Hi everyone! First time poster, here to share my first real creation, Samsara. This map is intended to be both aesthetic AND competitive. Fight, die, and take rebirth in a scenic Buddhist temple, complete with a giant golden Buddha as the centerpiece. This is a semi-symmetrical "floating" map, made mainly for slayer gametypes. Power weapons on the map include a fuel rod cannon (only 5 shots), 1 shotgun, 2x Focus Rifles, 2x Concussion rifles, and a grenade launcher. There are no vehicles. Here's some pics: The golden Buddha Main Interior One of the bases Exterior Also, I've rendered a video of the map. It's a walkthrough that covers most of the map and weapons: Bungie.net : Halo Reach : File Details Happy to recieve any critique/comments/heavenly appraisal Thanks for your time!
Downloading now. Map aesthetics look great, and the idea is very original. I'm already a big fan. I don't, however, really like the power weapons on the map. In particular, the fuel rod gun may create problems (its slow-moving projectiles can mess serious slayer games up, IMO). I would personally consider replacing it with a rocket launcher. Two concussion rifles may also be a bit much, and I would also think about replacing one Focus rifle with a human sniper. That being said, I'm sure there are plenty of people who would disagree with me, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Very creative map, nicely done.
Thank you for your input! I also have serious reserves about the weapons I chose. I think the rocket launcher is a great idea (if I keep the ammo low, so it's not too overpowering), but I feel like the human sniper is more powerful than the focus rifle. I wouldn't want one team to spawn with an advantage, right?
Very well done with the statue! Im really looking forward to checking this out now. My queue is currently full, so I can't queue this up until I turn Reach on again which will hopefully be later this evening before I hit the bars. I hope the rest of the map holds up to the high standard you've set in the opening pic
That's true. You could try to balance it out with upgraded weapons on the other side, but that could get tricky. Or, you could put it in the middle of the map, but you wouldn't want one team to dominate the game. I think two focus rifles could definitely work, and if you replaced the fuel rod gun, I think it would be a blast. Excellent job.
Err...in the rules it says that "Download links must lead to a posted map on the bungie forums, NOT your fileshare." But over at bungie.net, they're telling me that I can't post maps in the forum. What does this rule mean?
I'm probably going to build Buddha for like 5 hours today xD anyways I love the aesthetics i expect great things in the future.
Bungie is referring to their own forums, not the ones here at Forgehub. Added after 2 minutes: You need more railings on this map. I kept falling to my death or at least unintentionally falling to a lower level.
although the aesthetics are brilliant, its pretty much all concentrated inside the main glass structure. weapon placement is OTT and a bit hap hazard. man cannons need tweaking too. looks: nailed down. gameplay: needs work.
great aesthetic inside the building dude. buddha's sick as hell.. yet, i think the rest of the map could use some improvement on the gameplay side of things. i give it a 7.5/10 , 1000/10 for buddha tho
Thank you all for your comments! I'm sure none of you will be surprised to find out that my roommate, an artist, designed the stone Buddha. I designed the rest of the map structure. I'm glad to hear that the map is aesthetically pleasing, but obviously my map design needs some work. I was wondering if maybe I could get some more in-depth critique? What parts of the map structure (excluding the buddha) did you like/hate? Here's what I've gathered so far: -Mancannons. I intentionally let them damage your shields as a counterbalance to the fact that you can shoot all the way across the map in an instant. I will change them if you guys (the pros lol) think I should. -Railing. I will add some more railing to some of the problem spots. I'm assuming it's mainly in the bases. -Lower death wall. Can do. -Weapon placement. Any suggestions? I planned on replacing the fuel rod with the rockets, as someone said before. Any major structural changes you would make? I think what needs the most work is outside of the main room. I felt like the main room itself was pretty solid. Would you agree? I may end up entirely redesigning the bases.
