Invasion: Conceptualization

I'm a member of the Halo Wheelmen site, and I believe one of the members of that site, HWM Sarge, has put together an excellent theory on Invasion maps. I agree with him on many points and believe that this theory could be put to use to make some amazing Invasion maps. Original thread here. I made a few additions in [ brackets ] so you all know what he's talking about.

EDIT 5/8/11: Part 4 has been released, so it has also been added to this post.

Without further ado, here's Sarge's Conceptualization:
________________________________________________________________________

Part 1: Conceptualization

Okay. I've been shown a lot of custom invasion maps since we got Reach. I have liked none of them, for various reasons. So that you all can understand how I think about Invasion, this will probably help you all know whether or not I will like your map before you ask me about it. I don't like telling people that I don't like their maps. I know how it feels to put a lot of work into something, just to have people tear it apart. It happens to me a lot when we discuss strategies. I just think a lot of the people forging Invasion maps lose the essence of Invasion that makes it so awesome that it needs its own playlist. I will try to lay them out here.

NOTE: This only applies to people trying to build maps for actual Invasion. Maps, such as Haut's [La Tour], use Invasion to create an entirely new style of gametype and does not apply. You're more than welcome to disagree with me, but this is how I feel about Invasion based on my own love of the playlist.

Points to Invasion Awesomeness

1. Spartans vs. Elites
2. Story and Theme
3. 12 Players; 6 pairs
4. Expansion, not Progression
5. Weapon and Vehicle Practicality

1. Spartans vs. Elites

Spoiler

If your map fails to maintain the Spartans vs. Elites theme, then IMO it is not an Invasion map.

This one here is definitely the one that gets to me the most when I play custom Invasion maps. Invasion is a gametype about Spartans and Elites fighting each other in some sort of assault or slayer-style gametype. That being said, Elites should not spawn and get a Warthog. It immediately kills the Invasion feel for me. Yes, I love Warthogs to death, and I will steal the Spartan Warthog any day in an Invasion game and drive a Road Rage against them, and then listen to them rage in post-game. However, the idea of Invasion is for these two species to go toe-to-toe with each other. The Elites should not have human vehicles or weaponry on their side of them map. Yes, they can steal them, but they should not be spawning with them.

Boneyard: Elites pick up needle rifles at tier 1; Spartans pick up DMRs. At Tier 2, Elites get a focus rifle and a plasma launcher that the Spartans can steal; Spartans get laser, rockets, sniper, and shotgun in the refinery. Also, Elties get a Wraith and a Ghost; Spartans get a hog. Tier 3: Elites get a banshee, and another plasma launcher and focus rifle; Spartans get a Scorpion.

Spire: Elites get Needle rifles at Tier 1. Spartans get a sniper, rockets, shotgun, and a hog at tier 2; Elites get a plasma launcher and focus rifle. Tier 3: Spartans get a Falcon; Elites get a Banshee.

In both of these gametypes, The Elites get Covenant weaponry, and the Spartans get human weaponry. This is IMO the most important aspect of Invasion that gets lost on a lot of the Invasion maps I've played.

2. Story and Theme

Spoiler

I think the biggest thing people who forge invasion need to do is come up with a story and mission first.

I originally had this point first, but I decided that the Spartans vs. Elites point had to come before this to segue properly.

Invasion's true awesomeness to me is that I feel like I'm in a sort of campaign-style mission in matchmaking. Both Invasion maps play out a story.

Boneyard: The Elites must take a core containing valuable information from the Spartans. The Spartans set up a forward position in a shipyard to create a large shield that the elites must take down. Once the shield is down, the Spartans must fall back to the refinery, where they have Warthog waiting to help hold off the Elites, as well as some powerful weapons. The Elites deploy their power weapons, and launch their Wraith and Ghost. They must now take down the shields protecting the core. Once the core is down, the Elites push into the refinery to take it out to a waiting Phantom, but the Spartans have finally gotten their Scorpion up. However, the Elites have brought some air support.

Spire: The Spartans must take a core containing valuable information from the Elites. The Elites set up a forward position in a rock field to create a large shield that the elites must take down. Once the shield is down, the Elites must fall back to the Spire, where they have some powerful weapons. The Spartans deploy their power weapons, and launch their Warthog. They must now take down the shields protecting the core. Once the core is down, the Spartans lift into the Spire to take it out to a waiting Pelican, but the Elites have finally gotten their Banshee up. However, the Spartans have brought some air support as well.

