[WIP] Artemis

@Psychoduck and I have been working on a map called Artemis. The project began as a vehicle circuit somewhat inspired by Narrows which Duck designed in H2A. I later adapted Duck's circuit for my BTB forge project (Recurve) when we were flown out to 343 Industries, but that project was dramatically redesigned to serve a more casual audience after we left the studio. After a lot of back and forth, we arrived at a layout which incorporated the best aspects of both of our designs.

Artemis is a symmetrical BTB CTF map for 12-16 players. The map features a large central bridge which curves over a trench between two bases along a boomerang shape.




Update: Major gameplay design changes were implemented based on observations and feedback from 5 or so games of higher level play/heavy stress testing last weekend. New routes through the trench, mohawks top mid, expanded landing pad platforms, up-scaled pathing around the teleporter structures to improve vehicle flow, new flag locations, and...the list goes on and on. Really excited for another round of extensive testing this weekend. Will be posting gameplay from that testing later on.

 

Thank you for your feedback Xandrith, but I have to respectfully disagree with your analysis of the sniper spawn for the following reasons:

• While the sniper is indeed useful in its current spawn area, that is certainly not the most useful position to use the power weapon. More advantageous lines of sight can be found from the central bridge and the bases themselves, creating movement incentive toward those locations once you secure the weapon. The sniper currently spawns in a highly contested area with much traffic as well, so this persistent danger in securing/using the weapon balances the few advantageous lines of sight available off spawn
• Moving the sniper spawn under the portal bridges would effectively spawn the weapon in both A) the most useful position and B) the most safe position due to its close proximity to the base. Players could quickly and safely retreat back into the base from that position, allowing them to acquire very favorable lines of sight into mid and the enemy base without contest. By spawning the sniper in a more forward position away from the umbrella of safety provided by the base, players have strong movement incentive into dangerous territory and more variables to worry about at all times when securing/moving with the weapon.

In regards to your concern about creating more gameplay on the low side of the base, we set out to resolve this issue immediately after our early playtests. The new plasma caster structure, teleporter bridge/structure, and snow routes have all been implemented to create more gameplay on that side of the map.

 

Update: Major gameplay design changes were implemented based on observations and feedback from 5 or so games of higher level play/heavy stress testing last weekend. New routes through the trench, mohawks top mid, expanded landing pad platforms, up-scaled pathing around the teleporter structures to improve vehicle flow, new flag locations, and...the list goes on and on. Really excited for another round of extensive testing this weekend. Will be posting gameplay from that testing later on.

@Xandrith We moved the snipers

 

The rock geometry that lined the original snipe spawn location was abused pretty hard in higher level play, so we nerfed that geometry altogether and moved the snipers to a super exposed, center courtyard position. Moving the sniper spawn under the tele bridge still would have resulted in a ton of base camping, but we thought the center courtyard location was a good compromise.

 

343 is quite determined to complicate the release of this design as much as possible

Torque ->>> Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt

 

Thanks for sharing your opinion, Salty. I agree that the map appears to lack that "wow" factor in visuals and geometry at first glance but, in my opinion, the gameplay experience provides a different story. The "wow" factor does not lie in any design aspect in particular, but rather in how the lifts, teleporters, landing pad platforms, multipurpose-geometry, verticallity, height variation, overlap, and lines of sight combine together to foster spontaneous, creative, vertical, and coordinated play--all while empowering players to keep their gun at the ready in a tightly-scaled, fast-paced BTB experience. There's been an insane amount of big plays at both the individual and team level as a result of this combination, with each player putting up 20-30 assists per game. This is ultimately what we set out to create; a map that naturally encourages teamwork, does not handicap good players, and always provides room for creativity.