Apollo I have never done a preview thread before, but now just seemed to be an appropriate time for me to do my first. This is the very first map I created in forge Apollo, it is a symmetrical map, that takes a lot of inspiration from Narrows in Halo 3. It has a fairly simple layout, and combined with the Narrows influence is easy to navigate and learn. The most recent test game I had on this went very well, and ended in a 73-73 tie as time expired (12min team slayer) Apollo has been in development since early March, and has certainly shown improvement over time as I have learned to forge better. It has been in development long enough that my 2nd map Novus has already been published, I just felt this needed a little more work before being released. This most recent version is the first to sport a roof, for which I must give ChronoTempest credit for as he had created it after reviewing this in the Tester's Guild for me. Supported Gametypes: FFA Slayer Team Slayer (RvB) Multi-flag Assault Neutral Bomb Oddball King of the Hill Weapon List: DMR x 5 Needle Rifle x 4 Needler x 2 Plasma Repeater x 2 Plasma Pistol x 2 Sniper x 2 Rocket Launcher x 1 Sticky Grenade x 6 Frag Grenade x 2 Health Pack x 5 In case you didn't read all that, there are 3 power weapons (2 snipers, 1 rocket launcher). Now for the part you probably want more, pictures, I'll offer up 5, but they pretty much give you a good look of most of the map. I want to thank everyone who has tested for me, or helped me in testing, your feedback has been so value able in making it what it is today. If you want to help me test this in some of its final stages, just let me know. This will likely be tested in the next Custom Games Night hosted by Nutduster, GrenadeGorilla, and Zell. If all goes well hopefully I will release it shortly after that. FAQ: Q: Is this Narrows? A: No, but it is heavily inspired by it, and is meant to give you the feel of Narrows while still standing on its own in Reach. Q: Will the lift do damage, or can I fail it? A: You will not receive damage when landing after using the lift. There has never been a lift fail such as a player falling short. That being said I have seen one time where two players collided in mid air just as in Narrows and fell to the ocean. Thanks for viewing
This looks quite good for a first map. I can definitely see a lot of Narrows influence, but that's not a bad thing. Hit me up if you ever wanna test. Btw: Psychoduck > Duck NG.
I love the influence you added from narrows while still giving it its own unique vibe, I love the way you use the platform y's as deflectors deflectors are instrumental in not getting the typical grenade spam ending in virtual rape, I like that you added a bit of high ground and what looks like a few tactical jumps as well the only thing I see that seems out of place is the ramp steep and platform y's that the man cannons are on they seem more naked than I usually like which is one aspect of narrows I always loved how it had a cover around the man cannons to prevent someone from just shooting you out of the needed direction before you even get started, knowing your work I believe you can add more uniqueness to those areas while keeping the gameplay the same, everything else I think is very unique and I can tell so much hard work went into making this map cant wait for the release if you need help testing or designing just hit me up
I love the addition of the roofs! It adds so much flavor. Narrows was also partially covered so this gives it even more of a Narrows feel while still being completely different. Can't wait to see this in person on Tuesday.
I'm gonna have to agree about the mancannons, they do look a bit silly when the platforms they sit on are so "naked" looking.
I might have an idea for that, and since I still have the map saved, I'll see if I can't throw a pic up later.
Thanks everyone for the comments. Hmm, the lack of cover at cannons hasn't come up in any tests or feedback yet, so that is something I will defiantly look into. Thanks Chrono, any ideas you can give me would be greatly appreciated. As far as the steep ramps go, that is something that I have been looking at improving, space, and height issues make it a little interesting to improve, but I have already changed it from what is seen in the above pictures. Another thing I changed today is I added blocks so that you couldn't run into the invisible barriers on the back of the struts in the bases. Thanks for the input and feedback everyone.
The map itself is lovely and the pictures you provided really give everyone a feel for what the maps about. Im not sure if its simply the cover at them thats the issue or if the rest of the map just makes them look more bland. Aesthetically this is a beast of a map especially with the aspects you brought over from narrows. Theres a map you may be interested in that was added on here recently called hallucination it was created by one of forgehubs own GT: II6clique jxljx . It is basically a upside down narrows and hes implemented alot of neat elements to it including mancannon cover, design. I believe you could get some good ideas just by looking at what he has created. I will also try to make a design up for you that would fit your maps personality
I said this yesterday, and I'll say it again... I hated narrows with a fiery passion, but I quite like Apollo. Duck, I think that you've made a BETTER narrows. I mean, as soon as I looked at the map I knew that you were either remaking narrows, or making a map very similar. At first glance, I really didn't like the location of the sniper rifle, but I think that it's a very good spot. I'll be glad to test it again.
