Asteroid Base

cool idea for a map, There's an asteroid base in halo as well. In the novel "The fall of reach" master chief and some other spartans go to capture a insurrectionist leader at a secret base built inside a asteroid.

just thought i'd throw that tid-bit out there.

 

Official Review Hub Review

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Asteroid Base​

Enjoyment

Asteroid Base, as the name suggests, follows the theme of a man-made base built in the natural rocky caves of an asteroid. Taking inspiration from Star Wars, the creator and successfully creates a similar sci-fi atmosphere. A series of tunnels, bridges and rooms weave in an out of the central, cavernous chamber. This gives a vertical change to the mechanics of the map and forces players into a main area to fight across differing elevations. Naturally, players endeavor to gain control over the top area which overlooks most of the central chamber. By giving players a clear goal throughout a slayer game, the match can seem less dreary.

Not like Asteroid base is dreary otherwise! By design the map has players running around a landscape similar to Halo 3's "Orbital". The corridors spiraling around the central cavern have a great feel to them, sloped at a comfortable angle yet still maintaining perfect construction. In between the corridors, small rooms are placed at comfortable points and contain multiple exits to spice up the predictability of a player's route.

As a player enters the main chamber, where most players tend to end up, the atmosphere is very different. Players are forced to look in all directions for potential enemies coming from several areas. Luckily, doorways and cover are placed not too far away if a player finds themselves in dire straights. At first sight, there was worry that such a dangerous area would impede the movement across the chamber. However, the distance between each exit is ideal for sprinting across without sustaining too much damage, should the player choose not to fight.

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Balance

Due to the nature of the map, there isn’t really any particular Red or Blue territory. Instead, the flow of the map directs players to the top and gives the reigning team the higher ground. Bridges below the main vantage points act as obstacles, stopping high-up players from quickly shooting down anyone coming out of the main entrances. Without this, people would be able to clearly survey the area and would trap players within the corridors throughout the rocky carapace by discouraging anyone from entering the dangerous cavern.

Asteroid base is not symmetric, but this doesn’t seem to affect the balance. Its nature is best compared to the Reach map Reflection. There is an advantageous area which overlooks everywhere else, and hence all players vie to control it. This is also true about Asteroid Base. The overhanging ledge gives the player(s) an advantage; however there are many directions from which the ledge may be usurped.

Although the ledge and the surrounding area work well as a whole, there is a clear preference towards a certain loadout. Players on Jetpacks buzz around the main chamber, easily shooting down any unsuspecting players as they try to make their way around the map. As a result, players are only able to counter this with jetpacks themselves, and can tend to neglect abilities such as active camouflage. After a while, this can get tiresome.

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Durability

Although the map is entirely and perfectly closed off, without kill zones it is still possible to compromise Asteroid Base’s durability due to the nooks and crannies of the rocky walls. Luckily, there were soft kill zones present, and it’s impossible to give an unfair advantage to people who should have fallen to their deaths. Simply put, there is nowhere to escape. As far as the player is aware, what they see is what they get and there is no where around or out of it.

The teasing, glassed-off areas are impossible to get into. The glass walls are neatly and perfectly closed off so that no one is able to get inside them. As for the elevator in the center of the map, a one-way shield has been placed over the exit. This one-way system ensures that the integrity of the map’s flow is maintained.

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Aesthetics

A key aspect about Asteroid base, which really adds to the atmosphere, is the mixture of FX filters. The creator has used the “Juicy” filter in order to spice up the colors of the map, but counteracts the cartoon feel with a “Colorblind” filter. The aftereffect works well to compliment the otherwise dull colors of Asteroid Base, but at the same time accentuates the shadows in the nooks and crannies of the rock walls.

For any forged map to gain authenticity, the creator must first break the default atmosphere of Forge World and create one of their own. To be truly great, the map must have a unique feel to it which is as separate from the rest of forged maps as possible. In this area, Asteroid Base performs excellently. The complete enclosure of the playing space makes sure that the player cannot see anything of the outside world. This leaves much more to the player’s imagination and helps the overall theme of the Asteroid Base.

While the small corridors and rooms around the map have a nice, industrial feel to them, the main area is probably the best part of the map. Its stone walls create the interior of the “Asteroid” while the platforms and walkways around the sides show the man-made “Base” section. For maps such as this, where so many pieces are phased together, it is easy to have cracks or other merging mistakes. However Asteroid Base has been well constructed, and the transitions between each piece are smooth and neat. The placement of crates, and even explosive objects, are also there mostly for looks. Although they do, in some cases, act as a stand for different weapons and could be used as cover, they more so add to the feel and, again, the theme of the map.

There are some small touches in Asteroid Base, which are purely for Aesthetic purposes. These small perks are not necessarily needed within the map, though they are obviously a great addition. For example, around one corridor there is a glassed off chamber containing covenant weaponry such as a banshee and fuel rod. However, these are not accessible to the player but are present purely to add to the theme.

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Originality

Asteroid Base’s theme in itself is very original. As pointed out earlier, it takes place in a base created by the military or some other organization. That concept, if nothing else, is an endearing aspect of the map. It is a wonder to look at as the creator does well to secure the atmosphere he envisioned.

The glassed-off areas are also pretty novel. After the player gets over the initial frustration, it becomes easy to appreciate the potential meaning behind the forbidden weaponry. Whatever the true meaning, the creator has constructed the areas so that the audience begins think about their purpose. It is assumed that the chambers contain alien weaponry which is under the surveillance or study of the base’s owners. This is just one of the many aspects of the map which separates it from the rest.

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[floatleft]Enjoyment
Balance
Durability
Aesthetics
Originality[/floatleft]6/10
5/10
10/10
8/10
7/10

[floatleft]Average Score[/floatleft]7.2/10


Definitely a novel map aesthetically, but its quality goes far beyond just that. Although its lack of objective capability does put it in a bit of a bad light, Asteroid Base works well for any slayer game, be it team, multi-team or free for all. In my opinion, this deserves a place on everyone’s hard drive. Asteroid Base is a professional, well thought out piece of art, claiming less downloads than it deserves.

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