MLG Amalgam

after 100++ games on this, my ***** still gets hard to it. keep up the good man my main man. by the way, i need games on this pronto.

 

Neither are 80 percent of the maps Bungie shipped with the game. This map outdoes all of those, easily. The gameplay is 5x better than any other map I've played in Reach. And I am confident it's going to win MLG's contest, if they truly go for gameplay. For Viridian seems to be the only competition.

Fiction is crap.
Serenity is meh.
Viridian is good.
and Amalgam is great.

So, not MM worthy? At Bungie's standards, as well as mine, yes it is.

/End of discussion.

 

Great map! played on it ages ago when there was a needle rifle(?) where I can now see a sniper has been placed, maybe it was gametype related. Anyway good solid map.

 

Cool will have to check out all of the other changes you made. Can't wait to play on it again ; I noticed that the play actually felt better on v3 after I did test it the paths are still excellent and mannuverable; added to this post because the last comment got an infraction for spam? and I didn't know if this would be marked as well with out the addition.

 

Ok, from the video:

1.) Did you seriously make that "window" in blue room because of the idoitic MLG guys that said that room is too campable? -.- I cannot believe you gave into that.

2.) This doesn't really matter, but why did you change the large walkway cover tower into braces?
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It looks way nicer than it did when I saw it last (No offence). Is this the "matchmaking version"? I kinda figure it is because you replaced the back wall in gold, but meh, just need to make sure.

Anyways, great job hope it gets into MLG and MM, your suuurree do want it, and deserve it, for that matter.

 

Get back on topic...this thread isn't about discussing other MLG maps but rather about this specific one.

This is your warning, any posts not pertaining to this specific map will be infracted.

 

Secret, while I know that you are a really amazing forger and you understand design and flow better than most, there is another aspect to forging that you neglect. Aesthetic conformity.

Just making all of your map flow together visually so that it feels better to play on makes the map work differently. Adding aesthetics doesn't make you a terrible person who could give a rats ass about gameplay, it allows you to change the players perception of the map while helping with orientation and emphasis on certain aspects.

I'm not saying build a giant statue of Zeus in the middle of your map, I'm suggesting that you keep a theme throughout your map. Doing that takes an amazing map and makes it perfect.

Gameplay AND aesthetics > Gameplay > Aesthetics.

Think about it, forge more like Fritz <3

 

Video of latest updates during a territories match.

YouTube - Amalgam - Halo Reach Forged Map

 

So yesterday, myself and 7 others got together and played around 30 community maps that were downloaded at random from users who werent staff or premium. This was one of them.

The map looks fairly good, and was visually more attractive than most we played. It didn't really wow anyone visually, and wasn't totally memorable in that aspect however. Still, it was one of the best.

The gameplay (Team Slayer/DMR starts/AA loadouts) was just okay. I didn't NOT enjoy myself, but I really sometimes forgot I was even playing your map. I was more focused on killing certain people than appreciating the map at all. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great. Maybe that was due to the armor abilities. Maybe it just was too fast-paced for 4v4. Maybe your jump pad was ineffective in-game. The hole you had to jump through was tiny, therefore you had to come to a complete stop and jump straight up. Horrible for mid-battle decision.

I don't really want a reply that is filled with "YOU DIDN'T PLAY THE RIGHT GAMETYPE!", because I can see you recommending MLG in here, yet, I downloaded this straight from our STANDARD COMPETITIVE forum, where you placed it. There is an entire section for MLG maps, and it wasn't there. Additionally, most MLG maps have "MLG _______" as the map name.

Overall, not bad, and I'd like to see what else you can do.

 

first of all, you're map isnt what you're making it out to be. its an uninspired remake. and making it out to be something better makes you look self absorbed . (which no one likes) second, your map does nothing to promote player movement. i played a game on it (against people ill admit are better than me.) and depending on where i spawned (top or bottom) i camped one spot with really open sightlines. i went 18-10 that game, and i barely moved. that is horrible for gameplay, you shouldnt go plus eight standing still the whole game, that leads to a dull experience. aside from that, you succeeded in creating another "basic" symmetrical experience that most people will forget about after they play it because there's nothing special about it. (gameplay or aesthetics).

 

Throwin, are you thinking of that really open map with the hole in the center and the 4 mancannons underneath it? Cause your critique seems more fit for that map. Especially the symmetrical comment, cause he is right, this map is not symmetrical.

 

It looks like you guys cleaned up your posts somewhat...but if you'd like to continue to discuss the possibility of certain maps (Including this one) getting into MM then I suggest you create a thread in the Halo Reach MLG board...

Keep in mind, comments on map threads are supposed to be directly about the map itself, this includes changes in updated versions, gameplay flaws, changes in weapon setups etc...and not about how you haven't got a game on this in forever or how you missed out on a test.

Once again...people who do not stay on track will be infracted.

 

I thought this was one of the more fun community maps to move around in that I've tried. While aesthetically, one might want a bit more coherence of parts that look better next to one-another or fit perfectly together, I feel the creator did an awesome job of creating interesting spaces to move through. The map's layout is easy enough to quickly understand, yet complex enough to support strategic gameplay.

 

Noooonononono. Good aesthetics are NOT pretty little things that you "add," but awesome things that are subtle and hard to detect without looking for them. And awesome aesthetics actually have a purpose in gameplay other than looks. Its not about pretty, its about clean. You have to use the pieces so that it looks natural and intended the way you build it, not forced and manipulated for the gameplay. Which is something that is still out of my reach (I focus more on making my maps fun and then hoping that the aesthetics and gameplay come with,) and something everyone needs to work on. Because quite frankly, very few people can do that well.

