Well that is true I didn't bother to add all the random trash and what I call useless debris into the map. While some of it does add to the overall flavor and thematic elements of a map I think good design and using elements that don't disrupt the players is a better way of creating a well designed and pleasing map.

Well I think any type of play works well on this map. I've seen teams rush B the whole half and win a lot of rounds, and I've seen teams who take their time and work various points around the map before choosing a site. I think the map allows for any type of strat caller to develop a good amount of variety. As a CT a lot of teams like to push the middle of the map to cut off certain other points on the map so they can stack elsewhere. I've seen teams who do this quite well and others where it spells disaster. It just takes practice.

Well I don't know too many mappers at all so I can't answer that question. As for me, yes I do concept art for every map I've created over the last three years, and I have countless sketch books with those designs of maps created and some yet to be designed. I'm a firm believer in pre-preparation and I think it makes the mapping process go faster and become easier to develop what's on paper into the game.

Well realism for maps means a good flow between sites and effective use of Scenery and theme to keep the player immersed in the map. Luckily with source and the expanded engine capabilities it's quite easier to create realism, while CS 1.6 really makes a mapper challenged to create realism. I think all maps should create realistic themes, and Russka was simply a theme based around a snow industrial yard, which was simple in mind and I'm proud of that.

Heh, well this is a tough question to answer. As an old school mapper from the days of CS 1.6 I still prefer the later, but there are a ton of elements and features Source SDK added that I'd love to have for CS 1.6 Mapping. As for Source mapping. It takes twice as long in my opinion to create a good and effective source map compared to a CS 1.6 Map, and being my first attempt it was very frustrating until I got the hang of it.

Yes, I have at least one if not two other source projects lined up in the future, but probably not until February or March of 2006. They take me a lot longer, and I do have one CS 1.6 Map to create before I get back into source mapping.

Any insight. Well I generally derive my ideas through some creative thought and combining various references from other maps or games to help generate those ideas. For Russka, there wasn't much creative effort on my part since this was a ported effort from CS 1.6, but originally I used concept designs from call of duty.