Notice how the story for both Spire and Boneyard is essentially the same. This is what makes Invasion awesome, and what makes it different from the rest of Reach multiplayer. My biggest problem with all of the Invasion maps I've played is that they don't flow well, and I don't feel like I'm part of the story of the gametype. In both Spire and Boneyard, the goal is to get the core, but we have to take down shields twice before we can reach it.

3. 12 players; 6 pairs

Spoiler

I think 3 pairs per team is optimal for Invasion.

In continuation with the idea of Invasion having a story. I think the battle buddy relationship is also an important part of the gametype that I don't see reflected in most custom Invasion maps. Notice that on Spire and Boneyard, none of the pairs have line of sight on each other when they spawn. You spawn with one other person, your battle buddy. You also don't have waypoints for everyone else, so you have to rely on communication instead of "my X." I love how in Invasion I feel like it's me and my buddy trying to get our job done as part of a larger unit, instead of me herpin and derpin by myself.

That being said, I think the fact that their are 3 pairs is another important aspect of Invasion. I originally thought that it didn't make sense for such a large gametype as Invasion to not incorporate the 16 players like BTB does. However, you have to go back to the fact that it's 3 units working together toward a larger goal. With their being an odd number of pairs, a big part of Invasion is determining where you want to push heavy. If you had 4 pairs, you could always break up 4 and 4, and then every Invasion game would stagnate if the teams were even. A huge part of the strategy of Invasion is confusing the enemy so that you have a numbers advantage on one side of the map to take the territory.

Also, with there only being six of you, you feel like you HAVE to do more, because there aren't enough of you to just spread out. It makes the gametype harder, and that much more fun because it feels like you're doing so much more.

4. Expansion, not Progression

Spoiler

Tier 1 should not disappear after it ends.

This is definitely my most controversial point, and the one I expect to get the most fire for. I don't like how a lot of custom invasion maps invalidate Tier 1 after it ends. Yes, I am aware that tiers 2 and 3 of Boneyard and Spire essentially take place in the same area, as the spawns don't change from tier 2 to 3. However, the offensive vehicles always spawn at the tier 1 spawns. Tier 1 becomes the path that your vehicles have to come from for you to use.

I'll try to explain my logic about that now.

Back to the point about Invasion having a story and being a mission. The attackers drop in one area, and assault a forward position. After they take the forward position, they deploy their power weapons for the next stage. They also get some reinforcements in vehicles. A Phantom or Falcon has to drop a vehicle into a battle. You never see them dropping vehicles in the middle of hot zones. They drop them back to allow the vehicles to push forward.

Moving beyond the story portion, it just makes the map feel disjointed and disconnected to me when tier 1 becomes pointless. When I play Boneyard and Spire, I feel like the map is expanding outward and becoming larger, not that I'm moving into an entirely new map. I know that in a practical sense, we're moving into a new map at each tier, but I think the thing about Invasion is the illusion that you're still fighting in the same battlefield.

5. Weapon and Vehicle Practicality

Spoiler

Do not overload your map with vehicles and don't throw down random power weapons.

Now, we get to point out some ridiculous things in custom Invasion maps. I don't know where people got the idea from, but it seems like a lot of people feel that Invasion should be a Pineapple [explicative] of vehicles. If you want that, go play Hemorrhage and Paradiso. You only have 6 people in Invasion, and it's an objective gametype. You can't afford to put everyone in a vehicle. I've seen a lot of maps start with lots of vehicles and power weapons in Tier 1. That, to me, makes no sense.

Harping on the story bit again, you'll notice a Phantom or Pelican hovering above the starting spawns in Tier 1. That is to give the illusion of troops being dropped into a battle zone. There's no way you would just drop someone with power weapons into a situation like that and expect them to perform. That's why we start without ranged loadouts in tier 1. Then, as we progress along the mission, we get access to the bigger toys we brought with us.

Along with that, keep to the campaign mindset. When you're playing campaign, they usually drop of one Warthog for you, or one tank for you. They don't drop tanks, gooses, and hogs all together. It makes sense that you only get 1 or 2 vehicles to use on your side.

