Cannonball Run

Cannonball Run

This may just be the craziest king of the hill map you've ever played Crazy King on.

Let's be honest. Most King of the Hill games are fairly straightforward. You see the hill, you go stand in the hill, the hill moves, and so on and so forth. This map however, is a bit different.

(NOTE: The ideal number of players for this map is 4. It can be played with as few as 2, and as many as 8, but for the best experience, 3-5 players is definitely the sweet spot.)

Let's start at the top shall we? Upon spawning, you'll find yourself at the top of a massive downhill slope. Much like a ski slope.



The hill is at the bottom of this slope. So, you immediately hop on a mongoose and hit the gas, screaming downhill at an ever increasing rate of speed as you try to reach the hill before your rivals. Just be aware, because soon those 4 lanes narrow to 3 lanes...



Once you hit the tunnel you're moving pretty fast, but keep your wits about you, because you'll soon be at the bottom...



...and that's where the real fight begins. The hill is simple enough. The downhill slope basically dumps everyone into a square arena.



Along three sides, there are plasma batteries and propane tanks. These are particularly fun to set off when someone is about to enter the hill.



As you come flying out of the tunnel, you'll want to be sure to hop of that mongoose, because the back end of the hill is open, and if you're careless, you could go flying right off into a watery grave.



So far, pretty simple right? Drive down hill. Get to bottom. Jump off and fight. Ok, here's where there's a bit of a twist. This map has two phases. Phase 1 lasts for two minutes and during this time, all you need to worry about is getting to the hill as fast as possible. Well, that and making sure you jump off your mongoose as soon as you hit the bottom. But once you hit the 2:00 mark, the rest of the map builds, allowing access to the upper and lower portions of the map.





The upper level basically consists of walkways that overlook the hill. Up here you'll find all kinds of goodies like a hammer, a shotgun, rockets, and a spartan laser.



The rockets and laser can be particularly good for tunnel "cleaning"... if you can guess which tunnel respawning enemies are coming down that is.





What happens if you guess wrong? Probably something like this...





So that covers the top part of Phase 2. The bottom portion of the map is where you'll find the second hill. Unlike the first hill, this one is a close quarters fight in narrow, water flooded corridors.





You'll find the sword down there, as well as a mounted machine gun turret. Every two minutes the hill switches back and forth from above to below, and a good time is had by all. It's downright hysterical at times.

Here are a few overview shots. The map spans from the edge of the Coliseum to the waters just offshore of the Island.





Enjoy.

I'd love to hear any comments, feedback or constructive criticism you might have.

-Shamrock20

 

I can see how that may seem like an issue, but so far it hasn't been a problem. It's only really an issue when playing with less than the recommended 4 people. Because with 4 players, this chaos cocktail is mixed to perfection. In this ideal circumstance, it's not uncommon to have 2-3 players battling it out for the hill, while that 4th player has respawned at the top of the hill and soon comes crashing into the fray.

Bottom line: As long as there's a fight in the hill, there's really not too many chances to scope out the tunnels. The pics of the laser and the rocket are really just to show what's possible.

All that being said, if you want to play with less than 4 people, you absolutely can. You may just have to agree to play a little nicer than usual, because with say 2 players, you'll always have one person waiting at the bottom while the other is respawning up top...which is kinda lame. Unless of course you take each other out, in which case you'll both be racing for the hill again... which is kinda awesome.

 

Go for it. I'd definitely be interested in seeing this map re-purposed for other gametypes. A friend of mine actually asked for such a thing right around the time I finished this map.

Not sure if it's currently in my fileshare, but I did do a quick non-KOTH variant of this map (called Maximum Overdrive) where the map doesn't build in 2 phases, and there are additional respawn points incorporated. (For KOTH, the only spawn and respawn points are at the top of the hill.) As I recall, it was pretty much just set up for Slayer, but if it in any way helps with your Infection variant, I'd be happy to point you toward it.

Interesting idea about two different slope directions, but despite what it may look like in the pictures, it's actually fairly difficult to camp the bottom of the ramps (when playing with the recommended 3-4 people). Why? Because there's almost always a fight going on in the hill leaving no opportunity to camp the tunnels. Still, in the event that you win the fight, and find yourself as the only one left alive, with time to collect either the rockets or the laser from the second level, you'd still likely only have time for a quick peek up one tunnel before your respawned foes rapidly charge 3 mongooses back down into the hill, and perhaps... into you. Plus, remember that after the 2:00 mark, the hill begins alternating between the lower and the upper hill locations. And when the hill is down below, so are your enemies, leaving the tunnel exit area free and clear.

Thanks for the feedback and the DL's. Hope everyone's enjoying the map.

-Shamrock20