Last night's lobby was probably the most stable one we've had, and was certainly the most fun for me. More and more maps are entering stages where all they need is more polish rather than serious changes. It's been a pleasure to see these maps evolve over the last few weeks. Some of the maps we tested last night that I hadn't played before were also very exciting.

I'd like to remind everyone that there are now just under two weeks until the submission deadline. This means that there should be two more official testing lobbies, but I would strongly encourage you all to get as many tests in as possible prior to the deadline. Getting as many games and opinions on maps as possible will go a log way towards giving them the polish they need to have a shot at placing in the top three. Feel free to contact the judges for additional feedback as well, though keep in mind that our time is limited. Good luck in the last two weeks of the contest!

For the sake of time, I won't be spending much time repeating feedback that was given last night. I'll also be putting the feedback out in multiple chunks, as there are so many maps to cover and my time is limited. I'll try to have every map covered by Monday evening.

Weevil by -Orzium-: This map has the potential to be a strong multi flag map with the proper tweaks. The general concept of restricting 'hog movement while maintaining fairly porous lines of sight and movement options for infantry is sound. The long line of sight between the bases and the way the turrets and snipers can make use of it creates some very exciting dynamics when it comes to breaking standoffs and netting last-minute flag saves. The map being broken up into numerous vertically offset levels provided many options for flag throws, encouraging players to work together to move the objective. The nature of the map being segmented primarily by walls rather than by more three-dimensional structure leads to some map geometry seeming to not be as flexible as it might be in other styles of designs. In other words, the map is somewhat lacking in multi-purpose geometry: it is difficult for players to use flat platforms and thin walls in a variety of ways.

In its current state, Weevil suffers from several issues. Firstly, its wealth of routes may appear convoluted to new players. While giving a map a learning curve and rewarding map knowledge is important, that curve needs to be clear enough to facilitate learning in an intuitive fashion. On the current build, moving around on foot arguably strikes that balance, though visually demarcating which low walls players can actually jump up and which they cannot would be wise. Using vehicles and making callouts are two areas for improvement. The latter currently suffers due to the map's somewhat homogeneous geometry (lots of walls and platforms). Creating visual landmarks to allow players to easily orient themselves and make intuitive callouts to their team is important. Removing one exterior wall of the map to create an open side and a closed side: a sunny side and a shady side might be one way to achieve this. Creating color callouts might also be necessary if a better option does not present itself. As for the warthogs, their routes are arguably too restrictive on the current build. It is important that they do not have easy access from one side of the map to the other for the sake of flag runs. However, they are currently funneled through such convoluted routes that their effectiveness is severely limited, even in the hands of skilled 'hog players. Remember that providing 'hogs with opportunities to position themselves in key locations is important, and this is not achieved when they are constantly funneled through linear paths and kept always on the move. Currently, a driver must commit to very long linear paths to move around the map, and while doing so they have few opportunities to offer their gunner effective lines of sight. Creating more branching paths would allow 'hogs more freedom, but the use of jumps will still adequately limit their access to the bases. Giving the 'hogs access to a few positions that they can lock down under the right circumstances would also make them a more important and effective part of the experience on Weevil. This can all be done while still maintaining the balance between infantry and vehicle interaction which the map already pulls off.

This map presented a few spawn problems. Firstly, the spawns at the foot of either team's main ramp, near the plasma pistols, are deadly and undesirable in most circumstances. Also, the use of force respawn zones is not the ideal way to achieve the sort of spawning balance the map needs. Use of stacked weak and weak anti zones is preferable. A few very minor framedrops were encountered along the exterior of the map. The respawn times of thirty seconds on the plasma pistols, turrets, and warthogs and sixty seconds on snipers are arguably much too low. Additionally, static weapon timers are encouraged.

Lost Causeway by Chronmeister: The latest iteration of this map is a massive improvement, and it appears to finally solve some of the core issues that plagued earlier versions of the design. The inclusion of the new platform along cliff side, neutral positioning of the turret, addition of the deathpit, and modification of lines of sight and approaches to the defender base are all excellent changes. The attackers having access to a ghost gives them some welcome extra support for controlling the map despite it being predominantly geared towards infantry movement.

