Freyja's Roost Many naming variations were scuttled before settling on 'SPARTAN'. 'VALKYRIE' never really caught on. 6-12 players Download Freyja's Roost Map Haiku Armed right to the teeth, these Spartans do not fear death. Heights? Maybe a bit. Gametype Support -Freyja's Roost supports all gametypes except Race and Invasion -Invasion slayer must be modified to avoid round 3 vehicle malarkey Recommended Gametypes Team Slayer - 6-12 players - I had slayer in mind for this one (for once) 2 Flag - 6-12 players - The trick is getting to good defensive lines of sight Headhunter - 6-12 players - Sometimes, a suicide is worth it, if you can capture a few skulls Stockpile 6-12 players - The multiple levels make it more fun... if you like that kind of thing KotH - 6-12 players - I always try to make King work well Overview Overhead Shot It's not quite symmetrical... but essentially so. Welcome to Freyja's Roost. What does that mean? Freyja is some sort of Norse Goddess thing. And she may or may not be related to Valkyries, or something. The central tower of the map kind of looks like a Valkyrie helmet... sorta. I'm sure there's some sort of deep meaning behind the name. Google it and maybe you'll find something. Anyway, I wanted to build a symmetrical slayer map. And I wanted to try out a mechanism where you fall from a height great enough to shoot you the wrong way through a one way shield door. Two birds. One map. And the shield door thing is totally awesome. Weapon Loadout Rocket Launcher - Bottom level, in the very center Grenade Launchers - Either side of the top level Shotguns - Bottom level, in the small hallway between the mancannon and staircase DMR's - All over the upper ring Needle Rifles - All over the base level Screenshots Rainbow! If you ever feel like you're too exposed on the floor of the map, or if you want a grenade launcher, walk through the rainbow and ride the lightning upwards. Tension Cables If you're going to have a tower, you have to make it seem architecturally sound, right? Basement Action! This is where you'll find the rocket launcher and a couple shotguns. Staircases There are multiple ways to get to the basement. These are a couple of them. The Centerpiece Those rainbow lifts will take you up here. Leap of Faith Once you're on top of the world, you can either jump down to the sides, or you can plummet to certain doom through that red shield door. Or maybe it's not certain. Everybody loves trees Did I steal those tree planters from Devinish? Maybe. Maybe... Defender's Side One side is open to the sea. One has a big gray wall. Make sure you know which is which. Final Thoughts As always, lots of thanks go out to everybody. Gunnergrunt, thanks for inspiring me to build something cool. Devinish, thanks for allowing me to totally steal your tree planter. Testers, thanks for testing. Bungie, thanks for making forge easier to use. Also as always, please let me know what you think. I loved building this and I hope some of you enjoy it. Download Freyja's Roost
I believe it is "Smokin' Jesus Titty Cinnamon, That Is A Monster! This is gonna be SWEET!" But still, nice map. I will DL and get back to you.
Mmmmmm, I'm really liking that you decided to submit this for CTF instead! It really does play well for it, even though the matchmaking gametype requires flag at home...what a drag. Having it for objective gametypes really lets you play the whole space of the map, where as in slayer it was mostly dominated by trying to control "the roost". Can't wait to see this in matchmaking! P.S. I'm also happy we aren't competing, for my sake =P
very much enjoyed the games we tested on this. i think it has a very classic feel in a lot of ways, but it fits with Reach's style well at the same time. im curious if you have tried running a full 16 on this, i think it could handle it. gameplay was sound throughout all the testing. obviously, theres a focus on rushing to the top platform. players are never able to resist the high ground. it makes sense. instead of being detrimental to the map though, the high ground is high enough up that it separates it, instead of it being dominating. also, i like the extra layer of strategy it adds. having a fight going on up top to distract the opposing team, while another player snuck in through the bottom to grab the flag was fun. i am also fond of how this map incorporates heights. the drop down from the middle level to the ground floor is JUST high enough that you can crouch and save yourself some health, or take the damage if you're in a hurry, adding yet another layer of gameplay to the map. again, really enjoyed it, and good luck for MM =D
I haven't played this yet, but i walked around if Forge mode for a while and this map looks great. It's VERY unique, and seems like it would play very nicely. Nice work!!
Definitely a beautiful map, I especially enjoyed the tension cables and staircases, both look aesthetically pleasing. Will download and try out with friends.
i took a look at this in forge the last night and it looks amazing! i love the "uniqueness" of it. sweet map
This sums up my first impressions of the map. Btw, borderlands ftw. On topic: Looks very promising, I really do like the one way shield idea, not sure if there is enough weapons but seeing as I haven't actually looked at it in person I cant say for sure. Just gives me the impression its too big for that little weapons.
