So started working on an infection map with Buddha using an "abandoned mine" theme, but ended up falling in love with the premise so much I made a core 4 v 4 map. Wanted to set the entire map underground, so a lot of budget has gone on lighting. The map is mostly terrain, with verticality and map control the focus. Current weapon set: 1 x Typhon 1 x Sniper Rifle 1 x OS 2 x BR 2 x Carbine 2 x Light Rifle 2 x Plasma Pistol 2 x Pistol 2 x SMG 1 x Shotgun 2 x Splinter nades 2 x Plasma nades 2 x Grenades Anywho, here's a sneak peak. Any thoughts or feedback is appreciated - map is Fever Pitch (alpha) in my files. EDIT: Worth noting, not all gametypes set up yet, nor are spawn zones. Just be aware when you play. Thanks!
I love stuff like this! It is so opposite of the massive tree, big building, must have a base, typical thing that we see so much of. This is a perfect example of how less can be more. I will be checking this out!
I just took a run around this and really loved the look of everything as well as the height variation. One thing i could see that may be a problem is having only one walking route through the side tunnel to get from one side of the chasm to the other. Another potential flow issue may be seen in a few spots you have multiple clambers right after each other to get up to a new level. Some suggestions/thoughts to take with a grain of salt since i haven't actually played a match on this. -Maybe making the bottom route near the typhon a bit more user friendly (less / no jumps) -One of the bridges in the mid level of the chasm a walking route to cross -A ramp in the low section past typhon instead of the multiple rock jumps up that leads to the crate jump to the top level there -Blue spawn is a bit confusing since it points you straight to a drop down to the lowest section when red spawns at the very top section -Framerate is gonna be a hard one to completely optimize, no huge complaints but it wasn't perfect on some of the outside edges looking toward middle -Not sure how i felt about the lava being solid to grenades
Because of the height variation, ramps/stairs are tricky to retrofit in. If it becomes an issue later on, then I'll have to look at it more thoroughly, but I'm pretty happy with some of the shortcuts and routes right now. You were quite right about blue spawn, I've corrected that now. (What was I thinking!?) Lava now swallows grenades - and people float with the flow of the lava itself! Thanks @Max Extra for the idea. I've found framerate to be mostly okay, bar a known issue near OS spawn looking out.
I love the name and visual theme with this map and the concept is there with the storied vertical atrium. But i'm not sure of some of these areas. The aforementioned atrium has a lot of potential for interesting encounters and I can see it playing really well when it's streamlined. It's the sneaky/blue alley area that seems off to me. It's very long, enclosed, narrow and flat. Thematically, I understand that it's intentionally supposed to be shaped like mineshaft/quarry tunnel; however, I feel like it could still be done in a more compelling way. There's an OS there too and that'll make it especially frustrating to play within. I think it'd benefit the overall design and flow of gameplay if this shaft pulled players more towards the middle atrium.
Appreciate the honest but useful feedback as always Goat - Demption had a quick chat about the map with me earlier and suggested yanking/culling/eradicating the same tunnel section. I'll have a play around with some ideas to improve upon it and see what happens. EDIT: Better? And now a subtle animation to the lava flow itself -
So of course, the scripting broke. Annoying as I quite liked the effect, but it started to screw with the pieces and their orientation.
Played on this map last night. Seriously the most beautiful and immersive map I have ever seen! And I've seen a lot of maps by now. Seriously, just phenomenal.
Yeah, I was hoping you'd caught some of it on stream. I didn't like the map at first, but I began to like it a little more after playing it a few times. I found the map to be really tight and kind of confusing. Buddha said you wanted to make the map feel claustrophobic, but I would try and accomplish this with aesthetics rather than actually making the map small. I think a lack of floor space was actually the biggest issue I had with the map. I think adding more ways to peek across the map would also help players navigate and plan. The tempo was perfect, so if you were to increase the size to make the hallways feel more comfortable, it would probably make it a little slower. To compensate for slower gameplay, I would then allow players to catch glimpses across the map through small gaps in the rock walls or something, allowing players to more easily find their targets. The navigation was also a little confusing because a lot of the areas looked so similar. I noticed an area that had barrels hanging from ropes, but I was not able to recognize the pathing to or from this area, so it was kind of a dud landmark until I could play more games. Similarly, I felt that my pathing was very forced. I had 3 options a lot of the time, but I felt that because there were few transition points I was making a big commitment when I made a choice. And after playing a bit, I found which path I usually preferred when I came to those intersections, and I hardly ever took the other route. I felt this made gameplay kind of stale. You could add more routes between the areas (but maybe people would complain that it would be too swiss cheesey, but I think sight lines would keep players from mindlessly running these routes), and I think soft routes might be the best option. Like, having an opportunity to jump onto a small ledge to take a shortcut or something. A lot of people fell off the map and into the lava when we played. I only fell in twice, and once was on purpose. I actually couldn't figure out where to go after I picked up the hydra, so I got frustrated and jumped. Those platforms are really hard to see from straight on, so I would suggest changing the lighting in those areas or adding a filter. People complained that red team was harder to spot on the map, but I can't say for myself because I was on the red team both games.
Now that is some feedback. There have been some changes dealing with everything you mentioned, including adjusting the lighting across the map for easier visibility. I just did a quick walk through of the main areas, I feel they're all pretty distinct now.
