INVASION: Island Complex

The welcoming is a common expression. I see you're part of the testers guild and I didn't think you would take offense to it.

Also, I don't think you got what I meant when I said there are only four themes. My point wasn't that you can only make four types of maps. Rather, anything can be broken down to its bear essentials to the point that anything can be regarded as generic

Now, if you're talking about theme, I have to disagree that this is another generic map. If you're talking about game design - yes, it's generic. It's meant to play as a straight forward invasion game. The same way all slayer games are played the same way. So, it seems a little harsh to call this generic. I think it takes a lot of creativity to create something original within the restrictions of something old and familiar.

 

Hah, no wonder I had a bad experience, I was playing with the wrong gametype or something. It was about a month ago, so I couldn't say for sure. But I do recall the Elites were on defense.

 

The problem with outdoor maps, especially large scale ones representing invasion and big team battle, is that they often have to spread out the wealth instead of concentrating it. While Gameplay and Aesthetics needs to be approached in a "Ying-Yang" designed manner, it is very difficult to apply this to a map of this size.


Gameplay is absolutely central when designing a map of huge proportions and is often improved with every iteration. Seeing that this is his second attempt at an Invasion map that wasn't initially intended, the gameplay is much improved. In Bunker Complex, I did experience getting killed when I got stuck in Phase 1 after the attackers moved up, but as both Psychoduck and RivalMass have said, It is a rookie mistake like this that plagues most newcomer Invasion maps. You see none of that in Island Complex, but there is still room for improvement. Line of Sight is very important and when the game gets intense, you often get annoyed when a structure inhibits your view. However, this does not mean that you need to not make any in your next map, just make sure that they both provide a use in gameplay and a visual treat.

This leads me to Aesthetics. As I stated earlier, it is often hard for forgers to create visually appealing maps that are spread out over a wide area. It is easy to concentrate too much budget per structure, causing other areas to lack the 'zing' that gamers enjoy. A way around this is making sure that all pieces are relevant and possess the same architecture of the rest. In this way, Island Complex has succeeded. You can see throughout the map that a large majority of the objects have the same architectual style and color. If this was what you originally thought of RivalMass, than I think you made the right choice. The Aesthetic Flow of the map is near perfect, because as you move on from phase to phase, the structures around you give that sense of familiarity; Exactly like they belong together. Of course the last phase has a little less detail to it than the first two, but this is forgiven because even the best forger has budget limits.

While not an original idea, the military outpost theme you created was far better executed than any i've seen. I never really saw the logic in it (Theres carriers and submarines in a universe where aircraft and spacecraft can harmlessly float above the surface of any planet, that and your on a Halo installation), but this definitely fits better. Psychoduck was right in saying that Hushed Apprentice was perfect for the island because it really made the Halo veteran recall the Silent Cartographer level in Halo: CE. It just fit the atmosphere perfectly and since it was a little more confined, there was more budget room for detail.

I've loved the forge and I'm sure many a Bungie employee would have heart attacks at seeing the beautiful maps our forge community has created. Unfortunately, there is only one Forgeworld so forgers only have the objects they gave us to use as detail. It is safe to assume after all the creativity has appeared recently, we've been spoiled with great-looking small 1v1 or 2v2 maps. Although this is great, we've come to be critical of things that can't be changed. The budget is still $10,000 and there will still be lag if there is too many objects in one place. We expect too much of small time map-makers, thinking they'll crank out a 'Mona Lisa' every time. This is the perfect example of the path to being an amazing forger. Just build whatever ideas you think are good and post them. The whole point of ForgeHub is to show off your maps to the community and get better at forging. So believe me when I tell you that I know your next map will be the best one yet. Just keep on Forging!

 

I love the way you've presented this map, from the walkthrough on the design and the finished project, to the way you've created this thread. I can see a lot of effort has gone into this.

But to be frank, I'm not a fan of the map itself. It seems like the only height variation in combat comes from aerial vehicles, which can go on rampage sprees given the openness of the map. Although you do have your objectives set up well, the map is lacking in the 3rd dimension. It feels very "2D", if you get where I'm going, and that's because players are (for the most part) fighting on the same plane throughout the match. My last gripe would be with the structures. It almost seems completely random and scattered about, and it doesn't feel like there's any 'glue' holding the map together. When I look at it, I still see Paradiso. To me it feels like you slapped the map onto the Island rather than build to compliment the island.

I hope to play on this sometime cause (again), I see that you've put a lot of work into it. These are just my initial thoughts.

 

i like this map i am just not a big fan of the placement of the rocks in the first phase because they dont really look to natural but besides that this map is great

 

Download Link?

Dear Oakley, Besides Bungie.net & Halo Waypoint, is there another way to download your map or at least, who's fileshare can I find this map on? if so, thanks!