Welcome to Hexagram. I built this map with loose inspirations from Gears of War map "Mansion", Halo 3 map "Orbital" and my own former creation, "Vertebraille". The symmetrical grounds you will be fighting on have been carefully crafted to leave you as much room to make strategic choices as possible. Every room has several entrances. Every spot is a point of interest in some way. The map has been tested and now I pass it on to you all to enjoy. YouTube - Forgehub.com presents: HEXAGRAM Music by Ill Niño. (That's your warning) Hexagram is set up for almost all gametypes. Here are the favorites: Team Slayer Stockpile Team King of The Hill Territories 3-Plot Headhunter Pro Neutral Assault Covy Slayer [COVY SLAYER] This is a variation of Elite Slayer, based off the exact settings from the Beta version. Much more fun in my opinion. NOT required for the map. Enjoy! 6 DMRs | 30 seconds 2 Needle Rifles | 30 seconds 1 Sniper Rifle | 180 seconds 1 Concussion Rifle | 90 seconds 1 Needler | 60 seconds 2 Plasma Pistols | 30 seconds 2 Plasma Repeaters | 30 seconds 1 Gravity Hammer | 180 seconds 4 Magnums | 30 seconds 2 Frag Grenades | 15 seconds 2 Plasma Grenades | 10 seconds 3 Health Packs | 120 seconds The central hall, plasma grenade spawn. Central Rock Garden, Red-side entrance. Blue-side base. Sniper spawn overlooking the death pit. Red-side health station and magnum spawn. Central Health Station from sniper spawn. Central area health station and Concussion Rifle spawn. The rookie approach: Charge into opposition's base. Tip #42: Titmar's tactics. Tip#16: Shad0w is cheap. Move as a team, win as a team. Titmar's demise. Try Covy Slayer for some fresh and exciting games. Using the sniper to defend your base in objectives. Watch your back in the open, the hammer is always just around the corner. THANKS TO: Shad0w Viper, Rusty Eagle, Titmar, TZ, Adelyss, Vice, Vorpal Saint, Cyberwaste1323, and your mothers. Love, Silence.
Holy **** how does this not have any replies yet?! Yes, it's a flashy thread, but just look at the map!!! Looks really nice! Will be downloading and will post with feedback later!
Very nice looking map. It's crisp, clean, and aesthetically pleasing... not to mention that it's one of the more original maps I've seen. My only complaint is that some of the merging looks a little odd. But no biggie. This thing plays like a beast. I haven't had time to do any objective games yet, but I will be keeping this one around for a while.
Very interesting, from what I can see from your map, it looks like there are only a few routes from place to place, but I may be missing something. I'll give it a download because it looks very well made regardless.
only 3 comments? This thread doesnt deserve this! Nor does the map! This map is beast, even the thread is beast! DL!!!!! PS: the last image currently does not show, I dont think it's me because they usually always work for me.
Really like it, I love how you have phased objects together in interesting ways, it looks great. Only 2 slight Z-fighting issue I saw, both in the bottom floor blue corridor(1 on the railing, 1 on the floor). Looks like it would play really well. Definitely a keeper, nice work
i downloaded this map and i must say the layout is awesome! however, i thought that a rocket launcher would be a better choice than the sniper rifle... imo. also, a smaller 2v2 version with the bases and hallways blocked off would be cool, too. nice map!
lol @ my demise pic. i very much enjoyed the games ive played on this map. its really solid overall, and although it does have a simple design as mentioned by a poster above me, it plays very well. sometimes simplicity is the key to greatness. Stockpile and Elite Slayer were a lot of fun on this map. Your hammer placement is awesome and added a large element of fun to the map. I highly recommend people to give this map a shot for some fast paced stockpile action in customs, you will not regret it. Great job.
Looks great. I bet it would play well, too. Just fyi, while flying around in forge, I found a hole that leads to out of the map. Don't know if it was intentional or not, but I'll describe it's location. On the blue side of the main room where the open covenant storage container is, the ceiling is open and would allow a jet packer to fly out. Although I'm also pretty sure you covered it with kill zones, it just kinda disrupts the feel for me. Not a big thing, just thought I'd let you know. Also a possibility you fixed this and I missed the update.
DUDE this map is the s***! The Rock garden is my favorite aspect dont know why lol. Quick question what did you use for the health pack holder (the ring around it) in the central area?
