Invasion: DROP SHOCK

Ok, im going to be honest. I think that you could use some work in improving your forging skills. I cant download it just yet, but i can tell it was your first dropship. the design of the Dropship could use improvment in itself, since it looks like someone built it from leftovers from something else. it looks poorly designed from the pics anyway, and i cant really tell what design drop pod you used. i really hope you used the double barricade one that was posted in the forge tips and tricks thread in the forge discussion subforum, since its the one that most reminds me of an odst drop pod, and since its also the only model drop pod ive encountered that wasnt dangerous just to enter.

as for the other structures, the comms towers are a bit simple. it seems like one elite with a sniper type weapon, or a weapon useable for such, such as a needle rifle could take them out for the mostpart without ever getting close to them. i think if you have the chance, you should add more cover and structure to the comms towers.

next comes the seconds phase. to me, it really looks too sparce, even if its just a wall. you could add more structure here too, that would add a bit to the map's overall quality.

another thing i noticed is that you used a lot of perfab structures, such as the towers in the second and third phases. you should avoid these if you can, or embelish more. they just tend to look horrible, regardless of where you set them, and people know their layouts like the back of their hands. try to build your own structures whenever possible.

the next point to touch on is where you have the shade turrets. i dont see any way up to them, and that could be a problem for anyone without a jetpack. not only would it be better to have them closer to the structures in front of the wall, but you could probably integrate them into the base itself, giving access, and a bit of variety to the base itself.

the final thing to touch on is the covey base. it is probably the biggest offender on this map, due to the huge amount of prefab structures i see in it. i count at least three, not counting the large platforms you put in. these structures should be avoided as much as possible, as i said before. they take up so much budget that could be saved with other pieces, that you could have built a nicer base. do you have more than just the front door into the base, btw? if not, i dont see how any spartans could get in. one elite with an E-sword, if applicable, or a few elites period, could hold that location indefinately, never letting the spartans in, or if they did get in, out.

something else i just noticed by the way, regarding the main phase. whats to stop the spartans from climbing that nice stone structure you put next to a comm tower and spawn killing the elites the whole phase? (since i assume you put the elites spawn on the far side of the one way shields. you didnt show any elite related spawns at all)

and as for your posting itself. i think i speak for most of us that it would be appriciated if you posted a weapon list, pics of spawns, at least a pic or two of the elite base interior, and so on, so we really understand the finer bits of the map itself, such as those.

im not trying to hurt your feelings, or make you feel like you did poorly on it, which in fact you havent. i simply think that theres a lot of room for improvment.

and to be fair, im a huge fan of ODST and anything having to do with ODST units, so im extremely critical about any map relating to them. youve done far better than a lot of ODST maps ive seen, including the fact you included the iconic ODST drop pod enterance, something a lot of other maps dont, for some reason. i think you should redesign the ship itself though, and at least the second phase base, and see how that works.

also, if it helps, i dont think at this point that UNSC ships really require wings, except for high speed flight, and a drop ship would want to be able to be stationary, so wings and rear mounted thrusters wouldbe a real hinderance in an ODST drop ship.

and so you know, you really need to test a map before ever considering posting it. good luck though, and a nice attempt at a first invasion map. better than my first attempt anyway.