LOTR: Minas Tirith

Intro:

Hello everyone, I am here today on ForgeHub to present to you all a cooperatively-made map, created by Xx10chickensXx and myself. This is my first official map posted in the competitive category on ForgeHub, as all my past creations have been for more casual playing. I would also like to clarify a few things before I begin the description. The map itself was originally started by Xx10chickensXx who then enlisted me to aid him in its completion. I would like to mention that TheHaloForgeEpidemic did inspire a few aspects of the map (including the gametype) but they were not the origin of the idea, since Xx10chickensXx had actually never heard of them before I showed him the videos. With that last bit of information in mind, I would also like to mention that I will be using some Lord of the Rings "lingo" to describe certain things in the map. And with that, let us begin!

The map (LOTR: Minas Tirith):

To start off, I would like to say that we tried to keep the feel of the great city while making this map, but for gameplay and aesthetics-sake, we had to cut it down to a 5-level structure instead of its original 7-level design. I would also like to point out that thanks to the specific gametype, weapons will not be found on the map. So, the game will start on the first floor. The Elites (or Orcs) have broken through the main gate of the city, but its upper terrace has collapsed and barred the door-way. Retreated into the left corner of the city, the Orcs will spawn in three close-grouped areas near their bomb. The goal of this phase it to charge past the houses and debris and plant a bomb at the barred gate of the second floor. The Spartans (or Gondorian army) spawn in-front of the gate to the second floor (and at one location on the second floor) and must protect their position. Once the gate is breached, the next objective for the Orcs is to take either a small temple or a market building on the second floor. The third floor is accessible, but a gate blocks access to the fourth floor until the next phase. The Orcs will spawn closer to these objectives and the Gondorians are forced higher into their city. The Orcs will also receive their hero-unit (Custom Powerup - 45 seconds) and a man-cannon to give them a second point of entry. Once one of the posts is captured, the final phase begins. Both armies have varied spawn areas and the Gondorians now receive their hero-unit. Running up the city, past the barricades and trebuchets, the Orcs must now reach the top of the city, capture the core (or crown of Gondor) and bring it to the peak of the mountain. The white tree of Gondor is easily seen once at the top and on the throne of the castle, the crown may be located. The Orcs will receive a teleporter on the first floor to get access to the tope, but they may also use a neutral man-cannon on the fourth floor or the main tunnel-cannon to reach their objective. I can only hope that my pictures serve better than my words to portray the map we have made!

The gametype (LOTR: Assault on Gondor):

To begin, as I mentioned in the introduction, we did use TheHaloForgeEpidemic's gametype as our basis, because to be honest it was absolutely brilliant and I want to make sure they get full credit for its creation. However, we did change the phase layout to better suit our map. I will now describe its changes:

Phase #1: Assault - 3 minutes long (10 second arm / 5 second disarm)
Phase #2: Territories - 5 minutes long (30 second capture / 7 second defence)
Phase #3: CTF - 4 minutes long (30 second sudden death / 45 second core return)

For the classes, although they are the same as THFE's version, for those who do not know them, here they are:

Phase #1:
Spartans:
Warrior - Energy Sword - Sprint
Elites:
Scout - Energy Sword - Evade

Phase #2:
Spartans:
Warrior - Energy Sword - Sprint
Sharpshooter - Needler Rifle - Sprint
Elites:
Berserker - Gravity Hammer / Spiker - Sprint
Warrior - Energy Sword / Spiker - Hologram

Phase #3:
Spartans:
Warrior - Energy Sword - Sprint
Sharpshooter - Needler Rifle - Sprint
Champion - Energy Sword - Armor Lock
Elites:
Berserker - Gravity Hammer / Spiker - Sprint
Warrior - Energy Sword / Spiker - Hologram
Champion - Gravity Hammer / Energy Sword - None

Heroes:
Can jump higher (a bit) run fast and kill quicker (but only for 45 seconds).

Once again, full class design and game settings credit (besides phases) goes to TheHaloForgeEpidemic. on the same note, I will mention that player speed is at 110% and jump height is at 75%. The damage tables are also turned. It will take 2-3 sword hits to kill a player and a full Needler rifle clip to down an adversary. We would also like to mention that because players may survive large falls (because of a gametype flaw that we could not resolve) kill boundaries were placed around the mountain, so beware where you jump. Also, it may seem easy to escape the map... but i do not suggest attempting it. Our kill boundaries are unforgiving!

Screenshots:


The initial loadout camera for the map.



The Orc spawn areas for the first phase.


The Gondorian army's spawn at the opposing end of the first floor.


