Forge Hub's Dust-Up Map Pack

Discussion in 'Halo and Forge Discussion' started by Audienceofone, Jul 24, 2013.

  1. Audienceofone

    Audienceofone Forerunner
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    Sixty-seven maps were submitted to the Dust-Up Forge Tournament. The staff, old and new, have gone through these submissions in search of the best. Since the recent change in ownership we've acquired quite a few new staff members, some of which happened to submit superb-quality maps that were already in the running for the Dust-Up contest under previous management. We figured it was best to give no priority to non-staff members and instead focus on what maps we felt were the best. Both administrations played many games on these creations submitted to the contest, narrowing down the massive list one by one until we had a list of the best in our opinions. After numerous games and what must have been hours of debate over what to include,we are please to present you Forgehub's first official Map Pack of Halo 4, a collection of the 6 best maps submitted to us through the Dust-up Tournament.

    If you're new here, you can see the original announcement here. The initial intentions have been altered since the recent happenings around the site, but we intend to do good by this first announcement, even if it is a bit late.






    Citrus
    by Elliot

    Citrus was, according to myself and a few of the previous staff, a given choice for the tournament. The map had few issues in our initial testing, and it played brilliantly. The map is as pretty as it is well balanced. Citrus has you watching your back constantly. Your foes can always attempt to approach from a flanking route, or they can try for some long distance fighting. I've played numerous games on Citrus, and enjoyed each one. This is without a single doubt in my mind, one of the greatest successes in this competition.

    Download Citrus here.

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    Elegy of Entrapment
    by Auburn

    Auburn has always had a knack for aesthetics and functional design, though I also know he's nearly as bad as I am about keeping his designs going. The fact that he finished a map at all had me interested immediately, and I was not left disappointed. It's a little symmetrical design, where teamwork and keeping an eye on you enemies are imperative to success. Clearly defined areas and callouts make the map easy to traverse and understand. Elegy of Entrapment forces movement through the power weapon and overshield locations, and encounters quickly become deadly in this teamwork-focused map.

    Download Elegy of Entrapment here.

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    Gristle
    by PA1NTS

    Another symmetrical map, PA1NTS has made a well balanced arena where the advantageous green and gold sections must be controlled. The fight for these areas become intense, and more than once I found myself looking around not as a player, but as a forger, trying to glean some ideas from Gristle. Despite this map being submitted to a slayer tournament, it also plays a strong game of capture the flag, and some of the possible routes change based on that gametype to make the map more suitable. Gristle is without a doubt a good and diverse map to put in your team doubles game nights.

    Download Gristle here.

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    Jade
    by xAudienceofone

    Thanks, Noooooch. I just wanted to mention as well, that I have recently updated Jade. I would like to thank Auburn, who greatly helped with the revisions. You'll find DU Jade has a new weapon set (with ordinance for ease of understanding) and some revised structure, mainly around red and orange sides. The last change is of the map coloring, I've color-coded everything to make callouts an easier thing than the all-green map used to be. You can see more about DU Jade here, on the Jade map post.

    Download Jade here.
    Download DU Jade here.

    [​IMG]




    Serum
    by Noooooch

    With three major updates since it's late January release, Serum has been one of the most frequently updated maps I've seen in Halo 4. Noooooch has shown great attention to detail, and has addressed any issues as they've become apparent, even going as far as moving the entire map from Erosion to Ravine to remedy some framerate issues. The map features some great asymmetrical room based gameplay and beautiful use of power weapons to promote movement around this arena.

    Download Serum here.

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    Traverse
    by Behemoth

    Traverse was designed to be a contender in the Dust-Up map tournament. This small asymmetrical design promotes teamwork, movement, and balances every position in some way. In every place, you can be flanked or initiate a flank on your foes. You are never safe on Traverse. The old staff loved it and when Behemoth made version 2, we were in immediate agreement. Traverse V2 is a step up from the beautifully made original, with reorganized weapons and a less emphasized power position where the lift exits. In general, the map flows even more smoothly, and we are thrilled to announce this latest version of Traverse is among the winners of the Dust Up forge competition.

    Download Traverse V2 here.

    [​IMG]



    I would just like to thank all those who have made this possible. The effort of the old administration brought this contest out, and now we're going to close it with the new leadership at its helm. To the forgers who poured their time into creating and testing their submissions: thank you. I got to play a lot of great small team maps, and it was a blast. I highly recommend you have a look at all of the maps here for some good 2v2 mayhem. There were a few we just couldn't fit into the 6 maps of this list. I hope you all enjoy the Dust Up Map Pack.
     
