Click Here for Team Slayer Pathwinder Game Type (Above Link is Slayer FFA Pathwinder Game Type) *NOTE: There are only 8 Neutral Initial Spawn Points & 5 Red/5 Blue Initial Spawn Points on the map for FFA games, so the Max Player count should be 8 for FFA games and 10 for Team Games While this may be my first submission to this site, this isn't my first map in Forge. I've made about 3-4 maps solo and 2-3 maps with a friend, but this map is the first one that I actually made with the intention of sharing with people other than my friends. Pathwinder is a map made with gameplay in mind over aesthetics, featuring three different levels, all with their own style. The bottom level is the most enclosed, simply leading a player from end to end. The middle level is more open, featuring no walls for protection and a slit in the middle of the flooring, allowing for drop downs from level two to level one. The top level isn't really a level, but more of a set of walkways that wrap around the mid-section of this map. There is another part of the map below the first level that is semi-underwater, but the only thing that you will find down there is a mancannon that will launch you to the second level. Both the Blue and Red sides have their own styles of traversing from level to level. The red side has a makeshift elevator made of man cannons that will launch the player from level one to level two, where the player can either walk around freely or go to the opposite side of the 'elevator' shaft and take another set of man cannons that will bring them to level three. On the blue side there are bridge inclines and a set of teleporters and brace staircases that will bring the player from level to level. This map has the intentions of mixing up close-long range combat depending on the area you are in, and thus has a limited set of weapons. If you download the custom gametypes, you will get a Slayer and Team Slayer game that gives Spartans the starting weapons of Assault Rifle and Magnum with 2x Frag Grenades, and the Elites will start off with Spikers and Plasma Pistols with 2x Plasma Grenades. You will be given one set depending on what your preferred species is in the game. Both sides have the same loadouts: Jet Pack, Sprint, Drop Shield, Active Camo, and Hologram. Items on the map are: DMR x6 - starts on the map; respawns every 30 seconds; 2 extra clips per weapon Needle Rifle x6 - same as DMR Rocket Launcher x1 - spawns at 90 seconds; 1 extra clip Shotgun x2 - spawns at 60 seconds; 1 extra clip each Sniper Rifle x2 - starts on the map; respawns every 45 seconds; 1 extra clip each Grenade Launcher x1 - starts on the map; respawns every 60 seconds; 2 extra clips Concussion Rifle x1 - starts on the map; respawns every 30 seconds; 2 extra clips Plasma Launcher x1 - see Concussion Rifle Plasma Grenades x6 - respawns at 45 seconds Frag Grenades x10 - respawns at 30 seconds Health Stations x7 - respawns at 45 seconds Overshield x1 - spawns at 30 seconds in same location as Rocket Launcher Custom Power Up x2 - spawns at 30 seconds and lasts for 30 seconds; traits are as follows: Lasts 30 Seconds Good Camo Motion Tracker Off 90% Player Speed 90% Damage Resistance 75% Shield Recharge Rate 90% Health Recharge Rate Equipment Usage Disabled Here are a boatload of pictures to show you what the map looks like and where some of the more powerful weapons are located. Spoiler View of the map from the outside Overview of the map View from Red Spawn View from Blue Spawn First Level entrance to the man cannon elevator View of the second exit of the man cannon elevator with Plasma Launcher Mancannon located in the semi-underwater level. Beware: there is a soft kill zone for this section Lift in a Triple Room that brings the player to the Sniper on Blue side Sniper - Blue Side There are one of these pathways on both sides of the Red Side (the other one has a shotgun). A player falling through the hole will either slide to safety on the semi-underwater level or go straight into the water Rocket Spawn. Beware: Running right for the Rocket Launcher without being careful will lead to explosive results Tunnels with a teleporter are on both sides of the Rocket Spawn. These teleporters send you to one of several receiver nodes placed on the map, so your destintation will be random. Note - the teleporter on Red Side with the lift is on a different channel and has only one set course View of the Blue Side Sniper tower. The concussion rifle can be found on top of the middle room in the triple room. Note - the underwater mancannon will land you at the foot of the bridge incline in this picture. View of Blue Side Level Three. Note the Shotgun on the left down-ramp in the picture. Going down this lift will either send you through a teleporter or onto a small ramp to break your fall. Beware - if you dont go through the teleporter you only have 10 seconds to escape through the mancannon outside the structure before the soft killzone gets you. Note - the DMR has been moved on top of the lift Where the Grenade Launcher spawns and where the teleporter from the lift structure on red side will land you One of the paths on the map, with some protection View of the second level from Blue Side View of Red Side Sniper and Level Three walkways Not the best looking or best map ever, but I had fun making it and have had fun playing on it with friends, so hopefully at least one person can say they had fun on the map. EDIT: I do know that the alignment for things is a bit off, especially the Blue Side spawn area. I didnt notice until I was over 3/4 of the way done with the map and didnt have the time to really go back and fix it.
Awesomely Fun Map I've had a lot of fun playing this map with friends! Very well designed, and i love the hidden landmine! I look forward to more maps from you in the future :>)
Thanks for the feedback. Glad someone enjoys the hidden landmine, though I expect people to learn to avoid it at some point Update: Made a couple small changes to the map/gametypes (new versions have replaced the old versions on my fileshare; links in the original post are the new versions). the Rocket Launcher now spawns at 90 seconds into the game and every 90 seconds after I changed the location of the two shotguns, one near red base and one near blue base still. I changed the load outs for the game types for both Spartans and Elites. Now you may only select from Armor Lock, Drop Shield, Sprint, or Hologram, with Assault Rifle and DMR for the Spartans and Spiker and Needle Rifle for the Elites. I did this as I felt when playing the map that the Jet Pack took away from the map more than it added. I added an overshield to spawn at 30 seconds where the Rocket Launcher spawns I also added in two custom power ups near the Red and Blue Snipers. Both of the power ups have the following traits: Lasts 30 Seconds Good Camo Motion Tracker Off 90% Player Speed 90% Damage Resistance 75% Shield Recharge Rate 90% Health Recharge Rate Equipment Usage Disabled I think these power ups work better to give a Risk vs Reward for getting/using the Sniper Rifle than the land mines I originally had.
Pathwinder Pathwinder takes the shape of a symmetrical rectangle split into three layers. The main interesting design feature would be the thin walk ways which encircle the main layer. These risky perches give a great view of the map, however that can be a double-edged sword. In most places, these perches have very little cover despite some scarce portable shields. These areas can also be difficult to access without a jetpack. For those reasons, the potentially fun feature can often be ignored. But those walkways are not the only neglected part of the map. A lot of effort has been put into the construction of sections which will rarely receive a visitor. There are no special weapons or advantageous overlooks to attract players, so they end up acting as mere spawning areas. As a result of this, gameplay will quickly become stale. With no reason to travel elsewhere, players will congregate in the center of the map and struggle to find one another between the many of differing elevations. Pathwinder is one of those maps where jetpacks rule. In every map, there are particular areas in which most of the fighting takes place, but when that area happens to have no roof or ceiling jetpackers are able to catch almost any player by surprise. Balance and durability issues also damper the enjoyment of Pathwinder. Awkward weapon placement and respawn times, as well as malfunctioning mancannons and teleporters detract from the gameplay throughout. Other structural and fundamental issues outweigh the small gimmicks and leave a player slightly unsatisfied. Along with the custom gametype, “Pathwinder Slayer”, there are some small changes made to the fighting system. Only a few armor abilities are available, and the custom powerups throughout the map give a negative effect to any players who come in contact with them. Such Custom Powerups are the clearest attempt at balancing out the advantageous positions in which they are placed as they make a player weaker in exchange for a powerful weapon and invisibility. However, while the weakening change is a sacrifice, it cancels out the advantage within those sniper positions. Sometimes a bit of variation is needed to make different parts of a map interesting, so this discouragement simply does not work well. Besides, a player can just as easily avoid the powerups, and take the sniper rifle to other places. As mentioned before, jetpacks are quite overpowered even though the custom gametype does not support them. The mostly open main area is plagued with players who may have established themselves in high perches, and who then have an immediate advantage over anyone else. Even though the map is symmetrical, the line of symmetry cuts through the red and blue territory rather than between it. There is a very large difference between each territory, and this makes two very different battlefields. The attempts at balancing each team’s territories, such as high ground or powerful weapons, are vaguely present but the means of obtaining them are still unfair. For these perks, a player on one side might have to cross awkward man cannons or locate an obscurely placed teleporter node while the other team just has