this to have both teams’ bridges hidden by default, extending whenever one of them captured mid to give them a foothold for further assaults. This also had the fun effect of making scouts and soldiers very powerful early picks, able to contest mid for a good 10 seconds before slower characters can reach the point.
As map development progressed, I added a few more instances of this. Capturing your opponent’s forward point denies their opponent a front door out of spawn, forcing them into fortifying rear battlements behind their Base point. Currently, capturing a forward also closes a flank door by canal. This less decisive element nonetheless forces both attackers and defenders to commit to either pulling off a plucky back cap or going for a full-on assault.
Getting a version of the map up and playable with bots was my very first priority, but I also had more formal (read: human) playtesting thanks to both Steve Lee’s Level Design discord and the Waypoint community. After playtesting with the TF2maps community I released alpha versions of the map for public play, though development was put on hold as work on Highland started to ramp up in earnest.
Nat Clayton, level designer 