Not true. The map list is posted to show who has signed up so far for its respective week, and is modified as more people sign up.
Featured Lobby Monday Map Testing
- Thread starter Psychoduck
- Start date
- Status
I am just going to add these in as post edits as I have time to do them.
ODST Tayrai Plaza by JA50N 0
Ok, so this map breaks a fundamental principle of BTB design. Your shortest objective path is a vehicle path which creates the issue where if a flag loads up into a Warthog it is pretty difficult to counter the swift capture. I also see that you have added truck ramp looking things to the center of the map which acts to further add to the difficulty to stop a Warthogs’ momentum since before you could at least hit the vehicle up to about the 65 yard line. Now the line of sight is broken up. I would recommend that you contemplate a few of the following design possibilities with this map.
Consider opening up the center route and only providing cover that is effective for Infantry. This will allow the path to be semi-accessible to Infantry while leaving the vehicles more vulnerable since distance segmentation isn’t really a thing anymore. Second, think about making vehicle stopping weapons a focal point of your maps design. I see that you have seven Splinter Grenades and two Plasma Pistols placed, I could only find three Splinter Nades though. Perhaps you could place more of these weapons towards the center of the Infantry routes. If you place them too close to team spawns Vehicles won’t ever get out of the base, but allowing them to get near the middle before getting stunned would create potential for some interesting last second saves. Another option to try to counter the express way for flag captures is to up the amount of power weapons. Perhaps a Spartan Laser, since it’s utility versus Infantry is low compared to its high effectiveness versus vehicles. Also adding an additional Hydra into an area that is balanced for equal Infantry and Vehicle advantage could help.
Another thing that you really need to focus on is balance of team advantage. Make sure that power items that only have a single instance on your map are at the 50 yard line. Banshee is about 14 seconds away from Blue Spawn compared to Red Teams 17 seconds. It is very important to establish equal opportunity for the teams to get to these power items. Another unequal aspect is the ramp on the Vehicle route that leads out of Blue Base’s area. The change in elevation cuts off the line of sight significantly sooner compared to the Red Team’s base.
One final note is that the vertical game in this map seems to be lacking a little bit. It is definitely not absent, but adding more vertical interactions in the infantry focused areas might serve this map well.
Hangout by MartianMallCop
Full disclosure, I hate Infantry focused BTB maps. That being said I am going to focus my feedback on the vehicles. I feel that the Banshee and Warthog have no place on this map. The vehicle routes above the bottom level are full of sharp turns, large gaps, and dead ends. The paths work okay for the Ghosts since they are agile enough but are a disaster for the Warthog. I would recommend evaluating the Warthog’s utility and either increasing it by tailoring the vehicle routes above the bottom floor for the Warthog or just simply remove it from the map. I feel that if you place a Warthog on your map you need to provide an experience that goes beyond either driving in circles getting shot from multiple high angles or driving up staircases to dead ends.
I would also recommend reevaluating the Banshee. Due to the low instant kill barrier at the top of the map there is no warning before blowing up if you try to escape fire in the Banshee. Once someone figures this out the hard way and has to fight the urge to escape high in the Banshee, they are forced into what I feel is a pretty claustrophobic and unrewarding experience of basically flying in circles dropping periodic Banshee bombs. I do not feel that this is a very dynamic experience.
I would recommend doubling down on your vehicles routes being so tuned for Ghosts and place more of them in place of the Warthog and Banshee. I also believe that placing some Ghosts near the upper levels facing into the routes as opposed to the center would help encourage players to take advantage of piloting the Ghosts on the upper vehicles routes.
Kizingo by alex quit
I would suggest evaluating if the rockets spawn is a little too friendly of a position for infantry. There is no way for the Warthog to effectively police its spawn. Due to the fact that the vehicle paths are narrow and full of nooks and crannies, the Rockets utility is so high that allowing a Warthog to police the spawn might be desirable. The Hog can’t effectively hit people on the spawn from Junction, leaving it with the terrible option to drive up on Platform. A Spartan can get up there for Rockets and Thruster to safety rather quickly. However the Warthog is less agile and has to contend with being easily boarded up there and shot from about every possible angle. Once rockets are picked up there is no need to travel far for it to reach maximum utility versus the Warthog. Within Thruster range is Plaza which is a heavily Infantry focused area that allows for easy Warthog neutralization since it is surrounded by the primary vehicle route.
