The Generators - UPDATED A long awaited sequel to some. A completely foreign game to others. Whichever the case, I can assure you that this game will be as fun as watching Helen Keller with a Where's Waldo book. If you like that kinda' stuff. If not, it'll still be fun nonetheless. Just take my word for it. UPDATED PICTURES AND LINK AT THE BOTTOM Wish me luck. You are one ugly SOB, but even a decomposing disease-ridden mutation must have hopes and dreams, yes? Of course you do. Granted, they're limited to eating a lot, but at least it's something. Whether your decaying mind can comprehend this concept or not, your food is trying to kill you as it gets away. So, how do you insure a nice, warm, squirming dinner? Well, to put it in simple terms, make sure they don't press the big red flashing things, those are bad. It helps them get away, and we can't have that now, can we? While you're at it, get some floss. There's a bit of flesh in your teeth, and quite frankly, it's a turn-off. To most individuals, you are a preference over the zombies. Though there are some freaks out there, and we must be thankful for them, because if a zombie is chowin' down on them, that means they're not chowin' down on you. But enough of the small talk, you've got a mission. It's your job to activate all the generators. Once that's done exterminate any infected individuals and then proceed to hump their chest and call them a n00b make your way to the military evacuation point. And, as if such work isn't overwhelming enough, make sure that you don't die. It'd be a real jerk thing for you to do. And people wouldn't like you anymore. They'll call you names and hump your chest laugh at you. But as any experienced writer knows, good literature doesn't involve writing, it involves pictures. Well, maybe not, but it's most certainly the preferable option in this particular scenario. We'll start it simple. This, my grotesque friends, will soon become a home to you. This 0 bedroom 0 bath hole and the ground provides you with no essentials to your well-being. However, it does provide you with a rapid access to food, and, well, we'll call it a nice little "benefit". In short, your prey will walk down one of three paths, color-coded blue, red, and yellow. Notice the colors behind the glowy lights? I can assure you that it isn't a coincidence that they are colored the same. Later on, a nice little treat will spawn for you in from of the green path. This makes you significantly stronger, which should make this competition for prey turn into a buffet for all. That's all I'll say. Humans, on to you. Don't tell the infected, but you're my favorite anyway. This is your drop-off point. You're given three paths to choose from. Search for survivors, but most importantly press the button at the end of each path. It'll give you candy. And by candy, of course, I mean a slightly higher probability of survival. Besides, if it was really candy, you'd become obese and slow. And then you'd die. And you'd be an ugly zombie, and everyone would hate you. This is the blue path. See those bars? There may be an infected who runs past on the other side of them. If so, fix your hair because you never get a second chance at a first impression, and you want this one to be stunning. At the end of this path is the entrance to the embassy. There's no chance of you getting in, go just flail your limps at the wall, headbutt it, or throw a friend at it. Either way you'll need to be pressing that button. Welcome to the yellow path. Through the left is a miscellaneous shop, but you can't get in there. Even though there's health packs in there. Sadistic, isn't it? Well don't cry for too long, the zombies might think you're a freak if you do. And finally, the red path. Those bars look familiar to you? Well, go up to them and wave 'Hello' to your friends. I promise something won't run up behind you and smell kill you. Here's the end of the red path. The door switch is malfunctioning, so you'll have to find another way in. A way that may or may not involve you jumping on a series of four pipes while you're teammates defend you. Don't choke. Seriously, the last thing your teammate needs is to come over there and give you the Heimlich because you thought it'd be hilarious to try to kill yourself. And for the only one of you who makes it here, but had to trip your brother to do so, congratulations. The final area isn't too roomy, but what it lakes in space, it sure makes up for in rock, grass, and death. I think it's a fair trade. It's a crying shame that this fellow died. He took a break to put on his big boy pants before attempting to traverse the pipes at the end of the red path. Catching him with his pants down, these three infected decided to... kill him. And yes, I do realize that I could have gone somewhere else entirely with that sentence. A sentence involving coterie-coitus. And speaking of coterie-coitus... Well, frankly, this speaks for itself. This young man thought it would be fun to impress his classmates by asking a zombie out on a date. The zombie killed him. They don't take kindly to being made fun of. See that guy in the background? He thought that the zombie was fluffy and tried to give it a hug. It actually was fluffy. You should