Cloud Strider V1.1 Version 1.1 is finally done! Change list at the bottom. Cloud Strider is a small, primarily 3v3 slayer and objective map(try team crazy king first! its awesome!) 4v4 is possible, but would be extremely hectic and crazy. I'll spare the wall of text, and give you a brief description. DMR x 2 NR x 2 Spiker x 2 Needler x 2 PP x 2 Frag x 1 pair plasma nade x 1 pair Sniper x 1 Sword x 1 A quick glance will reveal two bases suspended high in the air, connected by four walk ways. The center two sit above and below each other, and house the sniper and sword. On the sides you'll find DMR's and nades. There is also a jump that leads to the center platform, and a drop down for the lower section. Two grav lifts from the lower area lead back up. I got the idea for this map the other morning out of nowhere. I almost passed it up as it seemed to simplistic. It started out with a more "narrowsy" feel to it, with mancannons throwing players all over the place. In the end, I decided walkways would better suited for the gameplay experience I was aiming for. I imagined this place to be a temple to a race that existed along side the Forerunners, that was destroyed at the hands of the flood. These temples were a last resort for the many who died protecting them. Environmental damage caused by the floods destructive force would eventually lead the planet into an ice age. This can be seen by the frozen waterfalls streaming from the sun at the tops of each temple. In all honesty, I've replaying a bit of Metrod Prime, so was no doubt inspired some by that. EDIT: Some people seem concerned that Cloud Striders' layout is too linear or simplistic. This is by design, and you will be especially thankful for it in games of team king, where hills are placed in the most difficult to defend and open areas. It becomes not alike chess, were you use your team to create choke points for the opposing team. This dynamic works extremely well in my opinion and makes this map play differently than most. If there were any more paths in this map, things would get too confusing and hectic. It is very tactical, but still brazen and fast paced. Changes to v1.1 Walled in the sides to give a more safe/enclosed feeling. This REALLY improves the atmosphere Added a rocky cove below the map. Plenty of lolz to be had when you fall off the map Miscellaneous tweaks to objects/bug fixes Added stockpile added jumps at the bridges Made ALL of the jumps easier removed some bridge pieces in the center and added block 2/2 flats to lessen cover/snipers dominance opened up the sides of the bases a little, added small two way shield at entrance Added spiker (45 seconds) Sniper 180 seconds Added/removed spawns to prevent spawn killing and improve map flow There's not much else to say, other than thank you to those who provided feedback, and got the original map up to 120 downloads! I hope you all enjoy!
I would like to see the inside of the bases, most of the map seems to be in them but all you show us is the middle area. Or are the bases actually small? If they are I would say this is more of a 2 v. 2 or 3 v. 3 map, the center area isn't that large. Aesthetically I think this looks very nice, but I'm not a fan of the connecting bridges; they feel a little unoriginal. That's just my personal opinion, those who know me know I hate those kind of bridges, but all in all they aren't a bad thing to have I guess. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that your map has a lot of cool, eye-catching, original spots, then some very basic bridges being used for the exact purpose Bungie expected. I just feel something more original could have been done instead of just slapping down these parts in the "expected" places. Still, this is fairly good overall, I'd like to play it sometime. 3.5/5
I'd like to agree with FlyShoeILR, but without playing the map, I guess my judgement isn't overly necessary at the moment. If I manage to get a game on it sometime this week around work, i'll let you know how I think it plays. If anything, I'd like to say the bridges need a little more to their route as it appears very linear as it stands, but that's just my initial interpretations.
My playtests were 3v3, but I felt that you could get away with hectic games of 4v4 or FFA. The side and under bridges, in my playtests anyway, did a decent enough job of spreading players out and keeping them from clustering in one area. Although, do to how deadly the sniper is on this map, a lot of the fighting revolved around controlling it. As for just slapping the bridges down.... I felt that they served the purpose so well that forcing anything else here would have only hurt the map. I am looking into a more original solution however. Also, I added a screen of the blue base. Yeah, I wanted the paths players could take to be very clearcut. I probably went too far, and am looking for ways to expand on them. I've been thinking that grounding the map somewhere might dissolve that linear feel. I'll more likely just widen the bridges, to allow for more flanking options.
Just downloaded your map, looks very interesting. Will get back to you when Ive had a game on it and let you know what I think. Just a question though, doesnt matter, but it caught my eye. How come youve got your GT listed as TexturyEye on here, but the download link leads to a different GT? Is it on a friends GT or something?
Well, to be honest i've running on a pretty tight budget these past two months. Can't afford LIVE lol, but I havn't let that stop my love of forging. I'll get back to having my stuff on my normal GT soon. As for the map, try it on crazy king first. It is an absolute blast and by far the strongest gametype. 3v3 is amazing.
Thats fair enough, cant let a little thing like monetary woes stop you from being creative . Ill definitely have a few games on your map, but I might not get back to you for a few days as Im playing the new New Vegas DLC at the moment.
haha, its cool man! If you do like this map, I'll be done testing the 1.1 version by this weekend. So check back for that.