I don't want to go on and on about the loadouts too much, but I think the Bungie loadouts for Invasion work. You'll notice that Boneyard and Spire have the same set of loadouts at each tier, and I think they are very well-balanced for Invasion. Moreover, if you want to build an Invasion map for matchmaking, you should probably stick to the loadouts Bungie uses.

More on weapon and vehicle practicality, you need to pick vehicles that make sense.

Boneyard is a good example of this. At tier 2, the Elites get a very fast, but light Ghost, and a tank. The Spartans only get a two-man light vehicle. This seems unfair. However, the Spartans get a laser and a sniper rifle AND rockets. I don't think I need to say more there. Also, the Elites have to come from a long way to get to the Refinery from their tier 2 spawns. They need a heavy vehicle to anchor themselves with for tier 2. As for Tier 3, the Spartans get the OP Scorpion, while the elites do get some air support in the Banshee. The Scorpion can one-shot the banshee, which I think balances them, since the Elites can't kill a tank in one shot with any of their weapons and vehicles. There is some serious weapon imbalance IMO on Boneyard though. Sniper > Focus Rifle. Laser > Plasma Launcher. Shotgun > any elite loadout. Rockets > everything.

Now, let's look at Spire. Elites don't get a vehicle until tier 3, but honestly, the tier 2 Warthog is not that effective against a smart team of elites, since they'll just PP [plasma pistol] it, and stick it. Then, the Spartans get a Falcon, which requires 2-3 people to use (a third or half their team), while the Elites get a Banshee (a single-man destructive force). You also have some proper weapon balance in Spire. Rockets and plasma launcher are about equal. Rockets can be used close quarters easier, but the counter is that Plasma Launcher is easier to kill vehicles with. Sniper > Focus Rifle, but the nature of the map allows the Focus Rifle to be more useful.

On another note, there should be no neutral weapons in Invasion. I know the tier 2 offensive weapons feel neutral, but they really aren't. Some of the maps I've seen have had neutral concussion rifles, grenade launchers, etc. Keep to the story. Why would anyone have weapons laying around for the enemy to steal? They brought their weapons with them. If the enemy steals it, then they killed the person who brought it.

Conclusion

Now, I'll list my points again for good measure. My concept of a proper invasion map:

1. Spartans vs. Elites
2. Story and Theme
3. 12 Players; 6 pairs
4. Expansion, not Progression
5. Weapon and Vehicle Practicality

Invasion is a Spartans vs. Elites assault-style gametype in which the offensive team is trying to steal a core from the defensive side. However, the offensive guys must lower two shield barriers before they can reach the core. As they lower a shield barrier, they deploy new weapons and vehicles to help them. The sides break up into fireteams of 2 that each must handle part of the assault or defense without direct knowledge of their other 4 squadmate locations. Moreover, they fight the entire battle on one map, not 3 different ones, and they don't have access to every single vehicle and weapon that their armies can muster.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2: Map Design

There are a number of common issues I have in Invasion maps even if they meet a lot of the basic elements of Invasion. Some of these I think only occur to players like me who have played 1300+ games of this stuff.

1. Spawn Placement
2. Weapon and Vehicle Placement/Balance
3. Lateral movement
4. Elevation
5. Pathways

1. Spawn Placement

Spoiler

I've found that most maps do not have useful spawn placement. There are a few things I think players should be able to do from their spawns in Invasion:

• Check for weapon and vehicle spawns
• Look around to assess part of the map
• Quickly get back into the fight

Invasion allows players to check for power weapons from the respawn screen to make decisions. On Boneyard, Spire, and Breakpoint, you can check if your weapons are up when you're spawning. You have the option to spawn on your teammates, and typically 1 or 2 other spawns to check. On Boneyard, one spawn can check for all Spartan power weapons while all can check for hog/tank. Elites can all check for their vehicles, but two can check for the Focus Rifle/Plasma Launcher spawns. On Spire, three different spartan spawns can check for Rockets, Sniper,and Shotgun respectively; and all 3 can check for hog/falcon. For Elites, they can check for focus rifle, plasma launcher, and banshee from their spawns. On Breakpoint, one Spartan spawn has access to sniper, laser, and rockets, while the other two have access to rockets (note: rockets and laser spawn Tier 3). One Spartan spawn is stuck in Vehicle bay, but everyone can spawn there. My point is that in Invasion, you don't have to spawn and then walk around to look for weapons, they're typically visible from your respawn screen, so you can choose to spawn for weapons, or spawn on your bro.