The largest flaw on the current iteration is undeniably the active camouflage. It allows lone wolves to effectively enter the defender base, steal the flag, and bring it most of the way home undetected and with no reliance on teamwork. Removing the camo and placing the overshield in the contestable bottom mid location would be an excellent move. The defenders should not be given a powerup within their own base, and this placement would allow the OS to be used either offensively or defensively. The soft routes leading to the new cliff side platform could be made easier to use; this would make this platform feel more naturally included within the map. The railing on the uppermost portion of the platform may not be necessary; it should be an exposed and dangerous position to hold. The flag return point's proximity to the enclosed cave route might cause problems in the future, as it will be very difficult for defenders to contest the flag runner in the brief spawn between exiting the cave and reaching the return point. Minor framedrops are still present from the back of either base.

Blockus* by MartianMallCop: This is another map which has improved by leaps and bounds since its original version. Pulling the flag uphill is an interesting twist, particularly because it is so attractive to first drop the flag down when pulling it out of the base. This iterations gives vehicles more freedom, and there is a nice mix of long and close range spaces to suit different playstyles. The "glory hole" provides some exciting opportunities for coordinated flag plays. The grav lift is a welcome replacement for the jump pad.

The flag return point is at such an elevation that players atop it are not exposed to many dangerous lines of sight until they near the edge of it. Because of this, it may not be dangerous enough to be highly contestable. Ensuring that the entire platform is at risk from multiple key sightlines would be ideal. The nature of the defenders controlling the bottom of the hill may encourage them t stay inside their base rather than to push out of it to protect their flag.

Arcsys** by Res: This is yet another map which has improved drastically since the previous test. The triangle created by the flag placement and the two return points ensures that the entire map is used. The open expanses in front of the bases still allow for the flag to change direction at the last minute. The map houses a unique vehicle set; the ghosts can; in the right hands; effectively harass their larger counterpart. The massive lift is a nice touch.

More options for suppressing and neutralizing the wraith are needed. A brute shot near each base would allow teams to put suppressive fire on the tank, still forcing them to work together to take it down. The map is still debatably much larger than it needs to be as a squad map.

Bad Blood by The Fated Fire: Uneven teams made this test a bit of a wash.

Moving the flag to the central lane atop the bases will make players taking it up the back more exposed when scoring.

Unearthed by moo43: See: Bad Blood.

Blue team's warthog is positioned too near a rock on the driver's side, forcing players to jump over the edge of the rock before getting in the driver's seat. The rocket platform at high side may be too safe from vehicles. Moving the rockets may be an interesting exercise, as it would force players to expose themselves to the vehicles that they need the launcher to destroy. The high platform is an advantageous position and there is plenty of incentive for players to go there, even without a pickup there.

Serenity Valley by SixteenthMatt: This map has a lot of potential as a one flag map. The setting provides lots of vertical overlap and height variation as well as a mix of ranges of engagement. Like on lost Causeway, the camo presents a big problem here. Additionally, the central bridge is not exposed enough to account for how direct of a route it is. Fixing these two issues will result in players being more creative with flag pulls and making use of more of the map. While the map's size seems perfectly reasonable for the 5v5 player cout, many areas are very tight and cluttered. This is particularly evident when using a warthog. The 'hog routes suffer from some of the same linearity issues seen on Weevil. The defenders' base is arguably the best place from which to defend currently, giving the defending team little incentive to push out and control more of the map. This is partly due to the base's height advantage over its surroundings, and partly due to a general lack of defined positions on the map; there are plenty of routes through which to move, but few positions which are worth holding. Once the flag reaches the attackers' base, it is very likely to be scored because of the enclosed nature of the base's lower floor and the upper level being raised above its surroundings. Removing the camo, evening out the advantages and disadvantages of various routes, removing clutter, creating more defined positions, and increasing the risk surrounding the flag capture point will go a long way towards improving this map.