try hugging a zombie sometime. Two lovers sprint across a blood-soaked field to finally, after years of depression, finally feel each others warm embrace. Oh wait a second, that's not what's happening here. Well this just got quite awkward. Zombies are actually quite charismatic and personable individuals if you give them a chance. But if they ask "Does this deteriorating flesh make my butt look big?", never say yes. Even if it does just sound like screeching and groans. You'll end up like these two. If you have a group of 3 or less humans, always travel together. At 4 you can send two to two generators and work together for the last. With 6 it'd be best to use groups of 3. The more bloodshed the merrier. As badass as it may feel to take a swing at a zombie with a spiker, you should consider grabbing an AR. If you don't communicate with your team about which generators have been activated, you'll be about as confused as a baby in a topless bar. If you manage to encounter a zombie that's a slightly darker shade of green than the others before you get to the evac point, don't discriminate - split up. Have one of you gave him a nice little pat on the back for doing such an outstanding job. Try to befriend the zombies. Give them some soap. Maybe that's why they're so anti-social. Sure, you can take multiple hits, but it isn't recommended. Unless you're masochistic. Then, by all means, feel free. Every generator has a pistol near it. Some are placed tactically, and others will hinder you. Overall, they'll help you. One shot, right between the ankles. Oh wait, that's not right. Between the eyes, that's right. Always stick with a teammate. It's nicer to the infected, it gives them more to eat. When you pick up the power-up, make sure to keep your back to the wall as much as possible. Watch out for those headshots. Perhaps you can distract them with your dancing skills. Keep in mind that your presence is about as welcomed as flatulence in a crowded elevator, so be quick and subtle with your attacks. There's three paths, so in tryin' to kill all of the humans you'll be about as busy as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. Instead, you may want to set yourself to a single path to guard, or clear out. Look both ways before crossing the street. This ties into the last one. Flip the warthog on the street so that it blocks the path. It'll buy you some time. The humans can camp your last teleporter. Have no fear! The box and landmine respawn. Nice, hm? With the power-up you can pick up weapons. You spawn near a golf shop. With gravity-defying golf clubs. YouTube - The Generators - A Halo Reach Forge Map by Plasma Blades RANDOM FACTS: This title doesn't look awesome. Blame the 20 picture limit. I built this map a while ago and probably shouldn't have waited this long to post it. There was an issue with swords being overpowered. I added more ammo. Before that happened, winning as the infected was as hard as a priest on a playground. Well, that wasn't politically correct, now was it? I took too many screenshots. Odontophobia is the fear of teeth. The human heart can squirt blood 30 feet. But if you're a survivor, I'm sure you'll find that out soon. If a zombie keeps getting bigger and bigger, he isn't the Hulk, he's just getting closer. I hit the budget limit 95% of the way through this map. The map is not breakable as far as I know. Zombie spawns are placed to allow quick, frightening attacks. You'll be as scared as a man sitting on the bottom story of a two-floored outhouse. Each path has 3 spots where the infected can attack. Apologies if the humor in the post is a little off. It's three in the morning, and I've been waiting for an hour for the video for this map to upload to youtube. I fell asleep. Apparently it took 5 hours. Overall, this post has taken me a day. Between pictures, editing, writing, and getting everything right. But there were many distractions. It is cruel how misleadingly small this typing area is. This map can be done in a quicker time than the past two from H3, but only if you're a good jumper. Yes, this post had quite a few analogies. Some may have been slightly more 'interesting' than others, so I'm just hoping that everyone is okay with them. If not, mention the analogy in your comment and I'll take it down. Once again, there are no zombie spawns at the generators . Fight your way there, and fight your way back. And find candy along the way. Every generator has a magnum near it. Comment below. It makes you cool. UPDATES Spoiler The main area caused quite a bit of camping, so more cover was added for the infected to traverse through. The only downside however, is that things just got much more confusing for the humans. New finale. The grass was removed because it wasn't too realistic, replaced by metal and a structure to break line of sight. Some cover was added to the red path, making it harder to hold off zombies. Based on the changes that benefit the zombies, the gametype was left the same. Link to New Map: The Generators Safe-Havens Gametype: Malum Inferni. This isn't recommended since the probability of a human living is about 1/873 and the last generator serves no purposes in the gametype, but, I provide this in case you wish to try it.
