Yeah I don't think last night was an official test night, what was said in the lobby might be all you're going to get unless you directly ask lol

TESTING LOBBY #2

The following feedback represents the opinions of the judging panel as a whole and is based upon both gameplay experiences and a thorough dissection of each map in forge. Feel free to contact any of the judges for further details on the feedback provided below.

Olympus by @MultiLockOn : Moving the design towards 1 flag was a good move, as it fits the relic style base better. However, there may be too few ways to attack the base, as for the most part players on offense have to come at the base from the front and must brave the powerful lines of sight from the structures upper levels. The gifting of the rockets and other nearby weapons to the defenders also impedes attacker progress whilst allowing defense to stay in or near their base. It would create a greater degree of risk vs reward if you were to have to go out of the base to riskier locations to obtain these weapons, while also offering offense the chance to steal these weapons and use them for a push. The banshee also spawned too close to defense, making it very easy to steal from the attackers even if they immediately push it off of spawn. The map had some frame drops, especially when looking towards tower from attacker spawn.

Bad Blood by @The Fated Fire : The design intent of the map is clearly well executed. Iteresting strategies are emerging involving the ghost. Making the snipers more exposed will be a positive change, and placing all power weapons on static timers will further cemend the competitive nature of the map

Lost Causeway by @Chronmeister : The flag needs to be pulled up to allow for defense team back spawning. Similarly, the return point could be raised up some and require a bit more looping around to get to so it is not so easily scored. The lower spawn area for offense was both a little too far back and was too exposed to a push by defense. The core issue here was the lack of other places for offense to spawn. Providing alternatives will help to alleviate this. There were a few frame rate drops on the map, likely due to scenery and terrain featured outside of the map itself.

Reservation by @Oasis Hurler : The map's design intent is unique, perhaps odd. But, it is much better executed now than in previous versions. The openness of the map's center and resulting emphasis on the circular structure of the map is interesting. Teams must be well-coordinated to pull the flag. Interaction between infantry and vehicles certainly takes place, though almost exclusively with the infantry on the upper levels and the vehicles on the lower. Again, this results from the intentional openness of the map's lower levels, and whether it is a good thing is in the eyes of the beholder. The flag placement was somewhat awkward; this could be improved by moving it off its plinth on the edge of the platform. Moving the flag the last bit of the way to the return point is exceptionally difficult and it requires team coordination as a result. However, attacker spawntrapping appears to be occuring once the flag is near the return point, perhaps making this more difficult than it needs to be.

Headless by @IMAROLLINGSTONE : The biggest issue was the flag capture route. The route through defense building and over rocket jump was both a very fast route and a fairly safe one, with an even safer method being dropping down at rockets and hugging the building. It was difficult to control this area due to the lack of lines of sight from defense, making it easy to pull the flag on a fairly straight course. Meanwhile, defense team would then spawn in the opposite corner to this route, making it very difficult to intercept the flag. This fast route needs to be far more exposed and dangerous so as to entice flag movement around the longer side of the map. Spawning for defense team should allow the quick path to be easily covered, and should not intercept if they decide to take the longer, safer route. The wraith seemed to stay in the same place for most of our game, as it could guard the flag and several approaches from its spawn. It had little incentive to move around the map with the current flag setup.

Riptide by @Squally DaBeanz : New version played quite a bit better. The new vehicle routes actually helped to bring infantry and vehicles together a lot more, and the lack of a gate felt completely fine. The game was fairly lopsided due to teams, but overall this felt like a move in the right direction. The biggest thing I'd watch out for is spawns, as I wasn't sure if we were spawning far enough away from the base at times (this may have just been because of the team imbalance.)

Import by @MartianMallCop : *Duck and I talked and the version he last saw didn't match up with the version I played last night. I think we may have played the wrong version, so take the below with a grain of salt. I'll need to take a look at the latest version soon.

The change in the bases made is so that teams had to push all of the way out to the sewers just to get out of the bases, which only made flag runs even more predictable. The long lines of sight down the base roads, lack of routes out of the spawn, and lack of cover down the road led to massive spawn trapping and fairly stale gameplay. The changes made to the towers were good however, with the removal of the beams and more focussed paths. Overall, flag paths need to be re-thought, and the spawn areas need to become more like actual bases, as currently they can be easily shot down into and trapped. Spawn trapping can be a good thing, but should require more of a team to pull off than simply holding one area of the map.

