Invasion on The Hushed Apprentice *Map Links Updated to Refit Edition - Thread Update Coming Soon* "The weathered coasts of Installation 02 offer its visitors a bitter reverie of conflicts long past." The Hushed Apprentice is an asymmetric, linear-style map, built from the ground up to specifically support Invasion. Designed to support competitive, frenzied gameplay as well as offer striking aesthetics, The Husked Apprentice features both intense infantry combat and explosive vehicle engagements. As the attackers, Spartans spawn beach-side on the far end of the island. Flanking around the island and toward the Control Tower, their mission is to steal the valuable data core. Elites are tasked with holding their ground as long as possible, eventually receiving mechanized and aerial support. Obviously, The Hushed Apprentice is meant to be a spiritual successor to the infamous "Silent Cartographer" of Halo: Combat Evolved. I strove to create a fun, visceral experience faithful in architecture and gameplay to one of my favorite campaign missions. - - - Phase 1:Attackers: 1 x Sniper Rifle 2 x DMR Defenders: 2 x Needle Rifle Phase 2:Attackers: 1 x Sniper Rifle 1 x Rocket Launcher 1 x Warthog, Standard 2 x Mongoose Defenders: 2 x Ghost Phase 3:Attackers: 1 x Rocket Launcher 1 x Spartan Laser Defenders: 1 x Focus Rifle 1 x Fuel Rod Cannon 2 x Ghost (from Phase 2) 2 x Banshee - - - When designing The Hushed Apprentice, I tried to focus on crafting each individual phase into a separate gameplay experience. The first phase highlights heavy infantry combat in a fairly enclosed area, with respawning opponents quickly getting back into the thick of the action. The second phase features longer travel times and highlights medium-to-long range combat. The addition of light vehicles comes into play, striking a mixed balance of infantry/vehicle gameplay. The third phase involves both medium-ranged and close-quarters infantry fighting mixed with heavy vehicle action in the form of Covenant ground and aerial vehicles. What differentiates The Hushed Apprentice from other Invasion maps is the subtle design choices I made to tip gameplay in one direction or the other. Throughout the entire match, the Spartans are given a slight advantage - be it a weapon or strategic position - to tilt the balance of favor on their side. The reason for this is to slightly balance the advantages of facing a defending Elite force as a "weaker" Spartan, as well as avoid matches ending in the first or second phase. In my opinion, no player really likes getting skunked - and I did my best to design scenarios that discouraged that between evenly matched teams. While I wanted to give the Spartans a good fighting chance, I also wanted to create an interesting team dynamic when playing as an Elite - the concept of the "wingman". The vehicle sections feature two Covenant vehicles a piece: two Ghosts during the second phase and two Banshees during the third phase (along with the ghosts from the previous). This allows the Elite players to execute exciting 2-Man maneuvers and attacks, but is balanced out by the heavy Spartan firepower and staggered spawn times. I really enjoyed designing and crafting this map, and I hope the ForgeHub community enjoys playing it. Thanks for reading and I look forward to any comments/feedback. >> North side of the Island, showcasing the Comms. Bridge jutting from the clifface and micro-beam towers littering the landscape: >> West face of the Island, looking toward the "Hunter Dish" generator and hillside leading up to the Tower. >> Overview of the Control Tower, inspired by the cartographer entrance from Halo: CE. The Tower holds the core on it's second story during the last phase. >> Interior of Control Tower, showing the architecture and layout of the Tower's design.
I'm sad to say I'm the first one commenting on this rare gem in forge hub. I like the balance of natural land and architecture, it doesn't really feel like Paradiso anymore. And the gameplay shows it looked like a pretty fun map. There are too few great Invasion maps out there, but I'm glad I found this one. Good work!
I agree with Sharkface, this is really cool looking. It reminds me of Silent Cartographer from Halo:CE. The 4th picture has a structure that looks really nice and stands out. I will download and play with friends later today!
Thank you so much for the kind words! And you're right - I really tried to make the Forge World Island into something other than Paradiso, as well as a worthy homage to Halo CE's Silent Cartographer. I hope you have a blast playing this with some good buddies!
Definitely a big fan of the Silent Cartographer look. I think part of why I love Reach is that it's the closest to Halo:CE out of any of the other games.
I just watched your video of the gameplay and I must say that the map appears to play very well, at times in the video it looked like the elites were a little OP with 2 banshees, maybe you could add a falcon for the humans to balance it a little bit. Other than that, this looks like it could be the next invasion map in matchmaking, great job!!
Wow man! I can't believe this map! For the first few minutes I wasn't sure if it was multiplayer or campaign, which is why this map is so good: it emulates the feel of a campaign level. Interestingly I don't see the comparison to the Silent Cartographer. The map seems very original and has taught me a lot about invasion maps! Kudos!
Hahaha the part where the elite jacked the warthog and then drove it into the water cracked me up XD..Pretty epic little vid there. Question: It says this is an Invasion map, but is it set up for Big Team Slayer as well?
Yeah, I was definitely trying to give off that vibe. I'm glad you took notice! Thanks for downloading too! Well, let me see if I can help you out. > Storming the Beach > The "Hunter Ring" Dish > Cartographer Tower
Wow... I'm not sure how I missed the resemblance. Still, the map as a whole doesn't seem extremely like Silent Cartographer. Some parts look similar but the map keeps a lot of its originality. By the way, I haven't actually downloaded yet, but I plan to as soon as I get Xbox Live (Christmas). In the meantime I want to make my own invasion map. If you have any tips please respond. Great map once again!
This is a great map. Excellent aesthetics, great flow, and everything a great invasion map needs. If this map was put into matchmaking, I would actually play the Invasion Playlist.
