What makes a map MLG?

In my opinion.....

Basics of an MLG map should include:-

• Two Clearly marked bases for Red and Blue spawns.
• A bit of thought about which power weapon would work best for the strategic gameplay on that map. Ask yourself, Will this weapon speed up gameplay or just allow players to dominate and camp?
• Layers of playing field on the map; adding strategic jumps.
• A non-complex layout (Due to the amount of polygons in Reach, shooting eyesights can get very complex
• An element where the most amount of carnage might take place; although you don't want the flow of the map keep coming back to that map
• Some guns

 

I'm not sure there is anything in particular that makes a MLG Map an MLG Map, besides the fact that MLG Game play rules are a little different from the norm and your MLG Map should be compatible with them.

The biggest thing, in my mind, is that MLG Maps aren't as large as some standard competitive play maps... MLG matches are typically 4v4, so keep that in mind.

See this page for a list of Official MLG game play settings.

As you can see, a lot of the engine physics have been altered to increase the speed of play in MLG games...

The first thing I would do is test your map using these settings a make sure they don't "break" anything that worked well under the default settings...

Hope that helps...

 

Jumps that alot of people might not be able to get the hang of or might struggle with at first.

YouTube - MLG Tactical Jumps :: Halo 3 :: Ep2 - Narrows & Pit :: By ThornyVideos for inspiration

 

And can I just add that designing, let alone predicting, some of those jump locations in your own maps is one of the toughest things to do...

Hours and hours have been burned tweaking maps to either create or get rid of jumps like these...

Maddflash, thanks for the video...

 

Well we can argue that it breaks the map. But the idea of MLG is to be very aware of your surroundings. Also, the majority of these jumps are difficult to replicate. Especiall the lift to top mid on narrows.

 

Taking this point by point

• Two Clearly marked bases for Red and Blue spawns. Not at all necessary, unless you're building a 2 flag or Assault map. I guess right now this could be considered necessary because MLG's current map request is for small, versatile, 2 base arena maps. They're basically looking for a Midship equivalent for Reach.
• A bit of thought about which power weapon would work best for the strategic gameplay on that map. Ask yourself, Will this weapon speed up gameplay or just allow players to dominate and camp? Yes. Thinking is very important for weapon design. Use weapons to create movement and confrontation. MLG's current map request specifies no rockets and no sniper.
• Layers of playing field on the map; adding strategic jumps. Not necessarily. While a good map must have depth (whether it's MLG or not), jumps are not the best way to do so. If a jump is intended to be doable, and it is extraordinarily useful, it should not be overly difficult to perform.
• A non-complex layout (Due to the amount of polygons in Reach, shooting eyesights can get very complex I think most people will agree that Keep It Simple Stupid is a great design mantra, complexity is not going to kill a map. You can't boil this down to a simple phrase like a non-complex layout is better, because then we might as well play the Grifball arena. Don't add clutter, don't add complexity for the sake of complexity, and make sure every object you place has a purpose.
• An element where the most amount of carnage might take place; although you don't want the flow of the map keep coming back to that map You definitely need to create incentives for teams to confront each other. Whether it's a power position both teams would like to control, a power weapon both teams would like to control, or your map is Midship/Amplified sized where teams physically cannot avoid confrontation due to map size, you have to do something.
• Some guns Well, yeah.

 

Simple, small, with basic cover and height variation. Functionality over aesthetics, you should always be focused on the other team members.

 

Functionality over aesthetics, yes. Height variation YES SO MUCH YES

Small and with basic cover:

YouTube - Shia LaBeouf in "No No No NOo" video

Small and with basic cover describes Onslaught and Amplified, but even them not completely. There are some well designed lines of sight that don't consist of basic cover on those maps. Not every MLG map has to conform to that standard.

For reference of how a map can be not small and with basic cover but still play a badass game of MLG, see Rise.

 

Without being able to download the map right now, I can say that the map is definitely an appropriate size and has a good mix of open areas and not so open areas. I'd suggest modifying the weapons a tad, to bring them inline with MLG rules, and test it...