I played this with you and the Berb yesterday. It's a nice map. The weapons are placed in great locations. The one thing that I noticed though was the amount of times I got killed by a sniper rifle (maybe I'm just a sniper magnet, who knows?). It could be because the Sniper Rifle has 2 clips, or maybe it's the respawn time (I'm more inclined to assume it's the ammo count). I could be advisable to reduce the spare clips to zero, or lengthen its respawn ten or twenty more seconds. Perhaps I was just unfamiliar with the map, so maybe I just travelled into a couple long sight lines. Anyway, If you have enough budget, I would suggest adding more aesthetic pieces, especially in the middle and the overhangs on the bridge itself.
Thanks for the feedback everyone. ChronoTempest if you read this, sorry I couldn't get into a game with you yesterday when you invited me, you sent me that right as we were about to test it in Berb's TGIF party. Silentraine it probably gets that feeling because it was done early and I haven't tweaked that area in awhile, while most other areas have had an over hall since then. I have done a walk through of the map you mentioned before and it was quiet interesting what he had done with it, it was a very unique concept. Berb, Thanks for letting me test it out last night in the TGIF party, I really appreciate it. I think that was the first test I had with a 6v6 on it, and I thought it played out fairly well and didn't feel like there was too many people, which I had been wondering about. I felt like the spawning system held up nicely with that amount of people as well, did you hear of any bad spawns last night? Sorry I had to go so soon after the test, I had to go help a friend out, and stayed as long as I could. Ice Pinata, thanks for the feedback. The sniper is already at a 180s respawn time with 2 clips, although i might lower it to 120s with 1 spare clip, so that it and the rockets aren't always spawning at the same time. I haven't had time to review the footage from last nights game but I will watch to see how often the sniper was up, and adjust from there. Maybe the other teams sniper just liked you, who knows, but I'll find out. I would consider adding some more aesthetic pieces up top but I have to be concerned about object count there because of the additions of the roof and all. Did you encounter any bad spawns last night while we were playing? Thanks for the feedback everyone, if you want to come and test this with me, or have a map you want tested I suggest you look here (next weeks custom games night). Thank you ChronoTempest for coming into a forge game with me last night, I think your idea for the lift area works and fits the map quiet nicely. It adds a bit of cover while not making the area too overpowered. I will try to get a new screenshot up of the lift side later today after work. EDIT: here's a picture of the lift side with a little bit of added cover, all credit for this edit goes to ChronoTempest.
I think your right duck it could be just that you added so much more around the map that it made the cannon area look bland. Props to chrono looks really fantastic with the added details while still keeping it in flavor with the map itself. You mind if I sned you a request on live duck? Wouldnt mind getting in on some testing of this when I have some time this will turn out to be a great map. It makes me wonder if some of these newer ideas Ive seen will be added to matchmaking before long
ya feel free to add me on live, I know we will be testing this, and some quiet a few other maps tomorrow night between 7-10pm eastern. Here is a link to the thread about this Custom games night/ testing.Thanks for the compliment, although I think I'm still a long ways from being able to make something good enough to find its self in matchmaking. Something that I've been kind of surprised to find while testing is that the map seems to work quiet well with a bit larger of parties. I originally designed it for more of a 4v4, and while I feel it does work well for that, with plenty of space to move. I've found that 6v6 games are also quiet enjoyable. Having got my 2nd 6v6 test on it last night it never really felt cramped, although I have yet to review the footage from this test, but will be doing so shortly.
I'm going to be guilty of simply going off the pictures here, but it is just a map preview after-all. I really like the narrows influence. I had to look at the pictures a second time to realize it wasn't supposed to be a remake. The only thing I dislike from what I see here is that your piece use could use some tightening up. I guess what I mean is that the aesthetics of the map clash with one another. For instance, the "Plaform Y's" upon which the man-cannons rest and the upside-down ramp leading to it looks awkward, as do the large tunnels near them that are used for covering up those catwalks. Again with having a strut as cover on one side of the center, and a glass sail on the other. The more you can thoroughly integrate cover and the "look" of each piece into one another, the more your map will really pop. Typically, doing this will also end up netting you some extra budget to use elsewhere if needed. Hope this helps.