"High above the wastelands, a lone Sentinel awaits..." [av-er-is] - n. An excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greediness after wealth; to covet. Ingredients: 1 - Halo Wars Limited Edition 1 - heaping desire to outdo previous works 1 - assload of Unreal Tournament 3 influence 1 - Beta build, non-interlocked and playtested thoroughly 1 - complete map rebuild to perfect layout and address beta issues 14 - hours of testing different gametypes and team sizes 1 - pinch of cinnamon for sweetness Avarice is an asymmetrical, multi-level map that is suited to competitive games such as Team Slayer (and FFA), KOTH, Oddball, and one-sided objective games. All gametypes are supported, but the aforementioned are the ones that were tested thoroughly. I have created gametypes for Oddball and One Flag that address the issues of playing these in the skybox. Both have a 10sec reset time, and One Flag has a 3sec flag return time. I should also mention that the maximum number of players on Avarice should be no more than 8, and 3v3 seems to be the sweet spot for TS games. On to the pictures: overview Attackers start on the red platform and Defenders start in the blue room looking from Bridge to Camo spawn and Blue Room Rocket Trench Blue Room Bomb plant spot is in the same location as the flag Oddball spawn above Rockets This bridge connects OS platform to middle room where Camo spawns. Mauler Bridge Mauler spawns below this bridge and serves as a good place to recharge, but be careful where you step. Sniper Balcony Off of the main bridge, there are two ways to access the balcony. That should be enough pics to get a feel for it. There are some features that aren't shown here, like the ability to shoot through the main bridge. I just didn't get a good picture of it, and there are plenty as it is. Play the map and you'll see what else is in store for you. People can find the layout of Avarice confusing at first, but the map is deceptively simple and players will quickly learn their way around. Weapon layout is as follows: 1 - Rocket Launcher, 1 clip, 180 sec 1 - Sniper Rifle, 2 clips, 120 sec 1 - Mauler, 1 clip, 120 sec 1 - Plasma Pistol, 60 sec 1 - Needler, 1 clip, 90 sec 2 - Spikers, 1 clip, 60 sec 2 - Covenant Carbine, 1 clip, 10 sec 4 - Battle Rifle, 2 clips, 10 sec 8 - Plasma Grenades, 30 sec 1 - Overshield, 180 sec 1 - Camouflage, 180 sec Playtesting revealed that no one weapon is super dominant with the possible exception of the Needler (yeah, you heard me). I'm very satisfied with the weapon layout, and feel that everything balances out well. I'm always interested to hear intelligent comments and criticisms about how the map plays, so feel free to post your thoughts of gameplay in the Featured thread. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy Avarice. Download Avarice UPDATE: I've also created a MLG version, with Rockets and Sniper on drop spawn. Red Overshield swapped for MLG OS. Mauler has been removed, as well as the other non-MLG weapons. MLG Avarice Spoiler
very nice map. i think the lay out, expecually the flag location in the blue base for some reason, is well placed. Well i really cant think/see any flaws that could be fixed, but thats just me. also, interesting map name.
Very solid map Squidhands. Once again, you seem to make another favorite map of mine. Now, i would like to know, does this happen to work for FFA, because i don't believe I have seen that many maps for FFA and i would very much like one ;p. Anyway, very nice forging skills, and it has to be good with over 14 hours of testing. ****. 5/5
Squidy! This map is how skybox maps SHOULD look. This is quite refreshing when you sift through all the clones that sit in the forum currently. There honestly isnt another map that looks or plays like this one right now. You should be proud cause you made a map thats unique, sexy to look at, AND sexy to play. I found myself using older dual weapons alot more on this map, such as the plasma pistol. Its actually very useful, as is every other weapon you've placed. You hit the nail on the head with this map in all aspects, and i really dont have anything negative to say. Some people didnt often travel the mauler route, but thats okay, cause when they did, i was there lurking and ****in their **** up. :] PS. **** Shad0w and his noob combo through the ceiling slats.
Thanks for letting me play on this map squid it is awesome. Anyone that wants intense game play and a map that is beautiful download this one!!!
all i can say is: WOW!... this is one of the best maps i've seen in the skybubble so far, it looks so neat and the fact it works for nearly ALL gametypes is fantastic!... all i say is that it A. may be a possible feature in the future, and B. it will suit most people gametype wishes! 4/5 EDIT: lol i just noticed the spoiler
Wow I'm really impressed with how far this has come since we played it a few weeks ago... considering how much I enjoyed it then. I like the way the death pit has expanded it's influence in various corners, the layout is way more interesting than it was. We gotta get some more games in when we're actually on at the same time someday.