Cool. From what i can see, i would say some things about it. 1. I think there are too few Weapons on Map. 2. Do Humans have a 10 M Radar at least? If not, then better do so, cause i saw too many Humans getting assasinated. 3. I don't really like the Forerunner Structure on the Map neither do i like how the evac point looks. Are there Weapons there? 4. Do Humans get Waypoints over them that are shown to other Humans? I think it'll be useful since in the dark you can't really see if that guy with the sword is an ally or not and it may distract you. But for the rest, it's awesome. 8/10
Thanks for commenting! 1. There's about 6 AR's and 8 spikers (not sure of the actual numbers). 2 shotguns (1 in the final area) and a rocket launcher in the final area. Everything else seemed to be overpowered, though I may consider adding a grenade launcher. I had one before, and it was way too effective for guarding the red room. 2. No, they don't - that's the idea. It enforces teamwork and a constant state of awareness. I found in testing that a 10m motion tracker gave the humans too much of an advantage in a game where teamwork should be essential. I wanted a human who was alone to be at a disadvantage. With a motion tracker, they could work too efficiently on their own. 3. The forerunner theme certainly wasn't intended. I honestly, just used the pieces available to me. Nearly every forgable piece is used, I had to make some serious cuts to make the final areas. The final area, like in H3, was less than what I intended due to aforementioned budget constraints. 4. And yes, I believe that humans see each other with waypoints. If not, then it shouldn't much matter since humans are orange and zombies are green.
Just for the effort put into making the thread I'll download it. Looks great, and I'll see if I could get a game on this soon
Glad you finally posted this, it was pretty fun in testing! Pretty difficult though, I dont think the humans ever won when I played it with you. You really have a nack for making each one of these maps have its own little features that make them feel completly different, so good job on that, but Im just happy that now I can save a finished version to my hard drive!
This looks great. I love the idea of the humans having to split up to get to different generators. On a side note, whats the name of the song for the vid? I can't remember...
And how about Grenades? Maybe you could give Humans 2 starting Grenades and put some more at the evac point? And does the evac point have some extra Assault Rifles? I saw Zombies using Hologram in the vid. Do Zombies have a Sprint and Hologram Loadout to choose from? And why didn't you pull out your AR at 0:48 on the vid? ... Sorry i ask so much and give more negative/semi-constructive criticism than positive reactions. I also love the Generator System and the advantages given to Zombies. Also, from what i saw from the Defiant Map Pack, i think Highlands would do pretty good for The Turbines. Or just make it more of a spiritual succesor. Maybe add Mongooses, more ranged Weapons, Loadouts and use the Human Scenery on it that Forge World doesn't offer to make it really awesome. EDIT: I'm pretty sure The Generators will be just as famous as it was in Halo 3. Or even more.
cart0graph - Yeah, I was hoping the post could draw some people to the map. It's funny, you can tell how much I like a map of mine depending on how well the post for it looks. Jellofish777 - It's great to have some people that actually tested this comment - And yeah, Before I start work on a map I make sure that it has at least 2 features that are new to the community. My ultimate goal is to get some recognition by forgehub as a whole. Talons013 - The idea came to me in Halo 3, but I don't think it was ever popularized to the extent that I wished for. The song is Requiem for a Dream. artifact123 - No, I appreciate the criticism, it gives me some things to work on. I'll actually consider adding a grenade or two to the map, but not to each human. Grenade Spam = lose. As for the ending part, respawning ammo would kill the game. The humans main motivation is that once they get there, it's hard to kill them. I'll consider re-builing Turbines, I'll have to see how well the map works for it.
