I have made one map of this type in the past and the weapons seemed like they were not being used very well. Now that I am starting a new map, I want to know how weapons are generally placed in this type of map. Halo Reach map comparisons would be best, but I do know some Halo 3, 2, and 1 maps too. My map is higher on one end with some longer lines of sight (no pic yet) , so what kinds of weapons would you see in a BTB 1 flag map; which are neutral and which team should have what weapons? For reference, there are a Warthog and 2 Mongeese at the bottom by attacker base and 2 Ghosts at the top by defense base. Thank you -Flying Shoe ILR
I'd have to see pics or even fly around it in forge to make good recommendations. For BTB though, generally I would suggest two team-owned snipers and some kind of explosive or anti-vehicle weapon in the middle; you can also usually get away with two team-owned close range weapons (shotguns, shotgun/sword, whatever). For the neutral weapon, think rockets, laser, plasma launcher. If the map is very large, you can get away with two neutral weapons in different spots, as long as both are roughly equidistant from the two bases. As for making sure they get used, you always want them on or near well-traveled paths, in a place that is sure to be noticed by people moving through the map. Even with team-owned weapons I recommend putting them in front of the base, facing out toward the other base - that makes them visible off spawn and to anyone who just blindly moves forward to start the game. Those are generic recommendations, but they might change a lot depending on your map.
High Ground and Last Resort are the two maps that always come to mind when I want to look back at Halo 3 asymmetric maps for ideas on where weapons should be placed for asymmetric objective games. They demonstrate that power weapons do not need to be equal distance between teams. Consider the laser - accessible by the defenders. and the sniper was at the other end. But for team slayer games this can be problematic.
To clarify, this is generally going to be for 1 flag, 1 bomb, asymmetric territories, and maybe a few other gametypes, not slayer though. Think Spire, where it is mostly asymmetric but could also play a few kinds of symmetric games with different spawns such as team snipers. Nutduster, I know I don't have pics and I'm sorry, the map is just getting finished on it's most basic build. These seem like symmetric placements though, as it is not fair for both teams to have a sniper when one side is up higher than the other. I will try to find some accurate remakes of Last Resort/Zanzibar and High Ground, as I know these are similar. Do you know of any good ones? I will try to take an overview pic or two for reference.
Yeah, I was just giving some very basic big team concepts without really knowing what exactly you have in mind. If there's a significant difference in height and geometry between the two team starting spawns, I don't think it's possible to give a good general suggestion without seeing it - and frankly I wouldn't trust anyone who does. It very much depends on how your map is laid out. For instance look at High Ground and Last Resort, which are both theoretically similar and have points of comparison to your map - the weapon layouts for them are completely unalike, yet suitable to those maps only. You have offsetting snipers on Last Resort, but you need them, whereas High Ground can get away with faking it with a sniper/laser arrangement and semi-neutral rockets. If you catch me online some time this weekend, say, I'd be happy to look at it and make some suggestions.
Thanks for the help man! I got some done after that, I guess I really need to go just figure it out myself now. I really analyzed remakes of Last Resort and High Ground, and I think I am starting to understand the subtle balance of the different weapons on the maps. I will post either a map preview or a TG request with a few pics once it is testing ready. Current Layout: Offense -Sniper -grenade launcher -shotgun -Warthog, Ghost, Mongoose Defense -Focus Rifle -Concussion Rifle -Plasma Launcher -Turret -Ghost, Mongoose I'm still working on some other weapons like plasma pistols, needlers, and other small weapons and grenades, but I'm starting to get the layout. Thanks for the help!