Backstory: The Spartans have planned a surprise assault on a Covenant base. They have been dropped just outside the enemy base with limited supplies. They must blast through the rock wall, disable the Covenant's shield generators, and bring the core back to the extraction point. This core will help improve the Spartan's technology, hopefully enabling them to win the war. This is an overview of the map; I will explain what each point means below (Spartans=red, Elites=blue). Overview: This is a three stage invasion map. In the first stage, the Spartans have 4 minutes to plant and defend the bomb at the center of the rock wall (B2). The bomb takes 7.5 seconds to plant, 7.5 second to explode, and 3 seconds to disarm. The Spartans only have one spawn (1A), and have two methods of going towards the bomb plant point: the one way teleporter (green dots) and the bridge. They spawn with two mongeese and one loadout: Shotgun, Sprint, 1 Frag Grenade. The elites have two spawn points (1A and 1B) and have one loadout: Sword, Evade, 1 Plasma Grenade. If the Spartans manage to plant and defend the bomb, the bomb explodes, and a large chunk of the rock wall is destroyed. The destruction of the rock wall. In the next stage, the Spartans must capture 1 of 2 generators (G1 and G2) to disable the Covenant's base's shields. The round is 4 minutes, the generators take 30 second to capture, and the minimum time left on a generator is 7 seconds. There are three routes to take: down the middle in the open, through the left tunnel into the cave, and through the right tunnel towards the open. The Spartans can choose to spawn from 3 different locations: 2A, 2B, or 2C. They have 2 loadouts to choose from: 1 (Shotgun, Magnum, Sprint, 2 Frag Grenades) or 2 (DMR, Assault Rifle, Hologram, 1 Frag Grenade). The Elites can choose to spawn from 2 locations: 2A or 2B. 2A has a Shade Turret and a mancannon to get closer to the cave (T1), and 2B has a ghost and is closer to T2. The Elites can choose from 2 loadouts: 1 (Sword, Plasma Pistol, Evade, 2 Plasma Grenades) or 2 (Needle Rifle, Plasma Repeater, Drop Shield, 1 Plasma Grenade). If one of the generators is captured, the base's shields go down (left and middle ones in the front, and one by the shadow turret); the backup generators then kick in, protecting the combat rooms (spawn areas). Generators up. Generators down. In the third, and final, stage of the map, the Spartans must steal the core (F1) and return it to the pelican (F2). This stage lasts 5 minutes, with 30 second return time on the core, and 30 second sudden death (all stages have this long of sudden death). The Spartans can choose to spawn from 4 different locations: 3A, 3B, 3C, or 3D. A sniper and a rocket launcher (1 spare clip) spawn at 3A and 3D, a Spartan Laser spawns at 3A, a Warthog spawns at 3A and 3B, and an extra mongoose spawns at 3C. They have 3 loadouts to choose from: 1 (Shotgun, Magnum, Sprint, 3 Frag Grenades) 2 (DMR, Assault Rifle, Hologram, 2 Frag Grenades), or 3 (Grenade Launcher, Magnum, Jetpack, 2 Frag Grenades). Spartans can enter the base through the two front doors, the rock on the right wall, the door on the left wall, or by jetpack! The Elites can choose to spawn from 3 different locations: 3A, 3B, or 3C. A Focus Rifle and Fuel Rod Cannon (1 spare clip) spawn under 3A and at 3B, a Plasma Launcher spawns at 3C, an extra Ghost spawns at 3B (a wall disappears and is replaced with a one way shield door to give another exit for spawn 3B), and a Revenant spawns under 3A. The Elites have 3 loadouts to choose from: 1 (Sword, Plasma Pistol, Evade, 3 Plasma Grenades), 2 (Needle Rifle, Plasma Repeater, Drop Shield, 2 Plasma Grenades), or 3 (Concussion Rifle, Plasma Pistol, Cloak, and 2 Plasma Grenades). Random Tidbits: -- There are hard kill zones for when you fall off the map, and soft kills zones in places I don't want you to go (On top of rock wall and cave especially; you can still hop over with a jetpack easily). -- There is a spiral staircase leading up to the core, or you can jetpack from the sniper tower to the core. There is a mancannon at the base that throws you into the middle of the map, and there are various ramps to get on top of the base's walls. -- There are health stations scattered at the base and at the Spartan's initial spawn. -- The first stage is shotguns versus swords; I thought this was an interesting take on invasion! -- I tried to forge everything as cleanly as possible--lining up everything, while avoiding flashies. Let me know if you see an screw ups! --Don't forget to choose where you spawn by first choosing a loadout, then pressing up or down on the D-pad! There are cameras at each spawn to check them out too! -- When the rock wall explodes, it is AWESOME. --The pelican is too cool to just be in stage 3. More pictures: The pelican (core return point) and the bridge. Another angle of the pelican and bridge. The cave. Spartan spawn (in stage 3 with adds a Warthog, Laser, Sniper, and Rocket Launcher). Left side of Covenant base (door unblocked only in stage 3) Right side of Covenant base (rock spawns only in stage 3) Top of the spiral staircase where the core spawns. Inside