This sounds awesome... Now all I have to do is design and build a map for it.

Too bad Hollow Point would take me 4-5 years to rebuild.... I'm liking the contest criteria

So excited! Jumping onto AutoCAD right now to design

Looking forward to this, time to work on my btb forging skills even though i dont have any!

You guys force me to learn how to design 1v1 maps and now this? I just wanna keep making midship in peace!

Does the map have to use vehicles?

Also, what map is that in the video? There's no way that runs smoothly with all of those terrain pieces, right?

The map in the video is called Threshold; it is a work in progress created by Squally DaBeanz. It does run smoothly for the most part, though there were some minor hitches with vehicle explosions. Vehicles are not required for maps submitted to this contest, but they are very strongly encouraged. Squad is really all about taking the competitive foundation of 4v4 Halo and adding vehicles as an additional competitive layer into the mix. Creating interaction between infantry and vehicles adds a ton of depth to squad games. We are looking for maps which pull that off, not just slightly upscaled 4v4 maps that suit 5v5 play. Still, you're welcome to submit a map without vehicles if you wish.

Squally's map definitely has me inspired. I'm of course a big fan of giant forerunner architecture and the way he's used the terrain is the kind of map I like playing on, as opposed to path and walkway maps. I can see a hint of Meltdown and Daybreak in there, although I can't say I'm a fan of the vehicles with the little space they have to maneuver. The novelty of mortaring across the bridge would annoy me and distract from the infantry combat.

As for submitting my own map, a terrain map like that would be much more attractive for me to approach than a structural one. I'm very meticulous when it comes to pathing and object placement however, and when optimizing for framerate is another hurdle on top of that, I know i'll end up compromising the design. I've had enough of those limitations, and I personally don't think it's worth the effort at this stage in the game.

Nevertheless, I'm interested to see what maps people create, and I'll look out for Threshold when it comes out. I'll be on board for the first Halo 5 contest for sure.

Just wondering. Why 5v5 and not 6v6 for Squad Thanks

A quick question, are we allowed to request a change in game time-limit? It is 4-minutes per round right now, but can we have in the description or something a request for a longer/shorter time per round? Thanks

5 on 5 marks a player cap that when placing vehicles, forces you to design a space that compliments both infantry and vehicular interaction. We wanted to blur the preconceptions of vehicle placement. Vehicles shouldn't be included for the mere purpose of bringing players from point A to B in a shorter amount of time. We're not interested in how vehicles travel, thats too obvious, we're interested in the interchange occurring between vehicles and infantry and trying to curate an environment that extends that experience further than what we're traditionally given. With the scale required to suite 5v5 and the inclusion of vehicles, I'm sure we'll see a blend between arena and vehicle style play.

You may even choose not to include vehicles, thats entirely up to you.

Great answer. Thanks man

I think we're going to need to stick to the standard settings across all maps. Testing every map with the same settings gives us a better control environment for evaluating different maps against one another. Also, from a logistical standpoint it would be very tedious to allow varying settings between maps. We're going to have to ask that you design with the settings provided in mind. If you have a very strong argument for making small tweaks to those settings across the board, though, we'd be happy to hear it!

In addition to the points War brought up, we have found over the years that 5v5 to 6v6 is the sweet spot for this sort of map. However, 5v5 has really proven to be ideal in H2A as maps scaled for 5v5 really appear to be the sweet spot for balancing travel times and keeping maps large enough to accomodate vehicles without feeling overscaled for infantry. Most of the best squad maps I have seen have been best-suited for 5v5 play. Additionally, 5v5 is preferable for logistical reasons as getting a stable 10 player lobby together in MCC is a tad easier than doing so for 12 players.

Foot in mouth disease. I was kidding. Anyway, really nice map Squally. Great example of how to properly scale a map for vehicles and still keep things interesting for infantry. This also looks like one of the best uses of the wraith I've seen yet. I'll have to try and make room for one when designing my map.

Wow.. Wish I knew this was going on earlier. I will be looking for more contest for the future!

Yeah it would have been nice to know about this one back in Halo 3 so i could have started practicing my squad forging on Foundry...

The map Im making is like if ghost town and prisoner had a mediocre baby

Just give me the prizes and ask questions later.

Damn man, why not wait till after the contest to drop mod status. We are doomed. Cant wait to see your submissions bro.