Nightfall

Nightfall
Basic Information
Developer(s):	Unknown
Map Info
Environment:	Alpine / Industrial
Setting:	Nighttime, raining
Hazards:	Pitfall
Map Photos
Map Overview

“

Nine out of ten mercenaries will tell you: If you're looking for a place to see who can push bombs into a shallow pit the fastest, there's no better location than a damp logging site, in the middle of the rain, in the middle of a forest, in the middle of the night. Nine out of ten mercenaries are idiots, though, so you might not want to put much stock in it. — Community Map Pack Update

”

Nightfall is a Payload Race map created for the TF2Maps.net A/D CTF and Payload Race Contest. It was awarded first place in the competition despite being unfinished at the end of the contest. It was later added to the game as an official community created map in the February 24, 2011 Patch due to its outstanding quality. Similar to Sawmill, Nightfall is set at night in a lumber company during a torrential rainstorm, with its architecture heavily influenced by Ravine.

From feedback received from gameplay on the Payload Race map Pipeline, Nightfall was designed to provide players with plenty of routes into the enemy's base in order to help overcome a strong defense. The map features neutral arenas at the center of each stage instead of chokepoints, which allows players to move more freely between the bases, and mechanics to help motivate players to complete the objective. These take the form of a round timer which, upon expiring, forces both carts to slowly roll forward until either one reaches its objective.

The goal is to escort the team's cart through enemy territory in order to reach the capture point, while preventing the enemy team from doing the same.

Locations

Stage 1

Stage 1 starts with each cart on an incline in between spawn and the middle of the map. The cart paths them make a right/left (for RED) or left/right (for BLU) series of turns before crossing over in the middle of the map. Above this crossover is a small platform and opening, offering classes like Pyros, Soldiers and Demomen a good ambush spot.

Following the crossover, each cart path makes another series of turns, opposite their first ones (right/left for BLU, or left/right for RED), before heading down the other team's starting incline. The final portion of the cart path features a right (RED) or left (BLU) turn in front of the enemy's spawn before reaching the final point. Directly before the final point is a slight incline that does feature rollback, forcing a sustained push at the end of the map to successfully capture the cart.

There are a number of paths around both cart paths, mirroring each other on both the BLU and RED portions of the map. Many of these paths are wide but have tight corners, offering Spies good places to hide and/or attack from.

Stage 2

Stage 2 is designed in a similar manner to Stage 1, starting with the carts by each team's respective spawn. The path then passes through a tunnel before reaching the central arena and crossover. However, directly after the crossover, there is a pair of steep inclines, each cart path traveling up one of the inclines.

From here, both cart paths make a series of turns before beginning a downhill section toward the final point, which is located outside the enemy team's spawn room. As with Stage 1, directly before the final point is a slight incline that does feature rollback, forcing a sustained push at the end of the map to successfully capture the cart.

Stage 3

Stage 3 features an entirely different design from the first two stages. The cart path winds uphill through several turns outside each team's spawn, with one path from spawn leading directly to the top of the hill. At the top of the incline is the cross over.

The final portion of the stage features a full downhill push toward an empty pit, with both cart paths alongside each other. A bridge spans both cart paths directly before the final drop into the pit. Underneath the two cart paths is a large, open are that players can be pushed off into, as well as paths that lead back up to the main cart path.

Strategy

• Because of the unique anti-stalemate function in Nightfall, if your team's cart is ahead of the opposing team's cart near the end of the round, it may pay off to pull back and simply defend your cart. In doing so, both carts will continue to roll forward on their own. This strategy doesn't work on Stage 3, as there is no time limit.
• Due to the tight corridors, Engineers equipped with the Gunslinger can deploy Mini-Sentry Guns to great effect on certain parts of the map, namely around corners. They can also provide distraction while teammates flank the opposing team.
  • Likewise, Spies can make effective use of the tight corridors of Stages 1 and 2 to pick off enemies not on the cart.
• Stage 3's open nature is very friendly for Snipers, with long sightlines. On Stage 1 and especially on Stage 2, Snipers may be better off equipping the Huntsman, along with Jarate, to do more close-range damage.
• On Stage 3, Pyros should make use of their compression blast to push opposing team members off their cart. Even if they don't get pushed into the pit, forcing them to climb back up to the cart costs them valuable time while your team pushes.
• Stages 1 and 2 feature buildings separating each team's spawn from the central area, rendering sticky jumps and rocket jumps rather ineffective. However, Soldiers and Demomen can jump directly to the cart on Stage 3 with a well-timed blast.
• On Stage 2, team members should initially focus on pushing the cart up the incline. The cart will roll back if it does not reach the top, and this part of the map can become a choke point if the opposing team sets up a successful defense.

Gallery

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Update history

February 24, 2011 Patch

• The map was added to the game.

Trivia

• Nightfall was the original name for Double Cross, but the author released his map first.
• While normal Payload related maps involve the cart detonating an important location or device, this map centers around both teams trying to blow up the same location; a pile of rocks at the bottom of a cliff.
• When Overtime is reached, both carts will begin to move on their own to prevent a stalemate situation. Pushing one of the carts will prevent the opposite cart from automatically rolling forward. Overtime does not come into effect on Stage 3 as no round timer is present.

See also

• Community Map Pack Update