Unleashed

imo, flag on this map is 10x better than lockdown ball. they both play well but this map has originality, every bit of it jsut makes it more fun. i am disapointed it will not be in v6 but it shall remain in my maps and i shall play it frequetnly in mlg customs

 

looks like you did a pretty good job, but the only problem i see is where the odd ball is. In MLG they wouldnt put that there just floating. I suggest making a v2 and putting a platform there so that you dont have to jump in the air and hope you get the oddball.

 

Yeah, I'm still getting used to the grav lift mechanic, but I like how it's an added route as opposed to a central function in map movement, so the balance between difficulty and reward looks to be done nicely. Hopefully I'll nail it soon enough, I had a good run around in a lone custom with the proper MLG settings to get a feel for movement. I haven't played on this map yet, kinda needs a full 4v4 to be properly appreciated as any MLG team map does, but I hope to get some 1v1's in later to get a basic feel for how it plays when under fire, then follow it up with some larger customs when I can to see how it actually functions in its element.

But I like what I saw in my run-arounds. Movement and jumps were enjoyable and sized well in comparison to the map size. The options for slightly harder jumps were interesting and, again, reward vs. instinctive ease under fire seemed nice, like the jumps up to the flat bridge platforms in the opposite corners of the map. They're not massively hard, but they're not something that someone new to the map will find as easy as a basic jump, therefore adding that 'knowing the map' factor that gives more scope for skill and reward in an MLG map. LOS looked a little sparse when I browsed the pics, but my opinion improved on this when I actually loaded up the map (see kids? Pictures serve an obvious and key function, but they can't tell you everything). The more open areas (in both flat ground and upward, vertical space terms) felt right in comparison to the more developed structures, and the central clear LOS which had me a little worried when looking at the pics actually felt a lot more, I dunno, right, when I ran around the map.

I've recently discovered objective running as a player role that I enjoy. I've always been a support player/decent slayer in role, switching up where I'm needed and trying fill gaps in a team set up. Yet I'd always been sketchy on my flag/ball running etc. But when I watched players like Ghostayame and how well they rocked the flag running, I saw it as something I wanted to really get better at, partly because it is a key role in a team that I needed to work on, but also because it looks damn cool and a satisfying thing to be really good at. I'll admit I loaded up some empty flag customs to practice nailing the flag running as good as I could, and I prefer to think that 'sad' and 'dedicated' are balanced and different perspectives on this . Now flag and ball running around this map was a lot of fun, good practice for different space/route situations and has some interesting jumps and gradients to make flag running a more varied and interesting part of objective games. I'm still getting used to the central jump as I said, especially in terms of objective routes, but I'm liking the experience so far from my run arounds.

I also like the central high path that goes across from one end of the map to the other, the bit with the gap in the middle where the central objectives spawn. Central high ground is nothing new in MLG Foundry maps, big whoop. But I like how this example works, the subtle touched edge cover in the form of the interlocked walls are nice for curbing overly large LOS from up there, and place the cover points for anyone holding that area in logical points. The angle of the ramps up there worked nicely for movement and look to be great for gameplay, once again in the classic competitive terms of challenge vs. reward balance.

One thing that niggled me was the ramps up to the flag cap points in each base. I know it's a small point, but the bottoms of these ramps have a bump where they meet the floor as they aren't merged in fully. I'm guessing this was done to keep the walls in line through the interlocking, and I will say that I looked at them with a little awe in terms of how flawlessly they are interlocked, they seriously look like one massive long wall. I'm not sure if this was done for aesthetic value or for squeezing out any bumps (I've never personally experienced bumps with walls that don't line up in their ridges, but I've heard it from time to time, so idk), but if it is aesthetic then I'd definitely say that merging the bottom is a worthy sacrifice in my opinion. It's not a massive bump, nothing worse than many other maps have just through slightly off interlocking, but I think it's a touch that could bring that ramp in to line with the rest of this (as far as I can tell) flawlessly built map, especially considering that those ramps are really key cap routes in CTF games from what I can tell. Again, if this is a choice that was made for even the smallest gameplay reasons rather than aesthetics, then I'd say you made the right call, but if not then I'd personally say that merging those walls where they meet the floor would be a nice touch.

I'm not familiar with this problem, but I've been looking to make my next map an MLG friendly project (will probably have standard and MLG variants as opposed to being built solely for MLG, but the map making ethic employed in MLG Forging is definitely my key focus when designing and building it), so it's got me kind of interested. Would you mind explaining exactly what this issue is, preferably with some of those examples in default maps pointed out so I can see the problem in practice, either that or link me to where this info is posted somewhere else. If you wouldn't mind it would be a big help, spawning is my major weakness even now, and if I want to make my next map work properly for MLG I'm gonna need to know this system a lot better, and this sounds like something I should really know and get my head around.

But yeah, overall I really liked what I saw in my run throughs, both in Forge and with proper MLG movement settings in customs (essential for getting a proper feel of movement in a run around if you ask me, people seem to forget this), I'm looking forward to getting some customs in on this when I can get a suitable party together, I particularly want to see how CTF and Slayer work as they are my favourite gametypes (most central MLG Halo gametypes as well if you ask me), and also because this map seems really suited to both of them. But, from what I've experienced so far, I like it a lot. I can see the individual flair that it has, it's character as well as it's refined design, and I can also see why this map made it in to the top 6 contenders for MLG v6. Congrats on that, well deserved, and I'd say your a Forger with a really solid chance at making a Pro Circuit project.