Armature_V_1.1 Created by Donutman Map Description "Once the HUB of an ancient Forerunner complex, this site stands in shadow of its former glory." After playing around with Forge for a while and deciding to truly commit to a decent and playable map, I ended up creating Armature. The term "armature" implies a grasping structure, one that holds and receives. My design intention was to create a map that notches itself into the surrounding context and holds a dynamic spatial center. Simply, I wanted two symmetrical bases that played off of an open center and would generate exciting team game play. Each base has two main parts. The large enclosed area sits on the land portion of the level and the more exposed portion overhangs off of the cliff-face. Both bases have a man cannon that launches a victim to the very outreaching sniper platform. The platform has only one exit via the one-way-teleporter which transports said victim into the center of the map. At the center in the exposed field lies an overshield. The center construct consists of three levels wherein the top has a rocket launcher in the interior portion and a catwalk that leads to a turret (a very tactical turret that has sight over the open entries of both red and blue bases). Rocks are dotted here and there. Weapons 1x Overshield 1x Rocket Launcher 1x Sniper Rifle 1x Mounted Turret 2x Shotgun 2x Grenade Launcher 2x Needler 2x Plasma Repeater 2x Plasma Pistol 2x Plasma Repeater 4x Pistol 6x DMR 6x Assault Rifle xx Grenades! I would suggest 4v4-6v6 Team Slayer, Slayer, Multi Flag, Neutral Bomb, StockPile, and KoTH ...because those are the game types I actually made compatible. Overall view from center. (1)Outer Red Base (2)Inner Red Base Spawn (3)Center of Map This is my first map submitted as a forgehub member, let alone as a decently made map. I've never done this so please don't flame me too hard. Besides, I have no friends (just kidding, I count myself as a best friend). Seriously, enjoy the map and let me know what you think of it. I really need it tested let alone played and it would be much appreciated. I can take honest criticism ...wait no I can't! ~Take it easy~ =D
For a first "decent map" you missed your target and you made a great looking map, I love the way your map looks like staked platforms slowly lowering i make maps like that quite often, and i also like your outer base in picture (1) it looks nice and simple but with some intreating layers in it. the only critisizm i have is that im a little confused with how the center is layed out and the purpose of the floating platform. All in all it looks very good and i like it a lot. P.s If you dont have any friends you can add me if you want, ive been around since 2008 and im always willing to help out new members, weather its testing with my group of friends or just help while forging, keep up the good work and keep forging!
Look great for multiflag and assault, great job! Just one question: Do they floor lag/ flimmer when you move? If so, please fix it, it looks bad.
Thanks guys, and man, responses come quick! Yeah there are quite a few unresolved things I have yet to ...resolve... but that's why I wanted to post it. I definitely need some testing when there's time and once I feel it gets to a more resolute stage, I'll fix the "flimmering" (unfortunately..I don't know how to do that properly yet so some intelligent effort is needed). As for the center area, I wanted an open field where if a team rushes to the other's base, they're punished with prolonged exposure instead of the nice enclosing spaces towards the back of the cliff wall. At the same token, it hopefully makes for a lot of action that can be viewed at almost all times. I agree though, gotta figure that out. The platform holds the sniper and doubles as a risky shortcut to the center (if a person spawns near one of the man cannons). I imagine it to be an excavated piece from the center (like the open field had some'thing' and it left). Thanks again!
First off, welcome and thanks for sharing your map! Now after saying that, I'm going to offer you some suggestions (kindly, =P). First I'd love to see another overhead shot from another angle, it's a bit hard to get an idea of the layout from the few pictures you've shown us. Obviously people should download the map and find out, but many people here download maps based on what they see, and if they don't know what they're looking at, they might pass on it. It's a shame, but there's so much great content here you really have to "sell" your map to people in order to get some downloads. Now onto the map itself! Everything looks fairly solid except for that central high platform. It looks like quite the vantage point and it can only be accessed by man cannons (unless I'm missing something?). As a basic rule of thumb, you want a main area like that to be accessible by at least 3 routes, jetpacking not included. Now I understand that after using that space you want players to be forced into the center of the map, and while I like that concept, I still think you should give players another option to leave that area (jetpack not included, again, lol). You could potentially pull the platform a bit closer to the rest of the map and connect it to a bridge or structure, or possibly add another man cannon (although I'd lean more towards the first idea). I would also recommend developing that area a bit more, as it could serve as a stronger counter to the opposing structure. The weapon set looks like it's a little on the heavy side for a map of this size, but it's a breath of fresh air to see something with a little more power in it. It's also nice to see just a single sniper rifle on the map. Once I get a match on this, I'll give you more feedback. Until then, there isn't too much more I can say regarding weapons. It looks like you have been pretty good on your use of objects. I recommend reading this article over at the MLG forums on how object use and lines of sight effect frame rate performance. It's a great read for anyone getting into forge and map design. Overall you have a great start here. I think the map will most likely need some tweaks and adjustments here and there, but so does every map when it's first posted. Hopefully you stay active in the forums and if you're looking for some testing on future maps, you can always try the Testers Guild. They'll run a game on your maps which aren't posted to the forums yet and let you know what some pros and cons are before posting it here. I'd also recommend joining our bi-weekly TGIF event and making some friends who enjoy playing some customs. It certainly helps when you're looking for people to help you test things out! I'll be downloading the map, however I won't have a chance to run through the map until sometime next week. So hopefully I'll be able to get back to you then! That "flickering" effect as we call it is caused by two objects' surfaces fighting over the same space. To fix the problem, you have to very slightly raise one object above the other, so they are no longer fighting for the same surface. A technique I use is while holding the object, quickly tap RB or LB depending on which direction you're moving the object, and almost immediately after pressing A to release the object. If you do it quick enough, you can move the object subtly so that there won't be a noticeable height difference and the textures won't be fighting anymore. It can take a little practice to get used to, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be using this trick all the time.
Hey, thanks for the feedback. I'll have to check out the tester's guild, and see how that works. I assumed posting it was really the only way to get people to test it. Now I know! As for that pesky platform and my images, yeah... definitely a little misleading and under-represented now that I look at it. I assume you think the platform is on top of that coliseum glass when in reality it's very far away (not reachable by jetpack) and actually level with the playing field. I wanted to mess around with some old school variables (particularly maps like in Quake, etc...). I'd like to see how it is used before attempting to adjust where it is or using other routes to it. Thanks a lot for the info and I'll get to it when I can! ..especially the flickering too!