YouTube - Halo Reach - Gotham Map name: Gotham (2-8 players) Author: Rahfael (B.net name: MavRen Ra) 'Gotham' is an original creation and the first map I built with Forge 2.0. As Bungie released the Forge World ViDoc I was looking forward to built a map in Halo Reach. I took the inspiration from Bungie maps, wanting to built a layout that reminds of or works like 'Lockout' (Halo 2) or 'Guardian' (Halo 3). So, I started sketching the basic layout in early September 2010 and started building the map when Reach came out. I created the (red) tower as I had imagined, also the center slope of the map to green room hitting a walkway that was connecting the tower to an opposing structure of equal height crawling around a high piece of blocks, and a bottom level. I learned a lot during the process of creating 'Gotham' regarding Forge 2.0 (object usage potential, objective and spawn placement, etc.) and came up with most of the details of the map while forging. I started playtesting the map pretty early (after a month of layout construction or so) to get feedback on lines of sight and player movement. The total layout was finished in early December I believe and up until now I tweaked gametypes and the spawning system on 'Gotham'. This is the right time to thank all the people that tested and played the map in every phase of construction, you know who you are and I appreciated your feedback! I set 'Gotham' up for every gametype that is included in Reach (all respective teams supported) but Race and Invasion (for which the map is too small). Armor abilities like Sprint and Evade work fine (so does the Elite movement), the Jetpack is great for bottom to top travel. Since I most like Classic Slayer (no armor abilities) I wanted the map to support that, so that movement with AL, AC, Hologram and DS feels right. UPDATED: UPDATED: UPDATED: UPDATED: It was a blast to create 'Gotham' and I believe it plays well, hopefully you can share my enthusiasm for this map! Comments are still appreciated and constructive feedback even more if you have been on the map. Download Gotham
holy fack. damn i wish i had a 360 harddrive right now, then id download this in a heartbeat. the layout asthetically looks amazing, I can't say much about playability until i actually play on it, asymetrical maps are hard to judge. But it looks fantastic, 9.3 / 10 imo good job!
Nice map! Great aesthetics and all. Gameplay I really cant tell because I havent played it yet, but good. Out of curiosity did you take the name from Batman? Jw?
I took a walk through, its nicely forged but I am concerned that everything feels randomly placed. I walked into a lot of little dead end bridges and balconies which was sort of confusing. I did like the way the lower walkway section looked, but the upper area was a bit claustrophobic and impending with so many tall structures around. I think it would be cool if you opened up the floor in the central upper area to bring the top and bottom of the map together since there aren't too many lines of sight between the two.
Thank you very much! Yes, 'Gotham City'. I also like the word, so I started to create this map with 'Gotham' as working title. I found that placing the "Room, Triple" was working with the rest of the maps layout and that it gave it a more urban and street canyon feel. Further I only added the blue team spawn section because I had no counter area for red spawn (at the tower) with the original sketch. The landing pad adds to an urban feel as well. The maps look benefits also from the half shadow at the coliseum in respect to a dark 'Gotham City'. To complete the analogy I set up 'Infection' at night. Hopefully it makes kind of sense. Are you just concerned or does it feel randomly placed for you? I tried my very best in combining the pieces smoothly, in color, shape and function. I believe 'a lot' is exaggerated. Examples would be nice, though. Actually, I know of one: at blue spawn the elevated walkway next to the rock (bottom of screenshot 3). That is the delivery spot for the flag in 'One flag'. For multi flag the flag location for blue team is equalised (hopefully) to the other three teams (in multi flag blue teams flag is located on the lower walkway next to the same rock). Another 'dead end' could be in front of the large walkway, but it is lower positioned than this l.w. (you can, with difficulty, notice it on screenshot 1 in the back, on the left side, beyond green room; you can at least see the large walkway, upside down, in screenshot 2, bottom right). This 'balcony' is meant to be an evasive(?) area from the line of sight into green room and a counter part to the opposing walkway up onto red tower (gives a player more choice to move in combat). This is just great!! Works perfect with the theme of the map and the tall structures shall prevent jetpack abuse. That would sadly defeat my intended layout of the map and the lines of sight work for me, an example would be the open sniper spawn that you can see from almost everywhere.
