Exodus By Paranoia UK Introduction Exodus is my latest map and is one I have been planning since first seeing the Reach ViDoc detailing the possibilities of Forge. The map is a vague remake of my Halo 3 map 'Exile'. It is a large resevoir / dam type structure built in the ocean next to the Montana area of Forge World. Exodus shares many similarities with the original map but the overal outcome is very different. The original map, whilst looking great, had many many flaws. The map did not play very well on any gametype and due to H3's limitations was not possible to fix. When making Exodus my plan was to keep the feel of the original whilst making enough changes to improve gameplay. Instead of the map being a long and linear dam I have made it into a resevior so that map has a full 360 degrees of combat. The map has a large dam on one side, a smaller dam on the other and a long walkway stretching parallel to the main one. The main dam has an interior with several levels and entrances. There is also a cave area near the bottom and two small walkways connecting the two dams together. Designing and Building A principle I always try to uphold when forging is to keep to my unconvential style and to always be different from other people. I feel it is important to be unique and to stay true to what I believe in. I believe this shows more than ever in this map. I started designing Exodus at the start of September. I went through many different types of designs, from Sketchup, to pencil sketches to drawing out layoputs on MS paint. Even before Reach was released their had been many different manifestations of the map. The original plan for the map was to be a Dam rather than a Resevoir. It was meant to be a lot larger with more levels that the original map. I didnt decide to make it a resevoir until I had actually started forging and had completed half of the map. I actually started forging the map the week Reach was released. The first draft was made in the lagoon which was scrapped due to space issues. I then started a new map in the gap between Montana and Alaska which was scrapped for the same reason. The map was then put on hold whilst I pursued my ideas for Overflow and Poseidon. In early October I started work on Exodus again. Using the skills gained from making two other maps I found it much quicker and easier to forge and soon settled on a new technique for forging the dam and a whole new location for it to be made in. Playtests and Feedback As with any project I start, Exodus was always going to be unconventional and different to other peoples work. If you are into symmetrical, MLG or what I call tournament style maps this will not be to your style. This is not a matchmaking type map and will not play entirely as expected all of the time. If however you enjoy a more relaxed and casual game, on a map which does not follow others like a sheep then this is the map for you. Weapons, Power-ups & Gametypes The map is set up for all gametypes except Race and Invasion 6 x DMR 6 x Needle Rifle 4 x Assault Rifle 4 x Plasma Rifle 2 x Magnum 2 x Plasma Pistol 2 x Sniper Rifle 1 x Rocket Launcher 1 x Focus Rifle 1 x Needler 4 x Health Pack N/A Armor Ability N/A Grenades N/A Vehicles Changes and Refinements Due to its unconventional size and layout the map was always doomed to throw up some negative gameplay effects. As a result of many many sessions the map has had a great deal of changes since the main build was complete. Below is a log of these refinements 12/08/2010 - Forge Through with Rurok Kuroda and Itsmyyard. - Removed 1 Rocket Launcher - Added 1 Focus Rifle with Respawn rate 120 - Increased Respawn Rate of 2 Snipers to 150 - Fixed minor Z Fighting that I had missed - Added Cover above Sea Cave and replaced rock bridge leading to the small dam - Re forged the rock face above blue spawn. Replaced some Sea Stacks with Rock Arches for aesthetical reasons. 12/08/2010 Playest - 4 x 4 Team Slayer - Decreased DMR Respawn rate to 35 - Added 2 extra DMR's with Resawn Rate 35 - Decreased Needle Rifle respawn rate to 35 - Added 2 extra Needle Rifles with respawn rate 35 - Added balcony to green base/side - Moved Needle Rifle from above the cave to the bridge near yellow spawn - Removed Shotgun from dam walkway - Increased soft kill barrier to cover entire map. - Raised hard kill barrier by 5.00 12/10/2010 Playtest 4 x 4 Team Slayer and 4 x 4 CTF, Multiflag - Changed Blocks for windows on red side of Rocket Bridge - Placed Neutral Load out cam - Placed Individual Respawn Areas for CTF. - Moved brown team spawn to cave - Replaced Tin Cups with Brace Large - Removed Cover and Cover Crenellations from small dam - Placed Glass Covers at small dam - Moved Needler and Sniper at small dam 12/11/2010 Playtest 3 x 3 Team Snipers - Extended entrances to both balcony's - Placed two struts on both balcony's - Removed Aesthetics from small dam wall Please feel free to download, rate and comment. Any and all feedback is welcome. On a final note I would like to thank all of my testers, anyone who offered advice or tips and all of the guys over at forge-union. I would also like to say a special thank you to Rorak Kuroda for the special interest he took in Exodus and for all the helpful advice he has given me. Thanks guys. Download Here
Wow it looks amazing! I love everything about the map I'l download it for sure! I love that the map is not square but circular If you have other maps that you want to test add me my gamertag is xavbio I totally want to see your next maps! And if you could take a look at mine.. lol so continue to forge and have good halodays
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I've always been a fan of yours, Paranoia, for the specific reason which you stated in the thread: Forgers have become so utterly obsessed with what is considered "Good" and "Bad," that ever-so slowly, creativity is being lost, only to be replaced by conformity. Also: Might wanna fix that
i normally dont allow myself to comment based soley on pictures, but damn! you really accomplished what everyone else needs to be doing - creating a new, unique playspace that actually feels complete, like somewhere else, not FW. this looks totally badass, i cant wait to play it. and i agree with the posts above as well, forgers need to think outside of the box more, and stop trying to conform to whats considered "cool" by the community.
Glad to have been involved in this map's production, the testing was fun (albeit that stupid Snipers match) and the end product is great.
This looks really good. I downloaded and will try out later today (when my kids are off the xbox). I will come back and comment later what I find. But thus far just the pics show a clean map and well thought out theme implementation. I am surprised you didn't put race in this. It would not be difficult and the overall design lends itself to an easy race track, I would think. Feedback: Playing it, it plays really well, much better than expected. It plays really well compared to most maps I have been on. It is big. It looks good for big team game parties. It is spacious, and most important it has a theme that lends to taking me somewhere! I hope this maps gets into match making. It is a map I would love to play on over and over again! When playing multi flag, the map is not symmetrical, but the game type is. One flag is high,the other is low. One team can shoot down on the other. Not symmetrical. Need to go through with forge to see how its spawns are laid out.
Para: This map is awesome, I love how you dont actually feel like you're in Forgeworld, you feel like you're in a real map Could I have the links to your other stuff, if they're as awesome as this, then my Customs Nights are complete
man so happy u made this, my friends and i play your H3 version alot and i have been looking for your reach reimagining for some time. Great job this is stayin on the xbox for good!
Wow, I'm not the only one who tries not to conform to the forging norm then... Anyways, this really looks amazing. In fact it looks like the best dam map I've seen in a while (lol, pun) I'm not sure about the name, seeing as it's the name of a campaign mission and doesn't really have a lot to do with dams, but still, great job! I can't wait to play this, hopefully the gameplay is as good as the aesthetics.
Wow this map was bigger than I imagined, it really looks like a dam. I especially liked the upper bridges and glass hallways. The positioning of the map is very clever as well. Great work!
Great map, needs a little work, and I will help! I played it again with another party last night. It was slow with only 8 players for our slayer game. It clearly is a big team party map, particularly for slayer games. Otherwise, it is too large. This map is outstanding. I would love to play it in match making on a regular basis under the big team category. That being said, your layout of spawn objects is wrong. I would love to help you fix this. I don't go around telling people I want to help them fix up their map, but this is too good to walk away from.
I like the look of your map, but it is so open that I worry about the snipers. A good sniper or 2 could really dominate on this map. There is really little cover in many areas, and some spots are so open you are asking for a bullet in your skull. I love its originality, I have been pressured for awhile to make a Dam map, and I also feel it would work well for race, as MrGreenwithagun said before. Kudos for design, but not for playability.
Ya, I didn't get the name either, but luckily, the name does not affect game play. [br][/br]Edited by merge: When you actually get on the map (not just look at the pics) I think you will change your mind. It played quite well every time. With just 8 players, it was too large. 16 would be great.
I chose the name Exodus as its a remake of my map Exile from Halo 3 and wanted a simliar name. Originally I was gonna to call it Excavation but the name was taken a few weeks ago so I chose Exodus. If this is what we spoke about on Bungie.net then the issue has been resolved and their is no problem with spawns. Please play the map before posting negative comments based on pictures. The map is fairly open but it is not so open that one sniper can dominate. The upper walkway is mostly glass, unless you are on a balcony or the bridge you cannot shoot. The main top of the dam has struts protecting from accross the water and due to its curved nature the struts obstruct nearly all view from the otherside of the dam. Also there is a sniper of each side of the map to cancel each other out. Thanks for all the comments guys. I really appreciate all the nice words you've said.
I actually did play the map before posting, and I never saw the second sniper, so I thought one side would have a huge advantage when I first commented. Even so, many areas are still controlled by the snipers and lack much cover. Areas like the hallway and the struts are well covered, but many lower areas and walkways are not. The lower rocky areas are a good example of this, boasting little to no cover for extended areas. I asked myself "Why would I even walk through there?" when I checked it out; the risk seemed to out-weigh the reward in any case. I still like the map, but I think a tunnel added on areas like these would help balance the snipers better (just an opinion). On an unrelated note, I think the map would work well for territories. I just thought I'd ask if you had set up/tested the map on this game type. Overall rating: 5/5 for looks 4/5 for playability (now that I see the other sniper) 6/5 for originality
Sounds like a Russian ice skater judge.... ;> but I agree, this is very original and very cool implementation...
woa dude. this map is looks freaking gorgeous. i'll be trying out this one for tomorrow's halo party with my friends. i'll let ya know what i think.