Given and I agree on messing with rocket placement and the banshee spawn so you'll see some changes there.

As far as the LOS go towards making defending easy, I'd be inclined to agree with you on paper, but almost every test we've played on the map is super flip flippity when it comes to ease of defending/attacking. Maybe that's a good thing and shows a balance in the map, but I fear its just the result of consistently unbalanced teams (as the case was when you tested it unfortunately). I'll play around with some LOS though. Thanks again guys.

Riptide by @Squally DaBeanz : There were some spawning issues for both teams. Defense occasionally spawned in lines of sight of/ next to enemies. Offense was spawning right on top of defense when they held the cap point. It may be that this was too good a position to hold in the first place, or that offense needed a further back spawn.

Bad Blood by @The Fated Fire : I would revisit the ghost ramps and adjust them to be more form fit with the snipe tower to refine how purpose built those two structures are.

Unearthed by @moo43 : The first test on Unearthed was very interesting. The high level of verticality on the map did not impede vehicle gameplay in the slightest. Duck and I don't completely agree on whether adding a brute shot is necessary, but give it a try and we will see how it plays. The spawning was a little off, with players spawning too close to the middle of the map on both teams. Make sure that neither team is spawning in the middle line of the map, giving some buffer room between the sides closest spawns. I'm a little uncertain about flag movement on the map, but we shall have to see how it plays out over multiple tests. It is possible that the top and bottom areas were a little exposed, but once again, this may prove not to be the case. Overall, this was a very cool map!

Olympus by @MultiLockOn : The frame rate issues on the map are still around, so continued measures will need to be taken to counter this. Cutting height on the tower may help, as it is likely the tower that is the root of the stutter. Right now, the flag seems to be best run straight off of tower and through the middle of the map. This is partially due to how easy it is to throw the flag a good distance from the tower, and also because once the flag is around the first rocks it is easy to get it out of the towers line of sight. I would suggest finding ways to make this route less viable whilst working on making alternative routes more accessible from the tower. In addition, the teleport entrance was too far back, making it very difficult and risky to use. The exit itself was interesting, being exposed for a second but safe after that. I was a fan of this, as it forces the player using the teleport to be sneaky about when they decide to use it. Making the teleport entry more accessible whilst maintaining some of the risk is your next challenge. The flag cap location itself is also too safe, being too far back in attacker territory to be contested. I would suggest finding a way to raise it up and to force players to loop back around to get onto this raised area. This could serve as a way for attackers to put shots on tower, and would also allow tower to more easily contest a flag that is close to the return point. The banshee gameplay felt pretty good, though its spawn was potentially too visible and nade-able by defense team. The warthog saw some good use, but its inability to interact much with the tower area is hurting the infantry-vehicle interaction. The suggestion to remove some of the railings on the tower might help alleviate this. The tower itself could also potentially use a little more in the way of vertical overlap, or interior spaces. This would allow defense to take cover from the banshee and would result in more interesting and varied fights taking place on the tower itself. Finally, defense was spawning too far back in their caves to be able to contest a flag pull out front of the base. Giving the defense team some more forward flag-away spawns would help with this. In addition, offense was spawning a bit too close to the tower in the cave, and needs to be pushed back.

Blockus by @MartianMallCop : Blockus suffered from a syndrome on 1-Flag maps where the straightest path was by far the best path to take, even though is appears at first to be the worst. While the turret helped to alleviate this some, in the end having a straight path between the lag and the return is usually destined to fail, as it is still easy enough to throw bodies at it and get it to move a short distance every once in a while. In addition, the danger of the canyon also applies to defense while they try to return it, resulting in a back and forth where the flag has little chance to be returned. I would suggest making it impossible to take the flag straight between the bases, or perhaps making it exceedingly dangerous to try to do so. Death pits are popular for this reason on 1 flag, as if the flag carrier fails to get over/ around the pit the flag will be returned instantly and the player killed. The central path offers a very fast route in 1 flag, so it must be dangerous enough to ward off all but the most desperate (or well planned) of pulls. The vehicles seemed to have been stuck in a linear path on the map. While designing for defensive vehicle play is not a bad thing in the slightest, the vehicles still need some degree of options for their movement that I felt this version may have lacked. It will be worth paying attention to how the vehicles are used in the future, but I wouldn't make any changes in this area quite yet. The jump pad was kind of cool, but I personally felt that it was a little forced. The judges were split on this, so we'll see how it pans out in testing.