This is a nice layout and with some unique aesthetic touches. My only complaint is that I disagree with having the sniper rifle on a map this size. Even in the main room the distance is barely worth scoping in for, and the only vantage point is still so vulnerable it seems like a waste of a power weapon (maybe I'm just a bad sniper though, haha). I think subbing it for a shotgun or rocket might be too powerful on this map, but I have a feeling either of those would be more interesting than sniper. Just a thought. Great map though.
Oddly enough, rockets were the original power weapon. I didn't like them. They were guaranteed kills. Well, I must have forgot to cover that hole, but I promise that you won't get much out of flying out there. I have death barriers out there from when the map included outside play, and there's merely maybe a ledge or two for them to sit on and do nothing while other people are having fun playing the map. Thanks for the heads up though! Thank you. The health station was actually not my idea. Squidhands was gracious enough to let me use it. Its a Teleporter receiver node, set on a channel that isn't used. Shotgun = camping. Rockets = easy kills. I chose the sniper because, despite being really bad with it myself, it is a defense weapon. In tactical team games where there are critical times that require holding down areas, having someone watching doorways with the sniper is really helpful to leading your team to victory. It was an integral part of the gameplay during testing.
It's finally here! (I'm just late to the party). In all seriousness, this map is incredible. Not only because of it's unique aesthetics, but because of how well it plays. Out of all the gametypes we tried, Stockpile takes the cake. The center room where the Gravity Hammer spawns was my favorite and was a focal point of the map. I was so tempted to go into Forge and see what pieces you used to create that centerpiece with the tin-cup. The only thing I noticed while playing was the landmines in the pit. They looked pretty cool and caught my attention (damn you flashing red lights) but seemed kind of random. If you're ever playing this send me an invite.
omg omg omg!! sorry but it was omg x3 worthy. This map looks too good to be true...like i want to puke it looks so amazing...(thats a compliment) i need to play this like right now...i may have to kick my bro off black ops cause this looks perfect...i want this in matchmaking right now...
this map is awesome that rock garden inspired me to make a rock garden in part of my greenhouse that im making
Ha! I have put gardens on my past three maps as well! JDB95's Review Gameplay: Hexagram is beautifully crafted with a unique design that promotes wonderfully fluent games and gives off a zealous air. Design: Looks unique and awesome but I haven't been able to play any games on this beast yet. Forging Level: 1 Crap Poor Sloppy Acceptable Average Good Clean Very Good Amazing Perfection 10 I really can't find nearly anything wrong with it, but you now what they say "Perfection is impossible to achieve" lol great work. Weapon Layout: The layout is very well-thought and I like the minimal use of power weapons, as well as the variety of different weapons. All in all...: ........I don't even have anything to say. When I saw the picture of the map overview in your post my jaw dropped to the floor and I pressed the download button like 100 times in a row. Seriously though, the post is crazy good and would make even the most skeptical person download this beauty.
HEXAGRAM is currently participating in a contest which ends tonight. It's in second place. If you enjoyed the map, please help me out and vote. CONTEST HERE I don't think I've ever been told that my map makes someone want to puke, but thank you! lol. I hope it lived up to your expectations. Did you ever end up getting any games in on the map? I'd love to hear reviews from people when they've experienced the map.
