I agree 100% with Fated. The shield doors look really good, although i would recommend the dominion ones colored to the respective bases, but there is NEVER an instance where shield doors dont slow down or degrade the gameplay. The shotgun in H4 is ridiculously OP and there is no chance a player can defend themselves from it. It has greater range than the scatter shot and has a lower damage drop off meaning that it is lethal at a very great range. Instead of shotguns I would rather want to see Storm Rifles since they serve the same purpose of close quarters dominance but players aren't completely screwed when they come across a player with it b/c they can still out play them. I really like the choice of FRG as it has a very unique trait of being able to bounce it off walls which I feel could really come in handy on this map.
Well, I'm on the fence about them and I've already said that. I don't feel the need to keep repeating myself over and over again. (see above if you want to know how I plan to approach it) I appreciate your passion for repeatedly hammering on just how bad my map conflicts with the way you want to play Halo. I would only ask you to post the vid that you recently played to your fileshare so, I too can check it out. I'm always interested. Again, like I've already stated, I review videos and if I see negative trends forming I'll address them. I'm not against making changes to the map. I've made a few since this one was put on my fileshare... so, yeah. My best gameplay experience on this map was with CTF. I made this map with CTF in mind more so than anything else. Might be a hard sell for you to convince me that your speculation here is more relevant But, again, if you have CTF games on Isis Station as well.. then, please by all means, post these to your fileshare too. After all you are here to help are you not? Also Fated, you and I are not in any kind of competition with each other or anything dumb like that. This is not a contest or anything. Just sharing maps/creativity. So, you know, lets keep that in mind too man. -O
Apologies if you interpreted my posts as competitive or hostile in any way. I am being very honest and transparent in my feedback, an approach to feedback that I think ForgeHub needs more of to get back on top again. I replied with a more direct post to your response because it seemed like you dismissed several of the points I addressed. I took a great interest in this map, which is why I am spending so much time giving you detailed feedback. If I didn't see potential in the map I would not be investing so much effort into helping you improve it. Isis Station is a beautiful forge creation. I've showed several people this map over the last few days just because of how impressive the aesthetics are. I understand that you are on the fence about the shield doors. I'm helping you make your decision - to remove them!
Right on. Well, I've made some changes to the map that include: • adjustments to the weapon resupply times for all initial drops • minor aesthetic tweaks (moved some trees that were bothering me etc,.) • Added 4 more hills (side entrances) to keep KOTH fresh and random - bringing the total to 7 hills now. • Utilized both safe zones as well as kill boundaries to make the map next to impossible to get out of. (after people showed me just how easy it was to escape This friday I'm hoping to test a match or two w/o the shield doors with the FNC (Friday Night Customs) gang. I'd like to run at least one TS and one objective. Once I've finalized all the changes I'll post the latest version up on my file share. -O
The other day a couple friends and I ran through this in forge and discussed some stuff that could be improved/changed (I wont even bring up shield doors since you know that one) that would improve the flow of your bases and make it less attractive to camp the bases and the main enterances. Most of these things were simple things, like moving the shotguns out of the back of the base, and removing the random drops, but some of the others I would like to actually show you in forge so you can see them, and while they would change some of the looks of the base interior, it would keep that forerunner feel you have going on right now. If you are interested in what I would like to show you, just send me a pm, if not, then thats fine as well. Just want to help out, seeing as the map has a great aesthetic.
Thanks for your comments/feedback. Well, I am curious where you would suggest moving the weapons to? 66% (or more) of this map is the bases. The random drops all occur so close to the center as it is... making them somewhat fair-game. I thought about putting random drops on the tops of those grassy walkways but, they are such frequently traveled routes that I didn't want them to get in the way. Part of the reason I put the shotguns back there is to give players a reason to go there. In non-objective game-types there is little reason to ever go there. -O
Well, the problem with the random drops was mainly that the blue side was getting screwed on weapons, all of the good ones would spawn on red side. As for the Shotgun, I would change it to a 120 second scattershot and move it between the random drop on each bases right hand side and the pillar in that tunnel. Again, easier to show than it is to explain, but it seems you arent really interested in changes to the geometry.
I could randomize the drops to be the same on both sides. Right now, I only have one weapon listed for each random. But, I could put both options in each. However, I thought they were pretty fair.. To me, the needler can take out the saw etc. A lot of people dislike using the railgun. I'm going to be less on board to change the actual geometry of the map. Would like to here about the ideas though. The thing there is to do that, I'd have to go way back to an earlier build and redo soo much stuff.. like, spawns, drops, spawn zones, objective game stuff, safe zones and kill zones, and the more recent changes I listed above. Cause, the budget is 10k, and I'm extremely close to the 650 max item limit. It would have to be changes that worked with existing pieces. Or that justified redoing A LOT of work. -O
I'm going to send you a friend request, because while you are right about the budget, I did manage to make these changes literally just by moving things. Nothing added at all. Wether you decide to do something is up to you, but just taking the thought into consideration helps the map.
