PIONEER "There were others before you" Pioneer is a competitive 4v4 map built in an enclosed portion of Alaska. The borders of the map itself are rotationally symmetric, and as such a large portion of the design follows the same pattern. However, the bases, inward rocks, structures, and weapon placement are mirror symmetric, affording equality to both teams. Pioneer was inspired by Standoff from Halo 3. Rendered Walkthrough Click for Map Stats Spoiler Status: Version 6 completed Ideal Player Count: 4v4 Best Gametypes: Capture the Flag, Neutral Assault, Slayer, Arena Slayer, FFA Supports Vehicles: 1 Ghost Power Ups on map: No Armor Abilities on map: No Easter Eggs: Yes Budget Remaining: $1010 Overall performance: No framerate drop or z-fighting. May experience occasional, brief impostering Split Screen Framerate Rating: Supports 2 players seamlessly Changelist Spoiler > Tweaked various spawn points' direction > Made neutral weak respawn zone FFA only > Added additional FFA only spawns > Added additional jumps to flag podium > Decreased Ghost spawn timer to 120s > Placed Rockets on drop-spawn > Added additional columns near Ghost spawn > Added another antennae to Red Side > Redid center structure to block LoS > Tweaked rocks > Replaced Crenelations with Wall Corners for higher cover > Removed Overshields > Fixed Hard Kill Zones > Added additional platform to sides for extra cover > Added needlers and plasma repeaters for each team > Swapped Magnum and Plasma Pistol spawns > Increased rocket spawn time to 120 seconds > Replaced two pillars in center structure with large walkways > Tweaked rocks again > replaced some flooring and trimmings in base > Made the 1 frag/1 plasma combo 2 frags at base and 2 plasmas at sides for both teams > Placed side healthpacks on ground > Moved Needlers to each ramp up to Platform > Redesigned sides again, removing walkway corners, adding a brace large overhang, and clustering the remaining crates closer together > Tweaked man cannons so that you can grab the plasma pistol and jump straight over the railing once you land > Removed excess Brace Larges to address framerate issue > Tweaked z-fighting > Tweaked rocks again > Tweaked pillars in base so Ghost can pass through easier > Laid Repeater next to Spiker in each base > Added hard kill above map > Tweaked rocks again > Added additional spawns > Slightly moved healthpacks > Added jump-up to front of flag podium > Polished map Screenshots Overview Overview 2 Red Courtyard Red Base Red Side Red Shotgun Blue Courtyard Blue Base Blue Shotgun (obvious jump-up is obvious) Blue Side Platform Ghost on Approach (outdated) Flag Stolen (outdated) Flag Dropped (outdated) Defense (outdated) Click the tab for an in-depth map description: Spoiler Pioneer was started around March when I was rough drafting a design for a new BTB map. I wanted to create an experience similar to Standoff, so I sought out to find the largest leveled-area available on Forge World. Alaska has a few mountainous regions, but for the most part it's really flat. I first isolated as much of the flat terrain as possible using coliseum walls. I then placed 2 Bunker Rounds at opposite ends and rocks in the center to mimic those from Standoff. The bases were tricky to design because of the natural terrain surrounding them, much like what I went through with Jackal Creek. As such, I looked to that map for inspiration and I decided to expand upon the usage of dual Triple Rooms. I wanted players to be able to assault the base from the front, and I wanted a team to be able to defend it from multiple rooms and atop. I didn't want the flag inside the base like Jackal Creek, so I came up with a structure for the flag to stand upon. After more designing, I placed a man cannon behind the flag, giving players the option of taking the quicker, more vulnerable route with the flag as opposed to the opposite. I design my maps around CTF path runs to ensure they aren't too quick or too difficult. The side areas had to be rotationally symmetric due to the way I walled off the area around the terrain. Because of this, I made the bases rotationally symmetric as well. The side areas also had to be elevated because the terrain started to slope downwards in the corners of the map. The design I came up with was inspired by a few Halo Custom Edition maps I used to play. I wanted it to be vibrant and unique, yet simple and clean, allowing players to maneuver around it with ease. You'll find an OS, Healthpack, DMR, and Nades spawning here. Originally Grenade Launchers spawned there, but they were too dominant on the Ghosts so I had to replace them. And yes, there were two Ghosts spawning for each team at one point. Unfortunately, the ghost battles were very clumsy, so it was minimized to a single neutral ghost instead. The center was redesigned from a thicker column to the two pillars that it is now in order to place both the Ghosts and Neutral Objectives in the middle of the map. The center platform was designed to offer height elevation over every part of the map other than the roofs of the bases. This