This map looks like a lot of fun and looks very nice...the game seems original nad the game seems like it would be even for both the humans and the zombies...although Im worried that the humans would get lost in trying to activate the different points...and you post took forever to read...:/
i have no idea how this whole stuff works, but it looks fun, i'll give it a try ^^ the video is very confusing, but kind of cool
There is no infection game that I enjoy more than one with an objective. Not to mention that the actual map is so eerie and chasm-ish. I was a bit confused by what the reward for activating the generators (and depressed to find that it wasn't candy ). Although you answered it a bit in response to many comments, I would show us a bit of the final area with what the human's are granted. Also, I commented. ARE I COOL NAO!?
THE GENERATORS Spoiler The Generators is based upon an incredible concept, which has been conveyed so thoughtfully and with so much effort. This map is linear, but only to an extent. There are three separate paths to be taken, which slightly increases the entertainment value of this map. After players have taken upon and beaten all three paths then quite simply, the level of enjoyment drops dramatically. However, if said paths are not taken, which is often the case, The Generators somehow does not bore the player half to death and the overall experience seems to become of a better quality. This is because people do not part ways along the different paths this map offers, and instead players just traverse the map normally. This "mistake" often leads to much more intense firefights that are much more enjoyable than if players play the game as intended. In addition, there is one rather large problem, that is directly related to the objective of the map; players do not know what to do! There is not any indication of any objective or path that has to be taken to win. Players often stroll around the map freely, not following the set list of objectives made clear in the map thread. The tendency is for players to just walk about the map, or hold out in the middle area, as opposed to playing the objective as intended by the rules specified for the game type. There is also a large inclination to just hold out in the middle of the map, due to the large, wide open space and the extra protection it offers the survivors. The gameplay is pretty fun, especially during the survivors' final stand against a swarm of zombies. However, gameplay is the same every single time due to the somewhat linear design of this map, which results in a lack of replay value. However, zombies are vastly underpowered in The Generators. Players will very often see zombies go down like mincemeat, with only a slight speed increase at their disposal. Futhermore, humans are incredibly overpowered, requiring an insane three direct hits to be infected. If players are not human on this, then chances are that the vast majority of the games' population will want to quit. Whilst this is poor gamesmanship, they simply cannot be blamed for it. There is no just entertainment value in being a zombie. After one or two games on The Generators, the vast majority will not want to go anywhere near this map ever again, or at least for quite a while. The Generators could only be described as merely adequate in terms of balance. There are far too many areas that offer a large, open, flat place in which the humans can hold out in a single corner, and camp in. Even worse, is that this is a very frequent issue during games on this map. As there is no cover for the zombies, if all survivors remain in these large and open areas, then the human game becomes far too easy, and the zombie game becomes far too boring. This often results in quitting. This diabolical problem is made much worse because of the lack of entrances for zombies to enter rooms through. There are at most three entrances to each room, when the zombies are forced to come either up steps, or round a corner, giving the already overpowered survivors another large advantage. As for the gametype, words cannot begin to describe how poor the balance is on The Generators. Humans need three direct hits from a zombie to be infected. This means that a zombie will use up at least four lives before a single infection, even more at the start of a round. In comparison however, the zombies find their health extremely underpowered. A well placed bullet will cut through a herd of zombies with ease, making a zombie victory as likely as seeing a dead pig motorcycling across the freeway in rush hour. This is a large disappointment especially as this is such a significant, but easily avoidable issue. On the other hand, once players reach a stage when there are a few more zombies than humans, the game suddenly bursts into life, and becomes ridiculously fun, and well paced. The balancing of the game type is faulty, but only until later on in the game. On the game type side, however, the creator has done a great job of not having infinite ammo, and placing the occasional scattered weapon around the map in some very interesting places. The creator of this map has clearly put lots of thought into the weapon placement and the amount of spare ammo available. Traversing through this map, players will find a few pistols with little ammo, and occasionally a shotgun, with minimal ammo also. Players cannot expect to find a box of shotguns just lying in the corner of the room; they much go out and hunt for them, and