New version uploaded to my file share replacing the original version. Fixes to the new version include: • adjustments to the weapon resupply times for all initial drops • minor aesthetic tweaks (moved some trees that were bothering me etc,.) • Added 4 more hills (side entrances) to keep KOTH fresh and random - bringing the total to 7 hills now. • Utilized both safe zones as well as kill boundaries to make the map next to impossible to get out of. • Random drops equalized between sides. • Tin cups removed in centerpiece (replaced with rocks) due to invisible barrier that sticks out of them. Tin cups on side bridges rotated so that the barrier doesn't effect gameplay. • Red base: smaller rock removed on the ramp leading up from the ground floor to make using the ramp smoother. • Other misc. changes. Download the latest version here (also updated on OP): Isis Station https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/.../details/940e5180-da74-41c3-8b3c-dde290907e5a Download an alternate version without shield doors on the main base entrances here: Isis Station (NS) https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/.../details/1931822a-7a2b-4373-90e3-61f93b3b7dec -O
The maps have been updated with a few more tweaks, replaced at the links above (and on OP). This zeroed out the download counts.. but, oh well. -O
Being a huge fan of the Combat Evolved art style, I saw this map and I had to have it on my Xbox. I walked around it in Forge and a custom game and here are my thoughts: The Good + It's no surprise that your aesthetic is incredible. The map itself feels like a throwback to Halo PC maps and the "All Base or no Map" design will provide some interesting gameplay. This map would look amazing in Halo PC or made by developers (though it already looks nice). + I love that Red Base has a hole in its roof and that the bases are different. The broken strut is cool too. + The base layout is nice. It has varied terrain and play spaces and I definitely see the Meltdown influence. The windows give Blue base a nice touch. The Not-So-Good - Sadly, the worst F word known to a Forger is Framerate and it likes to rear its head on these maps with heavy aesthetics. You have framerate problems throughout the map. Windows, shield doors, tin cups, dense buildings, and all of this within line of sight of one another = disaster for FPS. - I'm just going to echo what I imagine has been said millions of times about the shield doors. They look great and they'd be better if they could be shot through. Unfortunately that's not the case, and it's probably one of your biggest sources of framerate issues - I'm not a fan of the Brace on the bottom of the ramps. It looks good and provides some decent cover, but it's a full stop in the middle of a ramp. This means I'm going to have to peak behind it and kill everyone before I can risk immobilizing myself for a second by jumping over it. - This isn't really your fault, but the rock flooring kinda makes grenade throws unpredictable. I hope Certain Affinity will give us some flat rocks next time. Improvements • It'll be tough to make this map better in its current state without compromising its aesthetic integrity. However, when aesthetics interfere with gameplay directly, they should be the first to be considered for the cutting floor. And again, your shield doors would be on that list. They look great, they enhance the map, but anybody who's played Snowbound or Epitaph knows that they're poor for gameplay. Right now, they're also poor for your framerate. • I'd lose the braces in front of the ramps. Maybe move them to the sides so that you have vertical cover instead of horizontal. • Replace the tin cups with rocks. These things are framerate's biggest enemies and they don't look that great with the natural grass anyway. If you were to learn how to make maps for Halo Custom Edition, I'd donate towards this map ;-) Hope I helped! Dominion shields would be awesome since you can break them. It'd provide an interesting dynaimc to the front of the bases - place riflemen to sit behind it, and then the other players can watch the doors. You'd have to dig into the framerate issues first though before replacing the shield door.
Thanks for your comments and feedback man. Actually, there is no map-caused framerate issues with this map. I can only assume something with your connection or your hardware. I've played on this map countless times with full 16-player lobbies and have not once witnessed map-caused framerate issues. The brace at the bottom of the side entrances was primarily for the visual appeal.. having it be balanced with the top. But, in addition was to fortify the bases a wee bit more. Seeing how close the bases are to one another I didn't just want people be able to stroll on in with ease. An earlier version even had turrets there. Although the rock 5 appears bumpy.. it's actually quite smooth. There is an invisible boundary on it. You'll notice this whenever you die on the rock and your body just hovers above it. Also, on my file share I have a version of the map without the shield doors. (Isis Station NS) So, anyone who hates them with a passion can easily download that version. I personally like the shields for everything except KoH. -O