Nobody is listing maps though. Off the top of my head in no particular order, these are the most stand out Halo 5 Forge maps to me currently, be it because of their gameplay, concept, and/or aesthetics. You're going to have to guess which! I'm including unfinished maps too. Loading Zone by Given to Fly Highguard by Given To Fly Oblivion by MultiLockOn Legion by MultiLockOn Fullmetal by XDemption High Life by Bodeybode Sentinel by Negative Zero Fever Pitch by Sik Twice Foresaken by SecretSchnitzel Jade by Salty Koala Port 66 by Salty Koala Dungeon by Sethiroth Smokestack by Overdoziz Turbine by SoloXIII and Sethiroth Conjourne by Ryley Pueblo by MartianMallCop Infusion by WyvernZu The Crypt by WyvernZu Sanctum by The Slammers Freakshow by Weedcough Scavenger by Commander Colson Bastion by Ell YuTayZei And shameless plug because sometimes I like playing my own **** Spellbound That Sanghelli Map That Still Doesn't Have A Final Name At least one of Xandrith's maps should be on here but he keeps deleting them before I can remember them.
There was totally a skill gap in Halo 3 forge. A very large skill gap at that. Maps like Sentinel just took so much more time and skill to forge than the best maps of Reach. The really good maps that came out of Halo 3 were the product of serious talent imo. Maybe I'm just a Halo 3 fanboy, but I honestly believe that the best of the best in Halo 3 were better than that of Reach and onward.
The method for forging in hindsight may have been mental, but you could tell who were better forgers. Piece usage was a big part of it. And I think Halo 3 forge maps were the most memorable, original, and creative designs we've ever seen come from the community because the game didn't have rotation snap or magnets. You had to free hand EVERYTHING. It lead to interesting maps. Not to mention all the maps in H3 played better because the base game was better than reach forward... I don't even know how that could be interpreted as "just my opinion" lol Also... Thanks for the love guys!
That's why I said the part about grasping at a pity party. In the end I realize I'm not as good at keeping up now then I was in H3 but I'm ok with that. My life is good, with my music & my family and all that so after all I have it good. I'd like to have the time to bust out maps like I did back then but it's being taken up by other things that out weigh a video game anyway so please don't take my posts as a self pity "woe is me" bit because I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me. It's been fun doing what I did & the occasional maps I may release here after will be good enough for me. So, in the wise words of Nacho Libre: "My life is gooood"
So many maps are critiqued now a days, to the extreme. Some people have been reviewing maps, doing showcases, and pushing aesthetics for so long... That some have lost the thought, "Did I have fun"? Though it is nice to have the extreme, it has truly taught me to take everything with a grain of salt. I for one, have a few maps that are trash in the eyes of some, but man do me and the boys have a good time, because that's why I made it. If the community enjoys it like we do, cool, if not, I am still happy. The weighing feeling of needing to put out amazing content is looming large over the H5 era, because of the powerful forge. Some people are too quick to label something trash, but I like to take the approach of "what did I have fun with? How can I help them succeed at this?" The biggest thing is just being nice with feedback, nobody likes to hear good or bad feedback if someone is a straight douche about it. At the end of the day for me, it is about fun, and being kind.
You can say that forging took a lot more skill (though skill because the system wasnt great to use). But lets not pretend the forge map quality as stand alone maps was much higher in 3. It wasnt. Far more restrictions leads to far less potential and creativity (people even admit to forging a map in H3 taking much longer. How would a forge with less options, and a much more awkward map creation process lead to better maps?). Just look at the maps produced here in the last 6 months, you cant tell me that foundry pallet produced better work.
It was more patience than skill. And I'm pretty sure ghost merging was discovered before Sentinel, which made forging so much easier. Maybe the forging process was more time-consuming than it was during and after Reach, but I don't find that to have any bearing on the quality of the maps. I feel that the community is always learning and always improving, so we are currently in our prime. Sure, each era has its gems, but the overall quality of the maps we produce will only get better as we learn.
I see no one is showing love to the minigame forgers out there... I personally love the beautifully crafted forge creations that make me forget that they were made in forge and look more like they were created by 343 industries designers themselves; @xdemption, @WyvernZu, @Given To Fly, @purely fat, @Xandrith, @CommanderColson, @WeedCough, and @no god anywhere are a few of my favorites that anytime I see a map posted by them I'm always like: F*^% YEA LEMME GET THE POPCORN! But honestly I keep thinking, why the hell aren't you guys working for 343 industries by now and getting dem $$ cause that's where you belong with those crazy talents of yours and dedication to incredible detail. In my eyes you are the Michelangelos and Raphael's of halo 5 forge. However, I also love maps that bring outside game/movie themes to halo's map arsenal too, because it shows to the rest of the gaming world that halo forgers are bad-@$$ mothafu#*ers that can make anything. @D4rkDeath 's Jurassic Park and Ancestor are bomb.com; @MultiLockOn and @xdemption 's The Shire is stupid good (huge LOTR fan boy here), and @Ryouji Gunblade's Temple of Time brings on the feels. Additionally, I'm always impressed by how creative those puzzle makers are (and how damn fast they churn out their maps); @Lost Pinecone (Squidloaf), @Real_Quickk (Comedy Aerosol), and @unsorted guy are big players in that genre. NOW, I'm first and foremost really big into seeing people push the gameplay boundaries of forge in ways that other people could never dream of. Honestly that's where I think many minigame maps shine, as these types of forgers bust out some of the craziest scripting and glitches in order to make something never believed possible in halo, along with having to think outside of the box to make something out of the norm that other people might enjoy. With that in mind, here is a list of some of my favorite minigame maps/forgers that make really enjoyable and replayable gametypes (based on the complexity of scripting, creativity, and overall fun with large groups of people). (And yes a few of my maps are on here because hey, I'm biased about how much dang effort it took to make the friggen maps work and people seem to enjoy them, so get over it These are in no particular order: 1. Infusion - @WyvernZu 2. Clogged Toilet – @Littlemonk5 3. Duck Hunt – @JonesSeries 4. Crash Up Turby - @TurbTastic 5. Hungry Hungry Hippos – @Littlemonk5 6. Starfighter Combat - @CaptainDireWolf 7. Scooby Doo Mansion - @JonesSeries 8. The Great Griddle – @SplinterBL 9. Poke’ Battle - @CaptainDireWolf 10. Mongoose Sumo - @TurbTastic 11. Tic-Tac-Toe – @Charles Stoot 12. Quidditch - @Hugabear 13. Basketball - @TurbTastic 14. Rocket League - @TurbTastic 15. Pac Man - @SexyMasterChief 16. Oink Mudding – @Buddy Jumps 17. Run to the Shrine – @ry ryno ryry 18. Reaper - @ChewyNutCluster 19. WipeOut – @unsorted guy 20. Turf War – @ChewyNutCluster 21. The Hunger Games - @CaptainDireWolf 22. Rush Hour - @CheeseJam 23. Alien Invasion – @Mr Pokephile 24. Black Friday - @Scootiee 25. Minotaurs – @soft sharp 26. Whack-a-mole – @Littlemonk5 27. Installation 04B – @xXBarthXx 28. Lawnmower Mania – @Littlemonk5 29. Lawnmower Spree – @CaptainDireWolf 30. Bull Riding – @SexyMasterChief I'm sure there's other good ones that I've missed, but all in all, I love the fact that there's so many different TYPES of forgers that all think differently and bring all manner of skills to the table. Forge on cool kids.
You're absolutely right. There are some mindblowing creative forgers out there when it comes to minigames and such. Shame on me for forgetting those guys in the first place.