Deflect [TEASER]

UPDATE, 12th April 2010: New screenshots are now up. I must admit, they aren't anything special. They are on the second page (here).
Also, the reasons for the name I have chosen (although this name is subject to change) are given lower down on this page (Post 8).

I looked over the perch, with my assault rifle in one hand. My eyes could not take the intensity of the heat, and I quickly looked away. One could only wonder why the centre piece of this mysterious structure generated so much heat. I took a deep breath, and pulled my Visor down. Suddenly all was well again; I could breath normally, and my body felt cool. I looked over the perch, and my eyes could now cope with the unusual centre piece. I noticed it was of a different quality to the rest of the structure, it was perfectly carved, while the rest was crumbling. From just below my waistline, I picked a grenade and held it tightly in my hand. I took another deep breath, and yanked at the pin, before hurling the grenade up into the air. It clinged and clanged as it hit off the roof and other various surfaces. I waited for the explosion, and as it came, I quickly manoeuvred around the perch and up towards the centre piece, while I had the enemy distracted. The battle had begun. I was ready to take them on.



This is Deflect. My first map to be released here on Forgehub, and indeed it is going to be my first completed map on Sandbox. The primary aim for this map was to use a simple layout, and make it fully enclosed. Grenades are scarce but very effective; use them wisely. And, although this map may be fairly open and have a very simply layout, it pushes tactical play to the max, and rushing into combat by yourself is never the best option. Teamwork is key.

I would say this map is about 60% done, and I'm hoping it will support up to 4v4 on most slayer and objective gametypes, although testing might prove that 3v3, 2v2, and even 1v1 is more suitable. Things to do:
- Finish final wall [east wall, where blue is north and red is south].
- Touch up on railings on the sloppy parts.
- Improve neatness of blue roof and central roof.
- Aesthetics [I would say that the aesthetics will be around 50% better on the release version than in this screenshot; There is many aesthetic pieces that I am yet to do, and the map may look a lot different when done].
- Fill cracks on West wall.
- Weapons & Equipment.
- Spawns and Objectives.
- TESTING!

I will be providing more screenshots soon once Aesthetics are improved. I decided, after reviewing all the screenshots I took, that this was the only one that did the map any justice at all. Also it fitted in with my story very well.

Advice Needed: In addition to all this, I have yet to see a competitive map effectively use effects. After a bit of fiddling in forge, I have decided that Gloomy FX might in fact be suitable for this map. I would like to hear your views on this. I can predict that many will say it is going to be too dark with Gloomy on, but I actually think with the extensive lighting I have on this map, that it is not too dark. I will get the same screenshot as above with the FX on for you to compare ASAP. Again, this is probably going to come down to testing.

 

@ crypto haha thanks for the advice, and nah i always like to put words with a picture and i wrote that like a week ago
@ steve yea when i first forged on the dlc maps i really liked the juicy effect, but then i found out it can become quite annoying in games. But if it works for your map then great

 

No it isnt, this is one ive been working on for a few weeks, although now I think about it I suppose it could work well for team RS. I think it's worth a go setting it up and trying it out when its done .

FYI, the one I was making specifically for RS/TRS is coming along quite well.

Also, yea the gloomy/juicy mixture does look really good when used in the right ways, but it looks a bit fake if you know what i mean..?

 

haha i would love to but i cant right now, just about to go out n get wasted in a tent.
I used to tinker with the effects quite a lot and i did know a few good combinations, but i cant remember them anymore.

I'll try to catch u online one day so i can have a look at your maps and possibly play some RS customs

EDIT: looking back over the original post, I realise i forgot to give the reasons for the name of the map. Basically, using the geometry of the map (with it being enclosed n everything), you can throw grenades into some pretty nifty spots. I sorta touched on that in the description without relating it to the name of the map. To deflect kind of means for something to bounce off of a surface, usually for a purpose, hence the name Deflect.

 

I thank everyone for the feedback thus far and all the positive comments I have received. I can no longer resist the temptation to provide you with some more images, although please bare in mind that these were taken at the same time as the other one I have shown you, therefore nothing has changed, and there is still a lot to be done. I haven't got much xbox time at the moment, so expect progress to be slow and the release is likely to be another month yet. I think, to maintain interest once released, I may wait until after the Reach BETA, as I do not see much point releasing just before or during the BETA. This is because the map will be unlikely to be played or even downloaded during this time.

The heat rises from below.

This screenshot ties in with the end of my original quick story that went with the original screenshot. This is looking down from the centre piece onto blue base. This screenshot together with the original one, helps to show the size and scale of the map.

Where it all begins.

Looking down at red base from mid red, showcasing the small size of the bases. The original teaser screenshot was taken from behind the barrier on top red to the left of this screenshot.

Where it always ends.

From the ground of mid blue looking up at the centre piece, putting the rest of the screenshots into perspective.

I hope you enjoyed this extra little preview and look forward to the release of this map and playing on it. Here are a few additional things that I forgot to mention in the Original Post about this map (Although they may be quite obvious).
- This map is built in the skybubble. If you jump over the railings, you will go through the gaps in this structure and fall to your death. I have just noticed you can not actually see any of these gaps from the screenshots, but it is quite blatant.
- This map is fully symmetrical. Symmetrical/Asymmetrical settings on objects will most probably not be used, but I hope the map will support both symmetrical and asymmetrical gametypes.
- This map is fully interlocked. Some ghost merging has been used for railings on ramps, and further ghost merging will be used for aesthetic pieces. Please note these "aesthetic pieces" will, on the large part, intentionally affect gameplay and add another dimension to it.
- I want to add another point, but I can't think of anything right now, so I am just going to end by saying during testing I hope to get an 8v8 slayer game and an 8v8 objective game on this map, just for the sake of it .

 

Thank you for the feedback, I admit it is a bit small, and testing may prove that 4v4 is not suitable, but I believe it will work 2v2 a dream, both slayer and objective.

haha i hope so. Again, this is going to come down to testing to see how it affects gameplay. And thanks for the positive comments once again .

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To help give an idea of the small size of the mao, (although already evident from the screenshots), I thought I would tell you that the map is 7 double blocks long, and 2 double blocks wide (this is an approximate - it is slighlty smaller due to the tight interlocking throughout the boundaries of the map). Also the height from the bottom of the the bases to the heighest point of the roof is 2 and a half blocks. I am currently well within budget to finish this map, although i am low on some objects meaning that I am having to use alternatives.