Hexagram A familiar feel is often scoffed at being unoriginal and uninspired. That’s not always a fair assumption. In the best cases a familiar feel implies a map that follows an unofficial standard to near perfection. Hexagram is an enjoyable map, clean and clear. That’s not to say it’s perfect, but sometimes the best maps are the ones where you feel right at home without needing a whole game to find your place in it. There’s something oddly familiar about it, but still with enough unique variety to keep the players engaged and enjoying themselves. A few dead end pathways and some dominant points hold the map back and hurt the flow. These areas are seldom encountered but cause frustration when they are. Some additional balancing and pathways would help this issue, though it’s difficult to say what’s necessary since the points are somewhat minor in the overall picture. Overall, the flaws of the map are compensated for an all around good time. This is a map that plays best with fewer players so keep it around for when you have a party of 6 because playing with 8 might not be the best choice. Symmetry is one of the things we as humans associate with beauty, and hexagram does not disappoint. Being a symmetric map it’s very easy to learn the layout. There are only a few points that cause balance issues and can hurt the flow of the map. The first point of interest in the map is inevitably the Hammer spawn. Players tend to gravitate towards it regardless of where they spawn. The weapon is a huge draw and players will fight for the chance of having the power of the hammer, but just being at that height advantage in the largest room is enough to pull players in. The second cause for concern is the sniper spawn. Spawning at the highest point on the map and having only 2 routes to it, it’s very easy for a player to be compelled to stay there and try and defend their position. The obvious counter to this is that the hammer spawn is actually the best point for the sniper to move to, allowing them to cover the largest area with the best lines of sight. This was not the case as the sniper tended to stay in the one room, occasionally moving towards the hallways but seldom leaving the general area. Having only the two power weapons on the map puts an increased influence over the secondary weapons. The concussion rifle can be used effectively, though a grenade launcher might have been a more appropriate counter to the sniper. The plasma pistol can be very effective at surprising the enemy as they come around a corner. Surprisingly the fully auto weapons tended to be more effective due to the close quarters nature of the map. An added note was that the elite slayer variant was probably the best choice for the map. The first noticeable improvement is that the elite gametype replaces the sniper rifle with a focus rifle, which seems to be a more appropriate weapon choice for the map. Aside from that the use of evade on this map is almost crucial to how it plays and is highly recommended regardless. Overall, it’s a simple map that is well executed and well built. The few balance issues create some cause for concern, but not enough to really deter players from enjoying the map or having to struggle to regain control. Being a completely enclosed map there’s no way to escape the map, but with Reach this is basically a non-issue anymore. What are important are things like maintaining flow and keeping players moving. The first flaw is the “Death Pit.” It’s obvious why some maps choose this tactic, but at the same time it needs to be something that the player can only jump into. Walking into them in the heat of the battle can frustrate players and cause them to dislike the map. Simply making it so the player could not accidentally walk off the map would be the perfect fix. Death pits are somewhat gimmicky unless they serve a crucial role to the maps flow, which in this case it’s hard to say it does. Aside from that flaw there weren’t too many other noticeable issues. The map was seemingly exploding with aesthetic elements, which can be detrimental to gameplay. While it does make the map look nice, a balance is important between functionality and looks. Some areas could have been reworked and the object count decreased while still accomplishing the same goals. Overall the durability and structure of this map are what help it out the most in terms of gameplay. The aesthetics might be a bit over bearing and times but the attention to detail is appreciated. A simple design can be beautiful with the right attention to detail, and Hexagram pulls this off exceptionally well. The level of aesthetics on this map is above and beyond basically every map out there although there is a cost to all this detail. The first downside is that so much of the map’s budget is spent on the aesthetics that the map itself is rather small. Some more areas and pathways would have been a better use of the budget than a pillar or some knickknack on the wall. Due to the small size of the map it can really only comfortably support 3v3. This is mostly because there just aren’t enough areas for the players to be in, but also because the framerate starts to nosedive once you add a larger group to the mix. As much as it hurts to say this, the aesthetics need to be toned down for this map to truly shine. As much as it helps the feel of the map, so much of it is not important to gameplay that the map suffers by being ridiculously good looking. A map must have function over from and the aesthetics hurt the map overall. Something feels vaguely familiar about this map, mostly because it’s said to have been inspired by multiple sources, but even then it just feels like it fits in the Halo Universe. Hallways strike back memories of chill out or cold storage, even to the point where the whole map feels like a symmetric version. That’s not to say that the map lacks originality because it is a well executed attempt at a seemingly basic concept. The map fits together very well, and originality means nothing if not for the best execution of a similar idea. The map offers a fun and unique variety to a familiar concept. It keeps the feel throughout and stands in your mind as a one of a kind map. The only complaint that could be made is that the design is just a bit too simple, with not enough options to feel as though you’re in control. The map tends to control player movement, seldom offering more than 2 routes from any given point. Overall Hexagram maintains that familiar Halo-esque feel, while providing an interesting and inviting play space. It might not break the mold with the design, but not every map has to. Sometimes the best maps are the ones that we can easily associate with and it pulls it off excellently. Rating Multipliers [floatleft]Enjoyment: Balance: Durability: Aesthetics: Originality:[/floatleft]9 x 3.0 = 27 out of 30 8 x 3.0 = 24 out of 30 8 x 1.5 = 12 out of 15 6 x 1.5 = 9 out of 15 8 x 1.0 = 8 out of 10 Final Score Understanding the Review Hub's Ratings
i like it alot. looks like it has a good flow and even though rock gardens are overused, i like that u used wall corners. havent seen anybody do it yet, even though im sure someone else did it already.