Thanks a lot to Paul Jaquays for providing his CTF tips.

I played several CTF games, such as Kingpin's Bagman, Q2 CTF, Q3 CTF and D3 CTF. While playing and looking through D3 CTF maps by Threewave, I noticed that their maps have several things in common.

- The maps are symmetrical
- Bases have spaces for Flag Carrier to hide
- Security Armor is usually placed near the flag room
- The donut-shaped areas are common throughout the maps
- Machineguns are usually placed near the flag
- The color of the flares and CTF decals indicate the bases
- Bases have 2-4 entry points

Note: Donut-shaped area is a room with a pillar or a column in the middle of it.

o Keep maps symmetrical. Even if you can design an interesting non-symmetrical map, players will always believe that the maps are imbalanced and will favor a side. The big terrain map that Xian did for Q2 CTF is a classic example. No question that it was fun, but I always felt that Blue had a map advantage.

o Mark paths in and out of bases. Nothing is more frustrating than being constantly turned around inside a map and becoming disoriented.

o Plan out areas for strategic defenses.

o Strike a balance between defensibility and indefensibility for bases. A base that has to be assaulted by teamwork to succeed is much better than one that leaks like a sieve ... too easy to get into or out of.

o Work in variety of play experience in maps. My CTF maps in Q3A and Q3:TA were the only ones with swimmable water in them. Made them different from everyone elses.

o Think in terms of memorable play experiences.

o Don’t be afraid to include hiding places. The Q2 CTF maps had great hiding places in them. The Q3A maps did not ... no place to hide.

o Keep map size down. Unless BIG is the memorable feature of a map, don’t make the distance between bases overlong. Fast games are more fun than interminably long races between bases.

o Be careful about making a map that is too sniper friendly. If a good sniper can dominate a map, no one on the other side will have fun.

o The best sniper roosts should also be the most vulnerable positions to maintain.

o Keep players supplied with ammo, but hungry for armor and health.

o Assault and return routes should intersect frequently.