Just tried out your map. Finished that DLC sooner than I expected. I think its pretty well put together, the aesthetics are interesting and the flow is nice. Just one thing though, there needs to be a bit more cover around. Apart from the bases there isnt much to get behind, and it seems like youd get deaded real quick in a competitive match. I havent played with others yet, so I cant say this for certain, but it just seems a little too open, especially the top level. Feels like it needs to be broken up a little but more too, as everything is easy and fast to get to, unless that was intentional. Apart from that, great job, and I look forward to seeing your future updates.
Everyone I played with mentioned how open the area around the bases felt. I've added some braces around the side entrances, and havn't gotten any complains since. As for the center being open... it prevents people from camping the sniper the entire game. One reason its so easy to get around is to keep people from camping. Also, In a map this small, it can be frustrating to have to go all the way around a map to get somewhere. You certainly have that option, but its not forced. If you see an area you want to get to, there a path right to it. I like maps like that. The only time you can't really do this, is when looking over at the other bridge. Fun fact! In the 20 or so playtests i've done NO ONE has fired across the bridges at someone. Not even with the sniper. lol Speaking of the sniper.... in the last two games, nobodies even touched it. After you get a game on this, let me know what you'd think of me replacing it with a rocket or maybe even a plasma launcher. Eh, I just fear that'll put too big an emphasis on CQB Oh yes, I put a list of changes that are coming to v1.1 at the bottom of the OP if you're interested
Will do. Just one thing before you go crazy and ruin the map somehow, please, for the love of god, dont put a RL on a map this small. That would be slaughter and make it less appealing to leave the bases. I think the sniper is a good weapon for a map this size, and with this many levels, as it'd be hard to get a bead on an enemy if theyre constantly changing levels. Rockets would be too overpowered.
I'm past the idea of replacing the sniper, so no worries there. lol The only radical idea i'm playing with is adding a mancannon to each base. If all goes well, I should be finished with v1.1 by this evening.
Some bad weather came in and knocked my interwebz out for the past few days. I apologize for the delay. I have version 1.1 up now, though. Check it out!
Have added it to my download queue. From the screen shots, it looks very interesting. The aesthetics seems greatly improved, and from the information given it seems youve improved on the flow as well. Ill have a few games on it as soon as I can (Im a bit ill at the moment so not really in a gaming mood), and let you know what I think.
hey man, that is a really nice map, I love the aesthetics, btw the lighting is awesome and gives the map a cool feel. I will dl and give it a try, Keep up the good work!
I stumbled up that effect on my last map. Was too cool not to use a second time lol The current aesthetics went through a ridiculous amount of iterations before I settled on this. At first, I was very conflicted about closing it in. After all, the maps name is CLOUD strider lol Eventually, I opened up the bottom and added a rocky cove below. This helped retain the aerial feel. You can also look up and see the mountain tops right there. The walls were a pain in the ass to get just right. There were iterations were you could take a flank up around, a suspended platform, a rock base of sorts, and even a crazy mancannon that launched you into the bases. In the end, I settle on having them serve an aesthetic purpose only. From the beginning, this map has been all about atmosphere. I wanted to create a simple 3v3 map that was fun to play, easy to navigate, and just plain gorgeous to look at.
I got tapped by the mods here at FH for saying so little, though very specific to the teleport. I thought it was quite original, I had never seen it before. I think the mod who tapped me should realize I was being very specific and note your immediate understanding of what I was saying as something unusual. On the other hand, he wanted me to say something negative, I guess, so that my post was not meaningless. I forged your map and looked at the spawning, along with other maps. Yours had no respawn zones at all. I guess that would be okay, but it wasn't optimal, but it was fine as it was, so it wasn't worth noting. I put that in here so that the mod won't tap me again... The only time that no respawn zones would be an issue is in objective games... I guess he isn't planning to back down, he thinks my comment was too vague...
Ive been through your map, and it looks great. Just a few things that I think I should point out though, for your convenience ; ). First one isnt a huge hassle, but thought I should say something about it anyway. When I go into the grav-lifts, a few times, for some reason, it shot me over the top of where I was supposed to land. It was likely because I hit it from a weird angle or something, but for most of the time I landed right on the edge of the upper platform. Food for thought. And, it sounds picky, but I went through with a fine tooth comb and found some parts with z-fighting. It may or may not affect your frame rate, but Ill show you where they are anyway, in case you want to fix them up. First ones here, at Blue base. On either side of the ramps leading up, theres just a little bit. Next ones here, at Blue base again. Where the platforms intersect in the middle. Another one here, at Red base. On the right hand side of the white line, at the top against the wall in the corner. Last ones here. On the top of both of the podium things the snipers resting on. Fair bit on those ones. Dont take this as criticism, its just me trying to help coz I like this map and I want it to be the best it can be. ; )
Respawn zones on a map this small are just begging for spawn killing. It would create situations were the first team to get the power weapons would control the map indefinitely. I'll look into it though Thanks for your support! I've fixed those z fighting issues, so they won't be around for the next version. Kinda embarrassed that I missed them actually lol As for the grave lift thing, I haven't been able to consistently replicate it, which has made it difficult to fix. From what I can tell, it has something to do with pushing up on the thumb stick at just the right time. I've been thinking about changing the lifts anyway. Again, thanks for your support. I've put a lot of effort into this map, and its great to see someone appreciates it.