Hey ForgeHub, Map sure have come a long way since the first attempts at forging, like the floating pallets map or the first Normandy map. We now have mapmakers with literal international renown creating works of playable art for the world to see. Many new techniques have been discovered and identified right here on this website, techniques that are now used where ever there is a map to be made. Well, my friends, I have identified another Forging technique that you probably have been using for a long while, but haven't realized it yet. This technique is called "Trick". Trick is an aesthetic Forging technique that gives the illusion of realism. Decorative columns, fallen structures and tilted ships are all "Tricked". If you have ever seen a building with one face blown off, you have seen a Tricked building. If you have ever Forged a crash site with rubble embedded into the ground, you have Tricked your players. Trick is a simple yet difficult thing to do. Many people blow it off, saying it is not a true and separate technique, but I disagree. These same people that don't accept Trick have built maps that look playable, but no where near realistic. Realism is the true goal of a Tricked map. To properly Trick a map, one must understand simple geometry, physics and have a basic grasp of what their object would look like in real life. For instance, when a building falls, what stays upright, what crumbles and what stacks onto each other? Knowing this can be a necessity in a successful Trick. I have seen several Crash Site maps, notably my first mao here on ForgeHub, that just looked awful. Sure, one could see the random placement of wreckage, but the crash looked fake and purposefully laid out. If I had Tricked that map, the wreckage would have been laid out in rough line, with large piles of wreckage at the top and bottom of this line, indicating where the crash started and stopped. Knowing this is not to hard, but truly searching out source material that makes your players say, "Wow" is a job. Another method of Trick is called Support. Tricked Support is the adding of columns, spires and other seemingly architecturally necessary objects that really do not contribute to gameplay or to the structure itself. We all know that a box or bulging can exist completely on its own ten feet in the air in Halo. No supports are needed. However, does it not look more professional and real to add supports to the building? The structure now looks real, not like a lacking forge job. Truly, Trick is a simple device, and has been used for a long time. However, until now it has not been identified nor used properly. Next time you choose to do a map, look at some source material before you start. Or halfway through your project stop and say, "Does this look real? Or does it look like a regular old map?" These small steps can change your map from an 8 to a 10 with the simplest of realism. Thanks!
An interesting technique which I don't really use often as I find that it has its pros and its cons. While you say it can add to gameplay and add to realism, you didn't mention it can also take it away even if it is done correctly. Most times I see this used is when people build large walls, using columns of stone or that orange metal type thing to 'support' it. Whileit looks more real, they can create different lines of sight as they normally bulge out from the wall. It makes it look more real but it can be harmful to gameplay. Also tricking is most definitely an aesthetic feature in a map, and you have to remember budget and limit constraints too. So to those who read this, look for tricking in a map, and if its good, rate it good, but if it is not present or there is little present, make sure they haven't got budget or OLN issues before rating it.
This is very interesting to me, and as Rawr has stated, it does have its pros and cons. Besides the ones he mentioned, it also takes up items for one thing, budget, item limit etc. But of course if you have more than enough budget, items etc this is something forgers should work on.
Umm... I guess this is a really cool way to look at things. I may take this into account when I make a new map, but all three maps that I am working on are made for the best gameplay possible, and aesthetics falls into the background most of the time because my focus is making it as perfectly playable as possible. I really dont know if I actually have to aesthetic vision for this. Most of the stuff that make my maps look good are borrow and fused from other maps. My downfall.
This isn't really a Forging technique . . . you might as well have said, "make better crashing buildings and add columns!" Same message. Not a technique.