be prepared to look in unusual places, or in slightly more realistic places, such as underneath boxes, as opposed to a large armoury nearby. Whilst this does help to stop the survivors from just camping their hearts out, it just is not enough, partly because of the small walking distance to the weapons, and partly because the humans are just too strong anyway. At first glance, The Generators has a rather complex layout. The final section of the map, containing the jump pipes is just far too difficult, which leads players believing that it is just an aesthetic short cut to another, more accessible part of the map. Another example is of the three seperate paths that are needed to be taken to win. The fact is that unless players read the thread, they will not understand where they are going, expecting to cross paths, which they never do. A large part of a maps' success is linked to how balanced it is, particularly in infection games. The fundamental balance between humans and zombies is not there. Sadly, there is no fun being a zombie due to the balancing issues earlier mentioned. Having said that though, once the ratio of zombies to humans levels out none of these criticisms could be supported. There is undoubtedly no way in which to escape this map, seeing as how players are in an enclosed box. This makes gameplay more entertaining and fair. There is nothing worse than having a game halted and ruined by those escaping the map. Thus the decision to have The Generators in an enclosed box was a good one. The spawn system on The Generators is pretty solid by having the zombies spawn in a separate room with teleporters, but it is not made clear which one they should go through in order to reach a certain location. This causes gameplay to become droll because zombies are often unable to go straight to the fight, and have to agonizingly traverse the map to find the room the humans are in. Also, the confusing layout of the map means that gameplay often goes from a giant zombie rush to a big fight, which the survivors will win, to nothing for 30 seconds, to another zombie rush, a big fight and so on. Each time that this occurs just one or two humans is picked off. Unfortunately, this breakdown in the flow of the game is a fundamental problem in the gameplay. This is probably brought on by the spawning system being set to a teleporter section, and more importantly the gametype. In a case of one human vs one zombie, the human would be the victor all too often. This causes those big, repetitive rushes that destroy the gameplay and thus, aid in destroying the replay value of an otherwise superlative map. Many infection maps have highly campable areas. Whilst The Generators does produce these areas, many of them are so easily avoidable by adding a few bits of cover for advancing zombies. Another reason that The Generators has these highly campable areas is because too many of the rooms are large, wide and flat, with no cover for the zombies. If players do treat The Generators as a linear map and moving around in order to reach certain objectives no such camping occurs. Another significant problem with The Generators is the honour rule at the end. If a player makes it to the safe box then all the other players have to wait it out. This often results in quitting. Once players have finished a game or two on The Generators means, that much like puzzle maps, there is no point playing it again, which serves to make the map increasingly tedious and depressing. What else is there to say? The aesthetics are stunning! While the layout is fairly confusing, the map really captures that abandoned feeling of being in the inner workings of a building that can only be admired. The Generators could have looked even better, aesthetically speaking, if more bits of scenery, some scattered propane tanks or cones were placed to help generate the atmosphere of an abandoned building. Sadly though, they have not. The forging is neat and clean. There is not a single part of this map that looks in any way out of place. Every forge piece has been used to good effect, albeit in creating the basic layout, marking points of interest or merely in aiding navigation. Antenna pieces are used as metal railings, which allow players to look from one of the linear paths to the next, but not traverse through. This is of a great design that was clearly planned in advance. Also, when players see their friends being eaten up by zombies, they can just sit, watch, and feel helpless. Sad for the players, but great for the atmosphere they contribute to the map. The biggest aesthetic sin on many maps is the use of colour coding within forge pieces, which makes the traversing of a map confusing, and unsightly. However, on The Generators the colour coding is incredibly clear and simple, and this map is one the rare maps in which colour coding within forge pieces is used appropriately, and not to the detriment of the map or gameplay. Fortunately the FX used does not interrupt gameplay on the map. However, in certain rooms it can become a very mild annoyance, as they become slightly dark. On a purely aesthetic point of view the FX used on The Generators creates a brilliantly malevolent atmosphere. Also, this significantly contributes to the enjoyment factor, and makes this map and idea that bit more lifelike and immersive to the player. This should allow players to marvel at The Generators' beauty for years to come! The idea of being in an abandoned building full of generators