Thanks man, I'm glad you like the map and I'm glad I could be an inspiration for you as many people inspire me as well. Thanks for the comment.
I'm still yet to place this Eball so I can't really comment on the gameplay, but you've nailed it from a visual perspective and I'm glad one of my maps gave you some inspiration to create a map a lot of people love
Thanks Steve, I'm glad you like it. Envy is one of my favorite maps, and I thought, what better map to get some great inspiration from? Thanks for the inspiration and comment. If you get some games on it, or would like to with me let me know how it plays out/ or let me know.
We (GrenadeGorilla, Zell Greylock, myself, broccollipie, and a couple of others) had a game on this last night. Here were my thoughts on it: - Aesthetics are very sharp and atmospheric. - Framerate drops are a big problem. We were all playing full screen and there were only six of us I think, but still just looking at the lower level centerpiece would cause screen lag, and if there was combat in that area it got unbearable. - Layout and structure are simple but interesting. I liked the opening around the top level platform especially, although it quickly became obvious that jetpack was the only armor ability worth having because of that design choice. That in turn led to the vast bulk of the combat happening on the second floor. I feel like this could be polished up a little more to encourage better flow and use more of the map space, but for a smaller game (2v2) it might play differently. - The fact that all of us were using jetpacks led to us noticing that there are a couple spots above top level that you can fly up to and camp on, and someone running along underneath you (on the intended play area, in other words) won't see you until you've already basically killed them. I'd definitely suggest to physically impede those areas, or add soft kill zones - something to discourage people just sitting up there and picking off unsuspecting people below.
Doh, NutDuster beat me to the I'm in 100% agreement with his comments. And maybe try (unfortunately) removing the green light to improve the lag issue.
I suspect that the real issue is object count rather than the light, although the light's not helping. As beautiful as the sword centerpiece is, there's a lot of small pieces packed in there, and many of them are decoratives with little lights on them. (And I feel your pain here, by the way. Though it's not as aesthetically eye-popping as this by any means, my first build of Cardiac Falls had a fairly elaborate set of structures in the middle involving lots and lots of rails and columns. The released and final version of the map has much less of both, because I ruthlessly culled and got rid of as many as I could without damaging the basic design. Sometimes you simply have to sacrifice aesthetics for gameplay.)
Well first of all, let me thank you for actually playing on the map then coming back and giving me some real feedback. Second, I agree with basically all of what you said, I've just about had it with framerate lag that I'm changing my forging style almost completely. Without the green light the map loses a great amount of aesthetic appeal. My worries are in fact not the centerpiece, but the light itself. I removed it before and found there to be no framerate issues. I find it funny that you say the jetpacks were mostly used for a map like this seeing as the games I've had on it, hardly anyone used a jetpack and the bottom floor was the main point of action. Also, you didn't mention spawning, how was it? [br][/br]Edited by merge: Thanks, I try to make easy and simple to understand layouts. It really helps players get a better feel for the map. Unfortunatly, this map isn't nearly good enough for matchmaking, I appreciate the comment though. [br][/br]Edited by merge: Haha, thanks Robert, I'm glad you like it. Green is a fantastic color that really stands out and can put such a beautiful touch to a map. I do stairs a lot, but this map just had to have them. If you get a chance to play on this, let me know what you think, especially on framerate lag and spawning. Thanks again.
I was also in the game that Nutduster mentioned, and I do agree with most of what he said about the map. It is a very good looking map, and I think you did a great job with the aesthetics, and the feel of the map. I tested out a jet pack for a few lives, and this spot is the one i found that I could sit in, and I believe is the one Nutduster is referring to. We played with 6-8 people, I forget how many were in that game exactly, but for the size map, I never had too much of a problem with spawning. I think I was hit by a grenade once, but that was a bounce around a corner from someone not really near me. Considering that we were on the edge, or over the edge of your suggested, I would say the spawning worked pretty good overall. I also liked your weapon layout and choices, none seemed overpowered in our game. It was fun to play on, and its a great map for some smaller sized customs, it just needs a few tweaks.