Yo, im in progress of making a youtube video displaying great maps up for download. Yes you will get full credit of your map. Hit me up if your interested. my gamertag: FFRANCIS30
changes A youtube video would be great. I was looking for a way to get some game content from the map visualized or the tactical jumps. Thank you for consideration! [br][/br]Edited by merge: I luckily got a friend of mine to upload the walkthrough on 'Gotham' via youtube (embedded above) and I added some more pics to get a more detailed view on this map. Enjoy!
Gotham Enjoyment Gotham's ability to force players to move, evade, adapt and survive is probably it's greatest aspect. It keeps players moving, focused and on their toes. The multiple levels create an arena of combat where only the best bubble up to the top. Yet, to survive means being capable in any situation and at times giving up optimal positions to regroup in the underbelly. Top center was hotly contested and players had to improvise new tactics as they learned the map. Some of these included drop downs for quick escapes, quick jumps for surprise attacks, and grenade bounces to finish off opponents. Along with that, players also had to use different routes in order to evade detection or to survive. Gotham is worth playing more than once, but map's design led to battles occurring in the same area of the map, which can become stale. It doesn't have stable competition, but that only adds to the enjoyment. Balance The layout led to players contesting the top center more than any other part of the map. The underbelly of the map is considerably less traveled with few fights ever taking place there. The focus of game play simply isn't spread out evenly enough to make players utilize the underside of the map advantageously. The weapon set is balanced and none of the power weapons are overpowered. Although most of the weapon locations are not intuitive. DMRs are difficult to find off spawn and placed up high or low, never near the action. Other weapons are difficult to get to, like the plasma launcher. Weapons need to be more visible to catch players eyes and help them learn the map better. Durability There aren't any noticeable spawn issues and the spawn hives are safe for freshly spawned players. There are a few predictable spawns because of the spawn hive furthest from the center. This causes players to continually funnel into the center from the same direction, which leaves them at a disadvantage when trying to assault the enemy position. There aren't any major breaks except for one major intentional exploit in the map. This creates an unfair advantage for players already familiar with the map and it's an unfair position with regard to the map. It's semi-difficult to get to and exposed, but once a player is up there they can ruin game play. Aesthetics The aesthetics were subtle throughout the map, which didn't distract from game play. They were pleasant to the eye, although a bit mis-placed. Without an idea or theme unifying the aesthetics, the maps immersion is broken. Without aesthetic coherency, the map feels less of a map and more a series of parts put together. Thios is best represented in the rock areas of the map where player movement is impeded and has no tie in with the rest of the map. Even though the aesthetics aren't tied together, it does help with player orientation. The maps placement next to a cliff face and the tall structures all help the player know where they are off spawn and to help team coordination. The height of the buildings prevents any major lines of sight flaws and cuts down on frame rate drops. The glass sails are just a bit touchy though when looking through them. Originality The inspiration from Lockout is evident since the map hangs from the side of a precipice and has an open central area surrounded by various rooms and towers. It certainly isn't a remake or a re-imagination, but a refreshing look at what maps built in Lockout's style can be and look like. Some notable features are the courtyard stairs, sniper nook, and miniature rock tunnel. These add character to the map and help to make it memorable. [floatleft]Enjoyment Balance Durability Aesthetics Originality[/floatleft]7/10 x 3 = 21/30 7/10 x 3 = 21/30 6/10 x 1.5 = 9/15 6/10 x 1.5 = 9/15 7/10 x 1 = 7/10 [floatleft]Average Score[/floatleft]67/100 Final Score Understanding the Review Hub's Ratings
It took quite some time to get to the right changes (at least for now) for a version two of Gotham. I took the Forgehub Review very seriously and Rusty Eagle has my thanks for spending the time to write the review. The updated version of Gotham includes, in relation with the review: Balance: I extended the underside of the map (red side spawn has a walkway connected to the SR platform making the go for the SR equal to blue teams path and opens the underbelly more, e.g. for objectives, and gives an opportunity to approach red site without the noisy man cannnon .. which still works great by the way). Second change I made is the easier access to the plasma launcher/rocket spawn (replaced the sniper nest with a curved wall). Durability:: The exploit in the map (pink corner) got removed. Aesthetics: With the removal of the pink corner structure some mis-placed aesthetics were cut too. Download the updated version Thanks again for the review. The changes resulting from that lead to better gameplay on Gotham and extend the maps playspace very smoothly, leading also to more intensity in one-sided gametypes and adding choices in player movement, e.g. escape routes (which were already mentioned positive in the review). Screenshots showing the updated version of the map: