Played this the other day in one flag. It has a really awesome layout for that gametype, but I couldn't help but feel that some of the spawns were facing in unintuitive directions, particularly in the middle plaza with the bridges. I also loved that the buildings have big letters on the side, a nice touch that made me lol in-game.
An interesting map layout and enough aesthetics to keep gameplay interesting and new - I especially like the fountain! This map is really fun when playing One Flag. The only downside to this map (in my opinion) is the abundance of Coliseum walls. But that's just me, I've never been a fan of them. However, when playing a game on this map you don't seem to notice them as much. Good map and great work.
The framerate drop is only in FORGE MODE, as there are WAY more things the game needs to draw, AND because it is set up for all gametypes except Race/Invasion, you will not get any framerate lag in game unless you are playing 4 player split screen. Thanks for the review. Yeah, the middle area was a bit tricky, I really didn't want people to spawn and walk into the water because there are no railings there, so I had to take out some spawn points, and face others in sometimes awkward directions. Yeah, I always tell myself to stop using the Coliseum walls, but they are such good pieces, it's hard to resist. And then when I hit item limit, I realized there was no way I could switch them without making huge cuts in other places.
The Venetian The Venetian was built for pure competitive play and in that regard it succeeded. Objective gametypes are a blast to play due to the varying paths that allow players to take in order to reach the objectives. The gametype that really stands out amongst the other gametypes is capture the flag. Capture the flag, both in standard two-flag form and in one flag form, really brings out the best in The Venetian. Memorable locations around the map highlight the weapons and improves team communication. There are many well defined locations and each have their own aesthetic flare, such as the gazebo, plaza, apartments, park, fountain, and towers A and B. There are also various paths players can take to move in and out of these various locations. One flag offers an exciting start to the round as players hunt for power weapons. Skirmishes over the rocket launcher, sniper rifle, and shotgun will be the first action players experience in the game. Play consolidates after either team collects the weapons of their choice. The defending team will group up around the flag and filter down into the lower room and near the park entrance. The attackers will need to discuss their strategy, as many can be developed. The attacking team have the option to split up their numbers and half go into B tower and half go in A tower. The attackers could also choose to all go in through one of the routes. The level of cooperation, strategy imposed by level design, and weapon placement makes The Venetian a favorite for players seeking high quality competitive maps. For the casual player, infection is surprisingly enjoyable on The Venetian. Due to the multiple path nature of the map it creates excellent tension for the humans. The line of sight ranges from mid to long range in most areas so the humans can see the zombies coming from various angles. The multiple pathway level design makes determining which route the zombies are going to take an unpredictable affair. The tension created goes a long way into what makes a good infection map, unfortunately other factors dilute the enjoyment factor. With enough skill the humans can spawn kill the zombies, as they normally spawn near the apartments. There are numerous places to bottleneck the zombies making shotguns overly dominant in default infection gametypes. Non-objective gametypes do not have the same instant gratification that the objective gametypes do on this map. Team slayer, while subjective due to player skill, was generally less enjoyable than capture the flag. Several areas of the map saw little action in team slayer, such as the bottom of B tower, and the bottom of the apartments. Most of the action centered around the park, the plaza, and A tower. This was due to the fact that these locations hold the key power weapons and offer some sort of high ground or cover. The most essential part of any competitive map is the balance. The Venetian has a minor learning curve due to the simple nature of its design. Players who will be playing the map for the first time will quickly find where the rocket launcher, sniper rifle, shotgun, or grenade launchers spawn. A DMR or needle rifle are in many convenient locations if ammo becomes scarce. The key locations of the map all have two to three entrances and all entrances are equidistant from the power weapons. Because of this, players who know the map better have the same chance of getting power weapons as players just learning the map. Balance is also achieved through weapon choice. The map caters itself to mid to long distance battles due to the line of sights throughout much of the map. This equates to more DMR and needle rifles than other kinds of weapons. There are still locations that fans of