to follow a simple ramp here or there. The weapon respawn time would be the biggest issue that lessons the map's durability. There are two sniper rifles in Pathwinder, but both have a short respawn time of 45 seconds. Similarly, the neutral shotgun’s short, 60 second respawn time gives barely enough time for the weapons to respawn before a player snatches them back up again. Another problem lies within the map's structure. Although there is a lot of area to fight in, a large amount of it is seldom used. For example, a vertical man cannon launches a player towards one of two parallel walkways. Because of this, only one of the platforms are ever traversed, and even then it is just to land upon. In fact, players have little reason to go near this area as it offers no weapon or advantageous line of sight. These, and many similar areas, are just empty spaces. The various man-cannons have a low success rate, and the many teleporters are as confusing as they are scattered. One such man cannon launches a player at high speeds straight towards the ground and a nearby teleporter redirects the player to a walkway above. Unfortunately, this sometimes does not succeed unless a player stays completely still. Being located next to the seaside rocks of Forge world, a player may be tempted to venture out of bounds. Luckily, the “Return to Battlefield” countdown appears to send them back to the intended playing area. While the clearest escape route has been cut off, there are still some areas in which players may easily camp. Past one teleporter in the center of the map, a player can sidle along a small ledge and hide from everyone else. This is especially an issue in Juggernaut or Oddball, where a player is given a distinct advantage. Strangely, this is more easily possible on one side of the map as the other has a soft kill barrier over a portion of it. Some areas, namely the platform behind the blue respawn, are very hard to reach. A player has to memorize the confusing teleporter system to know where exactly they will end up. This can often leave someone confused and unable to find their way around the map. There are many other small issues throughout Pathwinder. Around every corner, there is an issue with structure, function or otherwise which reduces the durability of Pathwinder. Weapons are placed awkwardly, players are thrown off-course into walls or shields and hidden explosives occasionally blow up people who try to obtain a fixed rocket launcher. Upon looking at the map, it is clear that Pathwinder has attempted the “gameplay over aesthetics” technique. As a result, less effort was put into making the map look visually appealing and more effort was put into making it play well. But while there are few aesthetic additions, there are many mistakes. Pieces are merged awkwardly in some areas, while others were constructed messily and look out of place. The map is also slightly out of alignment. Pathwinder does not have a straight line of symmetry, though this doesn't noticeably affect the gameplay. Also, health packs have not been presented particularly well, with one appearing to be dropped on the ground. On top of that, the map is ridden with lag. Glass windows, man cannons and a clear view of the rest of Forge World slows it down and detracts from the rest of the game. As for the positive touches, there are a few geometrical formations that the creator has formed which are pleasant to look at. Even if most are pointless, like the windows in the center which have a sort of feng-shei effect, they are better than nothing. However, these are scarce and are outweighed by the other odd formations throughout. While man cannon elevators are not hard to come by, this map’s one has a unique touch. The same elevator on one side of the map is accessible from many different areas as it cuts through several layers. From each level of the map, a player can get launched into a central stream of gravitational pull. The concept of the mancannon/teleporter combination is unique and works well. The custom powerup and separate gametype is also a unique and simple attempt at dealing with balancing issues. Also, there is the curious explosive platform beneath a floating rocket launcher. If the overshield is not present, a player will be killed upon contact with the hidden land mine. It is unclear as to why it was there, but it is regardless pretty cool. Rating Multipliers [floatleft]Enjoyment: Balance: Durability: Aesthetic : Originality:[/floatleft]4 x 3.0 = 12 out of 30 4 x 3.0 = 12 out of 30 4 x 1.5 = 6 out of 15 4 x 1.5 = 6 out of 15 7 x 1.0 = 7 out of 10 Final Score Understanding the Review Hub's Ratings