With all the great maps we played last night, one thing goes overlooked. How the hell did Audience find a female roomate that likes halo.
haha, she's not my roommate. She's been a friend of mine for years. She also said you were all extremely quiet. Speak up gents, the little lady just wanted a chat!
It's a pre-made window that's part of the Ravine bridge wall object (whatever that thing is actually called). I could only widen it by scrapping that very convenient and handsome piece and replacing it with a bunch of blocks or walls that I don't have. In other words, probably not gonna happen. But I don't think the window is actually my problem. I have yet to watch the footage, but when that lift has killed me before it's not due to missing the window; it's due to hittign the lift weirdly somehow and flying only about half the distance needed, then just dropping like a very unlucky rock into the hard kill zone below. I didn't die from the lift at all last night, but I assume the problem is still basically the same. It's not trajectory usually, it's power - or lack thereof.
I have played my map with the lift nutty got stuck on last night at least 8 times without anybody getting stuck. Sometime forge just doesnt want to co-opperate. Its hard to make the lifts work every time without making it look bad. I could make it always work but then my map would look ugly.
nutduster, try angling the jump to be higher or using a stronger mancannon(so if you don't get full power off jump it errs on the side of sending you too high rather than too low) and then use a trait zone with high grav to arrest those "too high" jumps and push you into the window... w/o seeing it that's what I would try first.
Archway - this played well and there were some nice little improvements made. I'm not sure if I've said this before but I felt like the damage boost area in the middle could use a little better access. I never manage to successfully jetpack into the cubbie directly since the opening is too short. Black Briar Manor - pretty fun. Still some frame rate issues. I liked the weapons you added. I think you just need to go through and delete a few pieces here and there and maybe eliminate some of the glass pieces that let you see through to even more pieces on the other side. Scattershot Pro - this was just too competitive and strategic and balanced for my taste. lol. At first I thought this was the game type where the spartan lasers were firing at you from the side rooms (next project maybe?). Have you thought about covering it to limit jumping? I'm not sure how dark it would get but I think that might make it look cooler. Zinc - I thought both KOTH and CTF worked fairly well on this map, at least when I wasn't screwing up the game with my connection issues. I think ordinance suits the map a little better since some of the power weapons were a little hard to spot where they were. The middle still seems a little too dangerous though. I would also put the rocket at a lower spot in the middle. If you are at an elevated spot to start off with the rocket it is a little too easy to get kills in my view. IMO the more you make of an uphill battle to successfully use power weapons, the better. Octave - some of the flag routes (dropping down to the side man cannon that shoots you up through the hole) allowed you to go reeeally quickly across the map. But maybe the fact that it was a 5v5 made it seem faster and hectic than it would have in general. I also thought that the lower complexity of the map wasn't used as much once people you could quickly jet pack over the top of the map (at least on the way) to grab the flag. I'm not really sure if any of this is a cause for action, since I love the layout as is. You may just not recommend flag with more that 6 or 8 players. Reactor - I really liked the asymmetry; each side had some interesting things about it. The frame rate up top was a little crappy in some long views though. The most open area of the map almost looked unfinished (and you did say you just finished building it). However, if you filled that area in with some "lazy" cover it would only hurt the frame rate more. Thus I would consider altering that area again to block of more LOSes. Also, the bottom areas were kind of segmented. Could they be connected underneath the middle somehow? Purlieu - It's always hard to say if 2-flag is optimally balanced given the asymmetry, but this played well from the winning team's perspective. I noticed a few of the corridors in the upstairs of the buildings seemed really narrow; maybe expand them a bit if possible? Mobilize - I haven't had that close of a game on here yet. Is it just too easy for one team to dominate with the weapon/vehicle setup, or does it seem balanced and we've just had uneven teams both times so far? If not, any recommendations about how to fight the mantis without really going weapon-crazy? I have finally been convinced to move the sniper rifles so that they don't duke it out right away, but I'm not sure where. If they are near the view of the rocket spawn, then they will lead to an unwanted power weapon feedback loop from the beginning. At least the snipers will only be able to view the rockets from afar but not one another, so maybe I'll try it. Camber - Fun as usual. I liked the teleporter down below. Was that new or did I just never notice it? It's a great way to connect two areas that otherwise have only two ways in. Diamondback - This was a pretty interesting layout, but the middle area was really open and would be trouble for certain game types. Also the top and bottom might need a bit better connection. Maybe a lift or another drop down hole in each base? Finally, and this may have just been for regicide, but some areas were a little campy in the bases. This would probably be counteracted automatically if there were more structural cover in the middle. Chimera - I am enjoying this map more and more, but in