Thanks for the warm responses, guys. Absolutely, this will play FFA games. I've run a few myself, and much fun was had by all. Yeah, I've invested a bit of time playtesting this, but even more time watching all the films from every. single. perspective. That gets tedious fast, but you learn better than anything else how your map plays. I can't recommend it enough. Aww, thanks silence! You make a squid blush! Yeah, but you have to admit, that was awesome. Totally used the way I had envisioned it. Film's on my fileshare, guys. Shad0w Viper is awesome and I'm glad he was on my team. Actually, the layout has stayed relatively the same. I tightened up the floor in key areas where the interlocking was the most needed. Grenades can still get through some gaps here and there, but it's vastly improved. But yes, let's game together moar!
This map is soooo rad. These days when I'm looking through the Competitive and MLG maps forums, once I see that the map was made in the sky bubble, I look at the first screen, and from that point I can tell if the map is the same ol' kinda map that errr body makes, or if it looks unique and interesting. Since I am actually commenting on this you might guess that I thought it was unique...you would be correct. I do like this map a lot. Just has a lot of interesting Object placement, and is sexy(as stated in other users posts). Anyways, nice job. I will def be on the lookout for more maps coming out by you.
Looks absolutely sick. I downloaded this instantly upon giving a quick overview of the thread. It is open in a way but still secluded. Another flawless map. Great job!
i'd just like to say how much i love it that your maps do not involve paper-thin structures. almost everything in this design is substantial and chunky, which makes it look like real architecture. this feature immediately sets your map as more appealing than about 90% of the material on this website. aside from asthetics, what this really means is you didnt have to resort to lazy cover to create a truly competitive experience. add in the fact that you appear to have looked into other successful FPS maps and amassed knowledge on how to create a map that flows, and you've got pure win in Avarice. great work the only suggestions for this map that i can come up with are these: 1. it could be potentially helpful to build a thick pillar structure in conjunction with or in place of the left "horn" near the overshield. it occurred to me that lessening the line of sight between the two powerups might be a good idea. if this structure gave too much "cover" to the overshield position, you could always consider putting in a 2x custom powerup in place of the red os, so this extra cover could be countered by the threat of burning the cpu. 2. depending on your left-over budget and the number of items you may have left over, i would love to see some asthetic flair in the unreachable areas of this map. the vertical walls are functional, but if you have the opportunity, this map could become genuinely beautiful. as i said, i really like your map, and suggestion 2 is a purely asthetic request. i wouldn't have even bothered mentioning it if i didn't think your map was straight-up amazing
Dude, I played this map last TGIF with Shock Theta, and I was thoroughly impressed. It reminded me so much of Damnation in terms of ramps and open areas and it just felt right. This map also gave me inspiration for a map that I'm working on now. I'm sort of just winging it, but playing this map made it so much easier to find out what I'm trying to go for. Thank you. This map gets a 5/5 from me. Keep up the good forging. P.S. I say this map gets featured!
Very nice map Squidhands. I downloaded it too my hard drive and used my friend's 360 for a couple days so I could get the heads-up on all the new maps. Anyways, I had a really great time on this map. We had a 3 person FFA due to no xbox live connection. I didnt have any problems with spawns or weapons on this map and everything balanced each other out. I will have to check this out with a real game in the end though.
Squidhands does it again. The map supports phenomenal gameplay. The map is innovative in structure. The map contains carefully placed spawns that extremely compliment the gametype, along with weapons that are put down in high traffic areas that increase game speed. On top of that, the hill is placed in a spot to make it one of favorite King games ever forged on Sandbox thus far. So, I reward you the first ever competitive map Unofficial Turb & Pegasi Delta Seal of Approval. Congratulations!
Excellent work! Played a few Doubles games on this earlier, can't help but think it's perfect for that playlist. It's very well made, and the lighting is great. It's earned a download from me.
Well this looks spectaculAR. I am going to download twice,jk. This layout looks great, and I like how half the map is blocked with walls but the other side is open to fall to your death. It also looks ideal for FFA. I love when a map works well for team based and FFA games. The weapon layout doesnt look bad or overpowering at all. Good to see some maps by people that REALLY know what they are doing. DLd.
Wow, just wow. The map is even better than the pictures show. One of my favorite maps of Sandbox so far. I would put it in the top 5 maps or something. 5/5 Should be featured.
I love this map, there is alot of space that isn't crammed with objects, but there is still sufficient cover. I have nothing to say about improvements right now, I'll just have to see how it plays.
Wow, thanks so much for the warm reception guys. I really appreciate it, as this took me quite a while to build/rebuild. I'd have to say rebuilding the map was totally worth it after the initial non-interlocked beta, I was able to conserve on items the second time around and make everything look neater. The goal here was to not rush it out there and instead make it as well-playing as possible. Many thanks to everyone who helped me playtest this thing in both it's incarnations. As for budget, I'm pretty much at my limit. Tak showed me something the other day that would save me some money, but in all honesty I like the minimalism of the map. The geometry provides enough aesthetic detail for me. Unless there comes a need to address gameplay issues, I'm going to leave it as it is. Thanks again for all your comments (especially the seal of approval, that's awesome). If anyone with a cap card cares to post some gameplay footage in the thread, that would be teh awesomest thing ehvar.