Hightower

Hightower
Basic Information
Variants:	Helltower and Snowtower
Developer(s):	Unknown
Map Info
Environment:	Desert
Setting:	Dusk, cloudy
Hazards:	Pitfall
Map Photos
Map Overview

Hightower has multiple variations, including Helltower and Snowtower.

Hightower is a Payload Race map and was released with the Engineer Update as an official map. The teams must elevate their carts up the eponymous "hightower" in order for a team to win.

The goal of the map is for RED and BLU to simultaneously push their carts through enemy territory in order to reach the finishing point. At the same time, each team must prevent the other from doing the same.

Hightower has a significantly different ending stage than other Payload or Payload Race maps. Bomb carts will travel vertically up the tower when pushed but will quickly fall to the base if left alone. This makes the style of gameplay much more reliant on continuous cart pushing. The towers function similarly to the steep slopes on maps such as Pipeline.

Locations

• The Hightowers: The eponymous hightowers are two parallel structures with a movable platform at the ends of each track. Once the cart reaches the platform it will begin to slowly raise as long as there are any players standing on it. If the players are knocked off and the cart is unattended, the platform will quickly lower back down to the ground, killing anyone under it. If a player from the other team stands on it, the platform will halt until one side regains sole control of it. Once the platform reaches the top, it will detonate the cart and end the round.
• Central Tower: The main feature of the map is the giant tower located in the center. It has sets of winding ramps that lead to the top which serves as a vantage point for the whole map.
• Crossing: In the beginning of the round, both carts move slowly to a crossing where the payloads will pass by each other. This is usually the focus of combat for the first minutes of a round. Any cart directly on the crossing moves automatically until it is off the crossing. If both carts arrive at the crossing simultaneously, the RED cart goes first.
• Ramp: After passing through the Crossing, the cart will move along the track to a ramp located directly outside the enemy team's spawn. The cart must be continuously pushed up the ramp, which is similar to the ramps present in Pipeline Stage 3. If the cart is not pushed when on the ramp, the cart will roll back down.
• Cliff-House: A small house that hangs over the ledge at the far end of the map.
• Balconies: At the very end of the spawn hallways are small balconies that overlook the Hightowers, the Central Tower, and most of the battlefield.
• Tower Corridors: Behind the Hightowers is a long straight corridor that leads to each teams cart starting area. The main entrance is between the capture platforms.

• 

  The Crossing

• 

  RED base interior

• 

  BLU base interior

• 

  Cart starting position

• 

  Overview of battlefield

• Hightowerplatforms.jpg

  Capture platforms

• Hightower cliffs.jpg

  The cliffs/canyon

Strategy

Main article: Community Hightower strategy

Update history

July 8, 2010 Patch (Engineer Update)

• Added Hightower to the game.

August 17, 2010 Patch

• Fixed players building in the RED spawn room.
• Fixed players building on the back window decks of the barns.
• Fixed players getting on the satellite dish platform.
• Fixed players building on the elevators.
• Reduced the ammo packs in the barns down to small ammo packs.
• Increased the hill speed modifier to 1.2 (up from .95)
• Fixed explosion particle effects playing in the skybox.
• Mine cart "window" collision fixed.
• Upped Scout-loop health to large.

August 27, 2013 Patch

• Added nobuild to cliff bottom to prevent Engineers building in the kill volume.

September 10, 2015 Patch

• [Undocumented] Added saucers and posters to Hightower.

November 25, 2015 Patch

• [Undocumented] Removed Saucers and Posters from all maps.

Bugs

• It is possible for one of the team's cart to become unable to be pushed, while the other team can still push theirs.
• On the final lifts of each cart, if the cart is abandoned and then quickly re-joined while it falls, the cart will continue moving down briefly after the platform stops. If this action is repeated, the cart can eventually appear to be completely separate and further down from the platform. Players can also appear to be stuck inside the platform in this manner.
• Rarely, the platform will rapidly shoot up while the cart moves at the regular speed, causing the platform to be at the top and making it nearly impossible to hit the player capturing without the use of an explosive jump.

See also

• Helltower

External links

• Engineer Update page
• TF2 Official Website - Engineer Update: Day Three