Delta Base by @purple monkey : I'm going to start with this first and foremost: one of the major judging parameters of this contest is Originality. This design was based heavily on Bunker Hill, a map created by The Psycho Duck in Halo: Reach and recently recreated in H2A. Taking some inspiration from a design and implementing it in your own creative way is perfectly acceptable, but Delta Base went beyond that. Well over 50% of the map's geometry bears a striking resemblance to Bunker Hill's, and entering the map this way will certainly hurt your chances in the contest.

As far as traditional feedback, the spawning on the map was fully dynamic, meaning that either team could spawn in either base. For a 1-sided objective map, this was severely broken, as while offense grabbed the flag, defense spawned near the cap point and took it over, preventing a score most of the time. The weapon layout on the map was confusing, with one section featuring a shotgun, an AR, a needler, and more weapons all along one hallway. It is important to think about the use of each weapon on the map, rather than scattering many around for players to pick and choose from.

Lost Causeway by @Chronmeister : Lost Causeway is steadily improving. There are still some concerns about the amount of thin cover on the map, between the railings, thin pillars, brace larges, and bridges around the many areas. It might benefit the map to put more emphasis on thicker, structural cover. Think of moving around a large block that separates the map into multiple spaces, rather than running behind a piece of cover that only blocks LoS from one angle. The flag return point was far too safe on the map, being positioned behind a wall and out of line of sight of most of the map. The return point needs to be highly contestable, and so it is important to keep it exposed to a number of lines of sight. I have some concerns that the path by the sniper might be too good a path for the flag. It is dangerous at first, but not much more than the rest of the map, and it is both the fastest route and fairly safe once around the cliff corner and dropped down into attacker spawn. I would keep an eye on this path and see if it proves to be too useful in future tests.

Bones by @CommanderColson : I did not get to play Bones, but I did get a good look at it in forge. I really enjoyed the driving on the map itself, and I feel that it will probably translate fairly well into actual gameplay. I am a bit worried about some of the more open bowls on the lower side of the map, as they seemed like they might be dominated by the warthog. While it's important to give the warthogs options, it's also important not to box infantry into just a part of the map. Players on foot still need to be able to use the entirety of the map without feeling too unsafe for doing so.

The capture point on Riptide has been lowered by 0.5 units, and a far backfield spawning location has been added to the attacker side. I'll keep an eye on spawns in future testing sessions, though that means I may have to dip out early to actually SEE the footage (Thanks, 343).

I made a bunch of changes to free up blocks so I could replace all the thin cover on the map. Changes can be seen in my map thread at Forgehub at the bottom of the page. http://www.forgehub.com/posts/1612642/

I can't wait to get feedback on my maps ^_^
Also, I'm open to help test maps. Even if I'm doing something I'll drop it to play in testing lobbies, as long as I get people to help give opinions on MY maps as well

Changed the flag points. Changed the spawning (duck zones). Changed the vehicle set (wraith is gone). Changed the lower routes and the upper warthog jump to make it one way. Would test again.

Does the contest only allow Halo 2 Anniversary maps? I only have an Xbox 360.

Reading all of the feedback posted in this thread along with what I heard after testing sessions was a tremendous help! Realizing the main problems, Olympus has had a lot of surgery.

• A center death pit - forcing players to bow out from the tower and take different routes other than straight forward.
• A more neutral banshee location - giving attackers about a 55/45 advantage over defenders in hopes of controlling it off start.
• Fewer railings on tower - allowing less of a power position for defenders and creating better vehicle/player interaction.
• Teleporter placement - moving the teleporter up a level and facing the tower allows smoother gameplay for flag running while providing cover towards the back end of the tower.
• Warthog placement - reversing the initial direction of the warthog generates a better feeling and playing warthog path.
• Rocket placement - centralized placement in front of the death pit creates a more balanced position for the weapon, while forcing defenders to leave their "comfort zone" in order to grab them. Rocket ammo is placed in the very back of the tower in front of teleporter. This creates an interesting push for either team if they want extra shots.
• A bridge connecting tower to "open cave" next to banshee spawn. - this gives either team the connectivity they need to contest the main section of the tower.
• An attacker "base" - a large rock structure providing a noticable capture point, spawn cover, and forcing attackers to run further back to scale the structure before capturing. It is also elevated to aid defenders in getting a final chance to stop the capture.
• More cover outside of closed cave (opposite banshee spawn/next to sniper spawn) - generating a safer route on foot.

