LOS blocks do a nice job of breaking dominate map control from the sides. Aesthetically pleasing, but not overdone. Need to create more routes in and out of the pseudo-bases. They are too strong right now and it creates a lack of movement on the map. Consider scaling the map up and adding more routes via height.
Oh crap, I said i'd post what I think today, didn't I? Well, lets see... The ramp leading to sniper is a definite improvement over what you had there in the previous version I played. I'm also glad to see that you managed to find an elegant solution to the jetpack spawn drop down. I still think it would be nice if you found a way to keep it, without using all those railings. I often play customs in splitscreen, so it's always a plus for me when maps are built for performance too. Anyways, still enjoying this map. Hope to see it posted soon. Invite me next time your testing, i'd love to give it another go.
I just want to throw it out there right away that Orion is better than Select by leaps and bounds. Maybe this will get into Matchmaking as well- it'd be a welcome addition. For the most part, this map plays beautifully with almost no fr lag (was being taken care of last time I saw you) and lots of different routes to take. The Construct lifts are perfectly executed and really add a lot of dimension to the way the map is played. If a team is holding down top-mid and you're having a tough time breaking them open, the rockets are placed so you can pick em' up, hit a lift, and proceed to dismantle your opponents' setup. In general, if you get that feeling there ought to be a path nearby that'll lead you right where you want to go, chances are it exists nearby. Very smooth flow. The weapon set is spot-on and the locations felt right. I found myself constantly picking up needlers, plasma rifles, and looking out for one of the concussion rifles. The Sniper Rifle was a lot of fun to use here as well, with interesting sight lines and a few long corridors. Great map Schnitzel. I'm not sure how much you can do to improve it at this point; I'd say this could be ready for release in the next week or two depending on what game-types you're still trying to nail down.
I keep forgetting to set it up for that. Trust you me, you're not the only person that requested one-flag. It's just a pain in the ass setting up because of how I set spawns. :/ I like to include Jet Pack AA's on maps as an additional movement option. I try to place them in locations, such as on this, where the have an immediate use. I also shoot to set the kill boundaries in a way that prevents JP's from being over bearing. Actually, I know you're gonna hate this, I deleted the block that killed the bulk of the LoS between top Gold and Green. Myself and Xzamples had a pow wow about how really green and gold balance each other out and that neither position is too OP. I'm glad I changed it back to this.... Made the game play much more exciting. Accept my FR nubcake and I will! Yeah, there were a few spots where blocks were merged into glass objects and it looked like ass. Definitely got rid of those now. As for the railing and split screen, it shouldn't be a major problem as lights do not render in split screen. The rest of the map may be problematic for split screen play though.... The object count on this is a little ridiculous. Of course it's better than Select. I keep telling people that Select was a very uninspiring design of mine that I made to fit specific criteria that MLG asked for in one of their submissions. Why there's a gaping hole in the MM version though is beyond me. The FR issue is very circumstantial and unlikely to affect gameplay, so I'm leaving it alone for the mean time. I can't even catch it on my screen to be honest. As for gameplay, I'm glad you enjoy it. I certainly do as well. The general flow of the map seems "just right" to me. There's some push and pull, which is good IMO, as well as some well laid free flowing movement options. The way the various sections of the map balance and counter balance each other is very satisfying for me. If any Cartographer where to notice this map and contemplate submitting it, I'd revamp it for better performance with split screen. That aside, I need to add a few game types and tweak some kill barriers before I consider this a finished project. Thanks for all the support guys!
I know this might be a little off topic, but what exactly do people hate on Select for? And what do you mean by there being a 'gaping hole' in the MM version? I ask because I legitimately like Select, although I might be biased since it was the first map i got a perfection on in reach.
To quote some of the "pro" forgers from MLG, the map is simply "fundamentally flawed". For other people, it has "attractions spawns". For some it's "too open". Others still claim that "jet packs are over powered". And of course another complaint is that it's "too linear". My beef with it is that its a simple and uninspiring design. It was an easy map to think up really. Forgers want something more complex and unique, a simple bridge map like this does not appeal to them. However, Select was forged with a themed criteria in mind and it hit the nail on the head. It was unjustly tossed aside by certain ass hats at MLG because of personal biases (much in fact to my personality), but it impressed the right people and was picked up for MM. And it wasn't picked by just one Cartographer either, there were three different Cartographers (at least that I know of) that were all contemplating submitting it to Bungie. Two of which I didn't even get along with. Anyhow, lets get back ON TOPIC.
Hah well maybe I just have bad taste then, lol. I vote for Select all the time, I like the simplicity. Anyway back on topic, I don't really know how much feedback I can usefully give except that this is looking cool and taking influence from Construct is definitely not a bad thing. I guess I could say if you need people to run test games I'd totally help. Depends what time zone you are I guess
I'm still at a loss on how to implement gametypes such as 1-flag on this. Not sure where flat placements would be best, or if maybe I should block the teleporters for it? Some feed back on that would be appreciated. Refloored the map in a "low budget" version, as well as swapped out a bunch of 1x4's for different pieces. The map isn't so pretty now, which is a shame, but hopefully the minor frame drops are gone. I'm really hoping that it can support KotH withough framerate in the bottom hill now as wel.
I'm still really eager to play this you freak. Hurry up and get a custom on it with me... Also, I might be able to give you a few more ideas to contemplate if you take me in forge again C:
It's the eternal anchor weighing down the Construct-style design - that middle area is your problem, I imagine, because of all the objects in fairly close proximity? That's a pain in the ass.
I don't think I'm ever gonna bother trying to get split-screen performance again. Such a nightmare unless you forged it to support that from the beginning.
I downloaded this and showed my friend and we got quite a bit of framerate lag in some areas despite that it was a lot of fun I like the structure of this map nice job
I know guys... This was my first time forging a map without framerate in mind... Soooooo yeah... ****ing sucks, what can I say. Although Waterfall, I know there is no framerate issues in fullscreen unless your playing KotH. If your catching frame drops, I suggest you look into your screen settings and your TV settings. I've got a 32" flat screen running on HDMI settings and trust me, I don't get frame drops.... And I'm paranoid about that ****. Ask around, I'm about the biggest frame rate **** that there is in the ENTIRE forge community.
Lol. It's funny you say that yet Orion suffers frame rate issues. It's honestly not that hard to forge a map to support split screen. You just gotta use the right pieces, and block the right lines of sight. Room based maps are great on frame rate, <3 Crypt. You do have to keep this mind from the get go though.
Only in KotH... And split screen of course... When I forged this originally, I said to hell with framerate. I wanted a map that actually looked pretty... Yeah, I mucked that up.
Just a heads up, this map is back on my work bench again. Did some retooling and playing around with it... Got it to support split screen finally!
Well, Schnitz, you may be a massive douche, but you make utterly uber maps. The screenies do not do this map justice. It looks prettier when you are running around on it. It plays 1 flag awesome-sauce. The map is super intuitive and you can always quickly move to a fresh angle on a weakened foe which i like. My only pointer for change is to lose the teleporter. The map is not large enough to warrant it and it feels a bit cheap to be holding down a good map position just to be bushwhacked from behind by somebody that simply hopped through a teleporter.