the Covenant base. Another angle inside the Covenant base. Notice the shield door (appears when the wall covering it up disappears in stage 3) allowing another exit for players and an extra ghost at that spawn. One final look at the Covenant base as a whole in stage 3. Final Notes: This is more of a public test than an official release. I got a few games tested on it, but not as many, or as big of, games as I would have liked. I appreciate and welcome any and all feedback. Thanks for checking out my map! V2 Changes: The changes in v2 were mostly aesthetic. First, I made an awesome pelican near one side of the bridge. It is now the core return point for stage 3. I was going to make it just spawn for stage 3, but I think it is way too cool to only appear during one round. Then, I made the Covenant base more "Covenanty". First, I redid spawn 3A, elevating it and attaching it to the back rock wall (the Revenant and weapons spawn below it). I added portable shields to the outside wall giving it an extra flair too. I also made another entrance to the base on the right wall; a rock spawns in stage 3, allowing players to jump into the base. Finally, I added various cover inside the base, giving a more curvey feel, and providing closer quarters combat. I still need some more gameplay feedback! If it plays good (and I didn't mess up somewhere), then v2 will be the final release! However, I am sure something will come up that I have to tweak. Note: The gametype is the same, just with a different description. Also, I updated all pictures and added new ones! Let me know what you guys think of v2; I love any and all feedback! V3 Changes: For V3, the biggest fix was the spawns. I didn't fully understand how they worked apparently, but now I do. All the spawns are now fully functional with any number of players and all stages. I also fixed the heavy weapon spawn times, mimicking Bungie's times (for the most part). I changed the Sniper Rifle, Focus Rifle, Rocket Launcher, and Fuel Rod Cannon all from 30 second to 90 second spawns. I also changed the Spartan Laser and Plasma Launcher spawns times from 60 seconds to 120 seconds. This should lighten the heavy weapon usage. Another entrance to the base was added in stage 3. A rock spawns on the right wall, allowing players to jump into the base. The gametype was just changed a little. I changed the capture time for stage 2 from 20 to 30 seconds. It seemed like that stage was a little too easy, so I beefed it up a little. Finally, I added initial spawn loadout cameras--I completely forgot those, whoops! I would now like to announce that this map is finalized--completely done. I think I have improved the aesthetics a lot, tweaked the gameplay into a competitive battle, made the spawns functional, and fixed all (or most) of the little screw ups. If I missed anything, it should be minor. I hope you guys enjoy the map and play some great invasion gametypes on it! Let me know how they go, thanks!
Woah! Extremely creative job on the blow-up wall, dude. The only thing I don't like is that it's so big with a lot of empty field. If it were a little bit smaller, I think it'd be a little faster paced; but that's just me. I'm gonna go round up some friends and try this out right now.
Love the creativity of the rock wall explosion, the gorgeous bridge, and the "cave." It seems to me, though, that the overall geometry doesn't match the level of those more brilliants parts. The Spartans' side, for instance, is just boring. No offense meant at all, but it simply lacks the pizazz of your other set pieces. The Covenant base, while definitely better, still lacks interesting geometry, base structure, and aesthetic touches. Honestly, my first thought when I saw the Covenant base was "Robinson Crusoe," where the guy stranded on an island erects fences made out of logs. It's just that sparse. Think of Covenant areas in campaign missions, and try to reimagine the creative aspect of their buildings and ships...curves, if possible, purple lights for sure. Overall, the Covenant base looks like an abandoned marine outpost, which would be fine, but it's not what you're going for. This map has TONS of potential, your ideas are ingenious and just plain fun. Just add all those unnecessary (but incredible) touches of finesse, spruce up the bases, and you'll have a map that could deserve featuring. Great job!
Where do I start. WOW!!!! Great concept your doing things here that I didn't even know could be done in the new forge. Would love to test this with you. I have a large following esp for big team customs. Will clear a space for you off my friends list. I definetley think that this map is worthy of a redo on the attacker and defender bases though. I have forge doctored a few really great maps into epics with fellow forgers. Check out my Hail Mary map for Halo 3 that I did with Jackal Anubis below. Amazing job man! MRX HAIL MARY
How do you make the rock wall disappear? Do you use settings for the individual rocks in the way and set them to disappear when the second phase of the game begins? I am very interested in this technique as I'm planning a map variant and would love to use this.
