Hey party people, I am remaking a map that I made back in Halo 3, called Gutter. Keeping the name, because I am a big fan of it. Originally it was designed to be like Wetwork, the Call of Duty map (the one on the ship, rainy, etc), with a sort of stuck-in-a-gutter theme. Decided to revamp and remake it. Here is my progress so far, lemme know what you think. Quick notes about the map: Its made to have a gross, dark, dank, sewer sort of theme. This is still a blockout stage, so that aesthetic is mostly basic for right now. The map is relatively simple, and so to make some more interesting options, I have "pipes" (currently just tunnels) that can bring you outside the edges of the map, bringing you back in to other ends. For weapons, I currently just placed some placeholder weapons, but I plan on featuring the Gravity Hammer, and I want to try out having 2 Overshields on the map. For download... GT: SmartAlec13 File Name: Gutter 0.1.0 I also have a link to a quick video tour of the map. I have one with commentary, which I will upload later. http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/SmartAlec13/video/14504951 EDIT: Also here is a link to the original Halo 3 map, just to look back on. http://www.forgehub.com/threads/gutter.91838/#post-1087439 Based on some feedback, here are some changes I will be making Creating a lower-mid, under that central big pipe, where the fuel rod will be moved to. This should help place it in a less-powerful position. I will most likely replace it with something else, maybe slightly less powerful. Remove the teleporters, and replace them with two-way tunnels. Still debating if these should be walking tunnels (like the ones on left or right in mid), or if they should have mancannons. Create better orientation, most likely using color
Yo @SmartAlec13, just noticed you posted this. How far are you willing to stray from the original inspiration. Cuz there is a lot of little comments I'd love to give, but I don't want to stray you too far from your original vision. It's great to see you working from blockout stages. If you want to get some tests for this in the lobbies, just speak up man. I could also just run with you through forge and give you straight feedback there. Is this at a playable state now? I wasn't sure if this was following CF's versioning style or not. Also what player count are you looking at for this?
Its made for 4v4, but a small 4v4, so it can play 2v2 nearly as well. I am pretty open to straying from the original inspiration. The main thing I want with this one is to have an obvious, heavy theme of a sewer/gutter, with greens, greys, browns, yellows, oranges, with a stinky gritty feeling, and tons of metal pipes. Gameplay-wise, I want there to be a good mix of CQC and longer sightlines (true to the older version), but now with more movement options, focusing on the "Pipes"/tunnels around the edges of the maps Feedback would be great that's why I posted it Also, I am using the CF version style lol, it works well for me. It is in a "playable" state.
@GodlyPerfection @scrub Meee @Captain Punch @Chesus Khrist @xMalevolution @black picture @N1TRO @Yekkou @What's A Scope? Hey, just wondering what your thoughts about Gutter were after playing it. Keep in mind it is still at very early stages, afterall that was the first playable version and first playtest. Some of the things I noticed last night was orientation. It was hard to know which side players were on, especially because there is so much side-swapping that happens with the different tunnels, and because it is a relatively small map. In future edits, I will make the sides have different color markings to help differentiate between the two. I also may do some minor aesthetic works to make the sides look a bit different. Another thing was the tunnels. Obviously right now they are just simple, blocked halls, but the thing I noticed was players trying to enter the Exit end of the One-Way tunnels. Someone (I think it was ScrubMee) had the idea of putting arrows, or some sign to let players know that they can't go through there. Cool ideas I have for the future is more tunnels, making switches to reverse the tunnel direction temporarily, or switches to shut them off completely. EDIT: also I am adding a link to the original thread, since its cool to look back at it
I'm thinking something like this this for the arrows. Maybe even add a visible gravity volume rotated on its side to give players the visual cue that it's going to push you back.
I always found myself to have lost more than a half of my shields when I exited the big tunnel, which was a big pain in the butt. I also think the teleporters were disorienting. I had a few gunfights where either I or the opponent ran over the teleporter and got lost. Lastly, I think the FRG spawn cylinder was too high, because it overlooked the rest of the map. If you could lower the spawn platform for the fuel rod gun, that would be useful. Apart from that, it worked great as a blockout, though I got eviscerated when I played it...
I was thinking, what if I opened up a small area underneath that central pipe, like inside, where the Fuel Rod would be? It would just be a simple tunnel from one side to another
So when you say that you lost your shields when you exited the tunnel, was it because of another player waiting there for you with grenades/guns, or was it because of a glitch or something? Also, my plan is to remove the teleporters. They were a temporary test/fix for playtest, instead of building a tunnel. I plan on having a two way tunnel there instead (which I still need to figure out how to do, so that players can be man-cannoned both ways).
