“What do people do when the place gets flooded? They run to the roof… One. More. Time.” Favela Vengeance, the sequel to the Linear Progression Infection map Favela Run. Put on your sport shoes. Fast-paced rounds of team coordination and continuous hectic struggles with the undead ensured.
I know the last one was linear and you're trying to follow that but I feel like linear just doesn't work the same in Halo 4. The map itself looks amazing, that first picture really gives off the favela impression. Excited to play it!
I'm curious too Mr. Pokephile. Linear is more difficult to build, for sure. Because some things won't spawn if the players are near, and that's the biggest problem IMO. Though, there are new ways to work around it, and Elliot here nailed it with Our Daily Bread. Still, linear did feel better in Reach.. I don't really know why. Still good maps, linear maps, are made. And when executed well, they are amazing. REM, glad to see you choose to make this in Halo 4. It was one hell of a map in Reach, and a big achievement (IMO) to build it on Ridgeline. Looking forward to see it really finished, I really enjoyed the Favela Run. It were really intense rounds! Got some great moments on it too... Nice job, awesome choice to bring it back.
First of all, this: Anyway, I consider this map my step up to Linear in Halo 4. While it's true that it will require time getting used to, I still feel Linear is possible - especially when you use modded gametypes to allow normal weapons on the map. Our Daily Bread is a great example even without normal weaponry, but this map will play a bit different than that map because it's more like playing with your back against the wall and constant shooting than ODB. Testing will enlighten what works and what doesn't. Maybe I'll need one hit kill humans, maybe they should be able to take two. 8 O'Clock Reminiscence sucked too at first, but after such a seemingly small change as changing the amount of health, it changed a ton and turned - in my opinion - into a solid and fun map. Don't worry guys, I know that Flood works different than Infection and I know that Halo 4's Linear works different than Reach's. Intensive testing will surely help this map get there where I want it to be. I'll send you an invite sometime Pokephile whenever it's done. Thanks, Ridgeline was very difficult indeed. However, I have to say it made the satisfaction of finishing the map nonetheless only bigger. Forge Island is perfect for these kinds of maps, I was able to work around with both growth and concrete. I wish we'd have more grey and black blocks, though. The color combination just felt better in Reach.
Alright before I begin my rant, I want to say that I do respect linear maps and I will continue to feature them. What I'm about to explain is just my thoughts/opinions on linear infection and why I don't like it. Linear infection at it's core is an awesome idea. It allows the map author to tell a story through a series of events to the player, it also forces the players to have goals and objectives. That part I like, however free roam maps should convey those stories and goals on their own without the assistance of gates. This is why I feel as it's more challenging to design a free roam map, because it's difficult to get the humans to play as they would with linear, except still giving them the sense of freedom. Anyhow, that's not why I dislike linear. I dislike linear because it's incredibly repetitive. Sure, playing the map for a round or two is fun - however playing 4 rounds or so - doing the exact same thing over and over can get old fast. I find that even if you are a talented forger and you craft a really unique and interesting environment for the players, most linear maps play the same. Keep in mind, not all linear maps play the same - there are exceptions. Some linear maps shine more then others (the same goes for free roam too, obviously) that I do enjoy playing. It just gets tiresome very quickly because you're doing the same thing over and over. The next issue I have with linear in Halo 4 is shield doors. They absolutely destroy atmospheres. They're hideous and they affect gameplay. Since the spawn in glitch (objects won't spawn near humans) it's harder to be creative. Consequently more and more maps are using the shield door method as their gates. Again, they break up gameplay and zombies just hide behind them. They stick out like a sore thumb and just ruin the entire feel of the map. Obviously there are other methods then the shield door to gate your rooms/areas, having not played the map I don't know what method you used. As for the lunge, I've started to move away from the default flood variant. I have a modded flood gametype where actual weapons are on the map (non-ordnance) and the zombies have energy swords so I'm not too concerned about it. Once again, these are just my reasons as to why I personally choose not to build linear. I will still play/feature linear maps. I just don't like building them/playing them too much.
bwaah I want to reply anyway! Sorry Pokephile can't resist it. Just to clarify, what I'm about to say is not meant to pull you or anyone over - because I know I won't be able to and this is only based on personal preference anyway - or to convince you that I'm right, it's just a reflection of my opinions on the matter. And I certainly see what you're getting it, I partially agree with it. But I also partially don't. First of all, Linear maps do tend to get repetitive after too many games of playing, but although they have a shorter expiry date than Free Roamies, the latter will also get old after too many . That's why it's always good that people keep making Linear maps, so you can move on to new released maps, and go back to them after a couple of months if you really enjoyed them. Only the very best maps will never get old, whether they're Free Roam or Linear. Secondly, Linear maps being repetitive is due to the lack of effort put into it by some people (most people). Although you may not be able to manipulate the area where the humans are holding out, you can work around zombie approach points and methods of approach. Our Daily Bread is a great example of this: the zombies have tons of ways to drop down on the humans, which makes it extremely unpredictable to tell where they'll be coming from. This automatically both eliminates camping and makes for thrilled playing experience: it encourages teamwork. It shows that by even looking at just one aspect of Linear Flood (zombie approach points and methods) you can already add a whole lot of diversity into your map. There are more ways of creating versatile gameplay, but that is very hard to pull off without spending ridiculous amounts of budget, such as creating whole extra hallways and such to allow for varied movement paths. _______________________________________________________________________ Alright that's the end of it, I made my point in regard to the subject. ^Hence the horizontal rule. I used Man Cannons. The way I placed them down should prevent people from accidently blocking the spawning (I hate that glitch too), but testing will have to tell. Like you, I also find them prettier than shield doors, but they also work well in the Favela environment. I don't really like the lunge too much either but it depends on what kind of map I'm playing on. It works particularly well on Destitute in Chains in my opinion, because it makes it even scarier to take a claw to the face.
Hey man, so I'm finally back on xbox again so I can start doing BIOC lobbies again. Also, those pics are NICE! The map looks absolutely beautiful, and I wish I could've helped helped out with this one as well. P.S. If you need help testing just invite me.