A battle taking place in front of the destroyed main gate, in the center of the main floor.


The objective for the first round (the barricaded second floor gate).


The Orcs' entry into the second phase.


A man-cannon is added near the Orcs' hero-room to give them a second point of entry to their second phase objectives.


The Orcs' hero-room. It is simply a spawn area in the first phase but becomes a hero room in the second phase with the appearance of the Custom Powerup.


The Market building (one of the second phase objectives).


The small temple building (the other second phase objective).


From the third floor (and second floor) the Gondorians can use the ramparts to jump over the wall and onto the lower levels.


Once the third phase begins the gate that was blocking the fourth floor from both teams, disappears.


At the end of the second phase, a man-cannon will spawn next to the temple building, giving the Orcs a quicker way to reach the top of the mountain (by way of a second man-cannon).


A trebuchet that has launched its stone and has been abandoned. (If you look, you can see the man-cannon leading to the passage-way to the top).


A second trebuchet on the ramp to the fourth floor. The Gondorian hero-room can be seen on the mountain-side.


The fourth floor man-cannon is a neutral way for both Orcs and Gondorians to reach the top of the mountain quickly.


However, by following a rocky tunnel, soldiers may reach the main entrance to the top.


This ramp and man-cannon lead directly to the top of the mountain. On the left rock-face where the Orc is standing represents the second floor man-cannon drop-off).


Also, as third point-of-entry to the top. The Orcs can use a teleporter found on the first floor.


The third phase capture zone, at the tip of the mountain, and the shield-door protecting the main entrance to the top of the city.


The opposing view shows the entrance to the castle, covered by a rock, the white tree of Gondor and, to the right, the receiver node from the first floor teleporter.


The white tree of Gondor. (Don't worry, you can't walk through it...we've seen to that).


Another angle of the courtyard, highlighting the receiver node's position.


Once inside the castle, at the far back, in the pillar-filled room, the Orcs will find the crown of Gondor on the throne of Minas Tirith.


Working their way through the castle, the Orcs will soon re-enter the courtyard.


We don't suggest jumping off the mountain, even if you're a hero... survival chances are minimal.


It's always in the Orcs' advantage to have soldiers clear the way for the crown-carrier.


The end of a successful Orc attack.


An overview of the main city.


Please forgive me for the large amount of pictures, but I truly found them all necessary to give everyone the full scope of the map. In all fairness, we found that neither side had an overwhelming advantage over the other and that gameplay stayed fair. Strategy-wise, we found that sticking together was always a good idea because, as Oakley Hidef has said, in a melee oriented gametype such as this, a large group of swordsmen can easily wipe out the enemy all at once and clear an objective. We've never experienced a game were a team was skunked, but the defenders have been able to win as have the attackers, in our multitude of tests. During testing, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the gameplay was always fluid, without a boring moment. We hope that everyone who downloads this map and gametype will have as much fun as we have while playing.

I would also like to give a shout-out to the few groups of people who helped us test out this map. You were all awesome and thank you for the help!

Conclusion:

Well, it seems that I am finally done with describing this map. I would like to say that I loved making this map with Xx10chickensXx and I know that we both hope everyone likes our first cooperatively-made map! Please leave me your feedback on our work, be it positive or simply constructive criticism, and we will both take it into account for our future maps.

Video Review:

Halo Reach Forge Maps: "LOTR: Minas Tirith" - YouTube

 

Oh, I was unaware that others had already made the map... I hope you understand that our intention was never to copy someone else's work. As for your other comment... ahem... I know it may not look spectacular, good sir, but that "flower" is actually the White tree of Gondor, the symbol of light for the Free men of the West, the icon of their survival and the emblem of the armies of Gondor. So it needs to be big..ish..... lol. Anyways, thanks for the tip on flag stands, I was unnaware of that and thank you for your feedback MacaroniMayor!

 

I apologise if I've made a mistake in placing this map in this category. However, I was under the impression that any map with a competitive feel for it (basically anything that a hard-core player could be challenged at) was appropriate to place here. When I looked at the category of "Reach Competitive maps" I saw that under its description it said: objective, which I believe Invasion to be. Also, as I browsed through a few maps, I spotted a rather successful invasion map here in Competitive maps: http://www.forgehub.com/forum/reach-competitive-maps/123197-ccs-silent-barbarian.html
-As compared to a casual map (like my other ones) which can sometimes require honour-rules or is infection-type, this map forces players to work as a team, build strategies and push forward (or hold-off) constantly throughout the match. But, if you could specify as to why this map would not be competitive, I could look into fixing it as soon as possible.