I haven't downloaded it yet, but based off the video it looks like you could use some railings on the corner walkways below the Focus Rifle. I don't think you need railings everywhere. For example, the second story of the Buddha room doesn't need railings because that would interfere with people who want to shoot down from above. That's my opinion, anyway. Like I said before, I haven't played the map yet. But in your tests, did people use the turrets much? It looks like the machine gun turret only points at that walkway and the doorway and the plasma turret only points at the Buddha, even though most people are going to be entering that room from behind or beside the plasma turret. I don't think either of them look like they are worth bothering with. I would take out the machine gun turret, and move the plasma turret to where you currently have the fuel rod gun. But that's just my opinions. Like you said, everyone has different opinions about weapon placements. I'll definitely download this map.
okay just wrote the longest, most well thought out reply to this only to have it dissapear because i got logged out, wow! So heres the short version straightforward. Buddha looks great (but hungry) Like the original look, awesome and symmetrical (in a new way) Suggestions: get rid of the turret in the temple replace the grenade launcer for a sniper get rid of the railing where the grenade launcher is on the higher point of the bridge to add some line of sight. That about covers it, great job on this map man, I hope to see it featured.
I've got a second version of it in the works as of right now. The entire outside has been scrapped, and instead I've increased the size of the main temple room, while adding some layers. I want this map to be dense, fast paced, and full of fun. I think one of my biggest problems with the current version is that its sections too separate. By consolidating it into one room, I hope to provide greater connectedness while retaining the pleasing visual elements. Hopefully my budget will cover it Also, I made this map without any idea of what makes a map "good" to play on. I've been checking out some of the maps posted here at forgehub, and taking notes from some of the really impressive ones. Hopefully my redo will be up to standards! Thank you all for your critique. I'm still quite open to any comments you might have about ways to improve my map.
This looks fantastic. I plan on playing it tonight, but just the screenshots show off the incredible aesthetics. Also, you pretty much covered all i could think of with what you plan on doing in version 2.
Nicely done. I'm really digging the Buddha, statue. The 2 mancannons on the outside of the map move the player in some very interesting ways to me. I'm intrigued to see how this plays. I'll have to load it up and get a few games in on it with the guys I play customs with, and then drop another comment on here. Not too sure about the teleporters though. A challenge we face with so many custom maps out there, is that maps need to be pretty easy to move around and "grasp," or players won't go to the effort to learn the map. Teleporters need to be easy to see where they take you (like Hemorrhage) or it can confuse the player. Being in to the whole "Buddhist thing" myself I was actually contemplating using the name "Samsara" for one of my own maps. This map is very cool though, and definitely a good use for that name. Also, welcome to forgehub. This site is beyond awesome to me, and there are definitely some amazingly cool people on here.
Woah, just woah. This map is amazing, for a first post, you truly know what it takes to make a map. Especially with rocks, so bumpy and edgy. How did you make it with that? This truly amazed me. It kind of reminds me of Countdown, because there is something huge standing, something noticeable. 8/10
I am 110% impressed by the buddha, and the entire room that the buddha is sitting in. Totally awesome. But... I am totally unimpressed by the rest of the map! I really feel like you should have scratched the rest of the map and used that budget to make the buddha room even more awesome, and then just posted it as an aesthetic map instead. The layout of the map seems like it will lead to terrible gameplay. Even the buddha room would be extremely easy to dominate by getting up top, and since there is only one narrow entrance into the room on either side, it would be VERY easy for a team or even one person to hold that position down for eternity. I have only done a forge-through, i have not played the map, so i cannot verify my suspicions with hard evidence, but i have a strong feeling that this wont play that well. In any case though, you did an amazing job on the aesthetics in the room, and whether or not the map is a success as far as playability doesnt really matter, i'll be looking forward to your next creation.
I appreciate your critique, and agree with you that the map outside of the center room isn't up to par. Perhaps you missed a few things though? There are three entrances into the main room on either side (teleporter, narrow door, and wide open section of wall). I agree with much of what you said, and in an earlier post I stated that I would be getting rid of the external portion of the map, increasing the size of the main chamber, and add another level or two to give it a more connected feel. Thanks again for the reviews!