Sandbox The Ark

I saw this on the mlg map forums, and it was one of the maps that looked most impressive from the sketchups. I must say it looks awesome and I hope if plays well too. I look forward to other maps. I will post back when I have played it.

 

reminds me a lot of rat's nest...that's one of my favorite maps, so this gets a + from me. looks the same, except the longer stretches removed. I'm sure it goes deeper than that, but that's what i can tell from the pics.

 

hey seth it looks like you can go hlg and hide behind the wooden bridges behind the bases.
this map has gone through alot, personally i thought was gonna play terrible from the first game i played, but seth really improved spawns and gameplay with the yellow and purple callouts.

 

I don't know about the name but the looks and gameplay are awesome. It flows great and nothing hinders the gameplay good job 4.5/5

 

Very nice, Seth. I saw this as a Sketchup on the MLG forums, and I was somewhat baffled as to how it would turn out. My worries are assuaged, though, as the map play very well. There were a few spots where grenades could slip through cracks in the floor, specifically at the areas near the Angled Blocks, but otherwise the map is forged impeccably. I'm not sure if you did this intentionally, but you can jump from the center of the map up onto the ramps going to the second level by crouch-jumping right next to the obelisks near each one. From there, you can jump onto the obelisks and jump up to the yellow and purple walkways by doing a sorta crouch-jumpy, ghost-edge thingy. That is very fun to do, especially if you can pull it off in a game. The other jump that I found was a jump from the Angled Blocks on the yellow and purple sides up to the Half Walls on each. When you pull off the jump correctly, you can go from bottom purple or yellow to their tops, respectively. If you want me to post a video or a picture, I can put wither one in my fileshare, so long as you send me a PM here on ForgeHub. As JEEF already said, you can jump onto a little part of the walls behind the Wood Bridges at each base, so you might want to fix that, just to prevent people from breaking up the gameplay on the map. Otherwise, this map is excellent. The gameplay is very good, and the map plays very well, even though the only true object of interest is the Overshield. Now, this just could be me, but I actually prefer to grab a Carbine on this map over a BR. I have no idea why, but I just feel like I play better on the map with it. Regardless, great job, and I hope to see the rest of what the Forge Bandits can put up this summer.

 

Enjoyment:

The Ark definitely supports the extremely competitive feel of MLG. It has a simple but effective layout that promotes constant movement. Structures flow very well together, and smooth transitions between different areas make it very easy for players to move around from place to place. Further more, a set of tactical jumps provides players with the ability to traverse the maps different elevations with great ease. However there were a few vital errors when it came to gameplay. For example, during MLG Sky ball players could not figure out how to play. Were they supposed to jump down and try and grab the ball? Did they need to wait for something to spawn before they jump down? It was very difficult to understand without a set of instructions within your post. Another more severe issue was that gameplay was only good for a few rounds and then it started feeling dry. Lack of power weapons forces players to rely on their trusty BR all the time occasionally picking up an overshield or carbine. The Ark has no sniper and therefore no exciting, interesting kills that come out of it. The same can be said for other MLG power weapons. There is no beginning rush to secure power weapons. Elevation has been used very efficiently in this map. Controlling higher points is a necessity if you want to defeat the opposition. Overall, I thought that the map had decent gameplay, that was canceled out by a few major issues and an increasingly low replayability factor.

Score: 7/10

Balance:

Gameplay on the Ark was generally very balanced; however it did have a few minor issues. The majority of the errors where found to be in objective gametypes. First of all, it was discovered that bomb gametypes had some spawning errors. While I was trying to plant the bomb an enemy spawned right behind me and assassinated me in several occasions. Another major issue is that H2 bomb seemed to be a constant stalemate on the Ark. Teams could push to the other side but hardly ever could they manage to plant the bomb unless paired with an overshield. In both CTF and Assault games the outer rings were considerably underused. The most used path by far when carrying an objective item is to take it up the inner ring. Overusing paths can result in poor gameplay experiences and a low replayability factor. Another huge error on this map is that the wooden bridge with the custom powerup interlocked in it doesn't spawn at the beginning of the round and players can hop on the columns and grab it. Even though there were quite a bit of errors, The Ark had some good points too. The whole map had superb lines of sight. Also, Risk versus reward was excellent. This was especially true with the overshield which is a very risky item to get because it is out in the open with two bases looking straight at it. Overall there were no real unbalanced positions in this map. Great line of sight prevents teams from camping points of interest and such.