I collided with the wall, which was the cause of the shield drop. It happened ~75% of the time, so some refinement is seen as necessary. I suggest nixing the man cannons for the tunnels, as it may just cause too many issues with both building and gameplay. At most, use a 2-way teleporter system there.
I think its worth it to iron out the mancannons for building and gameplay. My main thing is I don't want teleporters, as they can be very campy by nature, and make travel instantaneous. The mancannons fit the theme better as well, because its supposed to be flowing down the pipes. If after ironing out, mancannons still cause a problem, teleporters would be a last resort
Notes from Godly's critique Avoid 90 degree Taper the corners to change from box shape Add minor height variations, between floor, platforms, etc Less Clambers necessary, add as bonus Make fights from different areas DIFFERENT. Unique interactions 3-second Option rule Center bridge, add cover for high-shots Make glass area for tunnels? Make back tunnels as low-high Make center tunnels slightly shorter, by moving them toward team sides Remove central FRG once Gravhammer comes out, possibly give each team a 1-clip FRG I also can confirm, @GodlyPerfection hates TicTacToe
All of Godly's critiques are pretty much exactly what I was thinking about this map. The upper levels of the map all required clamber and left you too exposed. Most of the gameplay seemed to be on the lower levels. Other than that, I think the main thing the map needs is a ceiling. I'm thinking a high, vaulted ceiling, like this, with lots of arches. I think you should provide more cover for the upper levels by placing pillars and walls that reach all the way to the ceiling and transition into it via arches. I threw something together real quick, demonstrating the direction I think you should go aesthetically. Place chromas all over with a floor piece slight under them, just so dropped weapons don't completely disappear under the chromas. Did I mention arches?
@SmartAlec13 I like you, but I did not like Gutter. I liked some of the structures, but I felt like I was stuck against walls or falling off ledges too often, not really moving in and out of cover. "Base" roof hole is awkward and the one way tunnel is a deathtrap if you happen to go the wrong way. The paths between raised structures along the sides of the map were not easy to read, nor were the tunnels. I found myself running into many dead ends and getting turned around often. The Blockout being a solid color did not help, as it was not always clear which path I was about to enter, so learning the layout didn't happen/help. The teleporters are also awkward, I found myself never needing them and not being able to utilize them the way they were. Each individual feature has merit, you just need to adjust scaling, add railings/ramps, make areas more readable, give the players more swiss cheese cover, and fix some of the functionality of the options you give the player, with heavy consideration towards your paraphrasing of Raymond's feedback. Edit: For the mancannons, nix the tunnels and create and open exterior space where you are launched from balcony to balcony (essentially). @GodlyPerfection _o_|___|_x_ ___|_x_|___ x . | o .|
Your image (the second one) isn't loading for me. Yeah don't worry, there is a ceiling planned. I kept it open for easier editing, viewing of the whole map, less lighting issues, etc. Its going to have sloping walls with a high ceiling, some large pipes for decoration, etc. Most of the advice I got from Godly was to make different things at different height levels, since right now its basically ground floor or platform height. So some of that height change will give some cover to the higher platforms, and less to others. My goal with the upper areas is to provide longer sightlines, meaning they will naturally be a bit more open, while the lower areas are for safe trans-map travel and CQC. I like you too, Punch, lol. Any ideas on how I can make the "base hole" less awkward? My hope was to give some more swiss cheese, but I can see how it would be awkward. I agree with almost everything you said, except for nixing the tunnels. I feel they are a pretty core part of the map's theme, being a sewer/gutter. I can't imagine some open area with balconies fitting with the theme very well. However, I will work to make the tunnels feel a lot more smooth, and give a lot more indication as to where you are going. The two way tunnels (so the ones connecting bottom mid to upper areas) will be shortened so there is less time spent, and all the tunnels will be wider, more visible. Thanks again for the feedback guys. I have a lot of work to do with this one
@SmartAlec13 You could build the theme as a water treatment facility and those tunnels could be replaced with platforms over drainage pipes. I can already see the whole thing... which is troubling...I should refrain from helping with this in-game.
@Chan Whats your GT? I wanna check that out. I was thinking of doing something like that, with the rocky bottom to make it look more rough and dirty. I have done a lot of work today on it. I tapered the corners of the map, and made those side-base platforms less 90 degree. Did a lot of other minor work, but i still have a lot to go. @Captain Punch I don't fully get how that would look