There are more changes throughout the map, some very small, but helpful.
Item count reduced and framerate reduced.

It is the strongest gameplay version of Olympus yet.

This contest is for maps built in Halo 2: Anniversary on the Xbox One. Sorry.

It's been awesome to see so many great maps come so far with the submission deadline weeks away! Seeing so much effort by forgers put into the testing and refining process is fantastic. I've been out of town for the last week, but I can't wait to resume testing when I return!

Whens the next testing lobby i want to see how my map BOOM BEACH does. and if possible i would love for a opportunity to test it with you guys.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 22, 2015 ---

Same here man. been setting up an asphault plant out of town. my weeks have been nuts no time for halo!!! haha But done now. and had time to finally submit my map for MYM.

I forgot to post this here yesterday, but the next official testing lobby is scheduled over on HaloCustoms. See you guys there!

Lobby #4
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It's been a pleasure to see several maps continue to evolve and improve and it's been exciting to see some new faces as well. I look forward to watching all of these maps continue to evolve in the future.

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Blockus by MartianMallCop: This map has a refreshing mix of long and short ranges of engagement. The turret and snipers exel at controlling the longer sightlines while the rockets are important for pushing the more CQC-oriented base. Despite the power of the rockets, few players ventured to their spawn location during our game. This is likely due to how high above the rest of the playspace the rocket spawn is and the jumps up to the rock arch being somewhat awkward. Vehicles certainly have a learning curve on this map, and none were used particularly effectively during our match. Whether this is the result of players having yet to use the vehicles on the map, or is being caused by a larger issue with the map's vehicle routes remains to be seen; the former seems more likely, though. The restriction for vehicles created by the gate may prove debilitating to vehicle gameplay, or it may not. Replacing the jump pad with a simpler, more user-friendly movement option may be wise. The spawning kerfuffle when the defenders were attempting to recover their flag was caused by the spawn engine's teammate proximity function. Additional minor negative spawn weighting might solve the issue without creating new problems with spawning. Defender spawning appeared to function naturally. However, some spawns for either team might be too close to some of the aforementioned sniper lanes. Watch out for respawn points which are inherently endangered by long lines of sight.

Bad Blood by The Fated Fire: This map continues to execute its design intent. The back bases allow for better backfield spawning, and the ramps from them to the bases as well as the other tweaks to vehicle pathing behind the bases continue to push the ghosts into a valuable fast-attack role where crafty pilots can suppress, distract, and generally disrupt the opposing team. The teleporters add some new movement options, and are particularly exciting when paired with the man cannons. Use of the teleporter accounted for the majority of flag pulls during our match. This was due at least in part to them offering new and enticing possibilities, however. Whether they prove to be too prevalent over multiple matches remains to be seen.

Unearthed by moo43: This map proves to facilitate a high skill gap while managing to feel accessible and familiar to players. Callouts are easily devised and put to use. The long sniper lanes create tense standoffs and force teams to get creative in order to break them. Though it didn't prove to be in our most recent match, the warthogs can be instrumental in controlling the map or disrupting the opposing team's control. The snipers were arguably too prevalent, however. Players should be forced by ammo constraints to pick their battles with these weapons and use them somewhat sparingly. The current respawn time on these weapons allowed them to be almost continuously in play, allowing snipers to be uneconomical with what should have been precious ammunition. The jumps at the low sides of the bases near the brute shots could benefit from being very slightly more user-friendly.

Quarry by Forge4dayz: This map got the short straw by being the first neutral flag map many players ever played; they were learning how to play a new gametype and this was distracting them from learning how to play the map. The flag return points could perhaps be made slightly more visually obvious as well as more dangerous in order to make the home stretch of a flag run even more contestable. The ghosts and banshee all saw effective use in our match. However, some parts of the map made it clear that they were originally intended for warthogs. Some of the wider driving lanes could be narrowed now that there are not 'hogs on the map, allowing for better scaling for infantry. Several players expressed dissatisfaction with the trench at the bottom of the map. The placement of the beam rifle could also be made somewhat more intuitive.

