GT- BloodyNinja17 Map- Artifact Supports- 12 to 16 players Gametypes- Team Slayer, CTF (more to be added later) Budget- $9995 Weapons-- Rockets (1x), Sniper (1x per base), Rail Gun (1x per base), Sticky Detonator (1x), Sword (1x blue), Shotgun (1x red) Vehicles--Warthog (2x per base), Ghost, Mongoose (1x per base), Gauss Warthog (1x) Ordinance-- With the map featuring a host of standard weapons and power weapons, I bumped up the ordinance requirement to 150 with a 40% increase thereafter. It may be a bit high, but I wouldn't want the map to become too cluttered with power weapons. EDIT: After making a host of changes to both the map and the description, I decided I should make another thread for the updated version of Artifact. Version 1.1 sees significant changes to the middle structure, expansion of the blue base, and a re-imagining of some map aesthetics. Tanks have been replaced by a second Warthog, and a Gauss Warthog has been added in the center of the map. "Although I've created a few maps since Forge's inception in Halo 3, this will be the first map I've actually published (yay). Artifact is an asymmetric BTB map forged on Ravine, focused on vehicular combat while also providing players accessible ways to move and interact around the map. Each base is unique, and offers multiple access points. The middle of the map is dominated by a large, hollow structure containing the Gauss Warthog, and has multiple bridges branching off of it, connecting various parts of the map. However, its presence does not inhibit the ability of vehicles to move freely around the map. View of Blue Base 1 View of Blue Base 2 Blue Base Lower Level Looking into Middle Area from Blue Base Middle Structure 1 Middle Structure 2 Red Team Base Read Team Base Flag View of Map Short Preview: Artifact v1.1 (Preview)- Halo 4 Forge Map - YouTube Extended Preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfbcmCTyTvY *Read on if you wish to learn more specifics about each part of the map. As always, feedback is sincerely appreciated, and message me if you would be interested in helping playtest the map. Thanks!* Blue Base The Blue base features an upper level where players spawn and the flag is located, and a lower level where its vehicles reside and players have an alternate means of getting in and out of the base. The upper level has two access points, both via tunnels, one of which is much longer than the other. This is partially compensated through the use of teleporters used to bypass much of the larger tunnel, and obviously can only be used by players on foot (referring to the teleporters). The lower level can be accessed through a series of bridges connecting to the middle area. Also, there is a ramp from the middle area that will allow vehicles to launch themselves into the lower level. In other words, take the stairs or the ramp. To get to the lower level from the upper level, players can choose from two openings, one located in the rear and the other in the center of the base. For players to be able to get topside from the lower level, they must take the gravity lift located underneath the central opening. For vehicles to get topside, they must take the teleporter at the far side, transporting them to the front of the large platform hoisting the flag. There are ramps surrounding the central opening that will allow vehicles to jump over it without fear of falling in. Red Base The Red base is set in the Forerunner structure, and has its flag in an elevated platform above the base. As such, its flag is not as easily reachable as the blue team flag. This platform can be reached either via a gravity lift in the center of the base or through the ramps on either side. The base has 3 straightforward access points. One is via a bridge on its right side, which lends itself to vehicle traffic. The second is a middle platform which connects to the structure in the center of the map. The final can be reached through the use of a man cannon that will send its user to the left side of the base (as such, there are only 2 ways out of the base). The rest of the base needs little explanation. Players can shoot out into the middle area, or down upon the blue base from the left side of the base. Middle Area From the blue base, there is a pathway along the left side of the map running along the waterfall, protected by a series of rock spires that follow its entirety, though there is the occasional opening from time to time. At the halfway point is the location of the rocket spawn. From here, you can move to the upstairs level or the downstairs level of the middle structure. At the lower level is the location of the Gauss Warthog. Players can also take a pathway from here to the top of the structure where they will be able to access the man cannon ramp, and find the stick detonator along the way. Should the player choose the upper level ramp, they will be able to head straight through the middle path into the red base. If you wish to ignore the middle structure, you can continue to follow the waterfall pathway to each of the bases. In addition, you can move along the opposite side of the map and utilize the rock spires and bridge platform to make traveling less dangerous. Or you can move right through the middle of the map, taking advantage of the tunnel beneath the middle structure. Whatever path you choose, there should be enough cover present to prevent players from being raped by the vehicles. Misc Thoughts With a map of this size and scope, I expect there to be a lot of little issues, ranging from sightlines to weapon spawns to cover points. I’ve maxed out the number of objects that can be placed on the map (as in, I can’t even add any spawn points since those constitute to that total). My main concerns with this iteration are: -The two-way teleporters connecting opposite ends of the large tunnel (to make them one-way, scrap them, etc). -The height and availability of cover along the man cannon ramp (specifically whether to lower its height so that players here are more vulnerable to fire) -The killzone used to prevent players from jumping from the red base to the top of the blue base tunnel (I used X's to denote the beginning and end of the killzone; not sure what else I can do) -The man cannon located at the top of the middle structure (it feels a bit lazy and out of place) -The gravity lift located in the lower level of the blue base (the worry that vehicles will get stuck in the lift). -The overall construction of the middle structure (still don't love its design, but I think it's a step up from what was there before)
All I can say is this: - Seems way too large - Grids look awful, always have and always will - Far too open - "Too much walkway, not enough dancefloor" to coin a bungie term - It all just seems very, very random and probably laggy Sorry, can't see it being a good map, no matter what you do with it.