Players can also assess the map from their spawn. One thing Invasion spawns allow is for players to move the camera around to see what's going on around the map. The view isn't always perfect, but it gives players a chance to assess what's going on so they can make plans before they spawn. One thing I've seen on a lot of maps is a great deal of cover shielding the spawns. This essentially means the players spawn blind to what's going on. For a few examples. The Rocket spawn on spire can see the area near the sniper spawn, the ring of the spire, and the banshee spawn. The Sniper spawn can look around the road, and the ring. The shotgun spawn can see the banshee spawn and the ring of the spire, as well as the Elite high trail spawn. On Boneyard, the Vehicle Bay spawn can assess the area around Bravo. All the Elite spawns in the ship can assess the outside of the refinery. This applies to all tiers, but in Invasion, you typically can assess the area as you spawn. I suggest playing Invasion and looking around the respawn areas to get a feel for how this works on all the maps.

Lastly, respawn areas should allow players to quickly get back into the fight. Now that the player has assessed their weapons and the general happenings around the map, they will want to be able to get involved again quickly. Some of the Invasion maps I play on are so large that it takes up to 20 seconds to get back into the fight. On Spire and Boneyard, as well as Breakpoint, I can spawn with a DMR/NR and start shooting almost immediately. I can also sprint or evade around to get back into the Objective quickly.

2. Weapon and Vehicle Placement/Balance

Spoiler

I covered this twice already, but I'm just going to make a point about weapon and vehicle placement quickly. Weapons should be visible from the respawn camera. At most, each side should get 3 appropriate vehicles.

Invasion power weapons require a lot of careful balance. I used to think that a fuel rod would help balance Boneyard, but in reality it would make the Elites OP, or make the Spartans even more powerful. I don't think power weapons should be a requirement for players to win the game, but I do think they should help tip the scales in a team's favor.

I personally consider the mongoose and revenant to be inappropriate vehicles for Invasion. I think Invasion is a footsoldier's gametype primarily, but vehicles are essential to the gameplay. It's an objective gametype, and you cannot win it in vehicles only. That said, the mongoose should never be on an Invasion map IMO. It has no offensive capabilities on its own, and can only be used for transport. People may bash the Ghost as a glorified mongoose, but it can easily splatter, and its guns can quickly take out shields. The Revenant is too fast and powerful imo. The Revenant is a powerful vehicle without a passenger, but a headshotting passenger can make the Revenant extremely powerful. In addition, the Revenant's turret can weaken players quickly, and at the very least force them to hide. It's also extremely fast and durable. It can obliterate a Warthog. I think the Revenant is an extremely powerful vehicle that does not work well for Invasion balance.

3. Lateral Movement

Spoiler

One aspect of Invasion that I don't see in a lot of forged maps is the ability to move laterally across the map. I treat Invasion like a pseudo-3v3 gametype. It's 3 pairs vs. 3 pairs. That being said, one of the huge strategy points is overwhelming one side of the map. This is most visible on Boneyard and Spire, but it applies to breakpoint as well. Attackers and defenders have to account for two extremes: right and left. In many Invasion maps, I find myself being funneled through easily controlled pathways, and cannot outsmart the enemy team by switching my attack to the far left or right.

In Invasion, I treat the middle spawn as the most crucial to victory, because they can flip the number of defenders or attackers on either side. The decisions of the middle team are critical to victory. I believe the maps need to allow the middle team to switch from right or left (especially tier 1) to tip the balance of the map.

Simply put: I think many forged maps have been too thin and and don't allow tactical shifts to the left or right.

4. Elevation

Spoiler

The complex and annoying issue I've seen on the maps is issues with Elevation. On Boneyard and Spire, the defenders have the elevation, but that elevation flattens out near the territories. On Breakpoint, the attackers have the elevation until they come down to take the territory. Some maps are too vertical in my opinion. One other aspect of this elevation is that it only allows an advantage at certain ranges. I think that while one side can have a height advantage, it should only be temporary, and should not apply to the area around the territories themselves.