I would also recommend thinking about how your vehicle routes need to be designed in respect to angles of attack and verticality. When verticality is added the ability to keep a gunner alive plummets. The additional height gives an attacker an angle of attack that equates to the same punishment a gunner gets when he has his back exposed to the enemy. Even if a gunner catches an attacker above them before they are dead, at high angles the Warthog gun mechanic malfunctions and shoots significantly lower than the reticle. The best example section for this concern is Blue Bend through Ramp and Blue Lookout.
For my final concern I would ask that you consider the idea of what safe areas for a Warthog means as well as reasonable threat management. Having the ability to effectively retreat to an area of the map where you are mostly safe is a key component of Infantry gameplay. Think about what that means for the Warthog and if you feel as I do that the same design ideology should be extended to it. The closest thing to it that exists on this map is the Plaza Loop which still leaves the gunner exposed. In a Fixed Spawn situation these areas manifest as a result of being able to count on knowing where you team will most likely be controlling the map. However in an Asymmetrical situation I feel that care has to be taken to design these spaces intentionally. The issue of never feeling safe in a Warthog on the map is also accentuated since most of the vehicle paths are not up against walls but rather sandwiched between two infantry routes. This coupled with the verticality creates impossible situations of having to manage not only the 360 degrees of horizontal encounters but also vertical angles.
Eagle Square by SHIFTY time
Sat out for a player with higher priority; unable to provide feedback.
Artemis by The Fated Fire & Psychoduck
This is another map that looks likes a lot of attention was taken to make sure vehicle paths flow well and for the Ghosts they perform spectacularly. However, I would ask that you evaluate whether there is any use for a Warthog. The paths look fun to drive a hog on when there are no enemies. However, there is no place where the Warthog has a distinct advantage over infantry in battle but on the flip side there are plenty of areas where the Hog is at a great disadvantage. Even in the two linear paths the map manages to undermine the Hog's utility. Typically linear paths are a place where Warthogs are guaranteed to shine, but its offensive ability is neutered in both. On Bridge the cover and pair of Plasma grenades in the center act as effective deterrents. In the Trench area the escape routes in Thruster range and pair of Splinter Grenades on each side acts as effective deterrents.
In general every other area seems to work against the Warthog as well. There is plenty of verticality, which is groovy for infantry but is terrible for the Hog. A lot of the ramps up to the higher areas are too sharp of angles for the Hog since it eliminates the gunners ability to shoot front unless the Warthog drives backwards all the time, completely exposes itself, or does some awkward tail whips which will typically face your gunner’s back to the people trying to kill you and ruin your ability to manage threats. These restrictions are to be expected in infantry only areas, the problem again being that there are plenty of infantry only areas and lightly hybrid areas but no Warthog advantage areas. The second area where the Verticality unchecked undermines the Warthog is in the Trench areas. The gunner has no counter to Lookout due to the high angle breaking the turret’s aiming mechanic.
Another problem I see with the areas being mostly infantry focused is that cover and escape routes always seem a Thruster away. The Warthog is not agile enough to deal with that type of balance across the whole map and it is typically too dangerous to go after a target. I recommend putting some serious thought into what purpose you see the Hog serving and how effective it’s utility is versus the utility of things like Plasma Grenades, Splinter Grenades, high angles of attack on the Hog, and the Plasma Caster on a map that has so many narrow paths and sharp corners in its geometry.
That being said, most of those restrictions do not affect the Ghosts which play beautifully. It is agile enough to have effective offensive capabilities on the map. The only utility I see the Hog serving is for flag transport. Due to that I would recommend replacing the Hogs with some Mongeese to retain that option and if you really want it to have offensive capabilities a Gungoose.