Hornet's Nest by Shadowcat AZ: As was discussed after playing, this map is essentially a mini game and doe not incorporate the gameplay elements this contest is based around. With that said, it does have the potential to be a fantastic mini game. Having all entrances to the flag rooms blocked by shield doors encourages camping the flag; unobstructed routes to the flag are a must. However, having skylight into the base for hornets to drop spartans through might create some interesting dynamics pertaining to flag pushes. Connecting some of the smaller islands through teleporters, man cannons, or bridges and placing items of interest such as sniper rifles and rocket launchers atop them would actually give players to use them. Encouraging hornet pilots to carry troops to other islands and control them and whatever resources are placed on them would add a lot of depth to gameplay. For this reason, the map may even be better suited to a conquest-style territories variant where teams must vie for control of different islands.

Headless by IMAROLLINGSTONE: Like several other maps, Headless has improved considerably since previous tests. The new version is more focused, making one-sided objective feel much more at home on it. The new flag return point is just asking for exciting last-minute saves by coordinated teams. The warthog is effective in the right hands, and vehicle play benefits from some interesting directional routes. The map's overlapping routes and urban theme definitely hearken back to its namesake. The biggest issue in our game was spawning. The spawn system has some catching up to do now that the layout is more defined as a playspace for one-sided objective. Clearly defining attacker and defender spawn locations is the next logical step. The long, straight road behind the defender base could likely use some work as it is rather bland compared to the vertical, complex nature of most of the rest of the map's geometry. Attackers skirting around the defender buildings have few options when using this route. Lastly, the lift into the front the orange building is awkward as it prevents players from jumping over it and out of the front of the building. It covers such little vertical distance that it seems silly not to replace it with a simple jump-up anyway.

Boned by CommanderColson: Both in size and in design philosophy, Boned is a big team battle map. The map is quite large and has a mix of wide routes geared towards vehicles and tight ones geared towards infantry rather than the more focused combination of the two typically associated with squad designs. The map's size and wealth of routes encourages players to spread out and engage in long range BR duels rather than to coordinate focused pushes. The warthog seems to be the obvious choice for making flag runs due to the ease with which it can traverse the map. The circular nature of the layout and general lack of chokepoints makes gameplay rather ill-defined. Scaling the map down significantly, creating a better marriage of infantry and vehicle movement options, and defining chokepoints and clear positions to control would go a long way towards making this a better map for squad play.

There were several soft killzones extending into the map around the exterior. The rooftops in the center should arguably be impassable.

Riptide by Squally DaBeanz: This test was not particularly insightful. One team being down a man, and most of the testers having been playing for four hours by the time of this test made it rather uninformative.

*This feedback is based on the newest version of the map, created after our tests on Saturday
**This map is not currently on the author's file share, so no additional insight could be gathered after the test

Thanks for the feedback! However judging by the results of the testing lobby the other night, and the sheer amount of time that's left until the contest's coda, I'm pretty sure we all here can agree that my entry for the Squad Competition is... well, pretty much boned.

--- Double Post Merged, Aug 4, 2015 ---

When is the next testing lobby?

As always, the next official testing lobby will be posted on HaloCustoms. It will be held some time this weekend.

The next official testing lobby will be held this Friday.

Thanks again for the lobby and feedback; these changes are underway.

Lobby #6​

Fractal by Res: Fractal is a solid multi flag map. The long lines of sight and vertical nature of the map create interesting infantry engagements while still offering vehicles the opportunity to be used effectively. The ways the primary power positions interact with one another gives teams various options for how to control the map, and this also ensures that there are multiple routes worth taking the flag. Encouraging players to drop down from the upper levels to grab the sniper and rockets is a good design choice.