some areas I still feel like the connections between covered areas were awkward. I got pinned down in certain spots when the other team would get to the top of the towers with a sniper rifle. To some degree this is inevitable but I still think the connectivity to the topmost areas is too limited. this would be better mitigated by lowering the towers since if you added more hard routes up the frame rate would probably suffer again. Juanez's map (sorry I forget the name) - This (I) played great for KOTH but the hills got a little stale. Maybe add a few more than just three? The weapon locations were great. My only complaint is that there aren't any great routes across the middle except with a jet pack. This might be on purpose but unless the rocket/hill is there I don't think the middle atrium will ever see as much action. I like sticking to the outsides of most maps anyways so maybe that's just my play style talking. Nexus - This was a cool design, a little bit like midship but still unique. You should either use more railings or simply add a solid ground level to the whole map. The kill barrier below the map should be raised a little bit too. I remember falling for like 10 seconds before hitting it which kind of sucks. Daybreak - how were the hill locations and were there too many? This forced players to use a lot more of the map that I wish saw more action in slayer. I think oddball and CTF will utilize even more diverse areas as well. Oddball might get a bit campy in the lower level but oh well. How did people feel about the new drop down areas on each side (where two of the hills spanned the top and bottom floor by the team lifts)? They were meant to make the bottom floor more accessible from the top/rocket side. LCG Eternum - This was a really impressive scale down of interchange. I don't really like the dust up game type (too basic for me) but the layout was really solid. The lifts were probably my favorite part aesthetically. I look forward to seeing more of your future designs. Sturdy - This was a pretty looking map. I would either make those jump spots more easy/obvious or add a lift to those really disadvantaged spots. Also, the side areas are little too vulnerable IMO, maybe a crate in the middle would give some basic cover without promoting camping.
So I've been trying to set up Wetwork (erosion) for one flag and I've had a slight problem. I have the hidden flag stand issue worked out fine but the problem seems to lie with the game type I made. It seems whenever the teams switch sides between rounds, the team respawn zones don't switch with them, so players keep respawning on their original side even when they are meant to spawn on the opposite. Has anyone had this issue? I bet it's a simple fix but I haven't figured it out yet.
Currently working on 2v2 urban and plan on having it playable within the next 24 hours. This one will be my smallest map yet and is about the size of turf or a little smaller. Next project is another 2v2 map designed around a dig site on impact where a space station has been set up around an important dig site with lava coming up out of the caves. I started this one already and have the layout in my head. I really need to submit my finished maps. -Payload -Recycled -Longest Yard -Morbias -Mech Bay -Phalanx
Archway - I'm still not a fan of this map's open center. In flag that area is a death trap. Some extra cover would be fantastic. Otherwise the map was fun and played rather well. I wish there was more to say, but I can't currently think of anything that bothered me besides that middle. Black Briar Manor - This has always been an entertaining map. Don't let the lag bug you too much, just go clean up the map and it will be fine. The weapons added a nice touch, and because of them I (as alpha flood) was able to kill about 3 humans as they sprinted for weapons. It made a nice goal of retrieving them and simultaneously watching your hide. Scattershot Pro - This was stupid fun, and that's exactly what it seemed made for. Fantastically hectic and hilarity ensued. Lets do it again some time. Zinc - This map requires at least 10 players. That being said, I find that the lines of sight tend to be extensive in the center. I would like to see some more LoS breakers. Otherwise I noticed some areas went underplayed, especially in the 4v4 game. The map is nice, but it's also huge and even with the higher TCOJ player count it felt enormous. Octave - This worked surprizingly well for 5v5. Hectic, I couldn't imagine anything higher, but it did work well. It's quite the map to play everything from 2v2 to 5v5 strongly. That being said, and ignoring the lift issue we all know of, I feel that some of these routes were in fact too short for flag. There was a constant flow of flag running, never much struggle to stop either team from running either. It was simply too easy to cap with teams of 5. Reactor - I'm actually surprised how well this went. The short test showed me two things: [1] the asymmitry went better this time and [2] the center is needing much editing. i want to make it more structural in nature. Not sur how yet, but I'll look at it. Purlieu - 2 flag was rather one-sided here. I felt that the enemy team I played against (Red?) had a superior defensive placement than my team, and I was often gunned down badly with no hope of fighting back. I managed to kill those up high defending once, but was killed soon after I actually got to the flag. The gametype aside, the map performed a bit better in my opinion. I cannot think of where, but there were still some funky parts I didn't like being in. I can ook at it with you in forge if you like. Mobilize - I think this was our Cyborg's map? This was my first game here and I got the layout pretty quick. The vehicles were a blast and the corridors made the combat with them really interesting. I heard someone say there was no way to kill them when the rockets were gone, but I