Meridian

Meridian
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Basic Information
Developer(s):	Unknown

Meridian is a custom Territorial Control map made by Shmitz. The map takes place on an ancient tropical island in the middle of the sea.

The story goes as follows: RED have taken over a once peaceful island, and it's up to BLU team to overcome them. Unlike in Hydro where the goal is to capture each control point in each territory on the map, Meridian instead uses capturing intels as the goals. Whoever captures the Intelligence in each area captures the territory.

Locations

RED CP1: The Volcano

A robotics facility inside a volcano where the RED team appears to be building an enormous battle machine of sorts. The Intelligence rests in an observation post on the second floor of the volcano's walkway system.

• Entrances from the temple: The design of the temple's exterior practically forces players to allocate a number of teammates to each of two potential routes. The first route, which heads out to the left and over a waterfall on top of the canyon, has numerous pillars and small, thin environmental barriers which provide protection against attackers, but limit sight-lines and overall maneuverability. The more long-winded path off to the right heads across a bridge spanning the canyon, which eventually connects into the outer hallways of the facility alongside the other route. Both open up on the third floor of the volcano's walkway system, providing excellent visibility over any possible enemy movement or camping positions.

• Entrances from the submarine bay: Two small hallways lead out from the submarine's main catwalk. The two paths meet in a side-chamber flanked by open spaces and a tight-cornered, narrow staircase. Upon entering the facility, the Intelligence sits in a precarious position, as the room affords various locations for enemies to drop in unexpected and divide team strength.

• Entrances from the village: Two branching pathways head out from the village, passing over the canyon and into the outer hallways of the facility. The precarious location of the two bridges outside the facility make team-based rushes both necessary and hazardous for attempts at the Intelligence.

BLU CP1: The Temple

An ancient temple, which has been overrun by the BLU team and is currently being used as a base of operations against RED on the island. Much of the temple's original architecture has been refitted with lighting and equipment brought in by the BLU team. The Intelligence can be found outside BLU's spawn, inside the base of the temple.

• Entrances from the volcano: The facility's interior forces players to climb to the third level of the walkway in order to reach the branching path heading towards the temple. The walkway itself branches off in two directions, both of which make their way to the canyon outside. While one path follows a bridge crossing the canyon off to the left, the path that exits the facility on the right heads across a waterfall which is blocked up by rocks, separating any sight-lines with the other path into the temple. Both paths follow a few tight-cornered corridors, before eventually emptying out into high-ground perches overlooking the intel.

• Entrances from the submarine bay: Both potential paths are quick, cramped means of emptying into the bottom of the canyon, and the river which runs through it. A set of rock formations breaks the path into two separate forks. Both eventual paths lead into the lower confines of the temple, providing flanking positions both to the left and right of the Intelligence.

• Entrances from the village: Located relatively close to the village's spawn rooms, two paths wind through the rock formations outside of the temple, and eventually join and re-branch into two separate routes to the temple interior. The larger of the two opens into a moderately-sized area outside the temple, dwarfed by a large tiki head and filled with various small environmental barriers. The alternate route runs parallel to the main entrance, slipping off down and to the side into a tightly-packed corridor. Both quickly empty into the main chamber of the temple, providing ample high ground for an attack on the intel.

RED CP2: The Submarine Bay

A submarine bay located on the edge of the island's coast. The Intelligence sits on a grated walkway near the entrance hatch of the submarine.

• Entrances from the volcano: Two doorways on the bottom floor, left of the initial spawn point, lead to a large antechamber with numerous height differences and opportunities for ambush and flanking positions. The paths merge into a set of hallways, one high and one low, that show a clear line of sight to the Intelligence.

• Entrances from the temple: A series of paths through the convoluted rock structure at the bottom of the canyon eventually focus into a clear sight of both of the entrances to the drydock. The following paths into the submarine bay consist of numerous tight corners, with both opening up to clear views of the Intelligence, but obstructed views of much of the rest of the room, which provides numerous ambush opportunities for the opposing team.

• Entrances from the village: Two paths on opposite sides of the village head into two cramped, narrow tunnels with few sight-lines of enemy positions. The momentary opening of space leads to a small field, covered on both sides by covered positions. The tunnels which lead into the drydock itself remain primarily straight, and upon opening up provide either high or equal ground to the Intelligence on the catwalks.

BLU CP2: The Village

This walled village appears to have once been the home to a group of tribal natives. Many of the buildings have been re-purposed as supply and power centers for BLU operations. The Intelligence sits in the basement of a large building in the center of the village.

• Entrances from the volcano: From the robotics facility, a branching pathway on the third level of the walkway system leads outside to two rope bridges overlooking the canyon. The bridge along the left pathway connects to the village at a lower elevation, increasing the risk of ambush and flanking from attacks on the upper walks.

• Entrances from the temple: After leaving the spawn room, players are immediately focused into one of two small corridors which give way to a much more open, outdoor area filled with numerous objects to block sight-lines and set up ambushes. This larger area is then funneled under the rock formations outside the village, becoming increasingly narrow as they approach the village wall. Progress to the intel is tight and difficult, with spawn rooms located right next to both entrances.

• Entrances from the submarine bay: The path splits between a higher route that pushes the team farther away from the village, and a lower, more direct route which places the team on a low ground dangerously open to attack. Both paths empty into a crowded open area, with covered positions available for both teams. Players can then, yet again, choose between a direct-yet-dangerous route leading into the center of the village, or a side route following the village barricade which places the team farther away, yet closer to enemy respawn rooms.

BLU Ship

The last line of defense for BLU operations, this large barge located outside the old native village contains minimal munitions and technology, but is placed in a region so environmentally diverse that a counter-attack is still plausible and capable of succeeding.

• Direction of attack: Both exits from the village empty players into a rocky, coastal area. Rocks, trees and other environmental barriers greatly reduce visibility, and funnel teammates into almost straight paths towards the barge. The water under the barge can drown players quickly, making progress onto the ship a necessity. The barge itself contains various entrances, and a great deal of open space on the bow and main deck. The intel sits in the center of the cargo hold, a highly enclosed room filled with tight corners, secondary walls, jutting computers and plenty of spaces for enemies to set up ironclad defenses.

• Pattern of defense: The barge itself provides minimal cover from an aggressive attack pattern, making offense the only practical defense on this final stage. The battle from the barge up to the coast is an uphill one, though the various pieces of cover and environmental obstacles almost casually focus players down one of the two straight paths into the village. As the entrances to the village are very close to the spawn rooms, control of the coast is key to maintaining the intel.

Screenshots

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  BLU Team's ship

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  The Village area

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  The Canyon area, complete with bridges

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  The robot within the volcano

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  Bottom of the Canyon

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  Inside the Tiki Temple (Outside is at the top of article)

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  The back entrance into the Tiki Temple

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  A rotating globe inside RED Team's base

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  The submarine port

Changelog

Changelog:

Beta 5:

• Reworked interior of the boat (BLU final defense round). Main blue spawn is now at the top level, with the intel being in the hold of the ship.
• Improved temple textures.
• Intel return timer increased from 30 seconds to 40.
• Spawn times start slightly lower, but their reduction over the course of a round is much less. Spawn times are no longer instant at the end of a round.

Release Candidate 3:

• Fixed problem with invisible robot booth props.
• Improved several older props.
• Fixed a few other visual problems.
• Fixed a bug where the "take it home" radar would point to the wrong area.
• Changed HUD to just have the flag radars, without the erroneous score information.