Echoes by The Grim Dealer
So much yes, this is currently the definitive Valhalla BTB build standard for Halo 5 in my eyes. Beautiful classic BTB design being unapologetically vehicle focused. If this doesn’t make it into Matchmaking, well I guess I will just continue to not play that worthless playlist. I honestly don’t have much feedback because this map is so refreshing compared to the current BTB design standards that I am unable to be critical because I was too distracted by the joy it brought me. Nice work man.
ODST Tayrai Plaza by JA50N 0
Ok, so this map breaks a fundamental principle of BTB design. Your shortest objective path is a vehicle path which creates the issue where if a flag loads up into a Warthog it is pretty difficult to counter the swift capture. I also see that you have added truck ramp looking things to the center of the map which acts to further add to the difficulty to stop a Warthogs’ momentum since before you could at least hit the vehicle up to about the 65 yard line. Now the line of sight is broken up. I would recommend that you contemplate a few of the following design possibilities with this map.
Consider opening up the center route and only providing cover that is effective for Infantry. This will allow the path to be semi-accessible to Infantry while leaving the vehicles more vulnerable since distance segmentation isn’t really a thing anymore. Second, think about making vehicle stopping weapons a focal point of your maps design. I see that you have seven Splinter Grenades and two Plasma Pistols placed, I could only find three Splinter Nades though. Perhaps you could place more of these weapons towards the center of the Infantry routes. If you place them too close to team spawns Vehicles won’t ever get out of the base, but allowing them to get near the middle before getting stunned would create potential for some interesting last second saves. Another option to try to counter the express way for flag captures is to up the amount of power weapons. Perhaps a Spartan Laser, since it’s utility versus Infantry is low compared to its high effectiveness versus vehicles. Also adding an additional Hydra into an area that is balanced for equal Infantry and Vehicle advantage could help.
Another thing that you really need to focus on is balance of team advantage. Make sure that power items that only have a single instance on your map are at the 50 yard line. Banshee is about 14 seconds away from Blue Spawn compared to Red Teams 17 seconds. It is very important to establish equal opportunity for the teams to get to these power items. Another unequal aspect is the ramp on the Vehicle route that leads out of Blue Base’s area. The change in elevation cuts off the line of sight significantly sooner compared to the Red Team’s base.
One final note is that the vertical game in this map seems to be lacking a little bit. It is definitely not absent, but adding more vertical interactions in the infantry focused areas might serve this map well.
Hangout by MartianMallCop
Full disclosure, I hate Infantry focused BTB maps. That being said I am going to focus my feedback on the vehicles. I feel that the Banshee and Warthog have no place on this map. The vehicle routes above the bottom level are full of sharp turns, large gaps, and dead ends. The paths work okay for the Ghosts since they are agile enough but are a disaster for the Warthog. I would recommend evaluating the Warthog’s utility and either increasing it by tailoring the vehicle routes above the bottom floor for the Warthog or just simply remove it from the map. I feel that if you place a Warthog on your map you need to provide an experience that goes beyond either driving in circles getting shot from multiple high angles or driving up staircases to dead ends.
I would also recommend reevaluating the Banshee. Due to the low instant kill barrier at the top of the map there is no warning before blowing up if you try to escape fire in the Banshee. Once someone figures this out the hard way and has to fight the urge to escape high in the Banshee, they are forced into what I feel is a pretty claustrophobic and unrewarding experience of basically flying in circles dropping periodic Banshee bombs. I do not feel that this is a very dynamic experience.
I would recommend doubling down on your vehicles routes being so tuned for Ghosts and place more of them in place of the Warthog and Banshee. I also believe that placing some Ghosts near the upper levels facing into the routes as opposed to the center would help encourage players to take advantage of piloting the Ghosts on the upper vehicles routes.
