I accidentally mapped really hard.Aridpass wasn't really intended on being my summer project for this year when I started it, I just had some ideas I wanted to start poking at, and it quickly became something I was having a lot of fun doing. I knew I wanted to make it payload, and a classic "goldrush" style theme. I also wanted to challenge myself to do this one wholly myself. For the last very many projects, I've typically been the layout person, designing/ testing/ iterating, and then passing it over to be detailed by all the incredibly talented people I've worked with in the past. I've always poked at the detailing as well, especially recently with maps like Gavle and Sidewinder, but that hasn't been my primary role. Admittedly, it's really hard to pass up the chance to get my layouts detailed by arguably some of the best artists on the scene. It's really REALLY cool to get to see the end result.But with Aridpass, I wanted to push myself a bit more, and I'm really proud of where the map is at currently. I would say the map is maybe overall about 70% detailed at this point. A few key buildings still need work, mainly the two largest spawn rooms, plus displacements around the main part of the map, and then a lot of work needs to be put into the out of bounds detailing and 3d skybox. The exterior organic work is probably the parts I'm mostly worried about pulling off well, but I think I can manage something that looks good.The last time I did any projects like this almost entirely myself was Probed and Glassworks, which are both over a decade old at this point, and even those has custom assets made for them, unlike Aridpass. I have never made a map to completion without someone else having their hands in it in at least a small way.
I also planned on making steady update logs about the map like I did with Gavle, and since we're nearing the finish line, I clearly did a really bad job of that, stopping after the very first one. Whoops.
My workflow operates how it wants, and breaking out of that can be a struggle for me at times. I get in a state of focus on a task that may not always be what I intended, but often is the place I needed to focus in hindsight. I kind of have to trust my instincts in that regard, it's served me pretty well so far. It doesn't always make me the most reliable when I say I'm going to do something, like the change log videos, but at the same time it also feels like one of my strengths, being able to move with the tides and crank out a lot of hard work fast.So, oops, Aridpass is looking to be approaching RC status in the upcoming weeks, just in time for the general summer map deadline for the Workshop, and I get to drop this one as a single-credit classic themed map, which is pretty cool.