Score: 6/10

Durability:

When it comes to breaking a map The Ark is a burning wreck. There are three ways in which a player could break this map that would easily ward them a win. The first and easiest is to stand on the railing by either base and crouch jump onto the ledge behind the wooden bridges. In order to do this jump you need no equipment or extra help from an ally. If your opponent has never heard of this HLG spot before then the hider could easily go the entire game without being noticed. The second and possibly worst spot is to go to the yellow side base and jump upon the angled block. From here you can simply crouch jump onto the ledges in the tunnel. From here you can drop down to a secret place under the map. Since this spot is so secret players can easily hide here for the entire game. This spot requires no special equipment or assistance although you can reach it via grenade jumping. As with the many different hiding areas this map can be very easily broken with the assistance of plasma grenades. At either base there are two single walls jutting out. Jump upon one of these, throw a grenade onto the wall while running forward. Grenade jump onto the ledge. Then as normal use your second plasma grenade to jump onto the top of the map. Being up here gives players an unfair advantage in team games. A single player up here can rain down BR fire to support their teammates. This map was really lacking when it came to durability. Just turning objects a little or moving them up half an inch would prevent all these spots. Put more effort into thwarting out hiding spots and breaking your map next time.

Score: 2/10

Aesthetics:

The Ark has set the bar very high for aesthetics in MLG maps. Ark has perfected what many map-makers have trouble incorporating into their map well. One of my favorite aesthetic feature was the use of powerups and colored columns to mark different points of interest and callouts around the map. For example, In red base there are two red columns symbolizing its position around the map. Also at the yellow and purple sides powerups have been placed within the wooden bridge to differentiate it's location, as well as red and blue columns on either side designating which direction red and blue bases are in. Interlocking is very smooth and consistent throughout gameplay. Grenades do not bounce in awkward angles due to faulty interlocks or other objects jutting out. Players will hardly ever miss that incredible four shot with a BR due to weirdly bouncing as they go over a large bump due to mediocre interlocking. The Ark also has superb object placement. Excellently positioned objects promote efficient maneuverability, as well as the ability too traverse different elevations via tactical jumps. A team who can master the tactical jumps better can easily move from points of interest and outwit their opponent. Object placement plays a very important role in gameplay on the Ark and it is perfect. Overall an absolutely beautiful masterpiece aesthetically

Score: 9.5/10

Originality:

This map has broken away from all major MLG molds. Everything from its effective layout to it's unique geometry makes this map feel fresh and new. The first major high point is the layout. The Ark brings many fresh new gameplay experiences to the table with it's elevational, arena style layout. It feels different from every other MLG map I have ever played on. Another major contributor to this maps originality is the centerpiece. Having the very center of the map be a pit is very fresh and plays much differently as opposed to having an elevated structure as the center piece. Also contributing to this maps unique center piece is the fact that the central weapon is actually an overshield. This changes the whole way I look at Major League Gaming maps. It adds a priority factor in securing this overshield as soon as it pops up because once the other team grabs it you can't kill them and take it for yourself. This is a unique feature that adds many unique gameplay experiences with it. Another unique factor in this map is that it incorporates terrain like geometry into it's design. Instead of stairs or jumping it feels like walking on a hill. Proper angling of objects make the player feel like they are walking up a slope as opposed to a ramp. The Ark impressively turned what I thought was necessary in a good MLG map and distorted it into a map the likes of which I have never seen. This is a good example of how creative forgers can get during the map-making process.

Score: 10/10

Overall Score: 6.9/10

 

It looks very fun. It is visually amazing and could be one of the neatest maps I have seen in awhile. I may sound like a noob, but how did you make it perfectly symmetrical? Also, it looks like there might be a problem with spawn killing? I don't know. Anyways, good job 5/5