Hey guys, I have a question, do you have some general rules or tips for the scaling of your maps? I can't seem to get my head around it, I always build too big. All my core maps need a huge overhaul because the major feedback I get is "cool ideas but waaaay too big" or "should consider BTB on here". On my last map, during forging, I put some Spartan size blocks and a warthog for some reference, still a huge map lol. So what are your tips and tricks for the right scale and do any of you have this problem?
The best thing to do if you are having scaling issues is to place two 256 x 256 floors and keep the play space roughly around that size. Halo 3's the Pit is just about 520 wide and most breakout maps are about 550 in length or less. You can measure a few of the developer maps easily with a king of the hill marker to get an idea of a scale size you like - Empire, Eden, Meltdown, Stasis and Truth would be easy maps to measure. It gives you a good starting point, but you will find most of them don't exceed that size. I know I measured the BTB map Basin and it was 1,050 x 380 ish (I forget the smaller number tbh), to give you a general idea of that size. If you like the play style on an old map, load up a remake and measure it real quick.
I'm an overscaler too. I feel your pain dude. I heard someone mention for pathing they generally use a 16x16 block. Makes sense cus I think I've been using 32x32s to block out my stuff
One very big misconception in my opinion is that people think it's good to scale their maps thinking about general size and red reticle range. It all comes down to how the maps pace and pathing is. You can have a football length of field with no cover and it would play a fast paced 1v1 or you could make lockout with tunnels instead of bridges and it's play a slow paced BTB. Segmentation control the pacing of your map. If someone is uncomfortable with the size of a map or the distance that gun fights take place, they simply need to practice more outside of their comfort zone. However, it's good to have a mixture of both long and close range engagements and think about how they suit the playercount which again, is mostly decided by segmentation and pathing and not general scale.
Spawn the longest detailed primitive block, 128 and use that as the ruler. Even a few feet past red reticle your magnum has magnetism and auto aim in effect, the 128 block is pretty much that exact distance unscoped.
Thanks. This is going to help me a lot. I wish I new this sooner though. That's what you get when you start forging like crazy, gather no feedback and move on to the next project Prepare youselves for some pure quality maps in the future. Jk
Phew! Glad there aren't because my 4v4s are MASSIVE. I'm talking like firefight massive, take a month for a full match massive. AR starts duh
I feel like coliseum was the size of four of those but maybe I'm remembering incorrectly. Point being there is some give for what size a map should be. Either way, Blaze pretty much nailed it. There are many maps in halo's history that played everything from 1v1s through 5v5s well, all of which were the same physical size. Of course if you have problems over scaling then that's sort of wishy washy abstract advice so the idea with trying to constrain your map to a certain area can work as well, though it isn't a promise of proper scaling for the reasons stated above.
Ted reticle range philosophy is a myth. Maps are not better when all the engagements are within RRR. Maps are better when you do what you want.
I do a lot of scaling and have to say that it is not easy at all, I even struggle with it. Keep in mind it is damn near impossible to get the same x, y, and z axis right for the objects on the original map. But Ill show you what I do for my Zelda maps when scaling. (My map in progress is Goron City from LOZ:OOT) -Take a picture of the map from above and go into photoshop. -Make a halo 5 grid on the picture. (Details of my picture: Squares (halo 5 grid): 1.5x1.5 in. Picture res: about 20x20in with 72 pixels per inch. This seems to be a good square size for my map) -Go into halo 5 make a 200x200 grid with 50x50 smaller different colored grids (remaking the grid from photoshop). -Once I have the layout looking good, I go into whatever game I'm making a replica of and walk around to see what's inside the structures and put those in according to the height of the player or where the items are on the grid. -For height I do a lot by eye or comparing with other items. Pretty much measuring the spartan body to whatever other body is in the other game (for me it is Link's body). -For the most part, I usually keep movement snapped to 1'-1/4' and rotate snapped to 5' to make it a little easier. Hopefully this helps you a little bit.
Thanks, I appreciate the effort but this is too difficult for me. But it seems like you create squares like trying to recreate a drawing of something on a bigger scale. I used to recreate drawings daily in my teenage years, I bought comics and drew a badass spiderman or wolverine but never created those squares so you can draw a perfect figure, but bigger than the original. I always thought I will learn nothing from this and anyone can do it. Maybe I didnt get your idea but this is the first that came to mind. Thanks again for your post.