(Now that will sit in your brain and ferment, until one day it explodes into a monster and suddenly; revelation!)

And I def. wasn't exaggerating when I said that this map shows brilliant geometry. Other than snipe (which could have been redesigned since V1...?) there was little in this map that played weird. It just looked weird.

Stfu aesthetic ****!!!! >

 

I have to say I love the layout and how you made it flow vertically. It's got alot of previous halo relation built throughout it. A lot of Fun Schnitzel, Good Job!

 

Old member's review; just helping out

Synthesis​

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Synthesis, formally named Amalgam, has previously been a community favourite by winning Forge Hub Favorites a few months back. Considering Amalgam was previously built primarily for the MLG gametypes; The elite few who will gain the most satisfaction from the DMR duals that occur around Synthesis may often find themselves striving for a thirst of control and organisation amongst the chaos that reigns down. Synthesis has completed the challenge it was intended to do those many moons ago. Synthesis is reminiscent of an asymmetrical combination of both Halo 3 maps, Assembly and Guardian.

Although SecretSchnitzel says the inspiration was taken from Assembly, it's hard not to recognise the further influences taken from Guardian. With the colouring of Blue and Gold being similarly connected with jumps and leaving a tunnel below Blue that houses an MLG weapon in place of what would have been a shotgun. Further more, the connections to Guardian are even more evident by the "elbow" linking around to the base of a tower that overlooks the map. However, these are not all negative points. The active flow that is generated by these Guardian-esque features means that the gameplay is never stale and because of this, it is easy to understand why those MLG players find Synthesis so entertaining.

The ties to Assembly on the other hand may have hindered the map slightly. The central ring is definately a "no-go" zone as players are literally sitting ducks with a target permanently glued to their backs. However, it does offer the benefit of quickly advancing from side to side if players dare cross it. The only problem with the central region is the Jump-Pad located "Bottom-Mid". Since the map was released at the time of iTz_NeXn's Sequence, it appeared everyone had to include a Jump-Pad. Sadly, in this occurance the Jump-Pad only hinders gameplay and does not help it in the slightest.

In counter to this, without these specific Assembly features brought in and added over the top of the apparent Guardian remake, the map itself would not play as well as it does. The game movement is often at full swing and a friendly warning of "Campers Beware" could easily be displayed over the Tower to let them know that tents are not allowed here.

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Like all asymmetrical maps, Synthesis strives to quell the rebellious battle of balance. For the most part, Schnitzel has done well in keeping the map balanced. There are no obvious areas that have a clear advantage over the rest of the map. The lines of sight are often far but also restricted at the same time by other map geometry. This does well to promote the map flow and prevents players from camping certain areas which tended to happen much more in Halo 3's Guardian.

The weapon placement is somewhat acceptable. The sniper rifle spawn is not located in the best of places as it blends in a little too much with its environment. It is also located very close to the grenade launcher in the bottom of Blue, meaning players tend to flock to this area first to ensure all power weapons are acquired early on. The only counter placement of anything of interest is the Evade Armour Ability located just off center on a counter platform to Blue.

Finally, the contrast between the top levels and the bottom levels were a little too drastic. The map itself appears a little too cluttered on the underside and because of this all the action occurs above where the lines of sight are greater. Synthesis is definately a good attempt at bringing an asymmetrical environment to the pro circuit, but with a few flaws in the balance of the map, it's easy to understand why this was later dropped from consideration for the upcoming MLG season.

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Synthesis works very well for asymmetrical gametypes like King of the Hill and Oddball as well as having full support for MLG FFA Slayer and MLG Team Slayer. As a typical MLG map, Synthesis has been constructed for use within a team environment and from this the maps durability succeeds. The map cannot be escaped and it does not require a roof as jetpacks are not usable on the map itself.

The spawn system was slightly predictable as MLG maps often are, however, with this being a typical trait of an MLG map, it is not exactly a negative on behalf of the spawn system. In fact, it further promotes map control and utter dominance of opponents giving players that locked down adrenaline rush we all miss from MLG Narrows. The only fault found in the spawn system was that the map started to struggle with MLG FFA when exceeding six players.

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Unfortunately, Synthesis was not designed from an aesthetic point of view. After worrying about framerate lag, SecretSchnitzel scrapped most aesthetic pieces and primarily focused on gameplay. However, this does hinder the map as most maps are downloaded and played because of their physical appearance (whether we like to admit it or not).

Synthesis does provide some nice aesthetic qualities, like the rock garden that also serves as a tactical jump and the repetitive strut placements for tactical jumps. This keeps the atmosphere of the map coordinated and prevents it from appearing like someone literally just placed any object to fill space.

Synthesis has colour coded pieces to provide call out areas that are rather useful once familiarising yourself with the map. Again, gameplay over aesthetics, but honestly, it is understandable.

One thing that does stand out in the aesthetic department is the random floating one by one flat block that is above the central platform. It is unclear what the intentions for gameplay were for this piece.

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Synthesis is a reiteration of two Halo 3 maps, Assembly and Guardian. This is not anything original and the majority of aesthetics have already been done before as well as certain features in the map like the Jump-Pad.

Unfortunately, this does not bring anything new to the table apart from the use of Armour Abilities placement for creating active gameplay to flow around the map. But for what it's worth, Synthesis, formerly Amalgam, succeeds where most fail.

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8 x 3.0 = 24 out of 30
6 x 3.0 = 18 out of 30
9 x 1.5 = 13.5 out of 15
4 x 1.5 = 6 out of 15
1 x 1.0 = 1 out of 10

FINAL SCORE

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