Thanks for the feecback about spawning, usually it's spawning that gives me problems, but I'm glad it worked well. I thought I tweaked the map enough with all of the games I had on it and no one even thought about camping in that one spot. I guess I'll have to try harder to make sure there's no camping in my next map. Thanks for the comments, I'm glad you enjoyed the map.
Not a problem. I spend so much time forging and working on my own stuff that I don't download as many maps as I used to - but I do get into a fair amount of custom games and when a map I recognize for the forum pops up, I do like to give feedback on it if possible. That's interesting - it may be the combination of the two then, I know the more pieces a light is hitting, the harder it is for the engine to deal with. It would be a real shame to ditch that light though, it looks so pretty. Wow, funny how different games can go! What happened for us was that a few guys gravitated to the top level (not necessarily via jet pack - they would just go up there and stay there), and then the action just started to be relentlessly pulled in that direction, much like the fighting on Sword Base just goes upstairs after the game starts. I was initially trying to use a couple different armor abilities but quickly realized that it was causing my uncoordinated team to stagger upstairs one man at a time, so I switched to jet pack and got a lot more involved. But this may just be a difference in the playstyles of the particular people in the game. Admittedly, I only played the map once, so I defer to your experience there! As Duck said, it was good. No major problems that I remember, which is nice for a fairly small map.
I also ended up removing the light for our games, but I didn't feel like the map lost all that much aesthetic appeal. it's still a great layout with an excellent center drop down. It's very cleanly forged and even without the light it still has better aesthetics than most the maps that get posted. Though I'm anxious to see what a new forging style will look like from you
Really? I thought it might ruin the map in a way. I guess not. Well, thanks for the comments, I'm glad you enjoyed it. My 'new' forging style is kind of mixed in with my old one. I will gladly show you my newest map, that won't be posted for some time, if you want on XBL. It still has a creative center area, but a more complex, organized ,and creative layout.
Yes although this map was very pleasing with regards to aesthetics and most of the playable space, there are some serious frame rate issues while playing near where the sword spawns. Other than that this map deserves a good 8.5/10. -Let me know when you fix those frame rate issues and ill re-download it to use with some of the custom game nights my friends and I host. -Zell
Ok, so I hate this map. You're a thief! I mean I can't prove it but It just seems like you went into my head and said, oh that's a good idea but I think I'd go another way. Soooo I guess I don't hate it and since I've never even talked to you before I guess you're not a thief . . . BUT! . . . crap I got nothin. It's a great throw back map. Very classic map styling. I can't wait to get on here with the guys. I'll probably play it once as is then swap around spawn points, weapons and stuff but I wouldn't dare touch the map layout. Great Work!!! I hear that your having framerate issues. I wish I could offer some advice but I believe your map would have a tenth the frame rate issues mine has. My map Arieus Arena which is also a simple old school arena map may never see the light of day due to atrocious split-screen framerate lag. Single screen doesn't have that problem. I was at a loss what to do so I forged a couple other maps. You know how it is Anyway hopefully I'll upload Scooby Shootout, Baltis Causeway (moderate split screen lag) or my super secret first try at a verrry interesting rally map. Looking forward to our big match on your map. Thankyou, Preacher001
Good job, man. The inner pool thing with the sword looks great, and the risk(open, no cover)/reward(sword) system is a nice idea.
Congratulations on getting featured. Well deserved. This looks great. I like your central piece, and the way you made opening with the xl platforms works really well.
Lights are, by far, the number one cause of framerate. One blue light is worse than a couple railing larges merged just behind glass at the base of the waterfall. They tear your framerate down then beat it with its own limbs! I would recommended just never using them again. You can find more creative ways to build atmosphere in your map!
Quoted for post of the year. Truthful post is truthful. On topic, I still haven't gotten a game on this. Problematic...
I was not blown away like all the others, I had to run through it before commenting. It is a nice map all your maps are, also I have seen your other maps and to me is not your best work. Some of your other maps might have taken greater effort and yet get less responses, kinda weird. For you 7/10 for most other this would be 9/10.
Having talked to you a bit I decided to go through your maps and started with this one. I absolutely love the tightness of the architecture and aesthetically the smaller details give it character. Precise and obviously timely selection of pieces and measurements make for an overall enjoyable map. Great effort!