It might just be me, but I was getting a lot of flicker and loss of framerate at the extreme ends of the map. Its beautiful, and I'm gonna keep it, but (unless it was just me and my box) it feels like a few of the aesthetic bits should be simplified to prevent that from happening.
The frame rate lag is completely eliminated when playing the map in an actual game. As I stated in the OP, when you load the map up in forge mode it will lag/flicker because of all the objective pieces that have to be rendered.
Great map, looks like something from Crysis. And just a quick question did you use the golf holes to get the grass?
More people should check this map out, I highly recommend it. It is very well made and fun to play on and with the new reduced lag version out it is something to not be missed.
Great job with the map. The level of detail to make sure everything looks spick and span is remarkable. The structure is great and well balanced. The aesthetics are lovely. The trees in the middle really sell the entire thing. Great job. I definitely plan on using this map.
Sweet map mAAAAAAAAAn!!! Really amazed by the garden things and the overall Awesome appearence of it all!!! gonna go download it RIGGHT now! good work!
A truly great map! I love the aesthetics and the layout. The cover also seems to be spot on, well done!
DSM, I hear you finally ironed out the kinks in this maps frame rate. How'd you work that? Anyhow, I'm glad you did as this is one of the few maps that I've actually enjoyed from these forums. Keep up the good work man.
The only changes actually are that I added 2 coliseum walls to the top of blue base to help block out the mountains in forge world (this added to the frame rate lag), and I replaced the glass sails I had used as the railings for the staircases with satellite antennas flipped onto their sides. Frankly, the only reason it took so long to finish this was because I had simply stopped playing Halo entirely for a couple months just due to a loss of interest.
OMGZR you only changed 6 pieces to make this incredibly bonerific map even more bonerific????!!! I recommend every download this and wack off to it three times a night like me.
Placidity Placidity is certainly a unique map as far as design is concerned. Gameplay however, does not leave players with the satisfaction they might have suspected from viewing this map before hand. Free-for-all turned out to be the most enjoyable as the small space made for an enjoyable hectic experience. Team games turn out to be just too bland, if not flat out unenjoyable. Placidity was made to support two to eight players. For team games, eight players might be a little too crowded. Four or six players would be a better comfort zone for this map to allow for better player movement and better gameplay quality. Free-for-all games can better cope with larger player numbers but eight players might still be pushing it a little. Action in team slayer games will first revolve around getting to the power weapons, which on this map is a rocket launcher and the shotgun. Players who don’t get a power weapon will rely on their magnum or assault rifle as they come in quite handy in the small floor space. The abundance of plasma grenades around the map means players should prepare for a few stick medals along the way. The rest of the game will dissolve into the normal spot enemy, shoot enemy, get shot, and die routine everyone is used to in small maps like this. Capture the flag faired a little better than team slayer as far as shaking the formula up is concerned. Some strategy was needed to determine the correct time to make a dash for the flag and to wait when a majority of the other team was dead so grabbing the flag before they respawn. The key problem is unfortunately tied to the size of the map. It is just too easy to go base-to-base. Once the match starts a player can quickly run down the middle and into the enemy base, grab the flag, run the flag back, and score all in the first thirty seconds of the match. If the flags were moved back into each team’s starting spawn area the difficulty in scoring would increase, aiding the flow of the match. If flag at home settings are turned on this process might be slowed considerably but then games might never end with a winner. Free-for-all headhunter proved to be the winner and proved where Placidity’s true strengths lie. Gameplay was fluid, hectic, and most importantly, very enjoyable. The two hills were never right next to each other and were placed in appropriate locations around the map. Placidity is perfectly symmetrical so players will see no flaws in balance due to map geometry. The only difference in the map layout is on one side of the map there is a shotgun and on the other side a focus rifle. Speaking of the focus rifle, weapon balance was a small issue on the map. This focus rifle was a strange selection for such a small map. It proved to be used very sparingly in gameplay and more as a, this is the weapon around at the moment, might as well pick it up, kind of situation. The map is too small and the lines of sight are not open enough to effectively use the focus rifle. Only expert focus rifle players will see any benefit from picking it up during play. The rocket launcher has an extra clip of ammunition, which is a huge deal on such a small map. Whomever own the rocket launcher will dominate for the four shots they have with it. The learning curve for Placidity pretty low as everything about the map is instantly understandable upon playing it. The weapons are in easy to remember locations, and gameplay movement revolves around the sides of the map and the middle of the map. Placidity is not an enclosed map but it is an inescapable map. This is accomplished via a low kill barrier. The problem with this approach is there is a kill barrier with no soft kill barrier before it. Players that choose the jetpack as their armor ability du jour will soon find that they have a very low ceiling to work with. They should prepare for a few accidental deaths during the course of a game. The choice of not enclosing the map is understandable but it really unnecessarily limits the usability of an armor ability. The spawn system worked flawlessly on Placidity, which was very impressive given the map’s size. Eight players were able to spawn comfortably on the map without being right on top of each other or spawn killing. The latest version of Placidity is touted as being lag-free. This proved not to be the case. On each side staircase next to the middle staircase of each starting base overlooking the map, a noticeable amount of frame-rate lag is present. This lag was significant enough to be noticeable during gameplay and might be a result of all the light rendering required by all the stair pieces. A clear case of aesthetics over gameplay, Placidity is definitely a sight to behold. The map’s theme is an outdoor courtyard. Its central