The Hive by ADamnCivilian is in my opinion the best symmetrical map for 4v4 right now. CTF is intense on it and I haven't played it yet but I'm sure it would be amazing for Ricochet as well. I think Ricochet needs to make its way to HCS and I think The Hive is the perfect map for that.
With ball, bomb and hill, richochet really doesnt have a place in competitive Halo. When testing with IG, the gametype played really poorly at all levels of gameplay.
I hate to break it to you man, but your Beaver Creek remake really isn't up to par. It may be spot on aesthetically and structurally, but it is crippled by horrendous frame rate issues. Hive is a decent map at best. Gameplay funnels way too prominently to the open side of the map, and the bottom level doesn't interact well with the upper levels. It's simply not a well thought out map and needs major reworking for it to ever be considered a top tier map. It's a fun little map for casual play in a testing lobby, but it lacks longevity due to its lack of polish.
Aside from the frame rate issues , I would overhaul the weapon spawn system too. Implement the static weapon spawn system, or BC TS will just turn into another camp fest. H2 BC only had a 15s respawn on Rockets when dropped, whereas in H2A its something like 2 minute 30. I would consider removing the OS since its shite in this game, and maybe replace with a camo.
Alright guys, lets take a step back and think for a second. While we all want to see new maps in, having new maps for the sake of changing things up isn't going to accomplish much. Do we want to have multiple maps that play highly similar to each other? Probably not. What we really want is a unique and diversified map pool. Not only that, we want the maps that offer niche gametype benefits. We've got bomb and hill and ball gametypes currently, but none of them are really good. What we should look for primarily in map selection is filling those niche gametypes. What do we have currently that are really good? As in what are their best gametypes? Lockout: Ball and TS (TS is debateable, but the pros like it enough that it'll stay) Warlord: Flag and TS Sanctuary: Flag and TS That leaves a lot of room for Bomb, Hill, Ball and one more TS. What maps that we have cover these best? My thoughts are as follows: Athelon: Bomb, TS, maybe Hill Complexion: Bomb, Ball, TS Midship: Bomb and TS Regret: Bomb, Ball, TS Orion: Hill, TS (TS being debateable, I don't think the map suits it) While we do have a lot of other good maps to choose from, none of them really fit these gametypes as strongly as those listed above. In earnest, these really should be the short list for HCS Season 2 because of how well they address the current map pool's weak points. Thoughts?
Yes I spent a lot of time trying to trim down the map to help with frame rate. Overall there are some issue areas but it honestly holds up great for whats on the map. To me you can only spot the frame rate if you look for it. Doesnt seem to effect gameplay at all. If I had to guess I would say it drops from 60fps to 50/45fps in those problem areas. Alot of people really wanted this map to make to HCS but i dont think it would hold up to there standards to get in. I do plan on making another version on Skyward just for HCS but with a new twist and no terrain peices which will be interesting.
I don't want to come off like a jerk here man, but framerate issues are a big concern. You may not notice it so well as others, but high end players and experienced forgers notice it instantly. Also, when there's visible frame stutter, it usually signifies a drop below 25 FPS.
It was brutal! WARHOLIC nearly got into a fistfight defending you guys. Just kidding, of course, but it was pretty intense at one point. I will post first so you can direct your anger at me instead of WARHOLIC if need be. I , or he, will go into details but firstly i should say that none of the maps we provided will be sent upstream at this point. Simply put, it seems to be a case of their expectations being higher than what we are able to provide due to the limitations of the the Halo H2A game engine. This is not the fault of you forgers or this community, who can only work with what you are given. Our concerns on the matter were noted and he promised to take the mater up with his team. We were able to have them further define their requirements so we know what direction to go from here, and into the next round. First, they want fresh content. No remakes of dev maps, remakes/iterations of prior MM forge maps, and no Midship clones. This eliminates most of the submissions right off the top. Of the remaining maps most had some of the qualities they were looking for but no single map stood out and had it all. Second, and i know you are not going to like this, It's a given that game play must be paramount, you know this, but the map must also translate well to the viewing audience as streaming compatibility has now become a requirement we didn't have to build for in the past. Twitch viewers watching high end game play from a 5 inch screen must be able to understand what they are seeing. This is unfortunately impossible on 2 of the canvases. Skyward only from this point on. Bases should run North - South so the lighting is more equal. Third. Symmetrical for now, but they may be looking for asyms later.