disagree. Plasma pistols -> hijack/teamshot. I didn't find any structural issues in the layout, but this was my first test and I don't recall it well. I'll be interested to play again and see it with knowledgeable eyes next time. Camber - Forgetting which of our massive map playlist this was. I'll edit this when I remember/am reminded. Sorry. Diamondback - This was chaotic fun, but some campable areas and the low-cover center-to-center combat was bothersome. Look at the bottom level again and see if you can streamline that. It feels awkward to be down there and has several campy spots. Chimera - This has certainly gotten better since I began playing with you, but the bottom tunnels still bug me. They are so optimal for shotguns and boltshots that I feel like I'm just trying to escape it when I get there. Then, once I do, I'm not sure where to go. There is no sense of directional pull for me on this map, nowhere I want to be. The high points are easily counterable, the low points are dastardly halls, and the middle ground has very little cover or is also a dastardly hall. It may be just me, but this doesnt feel too fun. That being said, i want to reiterate, the map is far better than it used to be. You've made some real leaps and bounds on Chimera, the design is just not my kind of thing unfortunately, so I guess take everything I just said with a grain of salt. Juanez's map- I don't remember this map's design unfortunately, or it's name. I'll edit this when I'm reminded of it. Sorry, we played so many! Nexus - This was the purple one with the diamond, no? I found the falling rediculous, and the time before death upon falls was too long. Add a hard kill zone beneath the map so I don't fall for 10 seconds before dying. Also, make it so I don't fall so much. Add railings or widen the lower floors please. Otherwise, (and ignoring framerate I'm sure that you saw) the map was beautiful and played nicely despite the issues. I'd like to get a game where nobody is falling every 5 seconds and no FR. Daybreak - I'm forgetting this layout, would you remind me of it, Cyborg? Sorry. I'm finding that with more maps than usual I'm forgetting a ton. LCG Eternum - I really liked this resize of Interchange. The lifts in the bases were awkward looking, but otherwise the map played very well. I can't say much else, the map was nice and I only didn't like your lifts. To those who I forgot their maps, I'm really sorry, after playing so many I'm having difficulty recalling details. Once I remember I'll edit this and let you know.
I really need to submit map previews for my unfinished works. Oh and i need to stop getting side tracked with other forge projects. I actually have 3 untested 4v4s that are 90% built
That's odd, I feel certain that team spawn zones switched sides properly in Reach. You might check with FlyingshoeILR, he is one of the pioneers of 1-flag in Halo 4 and ought to know more about its quirks.
Scattershot Pro - whoever made that said something about "this isn't a serious map and I won't be releasing it... but please do! Obviously 10 ppl on it was too crazy, but something like 4-6 would be really fun IMO. Just in case you were never going to release it, I saved it locally
Cyborg; My setup for Radiant when it was 1 flag was the same as normal- the spawn zones worked okay on that. If you and I are on at the same time later, we will get together.
Ha ha, thanks! It worked... Better(?) Than i thought it would. Did you realise how much them scatterahot rounds bounced? I guess i might release it as a minigame, we will play it next week i suppose.
yea as a mini-game it would be understood not to be a serious match but just for fun and craziness... and have you considered swapping the frags w/ Pulse nades? I wonder if that would work even better...
So I had a chance to watch the film, and I'm feeling a lot better about my lifts now. They worked 12 times out of 14 (I think I counted that right). The two failures were separate things I don't have much control over. One was where a guy dropped from the top level, landed on top of one of the 2x2 corners that bracket the lift, and then walked off into the mancannon stream - bypassing the mancannon itself completely. This is known mancannon misbehavior and it will even happen on 343 maps, at least some of them. If you drop into the stream like that, your natural momentum is downward, and it fights against the stream trajectory enough that you go about half as far. I've done this on Ragnarok and Adrift both because of dumbass jetpacking stunts. It's easier on Octave because of where the lift is, but I don't see a good way to prevent it so I'm not going to worry about it. The other appeared to be simple lag, which sucks but I have no control over it. A guy walked into the lift normally, launched in what looked like a good manner, and then teleported a few feet sideways and fell to his death. I first saw that happen from a distance and thought he had used a thruster pack or something, it was so bizarre looking. Nonetheless, I've tweaked the structure slightly, raising those 2x2 corners a bit and tightening the gap between them so you almost have no choice but to walk right down the spine of the mancannon like you're supposed to. The dropping-in-from-above thing is still possible though, but I can't see players doing it that often even if they intend to; it's just easier to go the normal way, or fall on the cannon itself rather than the stream.
Actually, scratch that. It seems to be working now, but thanks guys. I think it just had to do with me not using enough respawn and antizones. Now I have two regular respawn zones and one anti on each side I am consistently spawning on the right side. Does anyone know what the bare minimum number of zones is for securing spawning on each team's side only, given that standard respawn zones are now only partial influencers? I am probably overkilling it with three per side...