On Boneyard, the Spartans can shoot down on the Elites, but the Elites can fight on level ground in the territory. On Spire, the Elites get the height advantage with the rocks, but they lose this when the Spartans move to their level near the territories.

5. Pathways

Spoiler

I saved this one for last because it's probably the one with the most problems. I have found that there aren't a lot of paths available on some of the forged maps.

Tier 1: On Boneyard, there are 5 stairwells the Elites can come up to get into the ship. There is also a lot of available cover on the ground for them to use to get to these stairwells. On Spire, there are 3 paths around the cliff cave, a number of paths in the Junkyard area, and two paths along the pipes. Breakpoint seems open, but there are a number of snow piles the Elites can use to move around to fight near the territories, and the available cover near the territories allows for a lot of creative fighting.

Tier 2/3: On Boneyard, the Wraith has 2 paths it can follow to get into the fight, and both of those branch off once it passes the ship. The Elites can come over the conveyor belt or through the Junkyard. On Spire, the Spartans have 3 paths with multiple branches. On Breakpoint, there are about 4 ways to get to the hub area.

The biggest point on pathways is that there should be more paths than the defenders can conceivably plug with grenades or team fire.

Conclusion

So, for Invasion Map Design, forgers need to remember to place the spawns in such a way that players can use them to assess the map and weapons, weapons and vehicles need to be appropriate, maps should allow for lateral movement without giving one team a constant height advantage, and attackers need multiple pathways available to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 3: The 3-by-3 Theory

Something else I've been working on for a while now is what I call the 3-by-3 Theory when it comes to Invasion map design.

Basically, I believe that Invasion maps are divided horizontally into a right, left, and middle area. Then, the maps are divided vertically into three phases: leaving spawn, taking a forward position, and taking the territory.



Horizontal Division

Spoiler

Players in Invasion often make callouts such as, "Right team headed left," or "Mid team going right," or "Left team coming left with mid team." These callouts work because players intuitively grasp the three general areas of the map. As such, this appears on all the maps in tier 1 easily.

Take Spire for example, as a Spartan, the cliff team on the left usually pushes through or around the cave, or up the cave to attack Bravo, unless they want to overload one side of the map. The middle team of Spartans generally pushes up through the Junkyard area where there area lot of rocks and discarded construction pieces, unless they want to help overload Bravo or Alpha. The right team that spawns by the waterfall usually pushes up the Mountain Road or through the Pipes to attack alpha. Conversely, the teams of Elites usually try to stop their Spartan counterparts from pushing up. The Elites spawning above bravo behind the shield doors generally set up to prevent people from coming through the caves to Bravo. The middle team of Elites usually keeps people from coming up the Junkyard and Middle Road. The Alpha spawning elites generally control the area around Alpha and the Pipes. This is naturally designed into the map, and many players can callout accordingly without any special coordination

This also appears on Boneyard. The cliff team of Elites generally pushes right and attempts to take Alpha, but has the option to run all the way to the right to attack Bravo (though this takes longer). The Middle team of Elites spawns in a position to head to Bravo or Alpha equally. The bridge-spawning elites generally spawn in a position to keep attacking Bravo, though they can sneak under the ship to attack Alpha. On the Spartan side, the lobby-spawning elites spawn in a position to defend Bravo. The Middle spawn gets DMRs to help suppress Elites, and support Bravo or Alpha at range. The Alpha spawning spartans spawn in a good position to defend Alpha.

Lastly, Breakpoint has this as well, though it isn't as immediately apparent as Spire or Boneyard. The right-spawning Elites spawn in a direct line to attack Bravo. The middle-spawning elites get the needle rifle to help assist in a Bravo or Alpha push. The left-spawning elites spawn in a direct line to attack Alpha. One team of Spartans spawns below the Bravo ledge in a position to defend Bravo. The middle spawning Spartans spawn next to the stair to grab the DMRs and support the right and left sides of the map. The third spartan team spawns below the Alpha ledge in a position to defend Alpha.

For tier 2 and 3, each team also spawns in a location that generally helps guide where they should defend as well, but I won't expound on those further at this moment.

The point here is that the map has three sections horizontally that all players with some Invasion experience can see: right, middle, and left. As such, each fireteam spawns in such a way to easily attack or push right, middle, and left. The very nature of Invasion map design gives players an objective out of their spawn.

However, the maps also encourage pushing up and spawning battle buddies.

