In Vitro

In Vitro is a symmetrical map, designed for CTF, Assault, Team Slayer, KOTH, Stockpile and Territories, but it also supports Invasion and Safe Haven Infection but was not designed with these game types in mind. Also, up to four teams of four players is supported for team slayer, neutral bomb and neutral flag.

birds-eye view:




I made this map with my friends in mind, who do not play Halo as often, therefore I wanted to make a symmetrical map that was easy to learn, with a few vehicles (one standard warthog, one ghost, and two mongooses), and a space for jetpacking which is why there are three levels to the map.

The lowest level sits on the grid, where there are four bases at each corner housing a vehicle each. The edge of the grid has a small wall to prevent players walking off in to the water, but vehicles will not be so lucky. Access to upper levels comes from staircases at the outer corners, a ramp that winds around each bottom-base, and man-cannons that take you to the uppermost central ring.








The mid-level comprises of the Red and Blue bases, and two rooms that house sniper weapons.

Red Base:



Sniper Rooms:




The upper area is a walkway-ring, which can be acccessed via walkways from four surrounding bases (which can only be circumnavigated, they cannot be entered), which in turn are connected to a sniper room and a team base. The upper walkway-ring is also accessible from the man-cannons from the bottom level.

Upper walkway-ring:




Please note that you cannot move beyond the outter map windows, even where there is space between the windows (imagine each window extends into the next to create an entirely enclosed arena) - hard kill zones are found here. I wanted to put soft kill zones in the spaces, and hard kill zones on the windows, but there is some bug with forge where I cannot add anymore kill zones even though they cost nothing. I did not want players on the outside of the windows, therefore hard kill zones are in place. Also, a hard kill zone is found at the very top of the map.

Weapons on the map are as follows:

4 x DMR (30 respawn)
2 x Needle Rifle (30 respawn)
2 x Needler (60 respawn)
2 x Plasma Pistol (45 respawn)
2 x Plasma Repeater (45 respawn)
2 x Shotgun (90 respawn)
2 x Sniper Rifle (180 respawn, 1 spare clip)
1 X Rocket Launcher (180 respawn)
2 x Plasma Grenade (45 respawn)

Vehicles:

2 x Mongoose (30 respawn)
1 x Ghost (90 respawn)
1 x Standard Warthog (120 respawn)


I was very careful when choosing weapons and their placement, I wanted the map to flow generally from the bottom level up to the top via the man-cannons (as this is the fastest but most dangerous route), then from the top walkway-ring to the outter edge and back down to the edge of the bottom level. The top walkway-ring is the best place to spot enemies, but it is a vulnerable position to be as there is access from four walkways and four man-cannons. I wanted the lowest level to feel a little like urban warfare, with the bases providing decent cover, vehicles flying around occasionally, and with options for reaching the upper levels. I am inexperienced at map making, so any feedback is very welcome.

I've played the map with four friends, and they really enjoyed it, but it is designed for upwards of 8 players so again feedback is welcome, and I hope you like it and enjoy it.

 

Thanks Mabolsa, very kind comments. I'm glad you like the use of the grid too, I would love to hear what you think of gameplay

 

thanks for the great feedback Neoshadow, would love to know which gametypes you played on the map, I am particularly interested on how people find the respawn loactions and the flag/assault/hill locations so any information would be greatly appreciated.