I'm here to show you a sneak peak at something I'm working on. Remember this lovely ODST concept art? Tada! The map is a blend of said concept art (rescaled for game play purposes), a prior map by English Mobster, and Halo 3's very own Ghost Town. It has a good mix of long, open and risky views and peripheral close quarters alleys and buildings. It may be a challenge to balance out, seeing as each part of the map has something different going on, but that is the nature of the beast, which I wanted to feel like a real and quirky city environment. Anyway, on to more of the pics: Feel the full ODST experience as you emerge from the rubble of this recently landed drop pod. This alley serves as the attacker's initial spawn: Here is a second drop pod option. I was hoping for some feedback here on which looks better. Removing the top pieces altogether is a third option, but then it doesn't look as accurate. The Ghost Town influences are clear here: I am still thinking of a good name but I want it to sound like an urban version of ghost town. I am always open to suggestions about the name, layout, etc.
I like how this is looking, I always like seeing ODST back in acton, I had a lot of great moments with it.
Thats a really nice drop pod you have there, though the covers look a bit strange on it. As for the map its looking quite good, I would be interested to see more or play a game on this. What sort of games are you planning on hosting with this map?
There you go, a few more pics were added. I made the map in mind for Team Slayer and Flag, but some others will be supported. Since the layout is similar to Ghost Town it probably will not support invasion, if that was implied in your question. As for the drop pod, the covers were the closest thing I could find to use as the parachutes without using a lot more pieces. Since I found this picture I may remodel the drop pods a bit. I will invite you if you're on when I'm testing. Thanks for the comments.
The second drop pod looks less awkward to me, though as you said, also less accurate. Looking forward to seeing more of this and hopefully some games.
Is the drop pod really necessary? I always find recreations of vehicles with blocks make maps feel like a recreation of a map instead of a maps of their own right. The raised walkways on the side of streets also look like they would be difficult to access from the streets. It's important that infantry can really traverse the map in cases like this that lend themselves so much to warthog domination.
@audience and sugar, thanks! I have actually changed it even more since these pics, hopefully for the better. @pyro, I'd really like to keep the drop pod on the map but that's why I'm asking for feedback on how to make it look the least blocky possible. I may just remove everything but the wall corners since I don't think they look too bad. The details on top of the drop pod are just too specific for the few small pieces on the forge world palette to replicate without spending a fortune. I agree with you on the raised walkways, that is something I am trying to figure out. While I want the height variation, I also want lots of ramps and jump up points to get out of the way of the hog. The outer platforms in the last few pics are jump-accessible but the middle building is not. That way the outside of the map will receive a lot of traffic as well rather than just the middle building. I've added a brace large walkway that goes across the gap in the third to last pic, but do you have any specific recommendations of how to make that more accessible? Since there are power weapons on the road, that area is supposed to be more risky after all. Anyways I appreciate the feedback!
Honestly there is nothing you can do to portray an accurate drop pod with the forge pieces available without seriously eating into the budget and its just unnecessary. If you feel it is essential to the theme you are going for then do it just like ODST. Embed the dropship into a wall above where you spawn, make it seem a little more broken up giving you more creative freedom to vary it up instead of just recreating a blocky drop pod. That way it won't be an eyesore of a spawn location and more of an aesthetic highlight.