Thanks for the feedback guys, let me know if you get some decent sized matches on it! Deku, thanks! Yeah, the map is pretty open. The first stage is definitely the biggest and most open (The rocks actually give quite of bit of cover, which is kind of hard to see in the pictures.), but since it is swords vs. shotguns, it actually works out pretty well. The rest of the map has a few close quarter combat areas, but I agree, it could use more. I think I will maybe make the whole interior of the Covenant base close quarters (or most of it). Lance, thanks for the kind words! The Spartan base is supposed to look small and simple--like they just got dropped in with a little bit of cover, weapons, and vehicles. However, I agree that the covenant base could look a bit more "Covenanty". I could add purple lights, but what else? Maybe a satellite dish attached to the back of the base? Do you have any specific suggestions, thanks! ManRayx, that would be awesome if you could help me get some people together for some customs! My GT is:Cheesejam, thanks!
OK, I see what you're saying with the human base, that's totally fine, then. For the Covenant base, try to use any and all curved pieces for all geometry...if you ever see a Covenant level (MP or Campaign), it's nearly entirely curved. Maybe satellite dishes on their side phased into the ground, as a fence-like structure? That may not work (not near my 360 right now, can't test), but something along those lines. With the purple ball, it'll become a lot more Covenant-y if it's curved. Also, remember that their geometry doesn't have to make sense. While a satellite dish would be a great idea for a human base (I already saw one, actually), for a Covenant base consider more abstract geometry (still curved, of course) that doesn't really make perfect human sense...because it's not human. I think a satellite is a good idea...but what would a Covenant one look like? Very alien. Just some fun tips...keep up the great work! I downloaded this map and I'm playing it tomorrow with about 12 guys at a LAN party...I'll let you know how it goes! =D
Great looking map CheeseJam. Now for the nitty-gritty criticism: 1) I haven't had the chance to dl and play this map yet, but looking at the pictures and diagram, the Covenant base could definitely use a little more inside it, such as small structures, or rearrange what's there and insert a larger structure in the back or something. It will force players to focus on that close-combat fighting style. 2) When the Spartans are granted access to the base, the Elites will be almost forced to spawn at 3C to be closer to the tower and to avoid spawn-killing by a well-organized team. I'd suggest creating a fourth spawn point somewhere in the back of the base (maybe make a small cover-surrounded platform sticking out of the cliff side) to give the Elites another option that can't be so easily countered. 3) I can't wait to see the rock explosion trigger. Once I get a chance to play this map, I'll come back and re-evaluate. From what I can tell though, this map has an incredible amount of potential!
Lance, I will try to make things more curvey. What do are you talking about when you say "purple ball"? I am thinking of adding some structure attached to the back rock wall, not sure if I want it to be available for entrance or not. I am thinking of making the outside wall something like this: Instead of: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ] (from the front), I am going to make the wall look like this: ( )( )( )( )( )( ). It shouldn't be too hard of a modification. Let me know how your LAN likes the map! Round, I am definitely thinking of adding some smaller (round!) structure to the base to provide more cover. I can't make too big of structures, or the vehicles won't be able to exit the base. I don't believe spawn killing is a problem because the other 2 spawn areas are surrounded by one way shield doors, and one of them has two exits. I may add anothe rrespawn zone, maybe to a structure attached the back rock wall, up above a bit. Thanks for the feedback!
I mean "Light, Purple." Sorry, it's a purple ball that gives off purple light, so I took a shortcut. Didn't mean to confuse! As for the walls, that's totally what I was thinking of! I just couldn't communicate it very well. I hope that work for you...if not, well at least it was attempted, in case someone says to try it again. =) I think a back/side entrance would be a cool idea. Bungie always had as least TWO ways to complete any objective on Invasion (except for cores, of course); this is done so that the defense HAS to split up, creating interesting combat, rather than their entire team simply camping the sole entrance. So I think a sort of rear entrance is a great idea! Not sure whether you're thinking sneaky entrance, teleport, or maybe even a mancannon over the fence/wall, but any sort of secondary entry creates great options for the attacking team. Keep it up! =D
There already was a secondary entrance! There were the two front shield doors, the ability to fly over the walls with jetpacks, and another back entrance by the shade turret (Elites stop spawning there in stage 3). However, I felt that the right side of the base was not used much, so I made a rock that spawns in stage 3 on the right side of the base that allows the Spartans to get into the base from another side. I did some work on the base. I really wanted to make the outside wall curvey, but it wasn't working out. I did add some portable shields to give the exterior some flair though! I did quite a lot to the inside. I removed the spawn near the Revenant and made an elevated spawn that I think looks cool. The weapons and Revenant (not shown in pictures) spawn under it. I added two purple lights, cover for the left entrance, a central divider/passageway, and a little bit of cover here and there. Let me know what you guys think! What should I add or remove? Here are some pictures: I have about $1300 dollars left, and was thinking of making a pelican either at the the Spartan spawn or the core return point. I don't know if I am up to the challenge of making a pelican though. Do you guys think this is a good idea? Thanks for all of the feedback guys, it really helps me become the best forger I can be. Let me know if you get any good games on the map!
