It's not too often that people release maps that incorporate an "unsafe" design concept AND function well. Describe a concept like this that you think hasn't been done well or explored much. Tell me so that can steal the idea please.
What is an unsafe design concept to You? Bad level designers think asymmetrical maps are unsafe (as evidenced by the types of forge maps people kept making in Reach intended for matchmaking). Can you give a couple of examples of maps that have used an unsafe concept and had it either work or not?
I took an opposing castle map and actually made it more able to be played in a competitive, balanced manner. With only one main lane of attacking the other base, the weapons, geometry and vehicles are (IMO) perfectly balanced so you can always counter every situation if you know what to do.
Legion/trinity I guess oblivion but I don't like playing it on halo 5 Room based maps I feel are easier to control sight lines, and depending on the map you can never be aggressive and push someone without chasing them through a door where it's usually a 90 degree angle where it's an AR melee **** out a grenade kind of kill. Open air maps are harder to "balance" and I usually find them having more depth. This is all my opinion however. A good example of a sort of "room based" map is my map box ce. However instead of putting walls and ceilings I allowed players to go onto high ledges (like the tele receiver) to look into rooms to promote aggressiveness rather than just having to wait at the next door entrance. But I kept things segmented enough to where you didn't only have to play aggressive it was just more rewarding I guess. I don't if that's what you meant by concept but I think the 3 maps I listed above are good examples
I'm thinking more along the lines of taking an idea that is typically considered "flawed" or untraditional and building a design around it. I think of maps like Fools Paradise or Trinity.
Two concepts I don't see used very often: - Death Pits - One way movement options Death Pits are easy to add to maps, but difficult to implement in ways that don't piss players off. One way movement options are a great way to direct flow on maps, and there are lots of interesting ways to incorporate them. - Drop downs are one way to do this. - I've also experimented with movement options that are only possible in certain scenario's (In older Halo's you could design routes that were possible with normal movement, but not possible when holding an objective. - In more recent games we've had Speed Boost to open up otherwise unavailable movement options. I used this on Tron, where some jumps were only possible moving in one direction, but could be done in the opposite direction also if you had Speed Boost.)
I like to incorporate deathpits or traps. Things that give you an opportunity to traverse a spot if you do it just right, but if not, die. Risk v reward. Trick is giving the player ample warning it is dangerous, and not inviting them into it. Putting a soft-kill zone up against the deadly item or spot is a good way of telling them not to 'go there'. Like, if a countdown starts, don't continue, duh!
Awkward footing. Awkward footing can really skew the balance of importance with how a player interacts with the map, as opposed to interacting with their opponent(s). For this reason, players are generally turned off by maps that use it excessively. So, it's kind of a lost art in modern level design. Bonus points if the punishment is death as opposed to loss of height. Peak is a perfect example.
Not really a design concept but filters. No one ever puts them on maps and people complain when you do but they can be used to help pull of done awesome looking maps. --- Double Post Merged, Aug 31, 2017 --- Also, and this is actual design now but moving geometry. Swinging platforms or scripted elevators etc.
I think that moving geometry is too finicky in halo 5. Also every time I have seen it done in a map it usually doesn't add to the map itself. The way I would like to implement moving geometry I don't think forge can handle but I haven't tried either.
Dude I don't ever think I've made a map without a filter. Filters are key. I'm working on one with the 'juicy" filter now. I get what you're saying though. Most maps I load up in forge have no filters and it saddens me
Any single one of my fever dreams. Lots of potential with almost zero application Real talk though if the movement scripting wasn't so jacked, my favorite concept on mind right now is making a map that ends up a completely different layout from the start. Also maps that incorporate the buddy system: requiring 2 or more people to unlock a certain element of the map
With every map I make I always do something different than I have done before, so it's a bit difficult to call out what I consider to be unsafe because I tend to always try something new. I always make it work before I release a map. Hangout was the most vertical btb map I've ever developed and probably one of the most vertically functioning btb maps I've seen, which was the goal. That's uncommon but I idk if I'd call it unsafe because to me, it wasn't unsafe. Pueblo/Tourist Trap was experimenting with Escort-esque modes and how to make them interesting in the context of Halo. Alley fights, and rooftop fights galore and just some interesting sightlines tricks. My newest map I'm working on, you'll have to wait and see. I guess one of the design concepts thats a bit common that I've found the most interesting as of late that is generally up for debate, is trapping. Creating an area in a map where a player can get trapped and other players can take advantage of it. Pueblo/Tourist trap used it and it had some very divisive reception where some people absolutely loved it and others hated it with a fiery passion. I actually think that it's use on Arcanum was done better than how I did it myself on my map so it probably one of the most interesting topics to me as of late. Random unsafe ideas off the top of my head. A map with no "floors". Where the world is upside down and players are on the ceiling of buildings. Death "pit" ceilings or walls.
I think Halo looks gross without filters most of the time, I just wish gloom didn't hurt shades of red so much because with some lighting to brighten it up it looks really nice.