Frameworks

O M G!!

Frameworks is truly a majestic work of art that should not go unnoticed! The trailer for it blew my socks off! When I tried this the first time, it was harder than I thought it would be. It took me about 3 tries to start to get the hang of it. You have done an excellent job. Well done!

(P.S. What is the music you used in your video called? It's really cool!)

[P.P.S. You seem to have a lot of ideas cooking around in your mind. You and I should get together and forge a map. Message me on Xbox Live if you want to. My GT is MIST ACOLYTE and I'm usually on between 6:30PM and 9:00PM (Ontario, Canada time)]
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I LOVE puzzle maps!
I don't usually post in the map forums because EVERYTHING is spam.
Anyway, I was drawn to frameworks by its nice screenshots and epic video.
It proves a challenging puzzle, yet not frustrating.
It also has nice aesthetics to boot.
I hope you come out with a sequel of sorts in the future.

 

dude the map is much changed, I remember the first time I played the map, like 5 months ago and it was nice, but now is much better, i would like to play the new version but sadly I already saw the walkthrough.
I am excited about your new puzzle map it seems great
Maybe we could forge a puzzle a someday actually I am working on one =P

 

Thanks for taking the time to create this excellent puzzle map, Packeranatic. I really enjoyed playing through it, although I generally don't like objects hidden in walls. As it turned out, I didn't actually need the mongoose to complete the puzzle. I simply crouch-walked through the shield on the left side, between the wall and the fusion coil.

 

Frameworks

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It is difficult to write a review of a puzzle map without spoiling too much of what players would download the map to experience. However, since a walkthrough of the puzzle is posted in the map thread it is hard to imagine that the creator would take offense. But for the sake of a pure puzzle solving experience spoilers will be kept to a necessary minimum.


Frameworks initially throws players into a room sporting a blocked teleporter, one-way shield doors on the ground, and seemingly nowhere to go. Since the puzzle is possible to solve it is easy to tell players that there is a way out of that room, but it takes a clever mind to beat a clever design. Frameworks is full of such designs. The map is a medium difficulty puzzle map that presents challenges that can at times be difficult to solve. Other times though, the solution to a challenge is so painfully obvious that the player may never find it or accidentally wander in to it without even noticing at first. Frameworks feeds on the knowledge that most players know about Halo: Reach’s mechanics while delving into some of the less known ones to create interesting and new challenges for players to solve i.e. making use of ragdoll physics to solve challenges. This poses a fresh puzzle solving experience to the audience and new is always good for player interest in puzzle maps.


Although Frameworks does make use of new ideas and tactics to throw players in wayward directions, there are other aspects of the map that players are all too familiar with; challenges that have otherwise been exhausted in puzzle maps prior to this one. This is apparent in much of the Warthog sections of the map where using them one to manipulate shield door mechanics and getting through holes in the walls normally too small for players has been seen time and time again. Lastly, for being a somewhat enjoyable experience throughout most of the map, Frameworks presents a rather anticlimactic ending for players, and even though the ending is obvious it is quite simply stale.


All-in-all, Frameworks provides an enjoyable experience for seasoned puzzle solvers and newcomers alike. Unfortunately, like most aesthetic maps, once Frameworks has been solved once it is unlikely that it will remain on a player’s hard drive unless they care to show a friend and get cheap thrills out of watching them solve it. Pity is the story of a puzzle map that must be solved the same way every time it is played.

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Since puzzle maps are often single player, Balance is not described in terms of a player versus another player. Balance in this instant is conveyed as the player versus the map itself. Are things so obvious that the map could hardly be described as a puzzle and more as a gimmick? Or is the puzzle so hard that players throw their controllers away in a morbid rage in a hope that the impact against the wall and floor will hit the ‘start’ and ‘quit’ buttons for them respectively? That may be a gross overstatement, but those emotions swing both ways in Frameworks. As mentioned above, many of the beginning challenges were easy to solve. So easy in fact, that they could be done almost accidentally. This sometimes makes players wonder if they missed something vital to completing the rest of the puzzle despite not fully knowing what exactly is going on.