Thanks! Yeah, I happened to be that Spartan - and I just barely evaded a watery grave there! Ha Ha. In fact, a similar maneuver happens later in the video near the 7:18 mark! If you watch the blue Spartan sprinting toward the core, he jacks the banshee - which immediately flies into the ocean. Funny enough, I'm that Spartan and the Elite is the same player from the warthog earlier! I designed The Hushed Apprentice specifically for Invasion and Invasion Slayer. Right now, it is not set up for Big Team - but I could certainly work on adding that if players want it.
Wow. If this map doesn't get some sort of recognition or reward, I will be disappointed. The gameplay looks solid from the video, and the aesthetics are beautiful. You've done an awesome job with the resemblance to silent cartographer. And the fact that you can make a map on the island without the thought of paradiso popping into my head must take some skill. This will be one of the few maps I will use in custom games.
Thanks! I really can't say that enough. But, I can give you a quick little trick during the 3rd Phase for when you play your buddies in customs! If you jump up on the large rock just past the 'Hunter Dish' (1 & 2), you can can make the jump with sprint to the little rock outcropping (3). This can help you slip past the Elites, who are usually focused on the center path. Have fun in customs! Thanks once again! Sure, I'd be willing to give you some tips. What would you like to know? Just send me a private message, and I'd be glad to help.
This is a great piece of Forgery and the map plays well. The teams of two for the Covenant was a brilliant idea because I remember in Halo CE that there were always two ghosts and two banshees in a group so kudos to you for that. I have say that the map has flaws too though. The main first capture point (the one with all the Covenant crates) is to low to the ground. You can only capture it when you're standing in it, and when in battle you should be able to jump and continue capturing it. That is not the case though. When I was testing as a Spartan if I jumped, then it would stop capturing, so just raise the height of the objective a tad more. On Phase three the objectives seem a little close, making it easy for the Elites to camp in the area. I think that if you moved them apart a little or added another one entirely, it will make it harder for the elites to camp them. While messing around on your map in forge, I decided to add a revenant by the two ghosts and set it to phase three. Then I played the map and found that the revenant actually contributed well to the map. It wasn't too overpowering because the Spartans have a good amount of ordanance, so it gets balanced out. Plus it's really cool to watch two Ghosts and Revenant gliding over a hill with Banshees in the sky... I also added a Falcon for P3 by the Hunter Dish but it was overpowering on the map because it allowed the Core to be captured much too quickly. I suppose the Banshees could counter it, but in the hands of a good pilot it could ruin the map easily. The Spartans could use some more vehicles. Maybe a Rocket Warthog to counter the banshees? Overall I was happy to have been able to play this map. Also, there are a lot more good things than bad things about the map, but I wanted to be constructive so I mostly talked about the fairly minor flaws.
Thank you very much! True. And actually, the point was set that way on purpose. While I would like for the Spartans to be able to jump and capture at the same time, I found that setting the zone any higher would block the view across the island - especially on split-screen. I decided that being able to see player movement across the beach was more important to gameplay. Additionally, I felt it fit the theme of risk vs. reward between the two capture points. The middle point is larger with more room to maneuver, but more open and jumping stops the timer. The side point is more protected from gunfire and you can jump, but is more susceptible to grenade spam and is much more confined. I definitely considered it, and it's certainly a good idea. However, budget constraints and the island layout limited that. There just didn't seem to be any other good areas. Plus, I wanted the 'Hunter Dish' to be a focal point for the action -- I really liked the idea of having the Warthog and Ghosts strafing around the dish, firing into players on the point or at each other. I originally had the point as one giant circle covering the dish, but found it was too easy for an Elite with Active Camo to camp and contest the point. So, I split it into two smaller points and lowered the timers to 15 seconds to encourage players to play "ring around the rosy" with the points, moving back and forth between them and gaining a few seconds at a time. You know, I never really considered that! I guess I'm just not a huge fan of the Revenant. I thought about a Wraith, but found it too bulky, and then decided adding the Banshees was way cooler. Do you have a film of the Revenant in play? Definitely. Plus, I liked the vibe of Spartan heavy-firepower vs. Covenant Armor/Aircraft better. It really adds a bit of an "oh crap" feeling when you see two banshees circling the skies, and an "oh yeah!" feeling when you pick up the rocket launcher or laser. I tried adding a Rocket Hog early on, didn't work. The Spartans either "camped" with it by continuously firing into the second story hallway from the beach or drove it up to the main path and got blown to oblivion with stickies. Thanks again. No map is perfect, and I definitely appreciate the feedback/criticism, especially when it's as constructive and respectful as yours!
HOLY CRAP! This map is insane! That video was friggin sweet. Downloaded for sure, but unfortunately I don't have access to xbox live over Christmas break. I knew exactly what you meant by Hunter Ring when you said it.lol.
Thanks man! Well, try to enjoy your Christmas break anyway! LoL. I'm glad! Some of my playtesters didn't realize what the structure was until I told them.
I don't have a vid of the Revenant in play because my temporary history got filled up with tons of custom games. It was mostly good for defense tactics because of the arc of the mortar that it fires. Also the people who used it used it to suppress the Spartans as they were trying to climb the hill. It was pretty easy to avoid though with your secret route, so it isn't too overpowering. Also if you're worrying about it being overpowered in its ability to splatter and kill fairly easily, don't. When I was playing someone pointed it out and we were able to take the thing out with a couple of focused DMR shots and a plasma pistol.
After playing a few more, I have to agree that this is an extremely well-balanced map. So many maps are using forge pieces to build enclosed, completely aritifical environments, resulting in the dreaded grey-vision. I applaud the combintation of natural and aritifical used here. It absolutely gives the appearance of forerunner artifacts, and it's fun to look at. Most completely aritifical maps have started to grow tired to my senses.