This is a brief preview of a map I am close to finishing (or finishing the first draft of, anyway). It's a competitive map, asymmetrical technically but semi-symmetrical in its floor plan - meaning the two "bases" are equivalent in size with the same number and basic location of entrances and exits, and all the areas in between are similarly mirrored in design and size, while not actually being identical to each other. I've been using the generic working title Estate because that's what it is: a big house with multiple rooms such as a rich person (who happened to live in the future and on the Halo ring) might own. It contains a living room with sofa, table, fireplace, and huge TV; a master bedroom with bed and hot tub; a storage room with shelves loaded with crates and bags; a garage with some cabinets and clutter, and (inaccessible) vehicles; a gym with a rock-climbing wall, a treadmill (non-functional), and shelves with some odds and ends related to the theme; a greenhouse; a walk-in closet; a bathroom complete with toilet, double sink, and shower; and a full attic level connected to four of the rooms. A few screenshots: Master bedroom Greenhouse Living room Gym (side of treadmill on the left, shelves on the right) I designed the layout and geometry, but big thanks are due to Requiem Fiasco for assisting as interior designer. He created all the bathroom fixtures except the shower; created the bed and hot tub in the bedroom; and helped add the fireplace to the living room. He also created one-way shield lifts from the gym to the attic.
Thanks! I'd like to start play testing it early or mid-next week - as of now all the main design is done, it just needs a few small tweaks and then to have weapons and gametypes set up.
That. I can't wait for this map to come out. What attracted my attention was the awesome aesthetics, but by the looks of it, the gameplay will be awesome too.
Thank you! That was the germ of an idea that the rest of the map grew out of, actually. I was thinking of making an entire map in a greenhouse so I built a little one as a proof-of-concept; then I thought I should keep it and build a house to go with it. [br][/br]Edited by merge: I think or hope that the gameplay will be quite satisfying. The layout is kind of based on the circular design of Lockout and Guardian, with multiple points of entry going into each of four main areas that are wrapped around a common middle area (in this map, it's the living room). However, the lower level passages of those maps have been replaced with an "attic" here, and the rooms are rather more enclosed and room-like, giving the map a feel maybe more like Chill Out/Cold Storage (in gameplay only, I mean). We'll see how it goes!
I'm happy to see the map on here. It was really coming together last I was in it making it "Fabulous" . If your ever in need of interior decorating again let me know. On a side note Angery Midget and me have a map that could use a look by you. Let me know when you can pop in.
This map is now ready to go except for setting up a few more game types, which will be done tonight. Anybody interested in a play test either Thursday or Friday night (or both) - let me know! We can do a round of tests on everybody's maps, for anyone else who has one about ready to release. I actually have this and another one, a canal map I previewed a while back that is all set up but has yet to be played on. For Estate I'd like to do 4 vs. 4 slayer; for the canals map, big team CTF would be the most fun, I think.
Thanks to all who were able to test this! We ran 3 vs 3 team slayer and 6 vs 6 CTF, and both were very fun. The map has now been released under the name Murder Manor, here: http://www.forgehub.com/forum/reach-competitive-maps/112788-murder-manor.html