    #1 Audienceofone, Jul 24, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 8, 2013
  2. Juanez Sanchez

    Juanez Sanchez Ancient
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    Congratulations everyone who got a map through to the tourney. Excellent choices all. Glad to see this competition didn't perish in the handover chaos!!!!
     
  3. Elliot

    Elliot BIOC
    Forge Critic Senior Member

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    That is one sexy DUMP!

    inb4infraction

    Congrats to everyone that got a map in! I pleaded the others not to add Citrus, but they just loved it too much :/.
     
    #3 Elliot, Jul 24, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2013
  4. Shadowcat AZ

    Shadowcat AZ Guest

    I was able to post a map for consideration into the Dust-Up contest, sadly it did not make it, but I am happy that it was not for nothing. Congratulations to each and every one of you that contributed to the submissions as well as all of the testers that devoted countless amounts of time to arrive at the winning selection for the map pack! All of the map pack authors are accomplished forgers and are quite desrving of this recognition.
     
  5. Cheeze

    Cheeze <FONT COLOR="#FE2EC8"><b>I Beat the Staff!</b></FO
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    I had a blast on it. Along with Gristle, but I didn't get to play 2v2 on it, just FFA.
     
  6. Zombievillan

    Zombievillan Ancient
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    Well, looks like the new staff is just as corrupt as they said the old staff is...

    Haha, Jk. I'm torn between jade and citrus.
     
  7. Cheeze

    Cheeze <FONT COLOR="#FE2EC8"><b>I Beat the Staff!</b></FO
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    Heh, I was gonna say that, but it seems like its only the staff that posts frequently good maps... so it kinda makes sense.
     
  8. Nutduster

    Nutduster TCOJ
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    This is a bad PR move, guys. If the old staff (any one of them) released a map pack from a competition and it consisted of two-thirds their own maps, certain people around here would be screaming bloody murder. Did anyone who is now on staff submit a map for this and NOT get into the "map pack"?

    Mind you, I'm not making any allegations of anything. I tested all these maps and agree that they're good, clearly at least in the top ten or fifteen of the contest submissions. But I'm still wondering what made you think this was a good idea. Or why the "certain people" I'm referring to aren't already going ballistic - except that they're friends with current staff and weren't friends with the old ones.
     
    #8 Nutduster, Jul 25, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2013
  9. oVR

    oVR Ancient
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    100% of the maps that made the cut were before the members were staff.

    Should we purposely hold back the better maps b/c those members recently became staff? That would be a disservice to the community and the reason these members are staff is b/c of their skill and knowledge about forge.

    I can say that there will be contests in the future where staff will have to sit out regardless of their skill. But more on that later.
     
  10. Overdoziz

    Overdoziz Untitled
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    I don't particularly care about features or whatever, but I think it's pretty reasonable to expect that maps from the people who judge the maps shouldn't be included in the judging. Not sure who exactly judged the maps, though. Either way the solution is to make me moderator.
     
  11. Nutduster

    Nutduster TCOJ
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    Oh, I know. I was on staff when the cut was made; I helped figure out where the cut was, and what went above and below it. Like I said, I have no doubt those are all quality maps by good forgers. Every one of them would have at least made my top 10 or 12, out of the ones I played (which was about 50 of the 60+ submissions, I think).

    Under these particularly-weird circumstances, my advice would have been to sweep the whole thing under the rug, with apologies to participants. It's not your or the current staff's fault that the contest failed the way it did. If there are plans in the works to run the contest anyway, that's a different scenario, and I'm not sure what I would suggest.

    If for whatever reason you decided to announce winners anyway, though, as brutal as it sounds - I would probably have drawn a hard line for how many staff maps get in. Six winners = no more than two staff maps. Because this is about appearance, not just about quality. The other however-many-entrants (50? I know it was in that ballpark) aren't going to want to believe that guys who are on staff now just happen to have made 2/3 of the top six maps; they're going to think it's favoritism. Likewise for people who didn't submit maps at all, but just want to think the worst of everyone in a position of power. Basically if you don't go out of your way to avoid that stuff, you'll find yourself mired in it. There are guys still actively posting here who gave Forge Hub its reputation for favoritism and "corruption" exactly because of things like this. (Still waiting to see if they're going to chime in here.)

