Asteroid

Asteroid
Basic Information
Developer(s):	Unknown
Map Info
Environment:	Space
Setting:	Space
Map Photos
Map Overview

Asteroid is a Robot Destruction beta map, released in the July 8, 2014 patch. The map is set between two space stations. The goal of the map is to be the first team to obtain a total of 300 points which can be collected through two methods: destroying robots wandering in the opposing team's space station or stealing the opposing team's reactor core (similar to the Capture the Flag gamemode). The opposing team's reactor core holds all the points gathered by that team and can be brought back to base to steal a certain amount of points. The total amount of points tied to the reactor core that is carried by a player increases the longer the player stands on the spawn point of the opposing team's reactor core.

As of the July 8, 2014 patch, it is unfinished and still in development, but the TF2 community is allowed to play-test it and give feedback to Valve on how to balance the map.

Locations

Asteroid is a mirrored symmetrical map.

Bridge – The main choke point of the map, the Bridge connects the two above-ground RED and BLU bases; another bridge running beneath it provides an alternate route on the lower part of the buildings. An open space is on either side of the bridge.

Hallways – A series of hallways connecting to the center. B robots can be found nearby.

Spawn – A windowed chamber with overlook of the B robots and exits into the battlements and Reactor.

Reactor – The final room, this contains the C robot within a glass chamber facing away from the outer entrance, and a path leading directly to the visible Reactor Core guarded by alternating environmental death inducing laser beams, plus another, longer path travelling through a separate small room that also reaches the Core, bypassing the lasers.

Lower Bridge – The Lower Bridge is an alternate path below the Bridge that connects to the Caves.

Robots

The robots featured on this map serve as scoring targets. Players may attack the robots, which drop Power Cores when destroyed, which may then be collected for points. One point is scored for the player's team for each Power Core collected.

The robots are separated into three areas, named A, B, and C. There are two robots moving around each area. They will always follow their path that is marked on the floor, unless they are being attacked. They are defenseless, but will make a feeble attempt to escape attackers. Upon destroying all robots in either area A or B, doors marked A for destroying A robots or B for destroying B robots will open, respectively, which open up an alternate paths for players to take. The doors close when the robots A and B respawn.

Robot data

Group	№ Robots	Cores per robot	Health per robot	Respawn time
A	2	5	500	60
B	2	10	500	90
C	2	25	500	90

Robot behavior

Robots in areas B and C are protected by what appears to be an ÜberCharge when the robots in front of them are alive; Robots B are protected if any Robot A is alive and Robots C are protected if any Robot B is alive.

After 7 seconds without taking damage, the robots heal themselves at a rate of 8 health per second.

All of the robot groups share a respawn timer. The timer is reset when each group of robots is destroyed.

When destroyed, Robots A and B drop their associated amount of Power Cores in a single drop. When Robots C are destroyed, they perform a death animation wherein they run around dropping a stream of Power Cores.

When destroyed, Robots A and B also gib (drop destroyed Dispenser parts), these gibs may be collected for Ammo or Metal.

Strategy

See Community Asteroid strategy

Update history

July 8, 2014 Patch

Added Mann Co. Beta Maps - Early Access program.
- Added 2 new beta maps: rd_asteroid and pl_cactuscanyon.
- Beta maps can be accessed via the Quickplay menu by checking the "Play Beta Maps" option.

July 9, 2014 Patch #1

Updated rd_asteroid
- Fixed incorrect respawn times for Blu attackers
- Fixed missing kill triggers in pits
- Added blockers to starting gates to prevent Engineers from building outside the base before the round starts
- Added medium health kit near large ammo pack at the front doors of each base
- Removed the ability to create buildings in the lasers
- Removed chair prop from vent access room near vault

July 9, 2014 Patch #2

Updated rd_asteroid to fix another problem with respawn times for Blu attackers

July 17, 2014 Patch

Layout has been adjusted with the overall goal of improving visibility of teammates
Removed spawn teleporter
Reduced map size by removing the front lobby and cave sections
Added terrain paths on the sides of the mid bridge
Increased width of the mid bridge
Removed doors that locked when A and B robots were active
Robots have been rearranged:
- A robots now roam the bridge above the water
- B robots now roam around the floor in front of the vault
- C robots now roam around the upper deck
Added more line of sight blockers to the water room to provide better cover during combat engagements
Reduced travel time for the water flanking route under the interior bridge
Added a drop down to enter the water room from the front door staging area
Increased size of the glass room near C robots to provide flanking cover to use against Sentry Guns that are placed at the corner of the upper deck
Increased width of vault corridors
Reworked vent route that leads to the vault, no longer need to crouch jump on exit
Moved left spawn exit forward to reduce effectiveness of spawn camping
Added a resupply cabinet to the right side spawn exit
Re-positioned health and ammo pickup locations
Added ramp collision to stairs
Fixed gap in the death pit that allowed players to survive

Bugs

The robots sometimes display %HEALTH% instead of a number indicating health, or display nothing at all when moused over, especially if the player backs through them.
Enemy robots can be walked through.
The hole next to the RED team's upper spawn gate has a gap that doesn't kill players and allows them to go through.
The fences by the stairs leading to the water in the C area and the fences by the stairs leading to the underground area can be walked through.
Spawn gates are not configured like standard spawn gates
- When setup ends, spawn gates disappear instead of opening like they do on other maps,
- Spawn gates are not aligned properly
- Spawn gates do not block bullets.
The larger doors to each base's teleporter rooms use vertical spawn gates, but they slide open horizontally.
The pits to the left coming from each battlements has a small area on the far side where players can stand and build.

Trivia

There is commented out I/O to disable the laser trap when all the robots are destroyed.
There are unused paths from the closet next to the vault entry to the main robot paths.
There are unused paths, labeled "powerline", from the outer robot paths to the inner paths and into the laser trap.
The reactor cores are set up for paint, similar to a hat.