GT: Euphorius Map: Stormfront Supports: 12-16 players (Minimum 10) Gametypes: BTB Inf. Slayer, Dominion, Extraction, BTB 3 Ball (Custom Variant) Budget: Current Build (v1.0) $9175 Weapons: Snipes (x2), Splaser (x1), Sticky Launcher (x1), Secondary Random Ord (x2), Tertiary Random Ord (x2) Vehicles Warthogs 2 (x1 per team), Mongoose 3 (x1 per team, x1 neutral), Mantis 1 (x1 Neutral) Gadgets Teleporter x2 (Per team), Man-Cannons x2 (Per team), Grav lift (x1 Neutral) Hey guys! Euphorius here with my first preview of my competitive BTB map STORMFRONT! As this is my first official Forgehub map, I expect extreme (yet constructive) criticism, moderate sarcasm, and a total lack of sympathy. Your efforts make my maps better! STORMFRONT is a map in the long vein of semi-symmetrical BTB maps that features such classics as Blood Gluch, Containment, Sidewinder, and Valhalla. Like the classics of old, it features the arch-typical cylinder base structure. Yet never fear! Innovation is the name of the game! Priority one in my style of map design is Map Movement. To this end, STORMFRONT features a wide variety of methods for spreading out the combat across all the maps playzones. Want quick access to the enemy base albeit afoot and outgunned? Take the Man-Cannons! That pesky sniper atop the center bridge giving you hell? Take a jaunt through the Teleporter to the Infantry Ramps to assassinate that humdinger! Feeling low? It's only a hop and a skip to the central Grav Lift, giving you an immediate boost to the top of the map! Don't hold back and let the criticisms fly! STORMFRONT v1.0 is available being my Halo 4 File Share. PLAYTESTS TO COME! BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! Screenshots: Aerial View (Minus TPs because I couldn't go that high) Blue Base Red Base Green Lift Green Bridge Red Snipes Blue Snipes
That's a pretty lovely centre but i feel some of the bigger objects could be simplifying your design. Firstly those rails that go on either side of the underpass below your bridge look a bit bare on their own, and could perhaps be expanded with some extra structure on at least one side. Second are your bases which look exposed on a map with high platforms and catwalks. At a glance i feel you should be expanding those bases so that they link together better at around where your man cannons are creating a structure that is more of an upside-down 'T' shape rather than a big 'I' running through the middle. I get the impression there will be a lot of fighting on the losing side to get to that doorway of your biggest structure, so you should make the areas in between worth fighting for as well.
What he said. Also, you ought to remove all cover on that high ground. You don't want to reward the team controlling that area with both a large height advantage and cover to hold it down with- risk vs. reward. More cover and variety in routes on the ground level might be something worth thinking about. A path that one can cross relatively unseen if the enemy isn't paying attention. There are 3 main paths under the walkway pieces, all of which are fairly open and within parallel lines of sight. The simple Blood Gulch bases are holding this map back in both gameplay and originality. Definitely create some new bases from scratch. Some hard paths that take you to the sides of the Forerunner structure to flank the middle would be very useful. Stay away from relying on too many lifts/teleporters as your methods of transportation to new areas. They are more easily camped, especially the lifts since you can hear their approach. Looks like a good start otherwise. Keep testing and iterating my man.
Props for using Ravine's terrain effectively. I believe this is the first map that I have seen do that. Just a couple of things from the pictures: 1) It says in your description that you still have $825 budget left. I would use some of this to add more cover to the ground level of the map, as it looks like it would be a deathtrap for infantry with two snipers on the map and a dominant central bridge. Just small structures or even rocks that you could use to break up LoS and improve flow. 2) The roof above green lift seems to be out of line. Not really an issue, just something that I noticed and that will annoy some players.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I'll definitely be taking a good hard look at my sightlines. NEW BUILDS TO COME!
Not really a fan of the huge high open walkway in the middle with random cover. That area could have been designed with much more structure. It also looks like you spent the bulk of your time working on the center structure. Some more development and LoS blocking structure around the flanks away from the ravine would be nice. Apart from the center bridge itself and the occasional dip in terrain, the center areas are very open. Someone mentioned the bases, so I won't be redundant. That being said, this is relatively good for a first published map. (or previewed, for that matter, but whatever)
My first attempts in Forge for a new Halo game are usually seeing what I can do with the base level layout. I felt doubly encouraged this time 'round because there's no actual maps IN CURRENT ROTATION that makes use of the Forge Level's base geometry. I mean, let's all be honest, Settler looks and plays like crap. That said, the genesis of the central platform idea was inspired by the level ASSAULT ON THE CONTROL ROOM from Halo: CE. That large central structure with the massive arch pushing out into the valley felt like a good centerpoint. I also feel like this map needs some sort of significant vertical element to break up the rolling hills/fields. (I'd hate to design a new Hemo ) Considering it's been a few days, I'd like to directly respond to a few of the criticisms and open it for more discussion: MATTY: I agree with you completely. I to this point haven't really liked how the bases play in regards to the predominance of the central platform. I like the bridge as a striking visual as well as a risk/reward that gives height advantage while maintaining exposure. (I'm removing some of the cover to increase the risk) Allowing more of a streamlined approach to the Man-cannon area would allow more freedom of movement for recently spawned players. I'm going to do a printout, aerial mock-up of my current build and do a full analyzation of flow, sight, and combat hotspots for both infantry and vehicle to see just where I'm directing players with the current set-up. UnFrozenLynx: I agree with you on the cover and the bases. I'm taking your suggestion for a path near the Forerunner structure into consideration, but I'd like to map out my hotzones first before I add any additional paths to the level. I already have 3ish vehicle lanes and one dedicated Infantry path. I may want to adapt one of said vehicle paths before adding another. I don't want the action spread out unnecessarily. XIII MATT IIIX: Thanks. I enjoy attempting to use base geometry in some maps. Be rest assured the rest of my budget is going to disappear rather fast, especially when I implement my changelog. And yes, you're are correct. The Green Roof was out of sync. But I'm redesigning the lift structure to use less pieces, so I'll realign then. Spincycle: Thanks. I try. I'm going to take a good hard look at the design. Now that I have more of an idea of what a 10k budget feels like, I can divy up my resources a bit better to make sure all parts of the map are developed equally.