The triangular drop-down near the brute shot makes top cyan an interesting combat space for infantry. However, this drop down will come as a surprise to 'hog drivers playing the map for the first time, and is generally an annoyance when trying to traverse the map in a vehicle. The exposed upper portion of the map is a risky place to take a vehicle as is, so such restrictions are arguably unnecessary (albeit funny when a 'hog flops right through the drop-down by accident). In contrast, the straight shot through bottom mid will potentially lead to some very fast 'hog-based flag caps. This route may require restriction for vehicles in some way. The thin walls in the bases and at top cyan make for some very two-dimensional geometry in contrast with the more structural nature of the geometry throughout the rest of the map. The seastacks near cyan are extremely bumpy, making them quite awkward to move or positions oneself on. The hard killzones immediately beyond the playable space near the bases are needlessly unforgiving. There may be too much spawn weighting n several spawn locations which are out in the open. This is causing defenders to sometimes spawn in view of attackers pushing their base.

Unearthed by moo43: Unearhed continues to create intense standoffs and encourage teams to be creative in breaking them while giving players the right tools to do so. The new, more exposed, rocket placement is a great change.

This map continues to suffer from some spawning issues. This is likely due to the weighting differential between certain spawn areas. For example, the spawns in each base have significantly more weighting than those outside them when the flag is at home. This means that, even when the base is being pushed, players are still likely to spawn there. Decreasing the delta between weighting in the bases and weighting outside of them will make it more likely for players to spawn elsewhere when their base is being attacked, leading to safer spawns. A +2 weak zone value on the upper level of the bases with a +3 value in the lower level would likely execute this.

Riptide by Squally DaBeanz: Riptide played fairly standardly as compared to past tests. Middle flag route was used a bit more, but this had to do partially with spawning too far back and partially with good map control and the destruction of the turret early on one round. Spawning further up when flag is away should make this path harder to use, increasing the need for a team to control one of the approaches and to pull back towards that side.

Blockus by MartianMallCop: Blockus continued to play well. Spawning for offense team may have been a little off, as defense team was able to use the flag cap point several times to stop pulls and to then distract the offense team from leaving their base. The lack of a gate did allow hogs to barrel into the back of defense base off of the start of the game, but this almost always led to the hog being destroyed or heavily damaged, so this may not be an issue. I personally feel that the usefulness of making that rush is offset by the danger in doing so.

Lost Causeway by Chronmeister: This map is incredibly punishing: forcing teams to control key locations or be funneled through extremely dangerous paths if they fail to do so. That balance is excellent, and this combined with the removal of the active camouflage and improvement of framerate performance have put this map in a great spot.

Moving the OS to a more exposed location, equidistant from initial spawns would make it more contestable and prevent flag carriers to use it as a crutch when traveling through the inherently safer lower level of the map. The turret is brutal; make sure that it doesn't have a clear line of sight on all of the weapons used to counter it. Also, spawns directly in the turret's cone of fire need to be moved to prevent instantaneous spawn-killing.

Serenity Valley by SixteenthMatt: This map's geometry has improved by leaps and bounds since the previous lobby. The overall scale of the map seems perfect, and the scaling of individual areas no longer feels too tight and cluttered. The new, exposed, return point point and the jump across the chasm in front of it are great improvements as well. Lengthening this jump and forcing carriers to sacrifice themselves t throw the flag across would provide some interesting incentive for teamwork. The upper central bridge now appears exposed enough to account for it being the shortest route, though warthogs may still have an easy time crossing it with the flag. Making it only a one-way route for vehicles might be an option for preventing this. Defenders would benefit from further incentive to push out of their base along the left side of the map as the main position on that side is really only accessible to attackers currently. The use of force respawn zones over small clusters of spawns seems an odd choice and will likely not yield ideal spawning results. Using the smaller, stackable spawn weighting intervals offered by weak zones is preferable in the majority of cases.

Weevil by -Orzium-: The recent tweaks to vehicle routes have improved warthog play substantially. Drivers must still adapt to the intentionally limiting vehicle routes, but they can now do so in a more intuitive fashion and they are required to commit to fewer long linear stretches. The new sniper placement and rocket drop-downs appear to be positive changes.

