Players must continually choose whether to maneuver through the track as a group or go it alone and face oncoming traffic. This map is smooth, unique, and a ton of fun with a group! With 4,000+ downloads already, this map is gaining popularity in the Halo: Reach racing scene!
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Equilibrium With a dedicated gametype and waypoints, the standards that were the Halo 3 Racetrack are blown completely open. Now issues like breakability and linear tracks are non-existent and designers can take a totally new approach to the Race map. Equilibrium brings about what one might call the non-linear approach to a racetrack. While there’s technically a complete lap, the player has a choice in many occasions for which direction they want to take. As the map is symmetric about the middle line there’s no real advantage to one route over the other, but merely a player’s preference towards how they’re traveling. The track does well at reusing the areas to create a unique and overlapping track. With many opportunities for players to be traveling the same direction there are many exciting near misses and the occasional head on collision. When looked at as a whole the map gets stale and repetitive very quickly. While the track is smooth there are too many sharp corners and rough angles that cause the player to slow down to a crawl. Banking and better inclines would help to create a more enjoyable experience that makes players want to play this over and over. Overall, Equilibrium provides a fun race track with some flaws that really keep it from being a map that holds in player’s minds as being a fun experience. These flaws are serious enough that many players would probably delete the map after their first play through, though the creator should not give up hope as the inventiveness of the map is still appreciated for being a fun and exciting time. It’s often difficult to accurately gauge a race map’s balance. The first and arguably most important point is the starting line. With any race map, the player who gets off the blocks first tends to have the best chance of winning. The counter to this is that the race map should have enough challenge that falling off is almost inevitable. The first serious balance issue is the starting blocks. There is a huge gap between the first spawn and the last spawn, which can create for a very frustrating start if you’re one of the unfortunate few that spawn in the back. Along with this there is no spawn ordering so it’s just random chance if you’ll spawn in the very front or the very back. Setting each spawn point to a specific number will help create a more consistent start to the match. Along with this creating a balanced start by lining up at least 8 spawns in one row will help to create a start that is fair for all players. Aside from the starting spawn there are no real issues that cause the map to have major balance issues. The lead player is often switching back and forth as players struggle to maneuver through the challenging course. Breaking a map is a non-issue when it comes to a Reach race map, but a whole new stream of new challenges comes about with a complex waypoint system. Ensuring players have a fair chance of winning is reliant on a system that is simple and effective. The first notable durability issue arises with the waypoint directions. It is crucial that every waypoint is aligned so that when a player respawns they can quickly begin traveling the course without having to adjust the camera or turn around on spawn. Simply driving around the map and dying after each waypoint shows how bad these waypoints are configured. Many times on respawns the player is facing the complete opposite direction or pointing clear off the map. Ensuring these waypoints work properly should be the number one priority before finalizing a map for posting. Further issues arrive because of a mostly flat and unbanked track. Players often spin out after a sharp corner and hitting a wall because they have too much speed and are unable to make a tight flat curve. Banking these curves is the best way to keep players moving at a good rate of speed throughout the course. Along with banking the corners, there are many inclines that are too steep for the player to maintain their momentum and slow down to a crawl before they can reach the top. It's very frustrating for a player to go this slow and detracts from the experience. Adjusting these inclines to be less severe is the best way to fix this so players can keep a good rate of speed and enjoy the map. Another major durability issue is with the long jump into the shield doors. After a previously mentioned steep incline the player is moving at a very slow rate of speed and then expected to make a very long jump into the shield doors. It’s not uncommon for players to not have enough speed to bridge the gap and fall to their deaths. Upon respawns the waypoint is set too close to the jump and it’s essentially impossible to make the jump without backing up upon respawns. Adding a longer runway is the best way to fix this without compromising the experience of the map. Aside from these issues the map is a smooth ride. Some interesting turns and incline create for a varied and interesting experience. Fixing these durability issues would turn this from a below average map into a great one. Forgeworld gives us a unique opportunity to spend a lot of the budget on aesthetics. Since race maps tend to require a great deal of objects for the track, it can be a risky venture to spend a lot of money on minor touches that don’t add to the track. Aside from the unnecessary and not visually interesting kill ball, Equilibrium does not add much to impress the player aesthetically. The track is rather plain and not particularly exciting. The flat inclines and corners only add to the mundane feel. Simply adjusting the banks and inclines to be less severe and flat would greatly improve the aesthetic feel of the map without requiring any additional budget. It does not take much to create an impressive looking map, and adding non-vital pieces is certainly not necessary. While the idea of a map that causes players to cross paths is getting increasingly more common, Equilibrium pulls this off in a way that entices players to download the map. Unfortunately after a few laps the originality wears off and players don’t feel like it really has the pizzazz to keep players excited and interested. The flat corners and inclines create an uninspired layout and feel. It does not create much skill to build a map without curved corners, and the feel of the map shows this. Improving the forging will greatly help improve the original feel and experience of the map. Rating Multipliers [floatleft]Enjoyment: Balance: Durability: Aesthetic : Originality:[/floatleft]5 x 3.0 = 15 out of 30 7 x 3.0 = 21 out of 30 4 x 1.5 = 6 out of 15 6 x 1.5 = 9 out of 15 6 x 1.0 = 6 out of 10 Final Score Understanding the Review Hub's Ratings