Kizingo by alex quit
I would suggest evaluating if the rockets spawn is a little too friendly of a position for infantry. There is no way for the Warthog to effectively police its spawn. Due to the fact that the vehicle paths are narrow and full of nooks and crannies, the Rockets utility is so high that allowing a Warthog to police the spawn might be desirable. The Hog can’t effectively hit people on the spawn from Junction, leaving it with the terrible option to drive up on Platform. A Spartan can get up there for Rockets and Thruster to safety rather quickly. However the Warthog is less agile and has to contend with being easily boarded up there and shot from about every possible angle. Once rockets are picked up there is no need to travel far for it to reach maximum utility versus the Warthog. Within Thruster range is Plaza which is a heavily Infantry focused area that allows for easy Warthog neutralization since it is surrounded by the primary vehicle route.
I would also recommend thinking about how your vehicle routes need to be designed in respect to angles of attack and verticality. When verticality is added the ability to keep a gunner alive plummets. The additional height gives an attacker an angle of attack that equates to the same punishment a gunner gets when he has his back exposed to the enemy. Even if a gunner catches an attacker above them before they are dead, at high angles the Warthog gun mechanic malfunctions and shoots significantly lower than the reticle. The best example section for this concern is Blue Bend through Ramp and Blue Lookout.
For my final concern I would ask that you consider the idea of what safe areas for a Warthog means as well as reasonable threat management. Having the ability to effectively retreat to an area of the map where you are mostly safe is a key component of Infantry gameplay. Think about what that means for the Warthog and if you feel as I do that the same design ideology should be extended to it. The closest thing to it that exists on this map is the Plaza Loop which still leaves the gunner exposed. In a Fixed Spawn situation these areas manifest as a result of being able to count on knowing where you team will most likely be controlling the map. However in an Asymmetrical situation I feel that care has to be taken to design these spaces intentionally. The issue of never feeling safe in a Warthog on the map is also accentuated since most of the vehicle paths are not up against walls but rather sandwiched between two infantry routes. This coupled with the verticality creates impossible situations of having to manage not only the 360 degrees of horizontal encounters but also vertical angles.
Eagle Square by SHIFTY time
Sat out for a player with higher priority; unable to provide feedback.
Artemis by The Fated Fire & Psychoduck
This is another map that looks likes a lot of attention was taken to make sure vehicle paths flow well and for the Ghosts they perform spectacularly. However, I would ask that you evaluate whether there is any use for a Warthog. The paths look fun to drive a hog on when there are no enemies. However, there is no place where the Warthog has a distinct advantage over infantry in battle but on the flip side there are plenty of areas where the Hog is at a great disadvantage. Even in the two linear paths the map manages to undermine the Hog's utility. Typically linear paths are a place where Warthogs are guaranteed to shine, but its offensive ability is neutered in both. On Bridge the cover and pair of Plasma grenades in the center act as effective deterrents. In the Trench area the escape routes in Thruster range and pair of Splinter Grenades on each side acts as effective deterrents.
In general every other area seems to work against the Warthog as well. There is plenty of verticality, which is groovy for infantry but is terrible for the Hog. A lot of the ramps up to the higher areas are too sharp of angles for the Hog since it eliminates the gunners ability to shoot front unless the Warthog drives backwards all the time, completely exposes itself, or does some awkward tail whips which will typically face your gunner’s back to the people trying to kill you and ruin your ability to manage threats. These restrictions are to be expected in infantry only areas, the problem again being that there are plenty of infantry only areas and lightly hybrid areas but no Warthog advantage areas. The second area where the Verticality unchecked undermines the Warthog is in the Trench areas. The gunner has no counter to Lookout due to the high angle breaking the turret’s aiming mechanic.
Another problem I see with the areas being mostly infantry focused is that cover and escape routes always seem a Thruster away. The Warthog is not agile enough to deal with that type of balance across the whole map and it is typically too dangerous to go after a target. I recommend putting some serious thought into what purpose you see the Hog serving and how effective it’s utility is versus the utility of things like Plasma Grenades, Splinter Grenades, high angles of attack on the Hog, and the Plasma Caster on a map that has so many narrow paths and sharp corners in its geometry.
That being said, most of those restrictions do not affect the Ghosts which play beautifully. It is agile enough to have effective offensive capabilities on the map. The only utility I see the Hog serving is for flag transport. Due to that I would recommend replacing the Hogs with some Mongeese to retain that option and if you really want it to have offensive capabilities a Gungoose.
