matter698 submitted a new map: Hibernis - In the midst of a raging blizzard, two teams of red and blue battle it out. Read more about this map...
Comments I This map feels like a H:CE map in terms of design process with its limited routes and use of teleporters to alter map flow. Power weapon placement is appropriate, I like how the Sniper Rifles have reduced ammo and the power position for them is difficult to reach Energy Sword in a dark cave is a cool idea, you get the power weapon but become very visible while using the weapon You did a good job at using Natural objects when it came to the visual portion of the map I can see this working as a large arena map, a small BTB map is a bit of a stretch due to how the spawns appear to be set-up Critique T The cave and parts of the bases are too dark as the player models appear to pop in the darkness. Adding some dim lighting could help to make the basement and bases more appealing. It is really easy to get lost or turned around in the dark basement as the only clear indicators of side are the blue/red walls at the top of the basement ramps There is little reason to move from where the Sniper Rifle spawns if you have it due to the smaller ammo count and difficulty getting to the teleporter. The time and ammo it could cost getting to the teleporter in a match may not be worth it at all in the end. There are no hard routes into the Sniper Nests, making it easy for a team to lockdown the room by camping the teleporter The bases have only two, small doorways that lead to areas that have pretty open lines of sight making it easy for an enemy team to lock a team in their base. Adding another route or breaking up some sight lines would help reduce the punishment of these choke points. This map is very flat with the only verticality coming from shooting up ramps or down from Sniper Nests. I'd like to see the upper outside portion have more vertical features and less objects scattered across a flat surface. The rock arch from Beaver Creek/Battle Creek comes to mind as an idea. This map doesn't appear to be designed with Halo 5 movement in mind as I only ever found myself using Sprint, and the chances for a ground pound are pretty sparse The map feels sparse in terms of weapon and grenade drops. Aside from the Snipers and Energy Sword there are only two DMRs making this a very loadout-dependent battle. Quick Notes C Red Base needs polishing in a few spots. When entering the top front door, the player can jump out of the map directly to the left with a crouch jump to clamber. The top ramp can be seen through when going down the bottom ramp into the cave. Going down the bottom ramp into the cave, to the right there is a hole where the player can safely get out of the map. Can't remember which base, think it was red, but one of the merged pieces in the roof had texture flickering While this map is intended for 4v4 the weapon placement, line of sights, and available routes feels more appropriate for 2v2. If you were to add more vertical sight lines, more hard pathways out of the bases and up to the Sniper Nests, and create more weapon placements for lower-tier weapons (like SMGs and grenades) this map would start looking like a 4v4 map. While I haven't playtested it with an appropriately sized lobby, I'd tentatively rate this map as a 2/5 for a 4v4 experience and bump it to a 3/5 for 2v2.
Thank you for the feedback! I will try to improve on all of the things you've mentioned, especially the holes in the map, and texture flickering. I agree that is is a stretch for BTB in the classic sense, but while testing this map, I, and the people I played with, had a blast with 7v7, or 8v8 slayer/CTF. That's the only reason I suggested it. (CTF with 16 people is nuts, and tons of fun) I decided to go with a sparse amount of power weapons, because I primarily tested this map with 7v7 or 8v8, and found that with a lot of power weapons, the tides of the fight turn too quickly, as the small size of the map forced a lot of people into smaller areas. Inversely, when played 4v4, I ultimately felt like the weapons I placed would lead to the more skilled players gaining the upper hand. However, it looks like I went too far while balancing for larger scale battles. I will have to add some more T1-T2 weapons and grenades across the map. I will definitely work on the lighting in the basement and bases. That's something that I just couldn't get to look right, so I went with the way it is now. I will look into putting in a ramp up to the sniper tower. The only reason I didn't put it in was because I wanted the person who picked up the sniper to have a tougher time getting the sniper to the power position, thus making that position all the more valuable. I will try putting it in and seeing how that plays, but I'm not sure if that will work or not. Verticality and Halo 5's movement was something I struggled with while building this map. I originally come from Halo CE, so I'm not used to all the crazy movements. I will definitely try to incorporate them in one way or another, as the abilities definitely improve gameplay, and the flow of the map. I tried to block the lines of sight from the base, but I guess I didn't do that great of a job. I'll see what I can do. Thank you again for the critique. I really appreciate the feedback. I've still got some time off for the holidays, so I can try to work on some improvements. Thanks again!
Okay, I'm glad to hear the larger scale battles are fun! I approached evaluating the map through a 4v4 perspective so my comments and critique is tailored toward that gameplay. I respect keeping weapon spawns to a minimum, but only having one DMR per team seems a little steep. Maybe start with adding 1 SMG or Needler per base and adjust weapons amounts accordingly? Lighting can be tricky for sure, just keep playing with it and if you're not happy try taking out the cave aspect and turning it into some else, like a lower part of a cliff or something. If the ramp doesn't work you can make a trick jump instead so there is some risk for the Sniper trying to take the short path up to the nest, a little risk versus reward as the jump would make them vulnerable and the object they're jump off of should put the player in a weak position forcing them to quickly use it as a path. Halo 5 movement can be tricky to get used to when designing maps but once you get used to the distances and moves the possibilities open up. As for vertical gameplay Halo: CE has some really good examples like Damnation, Chill Out, and (somewhat) Prisoner that you can use for inspiration moving forward. I hope this helps!