Blaze submitted a new map: Gallows - 4v4-6v6 multi-flag CTF map designed for an interesting interactions and well balanced gameplay between infantry & vehicles, while encouraging competitive team oriented pushes. Read more about this map...
Im guessing you tried terrain objects? Anyways, Im liking the look of this map. I think "Sacrificing the majority of aesthetic complexity" as you say is a sign that you put gameplay first, so bravo.
I had thought about it but terrain pieces would've been bumpy and add a more random element to the driving as well as destroyed my object count and frame rate. However if I had the tools I would love to go in and add waving terrain right outside of the main vehicle path to make it look a lot more interesting. That would also add to the gameplay for any infantry stranded out there when baling from a hog. I tried to make sure the design allowed easy recovery from that though regardless and otherwise you wouldn't be out thereon foot. Glad you like the look even though it is quite bland and basic. And thanks for the reply.
I love it! Now, not to take away from the excellent forging I have seen recently in the contest, this allows wide open gameplay without being cramped up in a tight space. Excellent job Blaze!
Hey, I just made a comment on your preview, I think. Thanks for the reply dude. One of the biggest focuses of this design was to not cramps the hogs and not cripple the infantry. A lot of maps seem to just throw the 2 together without any care about the completely different needs each playstyle. Or only focus on travel times. I did some tests on travel times but mainly tried to make sure the vehicle to player combat was solid before anything else.
This is probably the only squad map that I have seen so far that I wan't to play regardless of my hatred towards vehicles.
That's good to hear. I'm somewhat the same with that mentality. I don't really hate vehicles, I just don't like the negative effects it has to the competitive and arena style side of the game. Not to mention the crowd it draws. It could be worse though, halo can manage a decently fitting balance if the maps are designed from the ground up for it.
I think this map is very interesting in design. I love the way verticality works on here! The center of the map is very segmented and flows well. As for the outside area's... they lack usefulness and purpose. The open expanse needs to have more function for infantry and maybe interact with the middle in more ways. besides that, I think this is a very interesting big team slayer map and cant wait to play it again!!
Thanks for the reply man. I'm glad you noticed the vertical segmentation. As for the outside, that was a specific design choice. I do not want to encourage infantry players to go out there at all. I did however balance it so that it is easy for a player who has flipped to get back into the center. Pushing people out there would slow the pace of the map down significantly. I decided to encourage vehicles to move into the infantry routes rather than the opposite. That combined with the weapon placement was the best way to truly balance both and make them equally useful. I feel this is the only structure that has been proven to work in dev maps, though I allow the warthogs to interact more with the center than any of the same style. Not saying it is perfectly how I want it. There are a few things I would change if forge allowed me too that would make it slightly more effective as humans. Though that would also raise the playercount as well. Maybe halo 5 I will build it with 8v8 in mind instead of 5v5 and add a little more effectiveness for on-foot players out there. Thanks again for the reply and I hope that clears up some of the concerns knowing my reasons.