YouTube - Catacombs "Stay a while and listen..." Catacombs is a medium size arena capable of hosting many free for all and team objective gametypes. The arena's initial design was based heavily upon the randomized dungeon maps of the RPG game Diablo. Although some aesthetics may have taken a different turn from the Blizzard Entertainment franchise, the primary layout still contains many similarities: What Gametypes does Catacombs Support? Catacombs has been tested thoroughly and works best with traditional Team Objective gametypes. Team Gametypes allow for greater numbers of players, while Free For All works best with less than eight. The preferred and proven gametypes for Catacombs are Bro Slayer and Capture the Flag, but the map can support almost any traditional gamemode. This includes Assault, One Bomb Assault, Capture The Flag, One Flag, Head Hunter, Infection, Safe Havens, Juggernaut, King of the Hill, Crazy King, Oddball, Slayer, Team Slayer, Swat, Team Swat, Snipers, Team Snipers, Stockpile, Territories, 3 Plot Territories, Lang Grab, Team Zlayer, and OVERBOARD! That's quite a list, so check it twice. Screenshots Thank You Everyone! I would like to finish by thanking you all for your continued support of my maps. I could not have created this map without the guidance that many of you have provided in the past. Most of all, I want to thank those who helped playtest this map, every bit of gameplay has been a fun and educational experience. AwakeHappyShark Copperballs85 Danny 7005 Darnell1992 HeadshotHotHead legonerd lukevader1 Master Jamster milkyway32 nick52nack Obsidian Frost Perkuliese Prodigious 7k s1m9i9t4h ShadowStorrmXx Smoke1ess spartn126 timmypanic Tucker t48 wo1fking1 xArtic Hunterx Zow Jr Special Thanks! DIRT JOCKEY - For hosting the Tuesday Night Tests, which helped immensely in playtesting. pinkelite57 - For his expertise and advice on level design and most importantly weapon placement. PsychoBucket - For using his Bungie Pro minutes to render clips for my video montage.
Good map is good. I remember testing this, and I remember loving it, I just didn't expect you to do this good a job on the formating. Well done!
The map looks cleanly forged but what really amazed me is the graphics of your post. That has got to be the best presentation I have seen yet. The text was legible and proper color. The images were small and separate which means it didn't take me 5 minutes to load the page. The skull graphic and borders were great. I know all of this has little to do with the actual map but its just so tiring looking at map threads that go overboard with graphics and those with none in them.
Thanks guys. I worked hard on this map, wore my thumbs down to nubs in forge and custom games. At least computer mice use the index finger. The presentation took a great deal of effort, but a large portion of it was easy to do in Photoshop by using Blizzard's Diablo 3 Fansite kit. Probably the most difficult part was getting the clips off my fileshare and onto a rendered YouTube video, that's a first for me. I'm glad you took the time to appreciate it.
Amazing job of presenting Catacombs, Alzarahn. The video, music and pictures convey the feel of the map perfectly. You had to go and outdo my floor plan presentations, didn't you? Your plans read really well and as with the rest of the presentation, they really help to convey much about the feel of Catacombs. Catacombs has a very solid layout, making it very easy to navigate even on a first run through it. As the music in the video suggests, the map's feel is both foreboding and epic all rolled into one. I'm positive that's what you were going for while you conceptualized the map early on, and you've succeeded in a great way. Congratulations on another solid, unique map.
I had the inspiration of a hit video game with a strong flavor to fall back on, as well as the inspiration from your floor plan - I honestly had that in mind when I designed mine. The layout took some planning, but the aesthetics were relatively easy as a result. The map isn't very large, you can get from red to blue base in about thirty seconds, but I still think I created an area that feels bigger than it is. That's exactly what I was aiming for. Thanks for all the help, I honestly could not have done it without everyone's help. [br][/br]Edited by merge: By the way, if anyone is looking for the Bro Slayer gametype, I've got it in the map's download link. It works great on this map.
I finaly got a chanse to play some customs on this map today, and i must say i was impressed. It definetly has that diablo catacombs feel with the large colums and LOS. Its a shame to see a good map like this fall to to the bottom so fast but the competition has been fierce these past few weeks. anyway i figured id come find this thread and bump it cause you definetly deserve it .
Thanks! It's great that my little map that could is getting out there, I'm actually quite surprised by the download numbers. It's always nice to see that people outside my immediate friends list are still getting to experience this map. I also know that Forgehub is a very competitive environment, so I'm just glad that it has at least got this fair amount recognition so far.
