ok L'anglais when i started mapping i asked the same questions. Trust me you wont finish your map that quick. I guess that FF will come out sometime in early 2006 if not mid 2006. As a beginner mapper my self i have a lot of trouble wiht some things and some not. What you should first start is your first simple map. DONT AND I REPEAT DONT make a ctf map yet. It is very hard as a beginner mapper. You need atleast more than 5 months expierence to do so. I have made my own simple map but never released it. Its sort of a...test map so i could get used to mapping in general. From there i understood the awesome power of hammer and began getting crazy ideas all over. And now im working on a map called Incursion for FF. If you need help just ask around but not in seperate topics because it makes ppl mad trust me lol ive been temp banned once and i have no more strikes until im perm. banned lol. If you need help just post in a topic lets say called "need map help" or w/e makes you happy.
As for what size you want the ctf map to be make ummm
well between small and medium. Because i think medium is a bit too big and could get laggy and small is just a wee bit to small so i think
smedium would be good. As for the style of the map i think you should go for metal textures as of now. Their are a lot of varieties you can do with the metal textures.