Thanks for the comments, guys. Glad it's gotten positive reviews so far. @pope: Thanks for the optimism. I've got my fingers crossed for forgetacular, but there's a lot of good stuff being submitted. @ Titmar: I haven't gotten a chance to play the map with 16 yet... I'm sure you know how tough it is to get a good 16 player party going right now. I would bet it can handle it, but definitely not with DMR starts, with the long corridors of sight. Happy Thanksgiving weekend everybody!
! Ok. The pics didn't really turn me on so I probably would not have downloaded this map, but your reputation preceeds you. Dled it on your name alone and of course.... awesomesauce! Played this as mainly Slayer and Slayer Pro over the weekend with teams of 5 and 7 and it was a major hit. The flow is perfect and really smart to partition the top level (man cannon roost). Another gem. MRX WHERE EAGLES DARE
This reminds me of the orange maps from Day of Defeat: Source I used to play for pc. Props for that. It looks super busy in the middle area, but I will dl to check it out. Reminds me of the simple orange maps I want to remake sooner or later! Nice looking map so far, I'll get back to you. EDIT: I looked at it today, and damn I am impressed. Lots of fun places to go! I am wondering if you intended for players to be able to land on the lower dish. There is an odd lip down there that a player without jet pack can get stuck on and can't get back out. Just thought I'd point it out. Also, seems like there arn't really many weapons here... is that intentional?
@ManrayX: Thanks. Glad my reputation is good for something. lol. And glad you thought it played well. That's what I was shooting for. @Slamm: Glad you liked it, too. And yeah, that dish is mostly there for the little rocket platform. I think of it like the under-bridge on Narrows. As for the weapons, yeah, that's intentional. I was shooting for a little more competitive feel with this map, so I used the power weapons to flesh out points of interest and made sure there was lots of access to DMR's/NR's. Nobody every picks up the needlers... but they're really quite useful. Also, Spirit looks beautiful.
Rock on, Rick. I am not as familiar with competitive weapon sets, but I'm sure these will work fine. I did notice the abundance of needlers, and I am happy with that! It's a very underrated weapon. I think it took Elite slayer to get people at large to use the needler, but I'm glad it is on your map. And thanks for the kind words on Spirit, it means a lot! I did catch the narrows influence, and I think it's a cool idea for maps. I've been seeing narrows all over the place lately!
What's this, another finely crafted map from The Map Pooper himself? Madness!! DMR starts would definitely seem like the most appropriate way to play any gametype. Running around with an AR just seemed futile in the test games I was in on. Not to knock the map, though; I think this is a wonderful addition to your already lengthy resume of quality forged maps. Anyone who DL's this and plays on it will not be let down in the slightest. I expect nothing but the best from you, and this map certainly doesn't disappoint. Good luck on the contest, sir!
I saw that a post by you in another thread, noticed you were a 4 star and decided to give your signature a look... This map looked stunning to me! I had brushed it off initially (shamefully) some good time ago as the name didn't make it out to sound like anything special... Poor logic there, but I lost out on that there as I cut myself short from enjoying a solid map. That all being said, this really shouldn't be so far off in the distance buried by all the rubbish here. Hope it stays on the front page for awhile now.
This map deserves more fame than it has right now. Map layout is awesome. I haven't played it yet but I agree with Schnitzel, it is stunning. Though there is some bare parts in the map (from looking at the pictures). I want to play this bad but sadly I has RRoD. Ill edit this post when im done.
Thanks, guy. I appreciate the comments. I'm a big fan of this one myself (I think it's my best one). Anybody gotten a chance to play this one yet? Particularly slayer? If so, any thoughts on the rocket launcher down bottom being a decent counter for those shotgun camping the top? Slowly working on something new...
Can't wait for the new project, though I have one slight grief about invasion slayer on this one. Scorpians spawn. Other than that it played really well at my TGIF party.
Yeah, only works for custom invasion slayer games, I guess (no 3rd round). I had heard you could choose which vehicles spawn in inv slayer, but never figured out how to do it or read anything other than rumors. Is it possible? My quick searches suggest not.
I wish it were so. It sure was a surprise though, when that Banshee spawned in the bottom, or when the Scorpion spawned on the seaside wall It made for a good TGIF moment.