@NOKYARD doest that mean i should re-forge complexion on skyward so you guys can push it? from what i understand it fits most of the requirements. it's fresh, not a midship clone or a remake of a dev map. only its on awash.
Might be best to wait for WORHOLIC to respond since i didn't take notes on individual maps last night. How do we edit our posts here. I wanted to add a note agreeing with what SecretSchnitzel said about framerate. 343 stated that maps for this playlist must run at a perfectly smooth 60fps with no dips.
complexion was the map with camo that you can shoot down, more bridegy floating symmetrical vertical map but i'll wait for war. there should but an edit button at the bottom of your post
I remember the map i just didn't remember what was said about it, or what are the recommendations. There is a problem with my permissions so WAR made me staff temporarily, i added a third point above.
Thanks for that update Nokyard. Very unfortunate imo that they are not looking for asymmetrical maps atm. I believe that, that is what the HCS needs right now for a good Hill/Ball map. Although, I shall go back to the drawing board then for a symmetrical map. Also looking forward to Warholic's post.
Catering to mobile twitch viewers seems like an odd requirement, a niche audience of a niche halo community. If season 2 viewers drop even more, id wager thats more down to 343 than forge maps driving away the dozens (if that) of mobile viewers on twitch. It staggers me that they expected more from forgers when they are the ones that created the tools that we have lol. With competitive gametypes, I have stressed for years that transparency is a key. Want to make a bold decision (such as symm only)? Then explain your reasoning or it just leads to frustration. There is only 1 asym at the moment, which while good for ball, is dogshit for TS/Hill, so another is needed ASAP. Explain why asyms are not needed and the community, and myself will feel less frustrated. No remakes/middys is an excellent choice, about time this happened and competitive Halo actually utilizes tools that were given to us nearly 9 years ago rather than make a worse midship. Back onto the topic of transparency, what do you want?/need What gametypes on the dev maps are getting removed? Are static timers becoming a thing for HCS (this makes or breaks alot of maps)? No good designing hill based maps when actually wants a CTF, if that makes sense? And saying "we dont know what we are looking for until we find it" isint a great way to view maps, hopefully should be open/understand all maps and what each can bring to HCS/MM Overall pleased with the progress made so far and the refreshing steps taken. Looking forward to the next round of testing. I do still share some concern for how the final maps/gametypes will be picked (dont worry, no anger is needed/should be pointed at you or war).
Sanc can exist as a bomb gametypes as well, it plays well enough. From your list, that leaves 1 TS, and then 3 more from the pool of ctf/bomb/ball/hill. With midship out, you are looking at a choice from.... Athelon: Bomb, TS, CTF Complexion: Bomb, Ball, TS Regret: Bomb, TS Orion: Hill 8 options for 4 gametype slots. Ideally, 3 forge maps should be used, leading to 7 dev gametypes and 4 forge gametypes, a decent enough ratio I think. Of course im sure other maps can be considered but we really need to know what is required before picking out options.
I may have made a super awesome, super vertical and super fast-paced asym over the past few days... Start factoring Venom's spiritual successor into your lists for TS, KotH and Ball
Ridge is designed for Hill and Oddball and plays well with both I might add. I'm curious to know why no one feels it worthy of being considered. I know now it wont be picked because its not symmetrical. But the design is fresh and it works well in the H2A sandbox. Also the newest version looks decently nice and doesn't suffer from any framerate.
I just got a game of hill on Ridge & I thought it played well. I suck but still had a good time on it.