That's ok, Mr. Pokemon. Daybreak was the floating map on ravine with two main levels and three lifts (one in the center/back of the map and two on the team sides). Bottom mid is dark and purple and has that yellow tunnel out to the rocket launcher and the two towers with "diving board"ish catwalks that can be jumped between. At the other side of the map, each team has two other towers that have fin-looking pieces as cover. Now that I think about it the map has a sort of beach/pool/boardwalk theme to it which was not intentional. Oh and we played KOTH. Hope that helps.
Recaaaaap Archway - Agreed with Cyborg on the damage boost. I was just thinking it was me being a dummy or the fact that I seldom venture into the middle of this map, but I still haven't picked that thing up or figured out how to get it. I even have tried flying to it with the jetpack and been foiled in my efforts. Otherwise, I still like this map, the changes you've made and the overall aesthetic appeal, which is high. I second Audience's opinion though that the middle remains so deathtrappy that the outside paths feel like the only viable options. Maybe a couple significant, fat pillars in the middle would break up the lines of sight a bit? Black Briar Manor - I think the map is in good shape aesthetically and gameplay-wise, but obviously the framerate needs fixing. Scattershot Pro - Goofy good times were had but was it really, really small or was the motion tracker range very large, or what? I was constantly surrounded by swarming red dots and it was so distracting I ended up not playing very well. Every spawn (mine or someone else's) made me feel like I had at least two enemies right on top of me already. Still, a good evolution of a fine idea. Zinc - Yay, good map is good. Contrary to Audience's feeling I don't think this map really requires a bunch of players, but it could support them; however, the more people you add the more that open area becomes a no man's land where you only go to die, so keep that in mind. KOTH was not the best choice though because there's so much map to traverse that any hills toward the outer edges give a free 30 seconds (or however many) to the team that happens to be nearest to them. I had this issue on Bleached and tightened up my hill locations more toward center; you might consider that. But fundamentally I don't think this is going to be a KOTH map. It's a CTF map, a slayer map; probably not an oddball map either because once the ball ends up in one team's base, it's game over. Octave - I've discussed my lift issues to death already. Other than that I'm about ready to release this map at last. It wasn't really made for CTF OR 5v5 play, but I still thought this game was fun and not TOO crazy. Reactor - The rebuild seems to make this play a lot better, but it's hard to say given that we were playing slayer rather than CTF and the spawning was entirely different as well. I enjoyed this game and still think the map is attractive visually speaking. Purlieu - I agree with Cyborg about the narrow hallways (and ramps leading up to them) - if you can widen those, do it. Fun map and has a very striking, easy to understand layout and forging style; maybe not the best for 2-sided objective games though. We'd have to play it a few times to be sure, however, which is the downside of trying to run 2-flag on asymm maps. It may be balanced and for whatever reason the two teams were just playing at very different levels. Mobilize - I really like this. It's surprising how busy the 5v5 game was; clearly that's going to be nearly the threshold, because any more than 6v6 is going to get insane. In answer to your question, I feel like the map will play more evenly once teams understand where everything is and contend for it. Right now the games have been swung a lot by one guy going on a rampage for a while - sometimes with the mantis, but also sometimes with less obvious things like a ghost or sniper with lots of ammo - and that will happen less as teams learn where everything is, and - and power weapon-oriented maps lend themselves to uneven games. If you play much BTB, you've probably played lots of games that were even for the first 50 kills, then one team grabbed a key vehicle imbalance (like when only one wraith would survive the initial clash on Hemorrhage) and broke things open. I think most maps with snipers, ghosts, rockets and a mantis are going to play like that. It will take two REALLY even teams - usually either really good teams, or really bad ones - to play close matches consistently. Camber - Nothing new to say, but I do love this map. Pretty and it plays well, even if you did leave those little snipe towers in the middle that my team exploited like crazy last night. Diamondback - I was kind of puzzled by this map. The multiple levels seemed hard to navigate without a jetpack; even WITH a jetpack I kept bumping my head on things and getting stuck. And you had a lot of dead end rooms, especially upstairs, that were really troublesome for regicide, and will be just as bad for oddball and KOTH. Interesting idea but the layout struck me almost as a rough draft that needs a little rethinking to truly work well. Chimera - Our team had a pretty wretched game here and I seemed to be having more trouble than usual navigating it. I still feel like you have a few areas where it's not quite clear if they're supposed to be playable and where movement is uncomfortable - especially some of the rocky area suffers from this, since you can climb all over it but very little of that upper area has actual clear, smooth paths for running around; and some of the upstairs areas of the rest of the map have the same issue, with lots of narrow walkways and gaps all over the place, most of which take you downstairs (but some just kill you, as I found out the hard way a couple times in this match).