Vertical Division

Spoiler

Not only are Invasion maps divided horizontally for easy distinctions of play areas on a large map to give players easy objectives to follow, the maps are also broken up into what I call three "phases" of advancing: leaving the spawn, taking a forward position, and pushing the territory.

The first phase is leaving the spawn. This can prove troublesome for certain spawns on some of the maps. On Boneyard, the first objective of Elites is to leave their spawn, grab their needle rifles, and push on to the ship. On Spire, the Spartans must leave their spawn and get to the cave, junkyard, or pipes. On Breakpoint, the elites must leave their spawn and take control of the Alpha ledge, Bravo Ledge, and/or middle rocks. This leads into phase two.

Phase two is all about controlling the neutral ground. The attackers must take a forward position that they can spawn in. At high-level Invasion, most of the fighting occurs in what I call "phase two areas." On Boneyard, the stairs, lobby, and Ambush are all phase two areas. These are areas that the elites can spawn in to keep pushing the territories without having to spawn all the way back at the start. On Spire, the cave, junkyard, and pipes are phase two areas the Spartans try to control to keep spawning near the territories. On Breakpoint, the Alpha and Bravo ledges as well as the area in front of the research station are phase two areas elites try to control to keep attacking the territories. These areas are typically neutral, and in many cases, the defenders also push toward these areas to prevent the attackers from getting into the territories. This is why phase two is the most important aspect of Invasion.

Phase two's importance derives from the Invasion spawning system. The key component of Invasion after the Spartans vs. Elites aspect is the spawning system. Because "spawning your bro" is so critical to Invasion, phase two becomes crucial. If the attackers get repelled, often the supporting slayers will try to run and stay alive to spawn their buddy close to the territory so they can keep attacking before the defenders set back up. It also saves a lot of time in a short, 4-minute gametype. Thus, Invasion maps need to incorporate the advancing aspect of Invasion that encourages both sides to fight over neutral ground so the attackers can spawn their buddies close, and the defenders can try to prevent this, so that the attackers don't reach phase three.

Phase three, the last one, is the actual push or taking of the territory. On Boneyard, Elites attacking Bravo will push from the lobby once they've established a safe forward position; on the Alpha side, they push from the Alpha stairs or behind from Ambush. On Spire, the Spartans push out from the cave, pipes, or Junkyard once they break the elite setup. On Breakpoint, they push down from the ledges into the territories when they make a hole. Of all the phases, phase three is the most intense because it turns into an all-out brawl for control of the territories. Thus far, phase one fought at long rage; phase two combined close, mid, and long range; and phase three combines close and mid range fighting. Attackers can spawn their buddies in phase three areas, but it is extremely difficult. Phase three is like the last stand for the defenders. If they haven't been able to prevent the attackers from pushing up, they have to fight for their lives to prevent them from taking the objective.

Thus, Invasion becomes enjoyable in this aspect. Players must advance and try to strategically spawn their buddies to keep up the offensive or defend against it. The maps end up with three phases of advancement as such: leaving the spawn, taking a forward position, and pushing on to the territory.

Conclusion

This is the 3x3 theory as I see it. I say theory because I don't consider it a law or set of rules to Invasion. This is just what I've seen as a team captain for the HaloWheelmen (HWM) Invasion team and as a Halo tactician. The Invasion maps appear to be divided horizontally into left, right, and middle areas that the corresponding spawns attack and defend; and the maps appear to be divided vertically into three phases of advancement: leaving the spawn, taking a forward position to spawn buddies, and advancing to the territories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 4: Objectives and Tier 2/3

Objective Placement

Spoiler

Often times on custom Invasion maps, forgers place the territories extremely far apart, but allow players to shoot across map to both sides, which is counter to the normal maps. Invasion objectives are relatively close to each other. In addition, the two territories never have line of sight on each other.

Usually, objectives are about one sprint's distance from each other on Spartan defense maps, and just over two evade's distance on Elite defense maps. This translates across tiers on all of the maps. On Tier 1 Boneyard, Bravo and Alpha are just under one sprint's apart from each other. On Tier 2 Boneyard, the territories are just over one sprint's distance from each other. Tier 1 Breakpoint's territories are just over one sprint's distance from each other. The tier 2 Breakpoint territories are almost exactly one sprint's distance from each other. For Spire, the Tier 1 territories are slightly more than one sprint's distance from each other, and the Tier 2 ones are just about one sprint's distance from each other. This distance helps ensure that the defenders can properly assist on both sides. It also keeps the map from being too large for attackers to assist each other as well. If the territories were too far apart, the Alpha team would never be able to receive help from the middle team if they had recently gone over to Bravo to help that side.