It looks so awesome! I'm not sure about the pelican, but it's up to you. You have a lot of money left, so get creative. And I think I'm gonna wait to download the updated version of the map until all modifications have been made. For now, I'm gonna keep testing the original version and see how it runs.
Well, I am pretty much done with this map aesthetically, minus a few tweaks that might have to be done. After I get some more gameplay feedback, I will fix anything if necessary, and release v2. I stayed up until 2:30 and spend 2.5 hours making a pelican at the core return point. I had to remove like 3 pieces of cover throughout the map to finish the pelican, and I now have $0 LEFT. I like how it turned out, the front is a little iffy, but overall it is sweet! Pics: What do you guys think?
Jeez, Cheese. Holy fantasticness, this map is legit. Is there anyway I can get ~v2 today before about 3pm EST? I'd love to take it to my LAN party. Also, is the gametype still correct? That'd be awesome, man!
Hey dude, nice map you made. Could you please post or send me a detailed explenation on how you got the first phase to work? I'm trying a similar thing with a bomb on the first phase but i cant get it to work properly. Thx
Exile, use a hill marker and change it to inv_flag (something like that, in advanced properties) for where you want the bomb to spawn. Then, use a hill marker and change it to inv_objective for where you want the bomb to be planted. Make sure you properly set up the gametype and the hills have matching sequences. Good luck! V2 is out! The first post is completely updated. The changes in v2 were mostly aesthetic. First, I made an awesome pelican near one side of the bridge. It is now the core return point for stage 3. I was going to make it just spawn for stage 3, but I think it is way too cool to only appear during one round. Then, I made the Covenant base more "Covenanty". First, I redid spawn 3A, elevating it and attaching it to the back rock wall (the Revenant and weapons spawn below it). I added portable shields to the outside wall giving it an extra flair too. Finally, I added various cover inside the base, giving a more curvey feel, and providing closer quarters combat. I still need some more gameplay feedback! If it plays good (and I didn't mess up somewhere), then v2 will be the final release! However, I am sure something will come up that I have to tweak. Note: The gametype is the same, just with a different description. Let me know what you guys think of v2; I love any and all feedback!
Alright, I finally got to run a few games on this and sadly, I was disappointed. The focus revolved around the weapons and vehicles rather than the objectives themselves. The elevated spawn helped the spawn-trapping though. What I'd suggest for a v2.1 or even just a second variant for MLG-style players is to remove a few of the many power weapons, the Revenant, and the Warthog, and instead put more average weapons, such as Assault Rifles, DMRs, Needle Rifles, and Needlers. Other than that, this is a very impressive map, definitely deserving of featuring. Also, the Pelican is freaking awesome.
Yay, some gameplay feedback! I actually got a huge game today, 8 vs. 8! It actually went well, despite the flaws that apparently only I noticed. First off, I thought I understood the spawn system, but I didn't. When I tested with just two controllers, everything worked fine. But, with at least two people on a team, things got messed up. I have now fixed problems--I should have just read the Bungie.net guide instead of trying to figure it out by myself. Everyone really enjoyed the map and LOVED the final round. I noticed stage 2 was a little too easy, so I have upped the capture time to 30 seconds (especially since Spartans initially have the edge after just winning stage 1, and because they spawn relatively close to the capture points). Also, I forgot to add initial loadout cameras, so I put those in. I appreciate the feedback man! While I didn't notice abuse of power weapons in my game today, I am sure if everyone knew about them, they would have used them a lot. Following Bungie's lead (kind of), I am changing the Sniper, Rocket, Focus Rifle, and Fuel Rod Cannon from 30 second respawn to 90 second respawn. Also, I am changing the Spartan Laser and Plasma Cannon from 60 second respawn to 120 second respawn. This should tone things down a bit. I think the final loadouts are fine and give a good counter to the better vehicles in stage 3. I actually prefer the DMR/Needle Rifle to the final tier weapons. How big were the games that you played, anything else that you noticed? I will wait for more gameplay feedback before I release v3. V3 should be my final release if I get enough feedback. V2 spawning may be a bit glitchy, but players can still get a general feel for the map and give me some solid feedback. I hope you guys are looking forward to the final release as much as I am!