Skyrise Welcome to my newest urban warfare creation. Skyrise is a medium-large asymmetrical map with a mix of long outdoor views and some close-quarters indoor combat. The map has evolved over several months and marks my first completed and released map in nearly a year. Several game types have been substantially tweaked and tested, but Team Slayer remains the strong point of the map. The map is also quite fun for Multi-team, Oddball and Headhunter. CTF may not be where the map shines, but some seemed to like it. One flag is advised over two flag (the asymmetry was balanced as best I could) but both are supported. For any game type, 4v4 and 5v5 are best, but 3v3 and 6v6 are doable as well. Despite the plethora of ranged weapons on the map, DMR start is also recommended. I have put a lot of time and thought into the map and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Distance View: This ODST concept art was a rough inspiration for the map: (Thanks goes to Bungie’s awesome concept artists). Defenders' side: Attackers' side: Central Structure: More scenic views: Bird’s eye view, with power weapons: Action shots: Spoiler Guess which flag-carrier isn’t screwed? Lost the duel… Happy hunting: Weapon List: Spoiler 2x Sniper rifle – 180 secs, 1 clip1x Rocket Launcher – 180 secs, 1 clip 1x Shotgun - 180 secs, 1 clip 1x Concussion Rifle – 120 secs, 2 clips 1x Grenade Launcher – 120 secs, 3 clips 7x DMR, 30 secs 3x Needle Rifle, 30 secs 3x Magnum – 30 secs 2x Needler – 30 secs 1x Spiker – 30 secs 2x Plasma Repeater – 30 secs 1x Plasma Rifle – 30 secs 1x Plasma Pistol – 60 secs 6x Plasma Grenades, 30 secs 6x Frag Grenades, 30 secs 1x Ghost (spawns 3 minutes into the game) 4x Mongoose, 60 secs 4x Health Packs, 30 secs Unfortunately for this map, split screen is not advised due to high object density. For full screen, however, I’m quite confident with the frame rate performance. Thanks for all my testers and the weekly CGN group, and for any other folks who provided conceptual feedback. Let me know if you’d like to be included and I’ll give you a shout out. Thanks goes to: GrenadeGorilla8, Nutduster, Overdoziz, Duck NG, xAudienceofone, Frozenlynx, Psychoduck, Berb, I3ush, Dizzyman572, FlyingshoeILR, AD Records As always, feedback and constructive criticism are much appreciated! Also, I would be grateful if someone is willing to capture a video of the map. Thanks for viewing! Download Skyrise
This map looks great. The coastal urban feel is very convincing. Cover is blended into the design very well. The aesthetics as a whole really are fantastic (The Brace, Large structural designs are particularly impressive). Nothing looks out of place or noticeably subpar. Good job with the urban design! As for gameplay, it seems safe to speculate based on the pictures that the map is balanced. The lines of sight provide a good mix of medium- and short-range combat. Looks like a fun map to play a variety of gametypes on. There is one obvious problem, though. This isn't a large map [FONT="]–[/FONT] so why did you treat it like one with weapon selection? First off, power weapons: there are four major power weapons and two medium power weapons (Plus a Ghost). [FONT="]This map, simply put, is crowded with power weapons. I see you made it slightly more reasonable by reducing ammo and spawn time, but that is a cheap way of trying to reduce the effects of power weapon overabundance. I highly recommend you get rid of a power weapon or two. At your own discretion, of course, but there is absolutely no need for so much power in such a small map. Secondly, there are a lot of weapons in general. DMRs, Needle Rifles, Needlers, Magnums, Plasma Repeaters, and so much more [/FONT][FONT="]– why? A variety of weapons is, naturally, necessary, but this is just way too many. I know it's easy to go crazy with putting "one here" and "another one there," but it is vital to limit the prevalence of such weaponry.[/FONT] Sometimes they just get in the way. Finally... four Mongooses. Again, Skyrise isn't that large of a map. Two would be fine, sure, but four? That many Mongooses will reduce competitiveness and get in the way more often than not. [FONT="] I hope I wasn't being too critical there. I just wanted to make my points clearly. In summation, this is a fantastic map. Designed well, decorated well, balanced well. The aesthetics are superb. But please[/FONT][FONT="] –[/FONT][FONT="] get rid of a few weapons and a few Mongooses. Then you'll have something truly special. Nonetheless, terrific job with what you've done with Skyrise! I hope to see more from you in the future![/FONT]
Sasquatch, thanks for the detailed feedback. I will take your opinions into consideration, but I would like to give a bit of a rebuttal first. First, the weapons issue (note that I fixed a mistaken respawn time, sniper spawns every 3 minutes not 2). I think each of my weapon placements is well thought out and I will try to justify them. First you'll notice that most of the power weapons are placed on the disadvantaged ground level of the map to promote flow down there and to give those who spawn below a bit of a leg up. The only power weapons that appear on the second level are the rocket (a reward for running down the fairly exposed catwalks to the center) and the concussion rifle, which is there to give blue team a counter to the slight advantage that red team has in the form of the purple hall/glass walkway. Since you have not played the map yet it makes sense to think these are a bit much, but in game, they are not over done. This is not just my opinion but also that of many of my testers. Also, the map is slightly bigger than it appears in the pics and I never found the four mongeese to be a burden but instead another balancing act for the bottom-spawns to move around more quickly. The geese are even occasionally used on the top floor to run the flag or what have you. As for the abundance of weapons in general, I suppose I agree with you since a few others have said the same. Nevertheless testing has proved that the amount on the map is comfortable. If I hear more similar feedback perhaps I will make these changes. Thanks for your time and thoughts. Let me know if/when you get a game on it and how it plays!