Thanks for the support <3333. This is clearly one of the best maps to ever grace the confines of these forums. But, to each his own.
Sorry, but it really is important to take criticism on board, or otherwise I see another high way 9 coming. (matter of fact, keep going. He was worth a few yucks)
That's a rather bold statement... Judging by your testing and your acknowledgement of small issues, I'm under the impression you're aiming for a competitive map with this one? With such impressions, the map itself doesn't look as if it supports competitive play well. Red base (or from what I believe to be red base) has the catwalks above it, swirling around. While you think it may look good to be symmetrical, and passing and curling round over the base, what purpose does it actually serve being there, and being that curvy? It's unnecessarily long and time-consuming to walk around that and the gaps can be easily jumped - therefore, no one will use it as you've intended it (jumping to the conclusion you are actually intending people to walk all the way around it, and not jump over it... if the jumping is intended, why aren't you just building a straight walkway following the jump paths?) The artifact base with the grid under it is also too severed from the map. Such bottlenecks ensure players can easily see all entrances to the base from one given position or angle. A competitive map should generally (by unofficial rule of thumb) have each room with at least 3 entrances/exits. The only exceptions to this rule are Progression Routes (which are rooms/corridors/walkways that doesn't have many combat encounters on it). 'Party rooms' are rooms that tend to have 5 entrances or exits due to the high level of action that occurs in the rooms. The more entrances to guard, the harder it is to hold the position so it's desirability is often less, meaning more 'flow' around the map in other key positions. A competitive game is about controlling player movements by holding key areas in a map (or following the objectives). Your map needs to have these key positions to hold so a map can be played competitively otherwise you have an Under 6's game of football and by that I mean you have 12 6 year olds, running around chasing the ball with no tactics, teamwork or clear direction of where they're actually going, they just all chase the football mindlessly. If you're serious about refining this as a competitive map, you should take a read through the guide I wrote up on how to identify the desirable areas of your map. Competitive Map Refinement - How to understand the gameplay. Hope this helps...
Sarcasm is a lost art, huh? I wouldn't ask for advice if I believed this to be the best map in the world lol. I am aware of the issue with the curvy paths. I had noted this issue, but I guess it got lost in the shuffle as I proceeded to work on other parts of the map. As for your other point, it is not something I have thought about actively to be honest, though I don't believe it is as relevant for the map that I have constructed (I mean that in the sense you've mentioned, but the general idea is well noted). Like I said in my post, I had no real objective when beginning this map, other than to create a competitive BTB experience. I wouldn't consider myself a novice forger, but I wouldn't consider myself a true forger either, in terms of implementing specific strategies and making sure each of my maps have the desired features they needs to be successful. I can see how this issue would be a problem. Thanks for pointing that out. Frankly, I'm usually one to explore the path least traveled initially, not necessarily the one that makes the most sense. For example, those bridges may not make the most sense from a gameplay standpoint, but I was dead set on making them work by trying to balance out other features and options of the map (another example would be in a more easily penetrable base, spawning the flag in a harder to reach location). I love asymmetric map types, though I realize those are often the most difficult to design. I also understand that you have to balance uniqueness and functionality, and I've probably focused a little bit too much on the former here. More than anything though, since this was my first attempt producing a product through Halo 4's forge, I wanted to start forging and run with it, but I can see it faults (though I still love my map <3). Now that I've gotten my feet wet, it will be time to draw up a framework for my next map. Also, thanks for the link. I shall check it out.
Ah... well, there are some people who genuinely do think their maps are the bees-knees until someone gives them some criticism and they turn into complete clowns about it! I also tend to find the least active paths during games because it often means I can get around enemies without being detected and get the kills from behind to reduce the amount of damage I take when entering combat scenarios. I'll be updating that document (or more so, posting a renewed one with the originally intended pictures) so it's easier to understand for people who haven't played Halo 3 or Reach. It's good that you can identify the map faults though, and it's even better that you're willing to improve the regions. Everyone has a bad map (*cough*Envy*cough*) and it all comes down to lessons learned and how you should strive to rectify those issues in future projects.
It really has some cool elements but I have to agree that it's a bit large and open. Good work though.