Arcsys by Res: This map creates some exciting struggles for the flag as it nears the capture point. The wraith is an interesting addition and has a large impact on how players move around the map. However, much of the map was underutilized during our match. This is due to the map being arguably somewhat overscaled as well as the nature of all players attempting to be near the flag at all times. Shrinking down the front lawns of the bases and adding some subtle height variation here should have a positive effect on how this part of the map plays, but players likely need more incentive to control and move through the rest of the map. Many would-be flag caps in our match were stopped only because the defending team was pushed to spawn so far from their base as the flag neared it. Having a shorter flanking route far from the flag spawn would allow for these captures to be contested and encourage use of more of the map without forcing teams to spawn so far from their bases.

Riptide by Squally DaBeanz: The changes made to the flag return tower are good ones; the execution of this area and how it interacts with the turret finally seems as sound as the design intent behind it. The ghosts saw lots of effective use in our match, though the 'hog still did not. Some vehicle movement options could be made less convoluted, namely those around the towers near the bridges and behind the flag return tower. The addition of the brute shot didn't create any problems, though giving the defenders more anti-vehicle firepower will only serve to further limit the possibilities for effective use of the warthog. Spawning appears to now be functioning quite well. Minor framedrops were experienced by players behind the defender base and in other exterior portions of the map.

Lost Causeway by Chronmeister: The addition of the attacker spawn cave and other recent geometry changes are all good ones. However, there are two core problems which are still affecting this map. Firstly, the defenders' base itself provides so many defensive options that there is little incentive for players to control the rest of the map in order to defend their flag. Attackers approaching the base through the low canyon route round the corner into a deadly killbox and attackers approaching from the high side fare only somewhat better. Many successful flag pulls result from lone wolves using the active camo to sneak into the base, forgoing any real emphasis on team play. Similarly, and this is the second core issue, it is still too easy for defenders to move the flag through the low canyon if they throw enough bodies on it. Fundamentally rethinking the low side of the map may be necessary to make it more viable offensively but less mandatory as a flag route. The vehicles have seen minimal effective use on this map over multiple tests with the gungoose being particularly undesirable in the vast majority of circumstances. The ghost sees effective use on occasion, but the map's emphasis on elevated infantry areas and narrow corridors severely limit its usability. There are significant frame drops for players far back in either base due to object density. Some of the high-budget visual details in the attacker spawn cave such as the camo lights as well as those outside the map's playable area, while aesthetically appealing, may need to be removed.

Aquarius by DERK91 and Purple Monkey: First of all, there are severe frame drops plaguing much of this map, particularly the attacker's spawn cave. Aesthetic details need to be dialed back. Details like the tree-filled canyon outside the map's boundaries and the pointless EMP firing are a good place to start. Players should be rewarded for being mindful of weapon timers, they do not need an EMP effect to notify them of weapons spawning. This visual effect appeared to not be properly linked to the weapon timers anyway. Many routes on this map were unintuitive; the long tunnel adjacent to the aforementioned canyon and the large crate-filled dead-end room come to mind. There appear to be few meaningful positions for teams to control, either offensively or defensively. Having routes with defined purposes and clear advantages and disadvantages relative to one another as well as powerful positions necessary to control will go a long way towards creating more focused gameplay on this map.

Headless by IMAROLLINGSTONE: The new flag return point is an improvement, though having it pushed into a corner doesn't quite create the highly contestable area a flag return point would ideally be. The circular nature of this map is less than ideal for one-sided objective play. First of all, it blurs the line between attacker and defender territory which leads to problematic spawns. Secondly, the layout lacks focus in regards to moving the flag. There are so many flanking options, so many positions, that the importance of any one route or position is greatly diminished. Having enough variety in movement options to maximize replayability and reward creativity is important, but having too many dilutes the importance of each. After numerous games, no discernible patterns in offensive strategy have emerged. Meanwhile, the defenders continue to hole up in the structures flanking the flag with close range weapons or take advantage of the high ground to cut down approaching attackers. Reducing the number of movement options while focusing on making each viable while forcing defenders to defend from further outside their base will go a long way towards making this map play better for one flag CTF.

It's fine, I'm saving up for one as we speak

Damn. Well once again I won't be able to attend testing tonight but I'm am almost positive I'll have 'Bones' (Working name) ready by next week

Really glad to see the forge community coming together to encourage us to build maps that, normally, most of us wouldn't be building every day. This is an awesome contest that we should see a wide variety of forging styles as well as bringing out some skills that some people didn't know they had. Awesome way to bring the community together again, props to you guys, and good luck to everyone with submissions in this contest. Much love fam.

Ill keep working on it

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How do I get my map tested?