Gameplay Outlook

Overall, this map is a bit smaller than cbble with the spawns pushed forward. The game play seems to be faster and therefore is more fun. The extra entrance for the Ts in the back of B thins out the CT defense enough to make this map now terrorist-sided. You may think to yourself that four entrances instead of three doesn't make a map T sided—
look at train for example: it has five, but it usually plays out as a CT sided map. However, unlike train, the four entrances on forge are spread far apart in spots that are difficult to get team help from. Any entrance a CT is covering will probably result in the CT engaging the enemy alone before any help can arrive. On top of that, three of the four terrorist routes are hallways. This leads to terrorists being able to throw their grenades from concealed positions and take sites covered by two or three people at most.

Some of our strategic readers may have already thought that a more passive setup would benefit the CT side. If you play passive far back in the bombsites, then it becomes easier to help out the teammates in the same bombsite as you. You'd be correct in thinking this, but it will result in longer rotations to the opposite site. The longer rotations on this map will once again create a terrorist advantage due to five terrorists attacking from split positions in either site against a CT setup that can't receive backup in time.

Until players get more experience on this map, I believe the most effective counter terrorist strategies will have CT's sticking together and engaging one of the two entrances of the bombsite together, hopefully eliminating the terrorists there. They will then have to worry about the other entrance. For example, a setup with three players rushing the back of bombsite B, with two rifle players up close covering the back entrance and an AWPer on the usual platform sniping other B site entrance. The two CTs left in A would work together stacking either middle ramp or halls. Setups like this or overloading bombsites with four players may work best until more advanced strategies and setups become uncovered through trial and error.

Map Criticisms

No map is perfect and people will always have something they dislike; this map is no different. Two things came to mind in the time I spent reviewing this map. First, our fine staff that pugged this map against each other testing it noticed that several boxes cannot be 'spammed' through with gunfire. Some of the boxes from the old cbble map that could be shot through no longer can along with some of the new boxes. This seems like an unnecessary addition on most of the boxes especially with most players assuming any box or wall they see in 1.6 can be shot through.

Second, I dislike the placement of the back entrance in site B. I agree that a second entrance to site B is a great choice; I just think this spot makes a team defense of forge too difficult. Most successful maps have a primary site and a secondary site that is harder to attack than the primary. This results in three or four CTs in or near the primary site and one or two at the secondary. It seems to me that this map has two equally accessible bombsites thus two primary sites. Two primary sites are too hard to defend and unbalanced. Perhaps moving the back exit to the platform or even exiting below the platform somewhere would be better. Essentially, I believe it needs to be in a position where the CTs covering site B can help each other better, as well as the receive effective help from the rotators.

For anyone else with criticisms, I was told that this map could be changed for next season if it was needed. That's definitely good news that a map that has yet to see public play is open to any needed adjustments.

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In conclusion, I think pretty highly of de_forge. I had a lot of fun playing it due to the fast pace and lack of dead time waiting. The map is a definite improvement over the original de_cbble and appears to be receiving a positive response from the community. Another job well done from Brutesmaps and CEVO.

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