Thus, the distance between territories allows the middle team to effective attack and defend either Alpha or Bravo while still making pushes on either side effective.

In addition to this sprint-distance between territories, Alpha and Bravo never have line of sight on each other. On Boneyard, the tier 1 the generators themselves block line of sight on each territory, and the walls of the refinery block the tier 2 territories. For Spire, the cave separate Alpha and Bravo at tier 1, and the Spire itself block Alpha and Bravo from seeing each other. Breakpoint Tier 1's territories stay separated by the research station and the Retrieval at Tier 2. Because the territories don't have line of sight on each other, there's a clear distinction between Alpha and Bravo defense. A team must make sure it has people covering Alpha and Bravo. Someone at Bravo cannot sit with a pistol, DMR, or Needle Rifle and shoot across to the other territory and clear it.

Thus, the separation of the two territories forces defenders to watch both sides of the map and allows the attackers to successfully mount assaults on the weak points in defensive setups.

Tier 2/3

Spoiler

Each Invasion map has a central defensive base that the attackers push which serves as the focal point of the map. In addition, Tier 2 and 3 play in same playing space, but it's used differently at each tier.

NOTE: The 3x3 theory does apply to all the maps at Tiers 1 and 2, and tier 3 to a lesser extent.

For Boneyard, Spire, and Breakpoint, there is a central focus for the map at tiers 2 and 3. On Boneyard, it's the refinery. Spartans spawning there intuitively know that they should defend the refinery. The Spire itself is visible on the Spartan loadout cam, and Elites spawning know that they should focus on defending this building. For Breakpoint, it's clear that the Retrieval is the focus point for offensive/defensive action. For tiers 2 and 3, the Refinery, Spire, and Retrieval are the focus points of the map. These large structures also serve as viable defensive locations.

When playing Invasion, consider actual military tactics. Think of the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War II. Allied forces landed on a beachhead, assaulted German defensive positions, and then pushed into the mainland, eventually retaking the city of France. Invasion works similarly, but on a smaller scale. The defenders are trying to prevent the capture of the core, which is housed deep inside a well-defended position. Military planners would never leave a valuable asset in vulnerable positions. The Refinery is an excellent place to defend from, as are the Spire and Retrieval. Invasion maps need to focus on the Invasion of a central building.

Now, moving on to tier 2 and 3 integration:

In Invasion after Tier 1, players move into pretty much the total playing space of the map. Tier 2 and 3 are not so different that players require new spawns at tier 3. For the most part, the only major addition to the Invasion maps at tier 3 is a capture point. However, Tier 2 and 3 execution is different from each map, and I can't simply create a broad theory like the 3x3 theory to cover the construction of each map, so I must talk about them separately.

Boneyard: After tier 1 ends, players have full access to the map. Players can move about all of the areas of the Refinery and can even walk out to the capture point. The only thing different about the map from tier 2 to 3 is the addition of a Scorpion and a Banshee, and a Phantom lands near the capture point. The difference in play in the map involves the changeover of objectives and the new focuses of the map.

At Tier 2, Elites focus their efforts on the outside of the Refinery primarily. At Tier 3, after they manage to get the core outside, the area near the capture point becomes heavily significant. Boneyard uses the same playing space twice, but changes the focus of the map. Tier 2 involves a lot of combat outside around Bravo, or over the conveyor belt near alpha. At Tier 3, the heavy fighting initially starts inside the Refiney, but then transfers outside. The play of the map changes because the gametype switches from two territories to capture the core; a change from 2 areas, to one object. Now, instead of preventing Elites from staying within an area for a certain amount of times, the Spartans must prevent them from bringing an object to another area.

Thus, one can argue that the capture zone is a tier 3 addition to the map. I will concede to that point. However, this capture zone is visible and accessible at tier 2 and 3. It isn't necessarily important at tier 2, but it is still there.