close quarter combat will enjoy. Areas within the plaza, the apartments, and Tower A and B provide numerous cut off points and cover to hide behind and shotgun blast unsuspecting players looking to take a shortcut between the varying locations. The level design aids itself towards the balance. Various high grounds are accessible from different paths, which reduces the likelihood of players camping in any location for too long. Areas of long line of sight, like the view from the apartments or towers to the park, balance nicely with the close combat areas within the apartments or the towers. A minor criticism is that the other weapon choices are rarely used and offer little benefit during the game. There is far too much cover and objects to duck in and around for the needler to be effective. The same goes for the plasma pistol, which to be used effectively must be charged, and the time this takes the player would usually be spotted and fired upon. The Venetian is a floating map situated between the island and the pillar, and because of this it is inescapable. The water is railed off in most locations meaning that falling off is a rare occurrence. Falling in the water was most prevalent in the park and in the fountain area between towers A and B. Though these areas are not railed off, they provide a necessary hazard that is easily avoidable. Use of soft kill barriers is evident all over the map. On top of the gazebo, the apartments, and the towers. Any area that might grant an unfair height advantage to jet pack using players is blocked off via soft kill barriers. Most of these soft kill barriers do not extend all the way over the surfaces they are protecting. Players can sit on the outside lip of the structures. Even though they are highly exposed in these locations it still provides a height advantage. Durability of the map itself as it relates to playability is subjective. Because of the nature of the map being competitive it depends entirely on player skill whether games are fun or not. However, because of the level design having various paths and the clear aesthetic flare of each location, The Venetian will be played in competitive circles for some time. Each location within The Venetian is instantly recognizable and memorable. The in game locations resemble their real world counterparts, which is what aesthetics strive to achieve. The fountain between towers A and B is the clear aesthetic highlight of The Venetian. The use of the antenna, an energy shield, and coliseum windows create a believable and artistic fountain. The fountain also affects the gameplay of the map, as the water between the coliseum walls is a hazard. The park is also an aesthetic highlight. The benches, rock gardens, gazebo, and bridges, provide a believable park setting. An area where aesthetics were used in-spite-of gameplay is the incline pieces used. They jut out from the ground at an odd angle and hinder movement. Players must either jump on or move around them. Other areas where aesthetics were used at the cost gameplay are the bridge and ramp pieces used throughout the map. The sides of the ramps when they made contact with level ground all jut out past the plane of contact. As a result it hinders player movement if they are unaware of the little bit of ramp sticking out of the ground. Lastly, the letters A and B on the towers are aesthetically wrong. Their purpose is to provide a clear distinction between the two locations for team communication but aesthetically the letters are misplaced. Players can only view the letters from the park or from the apartments if they are looking up past where enemy players would be standing. As a result the letters serve no purpose on the sides of the tower and should have been on the front instead. The floating on water nature of The Venetian is the central theme of the map. This theme was achieved for the most part. The use of coliseum walls gave the overall map a little too much of a gray coating but the blue environment of the map helps the theme overall. Unfortunately, The Venetian suffers from lack of originality. The clear memorable locations as well as the fountain do help but the use of the forge pieces is fairly mundane. Coliseum walls give the whole map a too familiar gray color. Maps floating on water are also a common theme amongst forgeworld maps. The highlights of originality in The Venetian are the giant letters A and B on the towers and the fountain itself. Few mapmakers define a map location in an explicit way as the letters. The fountain provides a map hazard, which few maps contain. These highlights are not enough to overcome the rest of Venetian’s shortcomings. The apartments and plaza are just a lot of building pieces and the towers are composed of few pieces aside from coliseum walls. Rating Multipliers Enjoyment: 8 x 3.0 = 24 out of 30 Balance: 9 x 3.0 = 27 out of 30 Durability: 7 x 1.5 = 10.5 out of 15 Aesthetic :7 x 1.5 = 10.5 out of 15 Originality: 5 x 1.0 = 5 out of 10 Final Score Understanding the Review Hub's Ratings
If this isn't in the community playlist for CTF, then Bungie is messed up in the head. This is quite possibly the greatest non-MLG CTF map of all time.