Allow me to start by saying that this thread is meant for discussion and not for people to state absolute beliefs without proof, etc... Having been trawling through map submissions in a few different sections of the site, I have come across people saying, "Don't forge in the Colosseum," more than once. What I am wondering though is, as is probably obvious, why not? I have played a few maps that are built in the Colosseum, and they haven't seemed any better or worse for it than other maps. An example of this is Nightlife, built in the Colosseum, and is a great map with lots of fun. So why not? Over to the community...
The reason people don't like maps in the coliseum is because the lighting in there is horrible and it causes massive lag and framerate because of the class walls, the rocks in the walls and the lights coming from the left and right sides of the coliseum. With all those problems it is hard to make a good quality map (I am not saying all maps in the coliseum are bad because I have seen many great maps in there) but kodos for those people who do make good maps in there.
The reason I don't like forging in the colliseum is that I feel it's very restricting. I like to make maps by creating different elevations and various sized and shaped rooms, which usually means building outward. So for me to build inward into a small box is just frustrating
In addition to what was stated above, the darkness in the coliseum and its scenery prevent maps from looking much more than decent. For experienced forgers this isn't a problem, but for people who are not accustomed to truly creating an environment for their map, it is easy to end up with a "floor and catwalk" map. There's also the issue of the coliseum being offset from the coordinate system by .04 coordinates. A few coliseum walls could replicate the coliseum with better lighting and scenery, plus room to expand.
I'm sure it's not the lighting alone or the the fact that the coliseum is enclosed and limits forge just a bit. I think it's because no one really planned to forge in the coliseum. A great example of a map in the coliseum is Sequence. Sequence alone disproves being limited and and the lighting issues that are not exclusive to the coliseum. Actually, I have a few maps planned for the coliseum. It's an interesting place to forge and those who think otherwise are missing out on a great opportunity to challenge their creativity. The coliseum has great potential and it shouldn't be wasted, especially with arena-styled maps.
Another thing the coliseum does is give the FX a different effect on the pieces. You can actually throw nova and purple on in there and it'll be half decent.
Speaking only for myself, I have learned that the best approach to map aesthetics is to eliminate as much gray as possible, because you will still have plenty of it. Barring an unforeseen design, I intend always to build on grass for green, include water and sand for blue and tan, sky for blue, cliffs for earth tone browns, and certain blocks for earth tone browns. In the coliseum, you have less light that translates into more darkness, even if just the perception; you have gray all around; and you are limited in height and cannot have a banshee or falcon for example. These are the reasons I would never use the coliseum. I remember thinking when Reach first came out that the coliseum walls were intended as walls within the coliseum and that the coliseum was primarily set aside by bungie for grif ball courts and maps like that. Of course, I am over generalizing, but that was my very first impression.
I actually like the darkness of the coliseum, however the lighting on the sides is drastically bright and there is a tan and a blue lighted side to the space. Its annoying and I prefer not to use it. However I cannot say that a good map cannot be made there. It has been proven several times that one can make a fantastic map in this space. I myself have published 3 (I think) made here. I cant say I like the lighting at all, but the reasons I used the area were often to make use of the darkness or (in my opinion) the nice flooring. Still, given a choice anything outside here is prettier- The coliseum just has a nice change of scenery every now and then I think. You know, aside from the lighting.
Forging in Halo Reach is comparable to modern fashion. Styles come and go, and forging in the coliseum is out of style, it's out dated. It's got lighting so terrible that forgers simply try to stay away from it for mostly that reason alone.
I dunno... I kind of like the light mapping in the coliseum... I hate the glassy window sides though and the bright light they throw on this... And the coliseum really isn't worth using unless you can make use of the lights. I like using red light on the FW side and Blue on the interior side.
The main problem for me in the coloussum is the shadow and colouring that affects pieces. Some pieces go black and other shades of gray. I co forged cold storage in coloussum though that turned out well...Except for framerate problems