A few responses from someone who has played this map a number of times... I'm not quite sure what's cheap about it. It's a way of reducing the effects; it's a different way from the norm (which is providing fewer weapons but more ammo for them). Literally the only power weapons that have ever bugged me on this map are the snipers. The middle area of the map is fairly open and a good sniper will peg you if you are trying to move from base to base, almost no matter which way you go. Having base-specific snipers has led to some frustration for me. I'd prefer to see the map with one neutral sniper, or maybe none at all. But otherwise I don't think the power weapons are an issue, and I don't even think the quantity of them now is a problem - it's just something with the sniper itself. It's fine. Play the map a couple times. We tested this a lot and I never gave the regular weapon set a glance. These were also never a problem. They were used here and there for zipping across the map or trying to make a flag run (which often failed, since mongooses are like big loud "shoot me" signs). I can only see them "reducing competitiveness" if people insist on just riding them around all game long, but people like that are probably going to find ways to reduce competitiveness anyway. I agree with your assessment of the map's layout and aesthetics though, and agree that overall this is a fantastic map. It was fun to test and in its finished state is one of the best maps that has been through our weekly TGN group tests.
YYYYYAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY skyrise is finalyy here I waited so long for this and yes its here anyhow its a very good map and I love urban warfare I'm going to play this straight away.From what I can see theres no DMR's or Needle Rifle's and thats a minus but otherwise its very good
Thanks for backing me up Nutduster. I didn't know you felt that way about the sniper. I got so much mixed feedback about how many snipers to have and how many clips but I thought that the two team snipers worked out best. With a neutral one, the person with that one would just wreck on the map without an equal counter. I never considered having zero snipers because I felt this would piss off more people than not. This is definitely thanks to you and TGN for making it happen. Thanks for the comments! Thanks for the enthusiastic comment. It has been a long time in the making. There are actually numerous DMRs and needle rifles on the map, some have even said too many. I didn't map out anything but the power weapons on the overview pic, but if you see the weapons list spoiler there are several of each. I'd love to hear how it goes once you a get a game on it. Thanks!
I might have muttered it under my breath a time or two. I don't think it's a huge problem exactly, but when a good sniper gets a hold of the thing it's very noticeable that you can't get close to him until his ammo is gone. Personally I could almost see this map going in a sniperless direction a la Standoff in Halo 3. But with or without them, it's a good map and plays well.
I think I played this once, but the gametype was messed up so the game was just overall bad. However the map looks great and with the proper gametype I can see it being a great place to murder your buddies! The simple yet strongly shown aesthetics are well done and aside from the bad game settings I had a lot of fun during the test I was a part of on the map. Great job here!
I played this one last Tuesday and had a great time. The power weapons doesn't concern me at all, and if anybody doens't like it they can just delete them in Forge. I really like the feeling of this map as well, I got this whole Halo 2 vibe as I ran around with the Rocket Launcher. Plus, what if everything was just DMRs, Needle Rifles and few other non-power weapons? I think the map wouldn't be as fun in my opinnion. Skyrise played very well on Multi-Flag, but I still can't wait to play some good'ol One-Flag CTF with some friends locally. I hope to see more maps like Skyrise from you soon CyborgAnthro, you have a good one.
it doesnt look like the odst map, but it still was fun to play when i got on it. we noticed alittle bit of balancing issues, but maybe it could have been lack of skill, lol. this map looks great. love maps with a city vibe!
