Map Description

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   "Privatized arenas are raising more questions than answers simulating corporate sites from still-smoldering UNSC worlds." 6-12 players
   
   
   
   Hey, everyone! This is my first H5G map submission and iirc my second-ever submission to ForgeHub outside of, like, a no-name minigame submission back in the Halo 3 days. Nightingale is a more arcade arena shooter-y open-area (as opposed to room-based) inversely-symmetrical map which takes design cues from Prisoner, Hang 'Em High, Ivory Tower and just a little bit of Terminal, all smushed into a playspace similar in scale to Combat Evolved arena maps. It's somewhat similar to Rat Race in flow in that you can successfully fight for control of the map with as few as 3 players on a given team, but you can more effectively manage routes and power weapons with as many as 12 players before it starts becoming too crowded. Aesthetically, it takes a lot from Reflection (Reach), but adjusted to work within the confines of Halo 5's Forge palette and to make it look a little more Arena simulation-esque like some of the other H5G on-disc maps (e.g. very obvious color coordination, defying realistic architecture and infrastructure in favor of more usable spaces).
   
   
   
   There are a handful of screens included, but to get a better feel for the map in its current state you can find approx. 40 screenshots in the album here. Nightingale currently supports all gametypes, though as an open-air inverse-sym with rudimentary midsections and more labyrinthine perimeter spaces, it tends to work best with FFA Slayer and Strongholds. Similarly to 343i maps, the weapons on the map are also modified a little bit depending on the gametype: top-mid houses a Speed Boost or an Overshield (with the latter generally reserved for objective gametypes), while "bottom mid" (cafe?) houses a SAW. The SAW mainly comes into play in CTF, Strongholds and Slayer, while it's replaced by the Neutral Flag or ball in Breakout, 1-Flag CTF and all Sportsball variants.
   
   
   
   
   
   Weapons are fairly common on the map, albeit with increased spawn times and reduced clip counts. An H5G BR, H2 BR, SMG and Light Rifle all spawn in relative proximity to the initial spawns to allow players to have some type of reliable utility weapon at start, with the Light Rifle being the most ranged weapon on the map - its top level, especially, is very open and this has been taken into account to provide a CE-esque experience where you have access to sightlines your weapons may not be precise enough to make use of. As mentioned before, top mid's powerup and bottom mid's SAW are the primary power weapons, while at the top rear section of either team's lift there's an Energy Sword nestled on a catwalk. Outside of corridor-based "spawn hives" at the back of each base, the map is open enough that it's not an easy task to dominate the map with either (or both) Swords; it generally just encourages sword dueling.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   (Note that in the top screenshot, that Covenant grav lift sends you to the top of your base - but a piston is rigged to conceal it about every 7 seconds, similar to Torque.)
   
   In the back of either base there's a CE Pistol with no spare clips and a teleporter that sends you to the top of either team's shielded stairwell, a Storm Rifle in the midsection of either stairwell, and then a Hydra with zero spare clips in the most open arm of either team's spawn hive. However, tread lightly: Splinter Grenades are littered throughout the map and scripted so as to float in place above the ground, generally in key areas, such as on top of either receiver node, behind the corner at Hydra, atop cover on level 2 of the bases, etc.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   You can use any precision weapon capable of delivering a headshot to detonate grenades; while this is less reliable with Frags and Plasmas, Splinter Grenades will actually leave their submunitions behind for a short amount of time after being shot out of the air, meaning more often than not players will "spike" areas with them rather than using them as pickups. Proper planning and communication will allow you to punish players that don't keep tabs on Splinter placement, with most submunition clusters being able to wipe out your shields - however, one or two placements (notably the ones housed at the corner directly below Sword) bunch up the submunitions in such a way that it's a guaranteed kill if they connect.
   
   
   
   
   
   Finally, each team has a more arcade-y Ivory Tower lift that takes you from sub-mid to top mid, at which point you can either go for the powerup top mid or the Sword behind you. The floor is sealed with a grid and has a timed kill volume above it, meaning that you're free to spend as much time in the upper two sections of the lift as you want, trying to hide or camp in the bottom of the elevator shaft will get you fried after a while. Not only that, but switches mounted in halls sandwiching SAW's bottom mid give you a window to look into the elevator shaft and trigger the lift platforms and the grid flooring to disappear for about 15 seconds - however, be forewarned: triggering one switch will cause both elevator networks to disappear! It can be an easy way to temporarily shut down players making a power play, or just give someone the middle finger as they catch you through the window midlevel facing the switch. A Phaeton (non-pilotable) floats outside each team's "skybox", and will likewise despawn and respawn as the switches do - Phaetons are rigged to have their SFX be audible from hundreds of meters away, meaning their spawn / despawn noises can be a quick cue for you to detect if the lifts have been activated or deactivated.
   
   
   
   
   
   They're from an older build, but the videos included are the intros for either team, which also showcase the Pelican that goes around the skybox, complete with Halo 2-esque "clipping right through the mountain" physics!
   
   Note that this map is still a work in progress, and while it's fully playable / functional, the spawns aren't especially elaborate at this point (though they will at least keep you out of danger). Likewise, there aren't any callout volumes yet because I had rigged some up for an earlier build and the geometry ended up changing dramatically, so I'm holding off on that until the very end.
   
   The "PMC" prefix stands for Private Military Company, and refers to the fact that Nightingale will eventually belong to a larger map consisting of 8 maps - 4 originals, 4 remixes of said maps - with varying applications in terms of player size and gametype usage. It's playing off of the nuggets of lore 343's woven into most of the suits at this point suggesting that there are PMCs off doing their own things with Spartans off in odd corners of space - that being said, probably not that much after the whole Cortana thing, but...

   Nox Stellanti and TruncateComb6 like this.