Union

Discussion in 'Reach Competitive Maps' started by Audienceofone, Jul 22, 2011.

  1. Audienceofone

    Audienceofone Forerunner
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    Above: The conveyor belts are where a lot of fast paced action is held. Also notice there is a Tac-jump from the crate, to the 1x5.
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    Above: Red Spawn, also a tac-jump to the top of a platform.

    Union as a Project
    Union has been a project of mine that I have instantly loved from the start, which is rare to happen for me. The project began when I was playing the Halo: Reach Classic Playlist in Matchmaking. I had played a few times the Wizard/Warlock remake known as Magus and found it to be very hectic, fast paced, and fun. Later I played the Elongation remake known as Prolonged and loved the map instantly, with its unique, long shape. I one night had this idea to make a new breed of map, one I had never attempted or even thought of before - a fusion map.

    What would it look like if I took all the good from each map, and piled them together in one? I asked myself this question late at night, so some odd answers were expected, unicorns and flying dogs were involved in the first draft, but soon I had a two-page design ready for forging. This map I had planned would use many aspects of both the maps I intended to draw from, and my only trick here, was making them all work together.

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    In only about 4 days I was finished and only needed testing. I had a spree of forging after my work each day and was able to follow my original blueprint nearly perfectly. I had taken Wizard/Warlock's tower, the power-ups, gravity lifts, teleporters, and platforms and combined them with Elongation's signature conveyor belts, crates, and ramps up to a second level. Both Bungie maps had issues I thought, but I think the combination of them have successfully eliminated all if not most.

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    Above: Can you spot the hidden spartan?

    Okay, so for those of you who skipped all that text, here is the summary: I like the classic playlist in Halo: Reach. I took inspiration from looking at remakes and the original versions of Wizard (Halo 1)/ Warlock (Halo 2) and Elongation (Halo 2) and combined the maps into one map appropriately named Union.

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    Above: Overview of Blue side
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    Above: That Scorch Guy assists DUCK NG from the central tower.

    Union: Final Result
    Union exceeded my hopes, the first test went so well I almost posted it that night, though coming to my senses I knew I had to test CTF (which was a VERY good choice). After adjusting a few quirks I have decided to release my most loved creation in Forge as of today. I hope you all like it as well. The map can utilize the Team Slayer and CTF variants well, but it was made for Classic Team Slayer and Classic CTF (Classic Rifles will be in my file share for as long as possible with my 6 slot limit, and up in this thread as the custom gametype above, so I highly recommend getting it while you can, the map is just better in my opinion with it. Also, go get the other Classic Gametypes from Bungie's playlist, I personally think they are at par or better with Reach modes.)

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    Above: I'm dead, but my buddy next to me appears to be on fire- in the Classic Gametypes this map is intended for that means he's got an oversheild.
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    Above: Active Camouflage used right is a terrifying force.

    Union: The Arsenal
    Weapon/ # on map/ Spawn Time/ Clip size

    DMR/6/45/2
    Needle R./2/45/2
    Plasma P./2/30/2
    Needler/2/50/2
    Concussion R./2/150/2
    Shotgun/1/160/0
    Plasma Rep./2/35/2

    Plasma G./4/15/-
    Frag. G./6/15/-

    Oversheild/1/180/-
    Active Camo./1/180/-

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    Above: The teleporters are 2-way, lower level teleporters only lead to each other, while the upper level teleporters only lead to each other.
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    Above: An image of the upper walkway, and the upper teleporter.
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    Closing Comments
    Special thanks to all my testers.
    DUCK NG
    That Scorch Guy
    Nutduster
    GrenadeGorilla8
    Overdoz1z
    BroccolliPie
    AD Records
    CyborgAnthro
    I know I forgot some people and I apologize, but I dont have a list. If you were a part of testing and want to be recognized by all means let me know and I shall add you to this list.

    Remember to play this with the Classic Gametypes, it works fine with the normal modes, but best with Classic.

    Thank you for taking the time to look at my map and I hope you like it. As always, I welcome questions, comments, and any other thoughts you have on the map.

    In case you missed it, you can download the map here: Union
    And you can get the Classic Slayer Gametype here: Classic Rifles
    Other Classic Gametypes can be found on the same file share for classic modes.
     
    #1 Audienceofone, Jul 22, 2011
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2011
  2. MCGreen24

    MCGreen24 Forerunner

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    Nice post, this map alost has a lot of neat little inclines that I think gives charecter to the map. This map has a good feel to it, almsot like a matchmaking feel from. Thats just from walking around in it though. Nice job.
     
  3. DjShiftD

    DjShiftD Forerunner

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    its good, but didnt care much for the design. still a good job tho
     
  4. broccollipie

    broccollipie Ancient

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    The teleporters sparked some interesting gameplay found in few classic maps, while the crates and various tac jumps made for a wide variety of movement around the map. I generally liked Union, especially so without all of those nooby armor lockers!
     
  5. Audienceofone

    Audienceofone Forerunner
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    Thanks Broccolli, I tried to make this map unique and resemble both Wizard/Warlock and Elongation. The Tac jumps were a large part of Elongation that made for some new paths to move around, and the teleporters from Wizard were useful, but all of floor level, so I thought putting a pair up a level might change how they are used. I think all turned out for the best.

    Yes, I cannot stress enough that is one likes the Classic games use them on this map! As Broc said there are no armor lockers, there is also in fact no armor abilities, a slight speed increase, altered shield strength and one grenade to name a few things different in the Bungie gametype.

    Thank you for all the comments and by all means look for problems! I want to know if there is anything I can fix or if it's fine how it is. Also I encourage getting a game on this, its a nice change from the traditional map and gametype.
     
  6. CyborgAnthro

    CyborgAnthro Forerunner

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    This was fun to play on and you had a great idea for a merger here. I feel like the pics don't really capture the dark, classic look of the map though. My only complaint is I wish the whole thing were a little larger. I know the original warlock was small but this re-imagination feels a bit cramped for reach.
     
  7. Audienceofone

    Audienceofone Forerunner
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    It is a bit small, but I think part of that feeling came from the increased speed in the classic gametype. After all the map is almost as large as the whole Colosseum. I appreciate that fact you had fun on the map and thank you for the feedback!
     

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