Breakpoint: Similarly on Breakpoint, the map is completely open on Tier 2, except for a small room that the core is in beneath the Retrieval. Once again, the change in the map's gameplay results from the new weapons and vehicles as well as the change from 2 different objective locations to one moving objective. During Tier 2, the bridge mostly serves as a vehicle path for the Wraith and Ghost. However, the addition of the capture point makes the bridge a vital path for the core at Tier 3.

Spire: Spire is the only minor exception to this rule. Spire is the only Invasion map that adds a significant playing space at Tier 3, albeit small. However, like Boneyard, it's about the focus of the map. For Boneyard and Spire, Tier 2's focus lies in the capture of the territories primarily on the outer portions of the defensive base. Then, at Tier 3, players move deeper into the base to defend the core. Other than the addition of the top portion of the Spire to pull the core, players still move about in the same space for Tier 2 and 3.


Because the playing space does not change drastically from tier 2 to 3, players do not need new spawns. Moreover, Tier 3 is the most hectic of the phases, with 5 different loadouts as well as the addition of stronger weapons and vehicles. Players should not have to learn a new playing space at tier 3.

The Capture Point

The capture point itself is in what I consider neutral territory, leaning towards the attackers. It is usually in a side area added with Tier 2. On Boneyard, it's off to the left for the attackers; on Breakpoint, it's near the bridge to the left of the attackers' spawns; on Spire, it's off to the left of the Spire. Both teams fight for control of the area around the capture point. No team should be given easily attainable control out of spawn for the area around the capture point.

Invasion Assault (Bomb)

Spoiler

Assault is a difficult gametype in any playlist. The attacking team is always down one person. Invasion Breakpoint creates balance on the map's tier 2 assault gametype with the weapon and vehicle set. Because the Elites are down a player moving the bomb, they have a Wraith to power slay for them. The Spartans only have a Warthog and Sniper to combat the Wraith, but they also spawn with DMRs and can pick up plasma pistols. The Wraith isn't invincible, but it is extremely powerful. The Wraith's dominance compensates for the bomb carriers non-combative nature. In addition, the Tier 2 loadouts prevent campers. There are no shotguns or swords to dominate CQC on Breakpoint tier 2.

Essentially, assault requires that the attacking team have enough firepower to compensate for the one player carrying the bomb who cannot fight.

Conclusion

The territories in Invasion are generally around one sprint's distance from each other. Invasion Tiers 2 and 3 are played in the same playing space; the playing space does not change dramatically enough to require new spawns at Tier 3. Each Invasion map has a central base for Tier 2 and 3. Lastly, Assault works best at Tier 2 and requires that the attacking team have enough firepower to compensate for being down one teammate.

________________________________________________________________________

I know it's weird to have a newbie come in and just post something like this, but I think that the sooner that great ideas like these are released to the world, the sooner that great maps are created. Thanks for reading, and I hope some of these points helped you if you are or will be making an Invasion map.

 

I'm glad that this has helped a few people already. While I agree with Neoshadow on the point that all Invasion games don't have to be like this (ones that deviate from a classic Halo Human-Covenant war), I think that those that wish to get into matchmaking— and thus embody the true Invasion experience Bungie intended— should be modeled off of this theory.

As for making my own theory, Nemihara, I don't know what I could contribute that has already been done. Invasion is my favorite playlist, and the regular playlists probably are covered in general Forging guides. If anything, I might take a look at Big Team Battle. With the examples Bungie has given in Hemorrhage and Paradiso, there might be some misconceptions on how to make an at least decent BTB map. Thanks for supporting the newbie. :thumbsup

 

Sarge has recently posted a follow-up to his conceptualization, this time about map design. I have edited my original post to include this information; link to Sarge's post here.

 

"Part 3: The 3 by 3 Theory" has been released, so it as also been added to the OP. In my honest opinion, I think the 3x3 theory combined with much of Part 2 is an easy recipe for how to set up the basic map geometry in Invasion.

Hope this all helps!

[br][/br]

---

Edited by merge:

---

Part 4 came out faster than expected. Topics of discussion include organization of objectives & Tiers 2 & 3.

One thing I'd like to clarify on the topic of Territory separation is that the territories should be roughly equal to 1 sprint or 2 evades away— separations significantly larger or smaller than this distance will either discourage movement between territories or turn the battle into a clusterluck, respectively.