This has going on in my head for awhile and I think I'll start it this weekend. The map pack would be a compilation of various levels in Halo Wars. Here's some of the ideas. Map 1: Alpha Base If you had played the game you would know that Alpha Base, the first mission, has you go through a linear path, saving teams as you go and encountering the Covenant. The map will have you doing the same. It would be an attackers/ defenders game. The defenders (Covies) will have sometime to prepare before the Warthogs approach. The attackers (Forge/ marines) will have to get in a warthog (since your controlling the warthog in the game) gauss being forge and the chain gun just being regular marines. They must drive and shoot their way to the main base (defender spawn) and territory. Once there they must get off the warthogs and go on foot across the shield door. There they must try to take out the wraiths and capture the territory. Map 2: Dome of Light Here the attackers are given 5 tanks (rhinos), each tank must get to its own territory but the defenders have an arsenal of anti-vehicle weapons. Both teams try to control the most of the territories to win. If a tank may fall then you must wait 45 seconds for another one to respawn. After maybe about 3 minutes (This will change in the actual forging process) an area will open up leading to the "Dome" where the seventh and final territory lies (sixth being the attacker base). This could turn the game around if the attackers are slacking behind. (EDIT: Maybe instead of having all 5 tanks right away each one spawns after 30, 60, 90 etc...) Well thats all I have for now. If anyone has more ideas, feel free to post them. Thank you for reading this far if you did. Oh yeah and thank you CheeseJam for your Halo Wars map that gave me this idea. -NovaStar117
Especially idea 2 sounds interesting. Usually, I would have come with some suggestions but I'm just too tired right now. Maybe tomorrow... Anyway, keep thinking, this has potential. EDIT: well, seeing that this is the first post on your topic, I guess I'll put my mind to work. I don't think that idea 2 is going to work, for the simple reason you can only have 6vs6 players at most, so territories must be defended by one man each (and must defend them from one tank each). I suggest having like 2 territories, maybe three. Also, I think three minutes for opening p the final territory is a bit quick. I saw a threat somewhere which made you have respawn times up to 5 minutes, but I don't know where to find it. That's it for now, but I'll call by tomorrow.
You would need a lot of players for Map 1, around 12-16, and you would have to give the Covenant a bit more people to be on the upper hand, without overpowering them. The wraiths could tear the "marines" apart in seconds. Don't be afraid to change things up for the sake of gameplay balance. Five tanks with 6 defenders on the each territory is very unbalanced. Like what TheRayzerTag said, cut down the territories and tanks so that more defenders can be at each territory. I don't know how you will create the Dome of Light, and the MAC blast part, but I suggest immovable vehicles on the Sandbox ground floor, and a single guy with a Spartan laser/rocket launcher at the Sky Bubble. Limit the ammo you have on those guns so that the remaining attackers will have to pick off the survivors by themselves.
Thanks for the criticism. But yeah you're right about the tanks maybe I'll just shorten the territories down to three have the stationary tanks. Maybe after 5-6 minutes I'll try to make the MAC platform accessible. For the Dome itself maybe i'll just make an inaccessible base for the Covenant team used for the Banshee spawn and for the last territory for the attackers. For teams I'll have the defenders have unlimited lives, instant respawn so that the enemies will seem endless. For the attackers, maybe one life? Also sorry if this sounds noobish I'm just trying to think of a method that could stay true to Halo Wars.
Make enough lives so that it forces the attackers to work together as a team, and think things through. I forgot the choices for number of lives, but try 5 lives. I suggest the Covenant base would consist of a bunch of structures filled with fusion coils and immovable wraiths and motor pools filled with Covenant vehicles in it. It would be covered with shield doors, or anything that cannot be destroyed, and not bulky, for the actual shield dome. Leave a gap that exposes the said structures and vehicles so that the MAC platform can fire down at it. Accessing the platform would be through a teleporter (or a chain of teleporters) that spawns after a certain amount of time. Test it out with some friends or guess the amount of time it takes to take 3 territories. Set up honor rules so that the attackers won't enter the Covenant base and spawn camp. Do not give the defenders Banshees. They will tear apart the attackers. Give them ghosts, and prowlers. Also, give the attackers anti-vehicle weapons, but don't give them the spartan laser. That makes things too easy. Give the defenders plasma rifles, spikers, maulers, carbines, brute shots, but no heavy/anti-vehicle weapons. Do not spawn snipers. Force both teams to attack each other at close-to-mid range.
Here's an idea for your Alpha Base map: Instead of territories, perhaps you could consider making it a VIP gametype (the VIP being Sergeant Forge) where the VIP has to move to one destination point before continuing to the next. Also, at each destination, it might be a cool idea to have some people spawn in some sort of cage that can be opened by the VIP (some sort of switch would probably be most convenient), so as to simulate the gaining of marines as you progress through the level. It might also be a good idea to have teleporters at the covenant spawn that lead to each VIP capture point, so there will be some actual battles along the way without too much resistance for the VIP and his teammates (vehicles won't be able to pass through teleporters or the shield door, obviously).
Yeah thanks thats some good ideas. I was thinking of having teleporters around the area so fights can occur more often. Heres what I think I should do for Alpha Base: - Sergeant Forge (VIP) spawns next to a gauss warthog along with one partner. - Covenant spawns with 2 ghosts (after the ghosts are destroyed they will not spawn again or for a very long time) and has access to teleporters that take them to the different parts of the level. - In the two first "prisoner" areas there will have a single chain-gun warthog for the prisoners so it be like the ones in the game. - The final "prisoner" area will just have two people will be trapped with no warthog since the last group of marines you save are infantry. - The one turret halfway through the actual level will be a person on a plasma turret with an overshield behind it. - Just before the last area where the shield door is the infantry prisoners must pass through it and activate a switch that will open a gate (if you can still do that in sandbox) so the warthogs can advance. - In the main base area at the end, there will be two stationary wraiths as well as some bunkers where the opposing team can attack from. Honor Rules: The defenders (Covenant) must not harm the unmanned warthogs and prisoners so that the VIP can free them. Thats all I got for now. Building will start Friday.
Sounds good, and I'm sure you'll work out any balancing issues you may have during the testing stage. Looking forward to seeing the map when it's finished. =]