is so players can gravitate towards this area and push the other team back towards their base. The team being pushed back will likely jump onto their rooftops, which gives them the advantage over the center. This forces the team controlling the center to position guys on the side bridges, which gives them the angle to hit a player on the roof. Players caught in a trap will need to push their OS side to lower the pressure for their base roofs. Once they gain control of that, they can use the roofs to clear out the rest of their side of the map. Pioneer was built with competitive gameplay in mind, but players only interested in having a good time getting kills will have no trouble running around doing so. It isn't as casual as Jackal Creek, but it still holds some of its charm. I felt that I lost really competitive action in my previous map, so my goal with Pioneer is to quite literally pioneer competitive gameplay on terrain-based maps. Many people are building complex, multi-layered path maps from the ground-up, so I decided to go back to the more simple "two-bases-and-a-center" terrain-style maps originating from Combat Evolved. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to your feedback! Special thanks to B RICE and members of WAY and ReachingPerfection.com for helping me playtest the map. Weapons, Vehicles, Power-ups, and Healthpacks: -DMR x 8, 2 clips, 30s -NR x 4, 2 clips, 30s -Magnum x 2, 2 clips, 30s -Rocket Launcher x 1, 0 clips, 118s -Concussion Rifle x 2, 1 clip, 120s -Shotgun x 2, 1 clip, 180s -Plasma Pistol x 2, 45s -Spiker x 2, 2 clips, 30s -Frag Grenade x 4, 15s -Plasma Grenade x 6, 15s -Needler x2, 120s -Plasma Repeater x2, 30s -Ghost x 1 120s -Healthpack x 4, 15s
I played one game on this. Can't give detailed feedback, but I can give you my first impressions. It was very easy to navigate considering it was my first game on the map. The asthetics, especially the decoration to the colly-wall boundary are pleasing. Gameplay was balanced and lots of fun, but perhaps a little intense for the feint hearted. The only thing I felt was missing was some sort of 'sneaky' route through the fiercly fought middle section, making it quite hard to get into flanking postions and forcing a brute force push and pull style of game. Perhaps enclose part of the overshield platforms to create a short tunnel? Overall, great V1 of this map. I look forward to future testing.
I love the bases. They are very original. I love how you can walk up the sides to get up on the top. This added to the gameplay when I played with my friends on this map. I also love the rocks on this map. They add a lot of cover so it isn't just DMR duel after DMR duel. The one thing I question about the map is the ghost. Isn't that a little overpowered when everybody else is just on foot? Overall this map is wonderful and should be on everyones hardrive.
Well I think it was very interesting how you were talking about having to locate a spot that went along with your map. I like the bases. Recently I was messing around on a forge game and created a base similar to that. But I like how you created a base with three rooms, a entrance from the front, and three back entrances. I think its smart and unusual to create a flag stand outside the base. But does the take away from game play because you have to walk around to the back side and climb up it? If so you might Consider lowering it. Oh and the 11th picture down makes your map look awesome. Well done, Squidman
Thanks for your feedback! The flag podium can actually be accessed with the jump up from the front. Going to the back creates for interesting last-minute saves though, so I'm curious to see how more testing affects that design. If anything, I'll scrap the front jump and add side ramps. On the point of the Ghost, it isn't overpowering considering there are Concussion Rifles, Rockets, Plasma Nades, Shotguns, Plasma Pistols, DMRs, and lots of terrain for the player to maneuver around. If anything, I was worried that nobody would use it. It's getting a lot more play time than the Ghost on JC was (which I admit was a bad idea). That's a very good point. The main issue I had with more cover on the sides the natural trees and rocks that occurred there, which made it difficult to even forge the side areas. If anything, I'll add a wall on blue side and more rocks on red side so the LOS is blocked from base to base more. Standoff wasn't sneaky either unless you had the camo powerup, which I would have added if Active Camo wasn't a spawning ability.
VERY creative use of parts! The bases, the crate areas. It's not very often I see a map as impressive as this. I love it! Downloading now! -Snipe
This is a pretty neat little map, although I must admit it is not as aesthetically impressive as Jackal Creek, the bases on either side still look unique and have nice architecture. I like the weapon setup and placement quite a bit as well as the rock placement and position on Forgeworld. Altogether nice map, sometimes we may seem naggy as a community, but we just expect a lot from you Also I LOVE covie crates!
