***Check updates tab for the latest changes to the map***
This is my remake of 343’s Pegasus, now titled “Chimera”. After seeing Pegasus was added back into circulation last week, I decided to make some updates and create a variation that could hopefully take its place in matchmaking.
The main feedback given about Pegasus from what I’ve gathered is that the map overall favors red, both in weapon placements and as a spot to dominate the rest of the map with its long open sight lines. Personally, another thing that has bothered me is the courtyard / under bridge area is a dead end and really doesn’t serve much of a purpose.
I addressed the issue of players camping in red base and overall game playing favoring red by adding a cave / tunnel from under rocket bridge up to red base. In the few play tests I’ve done on the map, it seems to have helped tremendously and is a nice flank / escape route depending on your situation. I also added a rock formation in courtyard to offer cover, and open up multiple clamber options from yard. This gives more purpose to this part of the map and actually makes it a useful route for specific scenarios.
For the weapon and power-up placements, I drew a “half court line,” between red and blue that ran perfectly from the weapon platform, through house and over to mid (now yellow corner). I looked at maps like the Rig and Plaza and they seem to follow a similar principle. These maps alway have players rushing or battling to see who can get the power-ups / weapons and I wanted to bring some of that to this map. In the current Pegasus, this isn’t the case at all aside from the sniper rifle. Red team always gets rockets uncontested, and blue team always gets oversheild uncontested. Placing weapons and power-ups closer to this imaginary line will helps give each team a fair chance and ensure that players have to fight to get their hands on them.
The sniper rifle now spawns in the back of security and only has one additional clip instead of 2. Because this map has two weapon pad power weapons and one power-up (much like The Rig does), reducing the ammo on both sniper and rockets makes for less camping and better gun fights. Red has the advantage of higher ground and has a straight shot to grab sniper.To counter that, I changed the stairs from house to security to be a ramp so that blue players can bounce frags grenades and contest snipe spawn.
I removed overshield from blue base and replaced it with camo inside of house. I put it on top of the pillar similar to how it is on overgrowth so that players have to be exposed and clamber up to grab it. Blue players have a slightly easier route to grab it, but red players have the height advantage and grenade angles so it balances out nicely.
Rockets are now on the weapon platform where sniper used to be and have no additional ammo to reload with (meaning 2 rockets each respawn).
As for the other weapons around the map, the carbine blue platform has been moved to the corner of blue courtyard and house. The light rifle at red has been replaced with a BR and the carbine at yellow corner has been replaced with a recon DMR. The plasma pistol in house is removed and a storm rifle has been added to open tower. Lastly the shotgun in yard has been moved to under bridge so that players can split and go the new cave route or back toward stage.
Let me know what you guys think of it and how it plays. I hope you enjoy it!
P.S. Comparison GIFs of the original and my new version can be found here: http://imgur.com/gallery/rzosZ