Sikamikanico! This map was a joy to play on, I really like it! I'm actually saddened that on both matches I had to leave for some kind of ass issue. My stream might not be best to take visual feedback from. That said, I did gather quite a bit of feedback that may help this map along. Spoiler: CF TNT 7/12/2016 + The impression from the lobby was great! Aesthetics blew people away, and overall they liked how it played. - Gameplay wise, players felt that some of the tighter caves felt too restrained for movement during combat. Maybe experiment with making more room for tighter areas. - I did not explicitly experience this myself, but a few players felt there were areas blocked by invisible barriers that seemed like areas they could explore or reach. A few players fell to their deaths trying to reach blocked but visually stable areas. I hate to say I don't have specific spots listed here... - This map does seem to suffer from a few framerate drops. Which is a damn shame because it looks so good. I actually had a horrible framerate issue during the second match where I actually had to kill my build (this can be seen on the stream, and it wasn't the capture glitching). Didn't seem like normal framerate drop... Someone thought it was actually because my memory was low on my Xbox because of the map... but I have no ****ing clue how that works so I dunno if that's true. But I can say that was a first. - For Strongholds, the Nest was clearly dominant. As soon as I found out Blue Team was trying to hold it most, I attacked it with no remorse. It gave us a clear shot to the stronghold below and I believe we won just for holding Nest so well. These will need some adjusting. / As an overall theme for the map, height variation was fantastic. That said, some people felt trapped on the bottom of the map, especially when spawning, feeling overwhelmed when being attacked from above where it could be disorienting to retaliate quick enough. I'm unsure how you'd counter this, but some adjustments should be possible. - Players felt that the map could use some color variation at key areas. While looking great, a lot of areas looked very similar which made some callouts more difficult, and disoriented some first time players when spawning. Some subtle color or landmark variation may alleviate any confusion. - There were a few instances where players would hit geometry on paths over the lava causing them to fall to their death. May be worth jumping through the map and making sure obstacles are clear of the many jumps players may take to cross these gaps. Again, no particular spots I'm afraid to say... All that said, the map was very well received! Matches were fun and gameplay kept interest! Not to mention again the immersive scenery. This map is very complex, and the fact that it remains fun at such a complex layout is a feat all its own. This also means the list of feedback you'll get will be larger, which I consider a good thing. I can't wait to play this one again! Good work, Sikamikanico!
Thanks for the great feedback Randy - I've made some big adjustments from a lot of similar feedback already, so hopefully some of these will address the issues you've raised: First off - lighting - I've done a complete lighting pass across the map to improve visibility and higlight jumps, ledges and routes for player orientation. I've also adjusted some of the invis blockers to make a little more sense, player wise. But yes, some will remain in place to prevent players sitting on top of things they shouldn't. Next up, I've added a lift to bottom mid on Red side - this not only should aid players in getting from bottom to top (albeit in a vulnerable way) it makes for a great call out too. I've always taken steps to make the rooms feel individual and unique, including improving the overall space available in transition areas back to the main atrium - for example, you now have Fire Pit, Bridge, Shotgun, Pipes - all varied and identifiable. Oven Steps - I hated using the stock "steps" as they felt completely out of place on the map - managed to claw budget back and create something far more visually in keeping with the theme (and don't worry, projectile/invis blockers are in place, your grenades will bounce as you'd expect. Lastly, the "Nest" Stronghold has been moved back to Bridge, meaning they're all in a nice triangle layout in 3 distinct areas - will need more playtesting, but yes, Nest was way to easy to hold. Really pleased with it so far - looking forward to getting more games on it.
I'd definitely like to get some games in on this! Out of all the Halo 5 forge maps I've seen thus far, this is easily one of my favorites. I like the theme because it's not typical of what we see in Halo, and you executed it very well! You especially did a nice job on the lighting and lava.
Alright, here's your feedback from the CF TNT on 7/19! For specific feedback, please watch the CF Stream Recap. We played Slayer and Strongholds. Also i should note, a lot of feedback for this was very specific. It would benefit you a lot to watch the stream for feedback to get better clarification. Spoiler: CF TNT 7/19/2016 + Players do feel this map plays well except for the occasional extended searching for enemies. Lots of unique encounters! + Aesthetics. Have been great, remain great. - A few felt Red team may had some advantage blending into the map. This may be hard to fix, and it isn't necessarily gamebreaking. - During strongholds, players felt that most strongholds were too secluded from view. Players wanted to be able to see into strongholds more easily. - All the way from Stronghold to Bridge to junction between stairs and light rifle - too far segregated from rest of map. (yeah. not well worded. Stream lol) - There's a few twisting halls that tend to cause less combat and more walking. Opening these areas up a bit could help. - Basically players felt there's a lot of divided areas that could use some joining together. - Still had framerate drops in specific areas. (EX: From Snipe looking out towards the center of the map) This map is on it's way to greatness man. So many people already know and like it.
Okay, so I've taken a lot of feedback on board - even stuff that personally I didn't think was a big problem - but I'm so glad I did. Back shotgun tunnel? There was a cave-in. It's gone. New routes, new lighting, new locations and call outs. Stronghold locations have been adjusted also. Special thanks to @WyvernZu for the suggestions on lighting and complimentary colours. Also @xdemption for suggesting a new line of sight where I thought there could be none. Some pics of the new areas and lighting.
Wyvernzu's suggestions already show. The contrast looks natural, and adds variation. Looking forward to the new gameplay!
I haven't gotten the chance to play on this yet, but the theme continues to be outstanding and I'm looking forward to seeing this map all polished up.