The visual homogeneity and resulting player orientation issues and hindrance to the use of callouts has not been addressed since the previous lobby. The respawn points at the foot of the ramps and the misuse of force respawn zones have also not been addressed, and both will continue to prove problematic in future tests.

Strikedown by speedbird21: The bases on Strikedown are extremely defendable. Their towers provide defenders with extremely effective options without even leaving their base. The bases are only approachable from the front. The flag placement also allows only a frontal approach and does not allow players to spawn behind their flag when pushed back. The placement of powerups in the bases removes the potential for the contention that powerups normally see and gives escaping flag carriers a crutch to lean on. When flag carriers have an overshield, they are much less reliant on support from their team. The same is true for camo with the added detriment of it allowing carriers to disappear without a trace only to end up at an unpredictable location across the map and get an easy score. The canyons comprising much of the map lack height variation and vertical overlap and therefore are home to very stale gunfights with no particularly interesting movement options. The gates in the map's center as well as the EMPs were unintuitive (and one of the switches apeared not to work) even after a brief explanation of them from the map's author.

Aquarious by Purple Monkey and DERK91: Virtually all of the issues covered in the previous feedback for this map are still present. Framerate drops are slightly less serious, but still detrimental. The long linear route through the envelope of unecessary, unplayable space is still a problem. The map still supports few defined power positions. Weapons like the sword would benefit from being placed in more neutral, contestable locations.

Olympus by MultiLockOn and Given To Fly: I didn’t notice too many changes on Olympus this time. Banshee is still being destroyed off of spawn by defense almost every round, so I would try to do more to protect its spawn location from that angle. This game the flag almost universally went through teleport, as this proved to be one of the safer routes. Every route off of the base is risky, so the push back towards teleport is actually less risky due to its close proximity. It may be that the teleport exit should require the player to be exposed for longer from tower, so that it is not so home free once it gets through.

Gorge by AbleSir Thomas and Auxi Klutch`: The wraith on Gorge is still too controlling a factor. The addition of so many rockets to the map (4 shots spawned 3 times per round) was not what was needed to deal with this however. Right now, the wraith can traverse the map fairly freely, and has a raised area by defense base that it can sit back in relatively safely. The vehicle routes themselves need to limit the wraith more, and when the wraith is in a good position to defend the base it needs to be vulnerable itself. If the wraith can go behind the base, it should not have line of sight into the flag routes from there, and should instead only use the area to escape from enemy fire before moving back out to defend again. I think that the offense side could also use more routes that go above the wraith paths, as too often I am seeing fights between offense on an open field and defense up on the raised platforms. Some of these areas could even be made warthog accessible so as to give it another way to fight the wraith. If you do take all of these changes into mind, I might reduce the count of plasma grenade piles, as many of them give up to 3 plasmas at once right now, which makes killing the warthog too easy to accomplish.

Headless by IMAROLLINGSTONE: The new flag cap tower on Headless is a welcome addition, making it harder to cap the flag with a quick pull. Of the three main flag routes, the one going left from the flag seemed nearly unusable, as the enemy team was usually pouring in from that direction. Unless that path becomes more rewarding to use, or spawning changes for defense, it will be difficult to use that path at all as a flag run. This game the flag appeared most of the time to be most successfully run through mid. This may have been to do with the fact that the whole lobby was tired by the last game, and so there was less opposition to using the fastest route. Just keep an eye on it.

This Friday, the day prior to the submission deadline, Shoe and I will each be hosting a testing lobby. Shoe's lobby will focus on maps which have received little to no testing thus far in official testing lobbies while mine will focus on returning maps. These lobbies will focus on helping participants make the final changes their maps need prior to submitting.

I arrive back to the US from Peru on the 14th so I'll hopefully be able to catch this last testing lobby before the final submission deadline. Really looking forward to the new submissions and all the refinements made on previously tested maps. See you guys soon!

I will have a submission before the deadline, I am going risky here and not having it in any testing lobbies pre-deadline. Been super busy with work, school, and other things lately so haven't been able to focus my time into this map. But it is coming together very nicely so far and it should be finished soon.