Hello forgehub community. With the relative success of my first map submitted to these humble pages, I have now produced another which I have deemed worthy. With the current dearth of what I consider adequate big team multiplayer maps available in the competitive halo environment I have taken it upon myself to attempt to rectify this issue. Ragnarok, as you have probably realised, can be thought of as somewhat of a tribute to Valhalla, at least in certain apects, however with this map I have aimed to develop the concept further, expanding the bases and introducing a central focal point for both teams. The bases are now multi-tiered, housing weapons, one-way teleporters and the heli-pad for each respective team's Falcon. Each base also possesses a "garage" which houses the Warthogs and a rocket launcher, (necessary owing to the high number of vehicles on the map) Weapons at each base: DMR(x2) Shotgun Rocket Launcher Mounted Machinegun Vehicles at each base: Scorpion Falcon Warthog (x2) Mongoose (x2) With regards to the vehicles, for balance issues it is worth consideration that instead of a Scorpion both Warthogs could be replaced with a Rocket and Gauss variant respectively, this requires further contemplation. Around the outskirts of the map can be found two respective snipers, as well as a gravity hammer and needle rifle either side in opposite cave areas. The main difference between this concept and hemorrhage is the existance of the central area, which is little more than a platform housing 2 Plasma turrets as well as a single Spartan laser. I have always thought that the main weakness of the existing map is the lack of substantial structure within the centre of the map, it is essentially wasteland. The introduction of this platorm breaks up the vast empty space between each respective base and brings a new dimension to the gameplay. There is nothing revolutionary about Ragnarok, it is simply an attempt at improving the standard BTB game, and hopefully making it fun at the same time. Let me know what you think and please be as critical as necessary. Thank you for your time Dark Maltos
I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed with the design of the structures on this map. The bases certainly remind me of Valhalla, but are still unique. Overall, this map looks neat and well-created. The rocks strewn around the map seem to provide useful infantry cover. Also, I commend you for (as far as I can tell) not falling to the easy temptation of adding way too many weapons. The weapons you have selected seem satisfactory for a big team battle map (except the Spartan Laser). There are only a few minor issues which I can see here. First off, from your pictures it is difficult to tell because of only one picture of the middle, but the central structure might hold too much power. You might consider distributing the central power to either side of the middle rather than the middle building primarily. The fact that it is higher than the surrounding landscape provides enough power. Also, the Spartan Laser located in the middle undoubtedly breaks the vehicle combat (It's a vehicle insta-death machine). I strongly recommend you either change the Laser to something else or simply dispose of it altogether. Additionally, I must admit that I cannot understand the overabundance of mongooses found on large maps. Back in Halo 1 and 2 there were no mongooses and players were forced to traverse the battlefield much more often on foot. It is my opinion that mongooses will detract from this map's playability. I can see a few working... but you have two per base and then more in the middle. I recommend you cut the number of mongooses significantly. I know I spent longer describing the bad than the good, but please realize that this map's good far outweighs its bad. The design is terrific, the execution of the design is seemingly magnificent, and the gameplay, from my estimation, looks like it would be good but improvable. Great job on Ragnarok and I hope to see more maps from you in the future!
Oh, I'm glad you liked it. The splitting of the central platform is an interesting proposition. I do feel the spartan laser is a necessary introduction, particularly whilst the map has both scorpions and falcons in abundance. There are a lot of mongoose's (mongeese?) on this map. A ludicrous amount really, but I just felt that since the map was so expansive, easy access to low-key transport would lead to more fast-paced gameplay. I appreciate your contribution, and will carefully consider your recommendations
Mongooses are necessary for CTF rushes Each base needs 2 and a few extra on the map always make nice cover/explosion. My turn to review! The design of the bases is just wow, i went wow when i saw the picture and again when i saw them in forge, there are a few rough edges at the back ramps tho but thats about it. The only thing id like to point out is your weapon placements and vehicles Rocket launcher with 6 rockets is quite overpowering, even tho valhalla had a missile pod, this map is far more open and easier to guide the missiles. Falcons are a nice change to the map from banshees, but they have no cover or maneuverability, they'll be shot down instantly by the rockets who can travel in a straight line so i suggest banshees over falcons for this canyon. Most power weapons are close to the bases which is a good thing to avoid being over powered but also provides little control for them. Tanks are never a good idea in my opinion for BTB maps, Halo 3 only had tanks in heavy game types and it worked fine, i rather see a gauss hog then a tank on any BTB map. About the centre base, it gives the valhalla feeling, but people can still go into the cave/ledge and will sit there with a sniper to camp, its hard to do a proper remake of Valhalla in the current forge world canyon :/ Good map tho, very creative and artistic
Again, glad you liked it. I'm sort of in agreement with the Scorpion point, I was just trying to add a variety of different vehicles to the mix. As I have said in my introduction the use of both a Rocket and Gauss warthog variant in place of the scorpion and base warthogs would be an option in future redesigns. This would really suit the map, especially with the two "launch zones" in each base for the warthogs. The 6 shots in the rocket launchers are a mistake i will hold my hand up to. That is far too many, particularly with lock on enabled. The use of Falcons is one I am a big advocate of. I am a massive fan of vehicles requiring teamwork in order to best operate, and I think that the Falcon is a perfect example of this, providing balance and power. I feel that in some BTB games the Banshee can be too powerful, particularly with it's missiles and maneuverability. I was wondering what you would suggest with regard to the central platform? The concept of splitting it through the middle mentioned earlier is one that appeals, but how would you suggest better handing the sniper camp situation ?
Its hard to say, ive made 3 attempts myself so far to make a valhalla remake. Once with a hill in the middle, i decided it was not worthy and would probably cause mayor frame rate issues. Once with a crashed frigate in the middle that was open on both sides to go through, i'm still working on that one but id have to start from 0 again (kinda to lazy atm) And once by trying to build a bridge/wall in the middle, i never really got far on that concept because, like i said, its hard to make a good BTB map on this canyon. DMRs can scope half way across the map and a sniper can just play target practice from one side to the other. Splitting the structure is one option, personally id block of the ledge and mini cave for starters. Still i'm unsure what would be best.
Having taken onboard the above mentioned points of improvement I have refined my design, being unsure of the protocol on this forum, I have opted to change the link and subject title appropriately. The scorpion tank has been removed, and the warthogs replaced by the rocket and gauss variant for balance. I have also introduced a man-cannon, reminiscent of Valhalla (albeit with the moderate fall damage associated with Reach's new mechanics) The platform has been lowered, the spartan laser located atop the central column, accessable by jetpack. The rockets within each base have had the number of clips reduced, similarly the snipers capacity has also been reduced. The final introduction was that of the focus rifle in one of the introduced caves. This is a weapon of huge potential on this map, however with the large amount of natural cover available on the map it is prevented from being over powered. Let me know your thoughts, thank you for your time. Dark Maltos