Ascension/Tower of Power Recreation

Tower of Power
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- Please note that this is a remake of the Halo 2 map "Ascension," and is recommended only for those familiar with the original version. -
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First, a quick history.

Construction on this map began in January 2008 and ended seven months later in July. (if you need reminding, the Heroic map pack was in fact released on December 11, 2007) Due to the extensive interlocking of the tower, I estimate that this map took upwards of 150 hours to complete. I know. I was there. For 150 goddam hours...

Why? Because playing Halo 2 Tower of Power was the influencing factor in me buying my first XBox and it introduced me to the Halo series. This map is my tribute to that gametype.

$500 of the $700 budget is spent on just the tower. Due to the care and precision of this interlocking, the surface flows with the smoothness of a built-in map, and the gameplay feels nearly identical to the original. Of course, properly reproducing Ascension on any Halo 3 map is both fiscally and proportionally impossible, but the resemblance between this remake and the original is quite impressive.

This map is set up for all gametypes, slayer with the original weapons placement included.

- Disclaimer -
Due to the fact that this is on Foundry:
1 There is no bottomless mist. If you fall off, do the honorable thing and jump back on. In slayer, this is a bit of a problem, but in the tower of power gametype, jumping off the map on purpose has virtually no advantage.
2 On the version with weapons, you can jump onto both the crane and onto the upper rim of the map.
Don't be one of those people.
3 The banshee is replaced with a forklift. (lol)
4 The turret is detatchable. It can't be helped.

But, all things considered, this is still one of the best remakes out there.

(Descriptions are underneath their respective pictures, so don't get confused. [lol])​

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This is the tower itself. The tower part of the map is the part that took me over six months. Everything in front of the tower was "thrown together" in two weeks.
Everything is precision interlocked, down to the last pixel. The entire tower is Watertight and smooth as a baby's ass.​

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This is the main floor of the command center.
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This is the top floor of the tower.
Note: Not only can the turret be broken off, but it needs to be broken off in order to be at all effective. On its stand, the angles of the map you can reach are frustratingly limited. However, Halo 3's increased spread of the bullets seems to compensate for the shrunken size of the map. Not walking around with the turret in ToP relies on the honor system.
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In the background you may notice a fencebox merged into the upper rim. I had to delete this in the version with weapons, but in ToP, it is there to prevent people from jumping up to the outside of the map.
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This is the overshield path "back door."
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This is the spiral left ramp. It was one of the only things difficult enough to need its own prototype, but no praise is necessary.
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Another view of the side ramp.​

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And on the opposite side..​

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Those barrels up top only hold so strong. If you stand on them, they tend to roll. They are short enough to see over, and tall enough to hide behind. Just don't stand on them.
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This is my adaptation of the relay dish. Those are corner walls. Clever, right? There are no rotating stems. (sorry) Unfortunately, the tall metal poles on Last Resort can't be placed on Foundry.​

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Out Front.​

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Here's where you can tell that it started to get a bit cramped. Just a bit. Taking a Sandtrap-sized map like Ascension and shrinking it down to the size of Guardian has its set-backs, but remember, the focus here is on the tower.
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This is me on sniper roost. The roof over shotty spawn may look a bit out-of-place, but it is more functional than you might think.
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In this version, the leap of faith is now more of a hop of faith.
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The man cannon almost always lands you right on the rear portion of the dish. However, if you hit it wrong, it may send you flying off the map. It just depends on the way you hit it.

I am happy to say though, that if you fall off, (and you will fall off) there are really only three points of entry to get back onto the map. None of them are helpful to getting you inside the command center. (remember: intended for tower of power)
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This is the banshee pad and overshield path. In the version with weapons, there's a forklift instead of a banshee. I know. I had to do it.

As stated earlier, I am aware people can jump onto the crane. It always gets in the freaking way...
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There are two versions of this map.

The photographs are of the original one entitled Tower of Power. That version is weaponless. (for Shotty Snipes, Infection, Tower of Power, and various other weaponless gametypes)
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Many people prefer Ascension, (the version with the original map's description) which sacrifices what I feel are several key components (that no one will notice but me) in order to support weapons.

The weapon layout is the same as the original. So are the respawn times, the clip sizes, and the respawn points. All grenades are now in groups of two.​

I put up the Tower of Power gametype as well in case you want it. It's just team slayer with shotgun starting weapon and a few other tweaks.​

The Original Version is located here - Tower of Power​

The Version with Weapons is located here - Ascension​

And my Tower of Power Gametype is located here - Gametype​

Please download, rate, comment, and most of all,
ENJOY!
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How Dare You!

I resent that!

A. The Heroic Map Pack was released on December 11, 2007, although it did not become free until March of this year.
B. Nowhere did I rate my own map! I Bragged About It! Call me on it when I break a real rule.
C. The title of the map is the title! The original version is called Tower of Power! Just follow the link!
D. Thank you for the praise, albeit late. I appreciate it.

 

I Don't Blame You

I'm sensing some doubt about my "200 Hours" claim. And I don't blame any of you. Surely it wasn't that high. My reasoning lies in the tower, which as previously stated took upwards of six months. You see, I can cite several specific pieces and the time it took me to get them right, just not the entire map. (I can't count that high) I remember one night in which I hoped to get the fence box merged into the wall before I went to bed. Two hours later, it was still f'ed up and I unplugged my box in frustration. The next day I finally got it by dumb luck - after another hour and a half of tiring saving and quitting. You see, this is only my second real map. I'm not the best in the forge, plus it doesn't help how obsessive I am. You don't have to believe me. I just want you to know how much effort I put into this.

And again, I apologize if it appears that I "rated my own map" in my post. It was certainly not on purpose.