I felt that Jackal Creek was a little cluttered, so I wanted to take similarities from its design and widen it a bit. The main reason the rocks still feel cluttered a bit on Pioneer is because they don't case shadows, so they look a little fake. Still, they're all necessary for cover and they work out nicely. I made a few changes which improve the gameplay on the map overall. I also fixed a spawn zone which could have been causing teams to spawn on the other side of the map.
I'm a big fan of terrain maps, and loved Jackal Creek (although, I haven't played nearly enough of that map). In my opinion, there is not enough maps that incorporate terrain, and I'm happy to see another that does - and one made by somebody I can trust with my custom games ;P I do like the flag stands, but in CTF, have most players gone directly for the man cannon over the land route? Having it so close would seem to cause that, so...?
Nice Map, I downloaded this a while ago and it had a mongoose instead of a ghost. (weird) I got a couple of customs on it with my friends and they all liked it. Although we all agreed that almost everything was perfect, except for the center piece. It just really feels out of place. Both of the bases are think and bulky, put your center piece just feels thin and almost stilt-like. I would give it a 9/10. Keep Forging!
I really like how this map looks. The bases are simple enough to work yet they have a feeling of originality as well. I love the crate bases on each side as well. The weapon choice seems fine although I haven't played on this map so I wouldn't know how it works.
This basically looks like a less cramped version of Jackal Creek, but also with less interesting terrain. The bases look decent, but everything else looks uninspired.
I'm really sick of Jackal Creek. I wish I'd never published that map. Pioneer was made for more competitive gameplay. I don't know what I was doing with JC but it plays terribly at that level. Too much emphasis on high ground.
Jackal Creek was the real pioneer. It set the bar for terrain maps, and showed us how far spit shine polish can take a map. To this day, it is still one of my all time favorite maps. That's why people love it, and they refuse to forget it. As for Pioneer, I have been dieing to get a game on it this past week so I could post some real feedback. I still havn't, but I can give you my initial impressions. I must first say, that you are one of the very few forgers out there who understand the importance spawn point placement. I get so frustrated playing maps where I spawn facing a blank wall, or my own base. There appear to be none of those problems here. THANK YOU. Instant 10 right there for understanding the spawning system lol I really like the flag podium idea. I just wish it were easier to get at it from the front without a jetpack. Your weapon placement and timers seem spot on as well. I usually have to go through the maps I download, and fix a dozen balance issues. I wouldn't have done anything differently here. The only real criticism I have is the lack of color. While the layout and way you utilize the natural environment are amazing, all those colloseum walls make it feel a bit drab. jackal creek had tons of color. I would love to see some of that brought back here. All in all, a fantastic map that makes excellent use of the natural terrain. Kudos on attempting something difficult, and succeeding at making it awesome.
Goat is real emo about anything he makes. Its why he's good, I guess - he never stops trying to do better. So if he tells you he hates it, he really does (except for any covie crates he placed) but that doesn't mean you have to weight his opinion too much. Whoever was saying that they had a mongoose instead of ghost, you probably have the wrong game type.
I try to avoid unnecessary additions to my maps. I only use color if it's going to help for orientation or callouts. Because the terrain on the map is unique and different in every location, I didn't need to add excessive colored objects. I could indeed get fancy and toss struts or braces around, but all that does is lead to more objects on the screen, which is bad news for splitscreen. Again, I really dislike Jackal Creek and I've already drawn blueprints for a new design.
I very like maps who are actually using the landscape of forgeworld. Your combination of landscape and forge structures is looking realy good. Will there be playtests ? ;-)
Thanks for your feedback! Most of the playtests so far have just been internal tests. I'm looking at it very closely with a group of both competitive players and talented forgers. I'll be sure to let you know when we have our next test. I don't know if Pioneer will be needing a beta testing stage. It's been playing really well for the most part.
Sorry A3LG, but this map really does not impress me. Coliseum floors for walls. Big. Ugly. People only use them as boundaries when they can't think of anything else to use. Nearly all your structures are pre made buildings, scattered about a terrain that you've just randomly thrown rocks into. The only area of aesthetic interest is the coloured sections on the walls, but they are still very unimpressive. Don't expect a d/l off of me.
You're basing your entire opinion of a map off of aesthetics? How did you ever get into the Review Hub? Good job on the map, A3LG. Definitely one of the better Beaver Creek inspired maps I've seen. The only real problem I had was that the bases were a bit uninteresting. I thought Jackal Creek was fine, but this is a great new take on the design. I'll be looking forward to your future maps, unless I decide to go full-time on Skyrim.