@ Nutduster, Ok I will think about releasing an alternate version at some point with different weapon placements since that appears to be a common qualm with the map. @ Audience, I thought you had played it a couple of times but oh well. I remember the CTF game you're talking about. It made me do two things. First, I downloaded the bungie game types so I that would never happen again, and second, I changed the flag locations. After trying several locations, I decided on the current one which I think plays much better. @ Dizzyman, I'm glad you enjoy the weapon placement and diversity. Also, I'm glad to hear that you found multiflag enjoyable, since it's the game type I had to work on longest to get right. Thank you sir. @ omegawantons, Thanks for the comment. Could you say more about what you felt were the issues in need of balancing? Perhaps I can justify the asymmetries and explain how they worked in testing.
I have a bit of a soft spot for urban maps, so I've definitely enjoyed this one. You did a good job executing the urban feel. The gameplay never really blew me away. Perhaps this was due to the entire map being built on one vertical plain, even though there was verticality beyond that. I'm not saying the gameplay isn't good, I just feel that the aesthetic look and feel of the map was done better than the actual gameplay side of things. So, while I wouldn't award this with the Psychoduck's Hot Pizza Award (lol, Nutduster), I would still say it is a good map and worth downloading. I look forward to playing some more of your current maps in the future Cyborg, as some of them were more interesting to me than this one.
Fair enough. I can concede that I don't consider the game play on this map mind-blowing as you said, but I am still very happy with how it plays. Aesthetically, though, I am even more proud of it. I am going through a phase where I have been inspired by some concept or concept art and I decidedly have to make it into a competitive map somehow. Sometimes this desire for a concept to be realized is taken to a fault. Hopefully in future maps I can integrate aesthetic and game play-minded design simultaneously rather than prioritizing one and tacking on another. I am not saying that I committed this error egregiously with this map, but in my future maps I plan to avoid it altogether. Speaking of which, could you give me some hints on which of my other maps you were interested in? (Aside from Saga, that one will be out within two weeks or so). I have so many previews I am not sure which to pursue next, and whether some should just be abandoned. If you or anyone else wants to give input on this, feel free to send me a pm. Thanks for the comment.
Wait, I get credz? I don't even remember playing this map, I think you got me confused with someone else.
Whoops, sorry about that. Maybe I was thinking of Saga, you played that one right? I could have sworn you were on tgn for a game on skyrise. I'm trying to mobilize more allies than I really have here lol.
I tend to agree with psychoduck to a degree that the aesthetics do outshine the gameplay on this map, but that does not mean its boring either. It plays predictably. Which is fine. Its good solid gameplay. I've had fun this every time we played it. I was involved with its development since its early stages and I stand behind its awesomeness 100%. Download this map NAOW!
The map I am thinking of is Remembrance. I haven't played it more than once, but the gameplay appears to be very interesting and vertically oriented while the eaesthetics are quite appealing to me.
I do not know why but this brings me to Last Resort or Headlong with all the urban feeling. On a pointer but rather personal annoyance is the brace use with the bridges. Please, please, please be more creative than that. Any other way would be nice. On a positive note, I love the beachhead and the huge walling. It feels very roam able and gives off a great feel for that. The line of sights felt great too, especially around the beginning spawns. I especially love how large the map is compared to 90 percent of all maps on forgehub and for that, I write my ode.
@ GrenadeGorilla, I don't see this as predictable, but I know I'm biased. If warlock could entertain people for so many years, then I think a giant complicated version of it with many more contours is not exactly stale. That said, I haven't really played that many custom maps that don't get a little boring and predictable in terms of strategy after several games. Anyways thanks for your involvement in the testing process. @ Psychoduck, I think I see why you like Remembrance. It's from the same campaign area as a certain beloved map of yours. I actually realized that it looked a bit like cargo port as I was forging it. In terms of layout though, it's guite different. I will try to invite you next time I am testing it. @ Sugar, Could you be more specific about which braces bother you? Do you just mean the brace larges that form the main walkways, the regular braces that cover the beachside walkway, or the buildings made of braces? I thought the buildings were pretty original... Anyways thanks for the compliments, I appreciate that you noticed the LOS and cover work I did on the map. Also thanks for the nomination!
Certainly. I simply find Remembrance's layout more interesting and dynamic. That's something I like about Exodus and New Alexandira in Reach, they have very dynamic and vertically oriented structure. I feel like Remembrance (and of course that other map you mentioned) capture that feel, which is something I really like. When I'm back on Xbox around the start of October feel free to invite me to your tests.