    You can make the other choice and just take what you think are the best six, regardless of who made them. In a perfect world that's what would always happen, everything would be a pure meritocracy, and no one would question the outcome. But this is not that perfect world, and most of the people most likely to question the results are people who haven't played most of the maps and don't even know the judging criteria. All they know is that dozens of maps were submitted, and the winners are all from staff (and "friends of staff," the even-more-vague criterion for corruption charges). And that's when the pitchforks and torches come out, and accusations fly of "good ol' boy"-ism.

    I think that's probably wise. Having staff participate in the site's contests regularly in the past was a PR nightmare, no matter how much the staff protested and tried to make things objective and fair.

    It's the same deal with the cartographers. Those guys should be excellent forgers (and mostly are), and should be friends with other excellent forgers. But at the end of the day, when the maps in matchmaking are 2/3 made by cartographers or guys who play with the cartographers all the time, it angries up the blood of the other thousands of forgers who feel like they're not getting a fair shake. I honestly feel for those guys, because that's a no-win situation; nobody can quit their job/drop out of school to play every map ever made for zero money. It's natural to prefer maps made by good forgers who you already know and play with.
     
    #11 Nutduster, Jul 25, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2013
  12. PacMonster1

    PacMonster1 Senior Member
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    I disagree with most of that nutduster because it assumes the PR is centered on the creators of the maps and not the maps themselves or the contest that will follow based on those maps. As oVR said, all of the maps picked were top suggestions by past staff. Throwing away that work just because recent upheaval in staff is not worth the potential scenario of members thinking staff is "corrupt". These are all good forge maps and it is the quality of the work that will shine in any "PR" over who actually made them.

    There's also the fact that we're trying to attract new members to the community and new members certainly don't care about who made the maps they're playing on regardless of forum rank.

    To think otherwise is literally looking for trouble when there doesn't need to be any. Further, the map pack is released. Whether it's "bad PR" or not is completely academic at this point and completely subjective as well.
     
    #12 PacMonster1, Jul 25, 2013
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2013
  13. Nutduster

    Nutduster TCOJ
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    It's not that subjective, when somebody already made an offhand joke about it, and another guy sort of agreed with him (seemingly NOT joking). And these aren't the guys I was worried about... not that I'm going to name names. I understand the rest of your point however. Running a good contest with quality maps should definitely take priority over other concerns.
     
  14. PacMonster1

    PacMonster1 Senior Member
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    ... So because 2 people plus "unnamed guys" jokingly or not mention it, its not subjective? Man have I been wrong about statistics and free will all these years.

    "Public Relations" is an inherently subjective topic as it relates to how the public, on a person by person basis, "relates" to something. If 99% of people don't care than its hardly bad PR.
     
  15. Nutduster

    Nutduster TCOJ
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    Instead of playing semantics footsie, let's just agree to disagree and move on. Personally I'm tired of hearing a small-but-vocal minority of members here, and at competing communities, complain that Forge Hub is corrupt and run by a good ol' boy network. Maybe you think that doesn't happen or isn't important, and if not, more power to you.
     
  16. a Chunk

    a Chunk Blockout Artist
    Forge Critic Wiki Contributor Senior Member

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    Nutduster, your points are certainly valid, and your concerns for Forgehub's perception within the community are shared at least by some of the current staff. All of this was definitely given some serious thought, and discussed thoroughly prior to releasing this map pack. None of the staff members who have maps in the pack suggested their map for inclusion. In fact, in some cases they made efforts to have their map removed from the pack. Ultimately, it was a group decision based upon playtesting, to assure that the upcoming tournament can run as smoothly and fairly as possible.
     
  17. PacMonster1

    PacMonster1 Senior Member
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    It's not that I think it doesn't happen it's that the idea that forgehub's staff is corrupt has persisted since this forum started, so it doesn't matter what the censored asterisk we do, those same vocal minority groups will think that. Some times the greater good needs to be invoked and that is good quality maps for everyone to enjoy without the drama baggage of who made them.
     
  18. cluckinho

    cluckinho Well Known
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    Congrats to the staffers!
     
  19. Nutduster

    Nutduster TCOJ
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    I disagree - but that's fine. You guys need to make the decisions you think will best run the ship. I might be over-sensitive to this kind of thing.
     
  20. Overdoziz

    Overdoziz Untitled
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    I like this post.
     

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