aesthetic feature is the use of stairs and beveled height changes on each base of the map. The stairs all work without fault and really give the map a unique feel to it. Trees in the center of the map, rocks on the corners on top of over-turned tin cups give the otherwise predominantly grey map a natural element. These aesthetics serve to break up lines as well so they are functionally sound. The rest of the map uses a few forge pieces to give the overall layout a consistent and smooth look. All the pieces that make up the stairs look nice, but their unfortunate side affect is the toll they take on the framerate. Stairs were a fledgling concept when Placidity was released. Few maps had them, and fewer maps did them correctly where a player would not stick when trying to walk up them. Placidity was one of the earliest maps to implement stairs correctly, and do it in a very eye-appealing manor. Gameplay wise, Placidity is very “run-of-the-mill”. The natural elements, while important aesthetically are not unique. Many maps make use of trees and rock gardens to breath some natural life into otherwise grey maps. Rating Multipliers Enjoyment: 6 x 3.0 = 18 out of 30 Balance: 7 x 3.0 = 21 out of 30 Durability: 6 x 1.5 = 9 out of 15 Aesthetic : 9 x 1.5 = 13.5 out of 15 Originality: 7 x 1.0 = 7 out of 10 Final Score Understanding the Review Hub's Ratings
With the amount of objects on the screen in the original I could have never seen the map not lagging. I would like to know how many objects that you did away with from the original to this version? What was the budget then and now also? What are you thinking only 6 objects? the map needs to be cut down so much more than that... reason being.... no way that 8 person game will not lag when throwing nades along with shots and players on screen. When I go and load the game up tonight with 7 friends and their is still screen lag... I will post a picture of someone kicking someone in the nuts, because that is what you will deserve for only changing 6 objects. Their is not way in hell that only changing 6 objects will get rid of your horrid screen lag that I had from the original.
The original, at least in all my testing (which was a lot), only had frame rate lag in one spot, and that was when looking outside of blue base. It was not horrid as you describe it. The lag was caused due to the fact that mountains could be seen in the background on that side of the map that were not present on the other. At first I tried just blocking the mountains out with a bunch of coliseum walls, but that did not work completely and also looked terrible. What I ended up doing was leaving two of the coliseum walls, along with switching the glass sails I used as railings to satellite antennas flipped on their side. This not only completely removed frame rate lag for myself, but also for everyone that helped me test it. [br][/br]Edited by merge: A few points/questions: - Note that the maximum amount of players is set at 8, not the recommended. The fact that it says max amount should suggest that a game this size is not recommended, and that something in between the minimum and maximum players counts should be used. I would definitely list the recommended player count at 4 or 6. - While I respect your opinion, I disagree with your point about the focus rifle. I had intended all throughout the development of the map to include it, and I think that it really completes the weapon set. In a battle between a DMR/needle rifle, the focus rifle will win almost every time. I think that because of that fact the weapon plays a crucial role in the balance of the map. - If you don't mind me asking, what are all the specific areas were you encountering frame rate issues? It's not that I do not believe your claims, it's just that I had not been informed of any remaining frame rate issues after the updated release. As for there being lag coming out of red base, I had not heard of that before and I will look for a solution. Did you constantly experience lag here, or was it a sporadic experience? - Also, thank you for information about the hard kill zone, I don't think anyone I ever tested the map with used jet packs, so that problem was completely unknown to me. - Again, if you don't mind answering, how many points do you think you took off due to the frame rate issues? I had legitimately thought that I had completely eliminated frame rate lag in the map, which is why I had requested a review. I just want to know what score I could have gotten if the lag had been completely eliminated.
And I tested it with both 5 players, 6 players, and 8 players. If you list a number that the map supports than it will be assumed the map supports it. You don't mention in the map thread a recommended player number so all I have to go on is the min and max set for the map. It is not my job to assume what you meant, it is my job to review what is presented for all audiences. Fair enough, the review is based off my testing. In my testing the focus rifle was not used very often and when it was used it was not very affective. While I don't know how it performed over a larger number of test sessions, that is again not my job. If it was not used much in my games than I can apply at least a basic generalization that other players would not use it as much so that is where the review comes from. If you want next time I'm on halo I can show you. Specifically it was on the two side staircases on each base when looking toward the other base. It was very noticeable. Again, you use a lot of pieces for the staircase that have lights. Those lights take a lot of rendering time which causes the lag. For future maps you make, try to keep all the armor abilities in mind, especially the jetpack. The jetpack is the easiest way to brake most maps so while cursory thought might be applied to stopping jetpacks from breaking the map, thought must also be put into making sure they aren't nerfed completely so players can affectingly use them. Like overall? The lag affected the durability section of the review only, so I suppose if there was no lag it would have gotten an 8 due to the kill barrier problem. That equates to like a one or two tenths of a point change in the overall score. Also for future reference please use the Review Hub Community Feedback thread for opinions on the review. Not that bumping a fellow forger's map is bad but we don't want long arguments or whatnot to go on in map threads. Any further questions should be addressed there.
After downloading this map and taking a good look around I didn't notice any framerate issues at all, so good job with that. Also, the stairs were executed to perfectly that I didn't even notice that there was a block placed in them. The trees in the center put such a nice touch to the rest of the map. It was good to see that you actually incorporated two trees into the center, rather than one. Overall, great map man.