DeGroot Keep
| “ | How did the manly men of Team Fortress appear at a tenth century battlement? Simple. The Soldier angered a magician
— Medieval Mode Publicity Blurb
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| DeGroot Keep | |
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| 300px | |
| Basic Information | |
| Variants: | Sandcastle |
| Developer(s): | Unknown |
| Map Photos | |
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| Map Overview | |
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DeGroot Keep is a map for the new Medieval Mode that was released during the Australian Christmas event with the December 17, 2010 update. It is currently the only map designed for this gameplay mode. The health packs inside the keep appear as medieval-style roast meat.
The map is a relatively small capture and defend stage. During the start of the round, BLU must capture the Town (Point A) and Cliffside (Point B), located on the ground level at the flanks of the castle, and RED must defend these by either by leaping off the walls (with damage risk) or by firing projectiles from above as the castle gate will be closed and neither team will be able to pass through it.
Once the first two points have been captured, the castle gate will rise and allow access to Red's Keep (Point C) located at the end of the castle courtyard. If C is not captured within a certain amount of time — 60 seconds from the last attempted capture by default — the gate will re-close and A and B will need to be recaptured.
However, the time the gate is open may be longer if the final point is not clear of capture progress within 60 seconds. In such a case, the gate will close as soon as any off BLU's capture progress on the final point is cleared.
Players can shoot projectiles through the grills of the castle gate or arrow slits in the towers. Braziers, located near the team bases, can be used to set Huntsman arrows on fire for additional damage.
Control Point Timing
| Control Point | Multiplier | Seconds | ||
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| Control Point A | ×1 |
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| ×2 |
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| ×3 |
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| ×4 |
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| Control Point B | ×1 |
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| ×2 |
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| ×3 |
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| ×4 |
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| Control Point C | ×1 |
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| ×2 |
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| ×3 |
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| ×4 |
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Bugs
- Players are able to clip through the barrels on the shelves above the BLU spawn.
- One of the gates in BLU spawn can become stuck and not open at the beginning of the round.
- The keep gate may appear stuck open or closed although players will still interact with it as they should, getting stuck if it should be closed, or passing through if it should be open.
- Players can stand right at the edge of the tree spot at the cliff to the left.
- If players fall far enough over the cliff edge, they will clip through the rocks surrounding the waterfall.
- Thunder ambiance noise can occasionally be heard, despite there being no thunder clouds visible in the skybox.
Update history
- Improved performance on DeGroot Keep.
- Updated DeGroot Keep to fix a problem with missing models.
Trivia
- The map is named after the Demoman's family as his real name is Tavish DeGroot.
- DeGroot or de Groot is a surname of Dutch origin meaning "the big" or "the great".
- According to the official Australian Christmas event page, the map is supposed to be set during the 10th century but a number of anachronisms can be seen:
- The family portrait of the DeGroot family that appears inside the castle is actually a portrait of the Demoman and his mother and father as seen in the WAR! Update comic.
- When entering the keep, a computer terminal can be seen hidden behind a wooden door to the left.
- A second computer terminal can be seen through the sewer grate in the keep's courtyard.
- A third computer is hidden behind a wooden door in RED's spawn.
- Despite the filter in chat, the signs blocking an exit in BLU and RED spawn are in modern English.
- When a round begins sirens wail like any other map in the game.
- There is an unused Ticket Booth model within the game files, suggesting that the castle is, in fact, nothing more than a tourist attraction.
- On certain events, like win/lose or final point access, bag pipes play in the background.
- The bagpipe music is a re-use of the Template:W anthem used when a round is won by the British team.
- There is an unused scroll model in the game files. It's intended use is unknown besides that it was to be a pickup.
- There are ways to get around the text translation currently used in the map:
- One of the ways you can get around the translation, is by putting a "!" at the beginning of your message.
- Another is by using the "say" command in the console.
- Another is by putting "/" at the beginning of your message.
- Despite having capture progress when the map's timer runs out, Overtime will only occur if the keep gate is open, and the round will remain in Overtime until the gate closes.
Gallery
- Degrootkeep battlements.jpg
Battlements of the castle.
- Degrootkeep courtyard.jpg
Courtyard of the castle.
- Degrootkeep battlefield.jpg
The battlefield that lays between the castle and fort.
- Degrootkeep point A.jpg
Point A, The Town.
- Degrootkeep point B.jpg
Point B, Cliffside.
- Degrootkeep bluespawn.jpg
The fort that serves as BLU's base.
- Degrootkeep redspawn.jpg
The interior of the castle that serves as RED's spawn.
The wooden medieval-style resupply locker.
The wooden medieval resupply locker, opened.
The health pickup.
The unused scroll model.
The unused ticket booth model.
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