I'll keep this description really simple: 1. it's a corridor-based map 2. for 4v4 or 5v5 play 3. with mantises 4. and traps you can use to blow said mantises into the frigid deathtrap of space. Tested quite a bit already and plays KOTH, CTF and slayer well. Forged on Impact. Uses some station pieces but that's not all there is to it. The current build is in my fileshare but it may be updated further. Video by Oli The G, and God bless 'im for it! Trapped - YouTube
Can't really say much except that it looks great from the video (great job yet again Oli). Would you mind expanding a little on how these Mantis traps work? I've been interested in seeing what (if any) unique ways people could come up with to balance the Mantises.
Not at all. Basically the map is designed around a central atrium with multiple corridors joining into it from each half (the halves are symmetrical), and from multiple vertical levels. The mantises spawn on each side and really only have two good options (plus one bad one) to get into the atrium; the most direct route is where the trap is, on both sides. It's a large container that acts as a floor, and is held up by landmines. There's a single visible landmine button which can be shot from a small window downstairs (and nowhere else - so there's just one activation point for each trap). The button respawns every 90 seconds and then the trap can be blown open. You can't see the method of activation, but you can see it both closed and open in the video, and a player falls through (not a mantis, alas - it's funnier when it happens to a mantis!). In addition, the relatively tight and winding corridors allow infantry to fight with the mantises on not-completely-uneven footing, hit them more easily with EMP blasts, and stick them with 'nades. And there's a whole upstairs with multiple places to drop down from, so hijacking happens fairly frequently as well. Ultimately, after a number of tests I feel pretty confident saying the mantises are balanced very well in this map - actually better than I would have expected when I just had the original dumb idea ("HEY WOULDN'T IT BE FUNNY TO BE STUCK IN SOME TIGHT HALLWAYS WITH A GIANT DEATH-BOT?!?!").
I'd say it's pretty freakin sweet just from the video. I think the 4 point description helps as well, lol. I'd love to play this. I have been missing from the customs circle since H4 launched due to mostly forging for the limited time I have to game, so feel free to invite me if I'm ever on halo at the same time. I'll shoot you a FR if you aren't already on my list.
Ah, very interesting! I love the idea behind that trap and how it can only be accessed from a certain location. I bet it really adds a strategic element to the game. Thanks for explaining I may be interested in using something similar to this, mind if I chat with ya?
I do love that trap. I think it needs a way to be more prominent in the map, from the games I saw it was hard to come across, and you could never actually see if players were on the trap. Perhaps if it was moved to a point overlooking it? Also, thanks for the positive comments, glad to know I really captured the atmosphere with the video
The video was great (dat music), map looks amazing. Should serve as a great example for how to use station pieces without garbage gameplay. I did see some positive reactions while stalking TCOJ threads, too I like the trap, too. Doesn't feel gimmicky.
I considered that but found it hard to set up an alternate button mechanism. Maybe it's just my inexperience with that kind of thing. In any case the button placement now does require players to know where it is (though I tried to highlight it as much as possible with a big red light). It's close enough to the trap location though that I've had success triggering it based on both motion tracker and pro-vision - plus the station pieces have windows in them such that you can see a mantis walking that way, and hopefully have time to go open the trap right when it gets there. Basically, I think the more people play the map, the more deadly they'll get with that thing. And since the button is actually separated physically from the trap location, it makes it so that anyone passing over that container never really knows if they're safe or not (unless teammates are protecting the, which I like. It was fantastic.
Thanks! I didn't really intend to make a "station map," but the basic idea I had was a map for 4v4 play, with mantises and corridors only a bit bigger than said mantises. I tried one of the station corridors first to see how big I would need to build things, and it was such a perfect size that I couldn't not use it.
Refer to this post made earlier: He's already mentioned that they're pretty balanced. The main reason they're considered overpowered is due to the open maps they already appear on. EMPing a Mantis completely shuts it down for a good few seconds - more so than any other vehicle. Also, welcome to ForgeHub. @Nutduster - this map looks really well made, considering Station pieces were used. It stands out due to the Mantises and the death traps, instead of simply having a massive hamster-network of tunnels with a few crates thrown in here and there. Looks really fun to play on. @Oli The G - nice job on the video! I found the music hilarious and it really made me want to play the map.
Am I the only one who has dat music on their I-pod? Looks like it will be great. Can't wait to test it with mah friends. They will get a kick out of being stuck in a hallway with a giant deathbot.
Holy mother that map looks fun! I love maps with a mantis on it no matter how overpowering they may be. Might as well use 'em before 343 takes them away in H5. I love the video more than anything. Major props to the person responsible for that because it makes your map look that much better. Can't wait to download this one.
Aww, shucks. Thanks for the compliment on the video. If you coulld give us a sub and recommend me to people, i'd really appreciate it And yes, it is a fun map. Seriously fun.
This looks awesome man. I usually dread seeing maps on impact that are all enclosed tunnels, but you seem to have done it quite tastefully.