I'm dissapointed that this is being looked over. I read over the thread, watched the video, and studied the pictures to fully understand your design. I only have one question about it. Are the circled squares quick jumps? I figure they are since you used the same highlighted squares in your level diagram where the quick jumps up to each platform overlooking rockets spawn. I just want to be sure since I don't have an xbox and you don't have a picture of that particular area or show it in the video. On to the map. I want to preface this by saying that since I don't have an xbox, I have never played the map or looked at in forge, but you've done such a fine job of showcasing that I feel like I understand your map very well and so I'll comment about the design. First off, from the video, I like your choice in architecture and the theme you've chosen for the map. The forge pallet actually does suit what you're going for rather nicely and you're addition of a few braces and teleporter frames here and there really brings it all together. Also, I love that you decided to place death pits in the flag rooms so that you could push the walls back and make it less claustrophobic, yet still keep the dungeon feel. As for the general layout. I like that you went with something simple. It makes it easier for players to learn the map and get into the action. Just by looking at the diagram I can tell Catacombs has a figure eight flow and that you've placed heavy emphasis on central conflict. This again, makes it easier for players to find each other. Of course the danger with figure eight flow is that it can be repetitive and so I like that you've added an additional side route into each base, just to spice it up a bit, but still draws you to the center. It looks like you've built it well, and if you're post is any indication of the hard work you've put into your map, then I really wish I could play this. Fantastic job!
This map is very impressive, the video and map really sold me on it though. Its a shame I have none of the hardware to do either, but this map deserves it. I havent played it yet but it looks like fun and a fantastic Shotgun map.
Those are indeed quick jumps. They are a little trickier to use than the others, but the reward is Shotgun. Mmm, tasty Shotgun. Thanks. I actually had doubts as to how well the dungeon feel would work in the beginning, but as the map progressed I quickly realized it would not be a problem. The Death Pits have been an interesting gameplay choice, since some players like to strafe. It makes the relatively simple flag rooms harder to capture, due to grenades. There is also a small camping ledge in the corner. The map does have a figure eight flow, and combat often ends up in the center near Rocket spawn or in one of the spawn rooms near DMR, if you're playing Bro Slayer(I love that gametype.) In Capture the Flag, more of the map area is used, and I've seen flag runs take place through the shotgun path. There is also the choice of using the columns themselves as cover to get from place to place. The post took hard work, but not nearly half the effort as went into the map. Thanks for the comments, and I hope you get to play this sometime soon. Thanks, I put a lot of effort into the map writeup, and I think it's paid off greatly. People get more of a chance to see and feel the map, which encourages them to download instead of passing over it. The hardware I used for the map is Photoshop, and the video I used Bungie Pro and Window Movie Maker. Give the map a run with your friends and let me know what you think.
Everything about this post is incredible. The presentation, the video, the map layout, and of course the map looks outstanding. I'm really looking forward to playing this map in customs and I'm really hoping I get the chance to do so soon. Great work!
I'm thrilled my map and post has received such praise. I really can't thank everyone enough for all the support. I hope you enjoy your custom games match.
This is a really eye-catching post - I especially like the action shots in your video because they really represent how the map plays out. The borders on the screenshots are lovely also. It's a shame I don't have the software to do this... I think the map has a really good, simple layout that works, and the aesthetics are simply amazing. I also like the weapon placements; I think they encourage people to move into other areas of the map. Great work!
Hello! I really enjoyed testing this map out . Loads of ways around, very competitive map and layout. I liked the weapon placement and was fair and balanced. Played really well on bro slayer and on flag. The presentation on your mao is really good and clear. Great work on this map and post.
I'm glad you like this, I've only recently realized how much a good map writeup really matters in the long run.. It makes a huge difference in user response. As far as the software I used, it was Photoshop, Bungie Pro, and Windows Movie Maker. Photoshop is expensive but there are lots of graphical editors out there that are cheaper and similar. WMM is standard on most Vista and Windows 7 machines as far as I know. I did not want to overly complicate the layout, but at the same time I didn't want things too simple. I think I found a good balance by making everything circulate through the center, where most of the tough combat happens. I've been told it's quite similar to Longest. The weapon placements took some thought, some game play, and some great advice from my friend Pink Elite. It's always good to have a seasoned forger have a look at your map and tell you what they really think. Thanks, I could not have produced this without the help of you playtesters. I honestly had to change this up over the course of about two weeks until I was satisfied with the gameplay, but I think the patience and hard work payed off.