Some more frustrating aspects of Frameworks is that the map often relies on players killing themselves and spawning in a certain spot in order to proceed. The problem behind that is not apparent until people know exactly how the Reach spawn system actually works. When players die near a spawn point there is an automatic negative rating for that spawn point, drastically decreasing the chances the player will spawn there. These spawn points are always close to the spot where the player must kill themselves in order to proceed often throwing them back to a previous spawn point instead. Another issue is a very unmarked and unclear death pit at the bottom of a shaft. Initially players must knock a Warthog down this shaft in order to proceed. There is a bottom to the shaft that can in fact be reached by foot. There is however, no indication that the floor of that shaft is a kill barrier. This, while only a minor nuisance, is frustrating when players are caught off guard as to why they have died for no reason.

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Written by cluckinho10​

Puzzle creators have to make their puzzle cheat proof, or else it just isn't a puzzle. It becomes an unfinished creation. Luckily in Frameworks' case, there is no such problems that hinder its ability to become an enjoyable challenge. Whether the player attempts Frameworks by himself or with a friend or two, the puzzle cannot be done in an easier fashion. The player cannot use their partner to gain access to anywhere that will be an advantage in solving the tasks Frameworks puts forward.

The durability on Frameworks is not perfect. Upon the initial spawning on the map, the player instantly experiences framerate lag. Puzzle creators have ample opportunity to practice good object use. Frameworks has no excuse to have any lag. Even if this framerate lag is evident, it is not enough to detract from the whole experience and does hinder the enjoyable time solving frameworks.

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The creator of the map stated in his map post that his original vision for this puzzle featured much more aesthetic prowess, but like most maps on Reach, certain amounts of aesthetics have to be sacrificed in order to preserve functionality. Frameworks feels like certain rooms had to be picked apart in order to use certain objects elsewhere. Rooms like the hub like area with two jetpacks feel aesthetically complete whereas other areas feel incomplete like the beginning room and other areas just feel thrown together like the area after pushing the Warthog through the shield doors.



It is hard to say that Frameworks has a clear cut theme. Then again it’s hard for most puzzles to have a defined theme when gimmicking objects together in Forge is the name of the game. Regardless, puzzle maps have had coherent themes before and the lack of one in Frameworks makes it aesthetically indistinguishable from any other puzzle map in Reach. One reach of a theme is calling it Indiana Jones’ classic romp for the mystic skull in a well hidden crypt. Except the skull is not crystal and the plot does not suck.

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While the aforementioned aesthetic unoriginality may have some effect in this department, the real substances of determining originality are the challenges. While Frameworks may rehash some exhausted gimmicks like capture plate walls and moving one’s self through cracks using Warthog positions, there are many challenges revolving around using the ragdoll physics of dead players and even the step by step movement of Armor Abilities that have not been seen or are hardly seen. Players coming across these challenges will have a difficult time knowing exactly what to do explicitly because one does not often think about little things like dying actually helping the progression of the game.

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Rating Multipliers

[floatleft]Enjoyment:
Balance:
Durability:
Aesthetic :
Originality:[/floatleft]6 x 3.0 = 18 out of 30
5 x 3.0 = 15 out of 30
8 x 1.5 = 12 out of 15
5 x 1.5 = 7.5 out of 15
6 x 1.0 = 6 out of 10

Final Score



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I finally beat Waterworks, (which, by the way is outstanding) but I don't know how to get past the jetpack room in Frameworks. Any clues? (PM me)

 

I enjoyed playing this map, but the spawning made me ragequit a few times. I literally died over 15 times before i ever got the spawn I wanted and I had to resort to cheating and watching the walkthrough once because of the spawning just not working as well as i had hoped.

One thing I'd like to point out to you is near the end theres a spot by all the stunt ramps that you can drop down into the rest of the map and just walk outside of the area you're supposed to be in, it's not too important but could be patched. Also the part with the Invis armor ability can easily be skipped by crouchin on the left side of the trip mine / fusion coils and walking past. This is actually what i thought you were supposed to do untill i saw the walkthrough actually go through a long process to blow up the mine/coils

 

ugh, i armorlocked to soon at the end. so now i have killed my self 30 times, still havent gotten the spawn at the end. im about to give up right at the end. tired of running around to kill myself.