Hardpoint

Hardpoint

Covenant orbital strikes reduced much of New Mombasa's skyline to rubble. What remains is a tribute to the fallen. 2-10 players

Hardpoint: n. - 1. A series of fortifications. 2. A strong defensive potision.

Totaled Time (initial construction): 13 Hours
Estimated Time (Tweaks): 1 Hour+
Estimated Time (Playtesting): 3 & 3/4 Hours+

Not long after publishing "Stalwart" I realized that no matter how the map was changed, tweaked or otherwise redesigned, it could never accomplish my ultimate Forging goal; to create a fun, visually impressive map that incorporated gameplay elements from Compound, Guardian and Lockout. Following a rather lengthy Matchmaking spree, I returned to the forge in an attempt to succeed in this endeavor. After way over 17 and a half hours of construction, playtesting and tweaks, Hardpoint, formerly named Metropolis, is now complete.
Hardpoint is an Asymmetrical map that is set in the outskirts of New Mombasa, just past the wake of the slipspace rupture that destroyed most of the city.
Three Large buildings comprise the map.
The High-rise, also known as the Sniper Tower or Bridge, serves as a base for the Attacking team and offers an excellent vantage point of the rest of the map. The coveted Spartan Laser spawns on the Brute-Shot side of the building.











Each corner of the High-rise offers a route to the top, and a portable Gravity lift can be used for additional access. The open Double box near the Attackers' Brue Shot is useful for a quick shield recharge and also permits access to the top of the structure.
Directly across from the Attackers' base is the Office, a structure with enough holes that it can be likened to a sponge.





Not only can the Shotgun be found here, but the merged open double box in the back houses the Sniper Rifle. After three minutes, the office's basement also becomes an area of contention as players rush to secure the map's only Sentinel Beam.



Three Battle Rifles and a carbine are also available within the Office. The roof of this building can be accessed via stairs or a jumping route in the middle of the first floor. The Rooftop has hosted some Heart-stopping, epic BR battles, as opponents struggle to kill their opponent without falling off at the same time.





Connected to the Office via a skywalk is the Defensive Base. Defense base has the map's only Bubble Shield. After 90 seconds, a pair of shield doors spawn it the two bottom entrances.





Weapons:
Shotgun: x1 | Respawn Rate: Never | Extra Clips: 0 | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Shotgun: x1 | Respawn Rate: 150s | Extra Clips: 1 | Spawn at start: NO | Symmetry: Both
Sniper Rifle: x1 | Respawn Rate: never | Extra Clips: 0 | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Sniper Rifle: x1 | Respawn Rate: 180 | Extra Clips: 2 | Spawn at start: NO | Symmetry: Both
Spartan Laser: x1 | Respawn Rate: 150s | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Sentinel Beam: x1 | Respawn Rate: 180s | Spawn at start: NO | Symmetry: Both
SMG: x4 | Respawn Rate: 20s | Extra Clips: 2 | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Plasma Rifle: x4 | Respawn Rate: 30s | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Magnum: x2 | Respawn Rate: 20s | Extra Clips: 2 | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Needler: x2 | Respawn Rate: 90s | Extra Clips: 1 | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Brute Shot: x2 | Respawn Rate: 45s | Extra Clips: 2 | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Covenant Carbine: x4 | Respawn Rate: 30s | Extra Clips: 2 | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Mauler: x2 | Respawn Rate: 90s | Extra Clips: 1 | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Plasma Pistol: x1 | Respawn Rate: 45s | Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both

Grenades:
Fragmentation Grenades: x6 | Respawn Rate: 10s |Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Plasma Grenades: x6 | Respawn Rate: 10s |Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Spike Grenades: x6 | Respawn Rate: 45s |Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both

Equipment:
Power Drain: x1 | Respawn Rate: 150s |Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Radar Jammer: x1 | Respawn Rate: 180s |Spawn at start: NO | Symmetry: Asymmetrical
Regenerator: x1 | Respawn Rate: 150s |Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Gravity Lift: x1 | Respawn Rate: 90s |Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Deployable Cover: x1 | Respawn Rate: 45s |Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both
Bubble Shield: x1 | Respawn Rate: 180s |Spawn at start: YES | Symmetry: Both

Supported Gametypes:
Slayer
Capture the Flag
Assault
Oddball
King of the Hill
Territories
Infection

Reccomended Gametypes:
FFA Slayer (3-6 players)
Team Slayer (3v3; 3v3v3; 4v4)
King of the Hill (Team & FFA)(3-6 players)
Territories (Some of the MOST intense games you've ever seen)(6-8 players)


Tips:

Defense
- In Territories, The Bridge (#2) and its sister (#5) are often the first territories to fall to enemy assaults. The longer you can protect these, the better your chances of winning.
- Capture the flag games are often quite difficult for defending teams. It often pays to send one man to hide in Offense's base to stop the Flag carrier in the event that your defense is overrun.

Offense
- Taking Territories 2 & 5 early on can provide 2 easy captures, but as these territories are often neglected by defending teams, it may pay to have only one member of your team take these while the rest of your team focuses on the other territories.
- Once secured, Territory 2 is an excellent position to support your teammates as they attempt to take territory 4.
- Initially, it may seem that anyone taking the Bubble Shield entrance into defense base must go through the double box housing defense's Brute Shot. However, a little clever Crouching can permit you access over the red pipes.

Symmetrical games
- Securing the Shotgun provides a significant advantage when it is used in the close confines of the Office. However, the sheer number of entrances to this building make it very risky for campers.
- It is possible to jump into the hole where needler spawns in the Sniper Tower, but crouch-walking to the other side renders you extremely vulnerable to grenades.
- Removing a sniper on the bridge becomes a much easier proposition with Plasma Grenades.
- After the shield doors spawn at defense base, defending the flag becomes much easier. However, the small gaps on the sides of the shield doors means that a carefully placed grenade can be bounced to the other side of the barrier (I actually used this during playtesting, to great effect).

Special thanks to:
Honour Blade; Weaselman5; The Winja; Blackprophet77; Elite 208...
...For suggestions and coments relating to the map.

Playtesters:
Honour Blade; BlackProphet77; XAmAzINgLuCkX; The Winja; WeaselMan5; ShadowedVeil7; elite208; TTR xxLiLMiKExx; DeSneakyOne; MSGT Waller; SMSGT waller; Broadloom Flame; xRAPTORx Kyuubi; PHOENIX11882; NoDak MasTa; Krum Snitch; Axenreign; ShotXXsniperXX; banshee0000; The Hairy Lips; Cobra Ops Delta;

Gameplay Video

Download Hardpoint


A sidenote, during construction of Hardpoint I accidentally discovered a new method for floating objects. Spawn two of the object you wish to float and set one to not spawn at start. Start a new round, pick up the object you wish to float and force spawn the other of the object. If the glitch works the object will remain floating after you let go of it. Thus far, I have been unable to get it to work consistenly, so if anyone can figure out what makes this glitch work, I (and probably much of the Forge community) would greatly appreciate it.

 

This from Lights!?!? I feel special. Thank you all for your comments.

 

This is the first map of mine that I'm actually satisfied with, with all of the others, something seemed to be missing. Whether this gets featured or not (although that would be cool), I, for one, have finally achieved my ultimate forging goal.