Halo 5 Developer Map Critiques

So does this include the forge maps?

 

I think the main two problems with almost every map 343 has ever released are the sightlines and routes. Lets take Orion for example. The dmr spawn on blue side directly overlooks the railgun spawn which is one of only 3 routes out of red base. The other two routes are extremely open and easily covered by top mid, which happens to directly connect to blue and is extremely hard to access from any other position. This dreadful combination of poorly thought out routes combined with the lack of sightlines out of red make for extremely easy spawn trapping and an overall awful experience.

If all of that isn't enough, damage boost spawns on a floating block only accessible to blue base. Yay 343!

 

Might come back and post more in depth stuff later if I get around to it but in general a feeling of over segmentation and chopping up of sightlines.
They feel like they came straight out of a generic design handbook and lack the character of classic halo maps both visually and in design on a geometric level. Over designed if you will to the point of overbalance and sameness that lacks any real interest.

Outside of Eden you don't really have any breathing room and there is a lack of pacing to encounters.
This combined with the spawn system leads to a clusterduck that never ends and general feeling of being a headless chicken.

Also get hung up on loads of unnecessary geometry when backing up in a fight that catch nades and players alike, worst part being it isn't consistently bad or good so you don't know what to expect.
For example, sometimes stairs have ramp like collision as you would expect for nade bounces but the Blue Bend stairs on Eden actually have gaps that rockets can fly through.
Sneaky on Eden and Empire have a lip you get stuck on that wasn't fixed since beta.
On Fathoms bridges there is a white lip too high for the step hight but not high enough visually to read as something you must jump over which leads to frustration trying to back off of the bridge.

Going to stop now as I could nitpick forever, game has soooo much potential and I do enjoy it but that makes the little things that much more annoying.
Forge can't come soon enough, also the future dev maps should hopefully improve in quality over time as they usually do once the devs are creating for a finished game and take feedback from the community and themselves in a post launch world.

 

I'm just gonna make a few quick thoughts on each map.

Coliseum: Pretty good map, though it is a bit basic. Some of the sneaky ledges on green side definitely help spice it up though. Also, I would have liked to see less 90 degree angles everywhere. They're just too easy to use to escape. It's less of a problem in the middle, but I would've liked to see more 45 degree walls in the bases.

Eden: Eden is interesting. I've mostly only played SWAT on it, so take that as you may. Personally, I think I prefer Empire. Eden just feels a little too messy. The long bridges everywhere don't really lead anywhere that stands out, and aren't the best positions themselves. There are some interesting sightlines between ledges and bridges throughout, but it feels like it all lacks focus to me.

Empire: Empire is an OK map. Like Coliseum, it's very basic. That's usually a plus for me, but this is a little TOO simplistic at times. My biggest complaints are the flat bottom level of the map and the annoying pillars everywhere. I would have preferred to see an elevation change acting as cover instead of the pillars in front of each base, and the pillars in the open side room and in the bases removed.

Fathom: Fathom has a similar problem to Empire in that it's too flat. The areas between the bases and the middle bridge have too long of sightlines in all directions, and the bases themselves are basically just annoyingly crooked and cramped hallways. The bridge in the middle of the map is really fun to play on, and it's a shame the rest of the map doesn't match it in quality.

Plaza: Plaza is an interesting one. Visually, it's VERY cool. Unfortunately, this visual flare often hurts readability and target acquisition. Certain parts of the map favor one team or another due to lighting or colors. The map itself has what feel like some redundant and parallel routes in some areas, and unnecessary clutter in others. And then there's the tree room side of the map. Everything boils down to fighting over this camping spot, and it's just shooting down a long hallway with small pockets on the side. Not fun.

Regret: Regret is probably one of my favorite maps in the game. It's a nice take on the classic Midship formula, making the middle of the map an interesting structure rather than an exposed platform. This creates a very strong division between the bases, and helps isolate combat into pockets without making them cluttered or disconnected. Between these pockets are interesting and predictable (mostly) sightlines connecting them that also act as effective routes and flanks. Definitely a solid map.

The Rig: This is a tough one. I really WANT to like The Rig, and I do like many aspects of it. My main problem is that there's too much swiss cheese on the map. Many routes have parallels just on the other side of thin walls, and the entire middle of the map is a maze of thin walls and drop downs that make it too easy to get lost or escape an attacker. The rest of the map is really nice, as there is a tower to control, a more closed in room based elbow, an open courtyard area, and a few interesting sniper lanes throughout. Add in the nerd routes around the pit, and there's some fun to be had here. I just really hate the middle of the map.

Truth: Bigship really bothered me during the beta, mainly due to its scaling and lighting. While the lighting seems to be a bit better, the scale and sightlines are still the same. Sightlines from corner to corner or from side to side of each base are just too long and exposed. Combine this with a boring and flat bottom mid, and this map turns into linear perimeter combat more than it should. It boils down to finding a section to camp, and waiting for people to expose themselves, which isn't fun.

Orion: Oh boy, this map. This map is just straight up trash. The sightlines are way too long in some areas, the rooms and courtyards are too cluttered in others, there are too many dead ends, and too many redundant routes to said dead ends. The map lacks focus, and has poorly balanced routes and power positions. Not only does one side of the map dominate the other, but there is now way to flank or overpower it, just rush it from the front and hope for the best.

Pegasus: This map isn't as bad as Orion, but it's still pretty bad. This map has a little TOO much focus on power positions, particularly red base. This room is too easy to lock down, and gives one side a clear advantage. Opposite that, the blue room is an empty dead end with no purpose other than to fill in that corner of the map. It leads to the exact same place as the taller middle room, and is just a death trap. The rest of the map seems alright, but all the routes just sort of lead to the same place: red base. There needs to be another power position on the other side of the map to counter red and provide another option for something to fight for control of.

I haven't played any of the Breakout maps because I think Breakout is stupid, and all the maps are just paintball courses anyway. I do have some overall last thoughts though:

The maps generally seem to have too much cover in the wrong places, and too much flat space in others. There's also a poor use of dead end rooms and routes, and a lack of small elevation changes acting as cover. Instead, everything is all 90 degree corners and tall ledges to show off clamber and thrusters. I think there should be more organic shapes like on Regret and some shorter ledges to allow skilled players to crouch jump if they choose to keep their weapons up when climbing vertically in the maps. Many walls are too thin and lack any substantial cover or division from other areas of the maps. I feel like 343 focused too much on allowing players to use the new abilities as much as possible, and ended up making many of the maps sloppy and cluttered with redundant routes, lazy cover, and dead ends. There is potential in some of these but, like us, I think they are still figuring out the right balance for these new abilities in regards to map design.

 

guys, we have added the dev maps to our map database for this very purpose, head on over there and post your reviews.

biggest issue i have with all the maps is segmentation balance, its either too segmented or too open and no middle ground to really be found. really not liking the use of lazy walls to segment everything instead of verticality and more defined geometry, i'm actually quite surprised at the lack of verticality given clamber as well.