is both brilliant and original. The Generators is undoubtedly a well executed map, but there is still something missing. Inside the map, the creator has failed to do anything to make this map stand out from the already bloated market of infection maps, and the fact that nothing has been done is saddening. Furthermore, many of the pieces used to create something aesthetically interesting are not new in the least bit. Again, take the central railing bars; whilst the placement is unique, the idea of them just is not. Also, a linear map just is not special. Fact. However, the concept of having a linear map that is split up into multiple paths is something that is pretty unique and very interesting. If these paths were made to be more obvious then the gameplay would be truly unique, but it has not, so it is not. Nothing interesting has been added that changes the game around. In short, nothing makes this map stand out from the crowd. Rating Multipliers [floatleft]Enjoyment: 6 x 3.0 = 18/30 Balance: 6 x 3.0 = 18/30 Durability: 8 x 1.5 = 12/15 Aesthetic : 9 x 1.5 = 13.5/15 Originality: 7 x 1.0 - 7/10 TOTAL = 68.5/100 [/floatleft] Good, but not great. Many things work well, such as the idea and the aesthetic layout, aswell as the potential fun factor but a giant lack of replay value and direction has cost The Generators valuable marks A fun and enjoyable map that is great for starting out a customs game night. However, a lack of direction and replay value means that this map won't last long though. I would defiantly recommend this map for players of all experiences, who are just looking to have a good time for a game or two! Final Score Understanding the Review Hub's Ratings (NB - This map has been updated since this review was made to address issues that were made with it. Expect a score of about 8.4 or 5 now)
The Zombies are absolutely not underpowered. They have a lot of large advantages. I guess you didn't even play the Game.
I played this game several times, and I found that to be the case. Many of my friends during the game sessions also agreed on me. The zombies are underpowered, especially at the begginging. Better yet, their not underpowered. The humans are overpowered. It makes no difference really. Three hits to take down a human? It takes about 4 lives to get 1 hit, so make taht 12 lives for 1 infection. Yeh, underpowered. Don't like it? Fine
artifact: I may have; I ran through adding random safe havens, but I don't remember if I added grenades. Either way this is going to undergo some serious modifications in the weeks to come. Loscocco: The final area is probably (if possible) the area that will undergo the most modifications. It's far too simple, and cramped for that matter. The entrance is too easy to defend for the humans, and overall unrewarding. Oli: Thanks for such a thorough review. From what I read of your post, the largest issue present lies in the gametype. Problem is, the experience differs dependent on the player. A tactical infected will hide and wait for a human to be close to strike. For example, 90% of the time as the infected I can land a hit. However, I do understand that the gametype should accommodate for all play-styles, so you can expect a revision of the gametype. As for the map itself, I believe that some cover placement is most necessary in the tunnel to the red path and the human spawn, correct? Between that and the final area revisions, this map will be seeing quite a few alterations. Once again, thanks for the review, it's given me quite a bit to keep me busy with. Aside from the gametype modification and cover addition, anything else that you would consider necessary for improvement?
nope, I reckon thats about it. Thanks for taking on my feedback, I really appreciate it. I really do think though that you should give the generators themselves more use, and give players a reason to go to them, be it a weapon or a health pack. Definatly add more cover. Glad you liked my first review as much as I enjoyed getting it proofread (review hub eat your heart out)
More use? As in aside from opening the door? I'm not exactly sure what I could do. There's a pistol at each generator (though, admittedly, most are hidden), and with headshot kills, it's quite the asset. I'll think about the healthpack, but as you said, humans are already overpowered, and altering the gametype just right will be pretty difficult. As I mentioned, revisions will be hard since I pretty much used up every usable object that cost 10. But nonetheless, I'll see what I can do. After it's revised, can it be re-submitted or no?
Can't really resubmit the review, its out there and done, and I just don't have the time to rewrite it and get it proofread by the RH guys again. It took about 10 rewrites to get that done, so i'm sorry that I can't redo it. Gametype tewaking can be difficult, but if done correctly would have improved your map from a 6.9 to just under a 9 i'd say. Again, can't change it, but there you go. If your short of money, i'd suggest getting rid of some of the lesser bits of scenery, or some of the objects in the middle room. If your seriously short, possibly delete the win room all together, or change how it works. If you were going to make more use going to the generators (which could be costly) you could set a few fusion coils to run on seperate tracks which are holding up a main door (a box or something) When they blow, the door will move down a bit, until when all three blow the safe box is uncovered