Echoes by The Grim Dealer
So much yes, this is currently the definitive Valhalla BTB build standard for Halo 5 in my eyes. Beautiful classic BTB design being unapologetically vehicle focused. If this doesn’t make it into Matchmaking, well I guess I will just continue to not play that worthless playlist. I honestly don’t have much feedback because this map is so refreshing compared to the current BTB design standards that I am unable to be critical because I was too distracted by the joy it brought me. Nice work man.
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Monday 3/14/16 - 9pm EST
Lobby type: 4v4 (eight players)Lobby post: https://games.halocustoms.com/lobby/Qqb7qPpCxpSZzyJKr
Primary testing slots:
AnonFriction - Anacreon - CTF
ImDahUnicorn - Unistreet - CTF
INFINUT - Grave - CTF
Sushi Shikigami - Labyrinth - Strongholds
Psychoduck - Skyport - Strongholds
Backup testing slots:ImDahUnicorn - Unistreet - CTF
INFINUT - Grave - CTF
Sushi Shikigami - Labyrinth - Strongholds
Psychoduck - Skyport - Strongholds
Zandril - Staredown - CTF
Please continue signing up below. To request a testing slot, post in response to this thread with your map name and the gametype(s) you wish to test. Whether you're bringing a map or not, message The Psycho Duck on Xbox Live to request an invite before the lobby.
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Map Name: Anacreon
Map Supports: CTF, STRONGHOLDS, ASSAULT, SLAYER, FFA, ODDBALL (We can test whatever
)
Map Supports: CTF, STRONGHOLDS, ASSAULT, SLAYER, FFA, ODDBALL (We can test whatever
)
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map: unistreet
gametype: ctf (supports slayer, strongholds and assault as well)
my gt is "ImDahUnicorn"
gametype: ctf (supports slayer, strongholds and assault as well)
my gt is "ImDahUnicorn"
Can I reserve a spot for my map: http://www.forgehub.com/threads/labyrinth-beta.151189/
File name: Labyrinth V1.1 BETA
Gametypes: Strongholds and CTF
GT: Sushi Shikigami
I really need to test my map. :L
File name: Labyrinth V1.1 BETA
Gametypes: Strongholds and CTF
GT: Sushi Shikigami
I really need to test my map. :L
We had an enjoyable, laid-back lobby last night. The small maps list allowed us to run through each map on multiple modes and discuss feedback in the lobby.
This lobby will be taking a hiatus and will return at a different time in a couple of weeks. I am moving across the country and starting a new job. So, I'll have to pack everything up, ease into my new life, and settle in a different time zone. I'll keep you all posted on when to expect this lobby to return. In the mean time, I encourage you to check out Squally's recurring testing lobby or to start your own.
This lobby will be taking a hiatus and will return at a different time in a couple of weeks. I am moving across the country and starting a new job. So, I'll have to pack everything up, ease into my new life, and settle in a different time zone. I'll keep you all posted on when to expect this lobby to return. In the mean time, I encourage you to check out Squally's recurring testing lobby or to start your own.
Kick some ass duck
In the meantime if you guys need to test your maps or just hang out in my custom lobbies INFINUT is always willing to get you playing
In the meantime if you guys need to test your maps or just hang out in my custom lobbies INFINUT is always willing to get you playing
What would everyone think about this lobby returning at 11 pm EST on Mondays? What player count would you like to see next week?
11? That's when I would leave the past lobbies, so I'd never make it. If you ask Me, that's barely even Monday. Still, I doubt the idea to change the time is without reason, so I say go with the normal lobby logic of whenever works best for the host.
Thank you to all of the testers over the last few weeks who helped us test the new BTB maps for matchmaking! It paid off and we have six new maps, as well as updated versions of Guillotine and Deadlock live in the playlist.
Cannot wait to jump into the BTB playlist and play these! I was hoping we could still test BTB maps but thats probably not the focus anymore I assume. One question, Do you know if there will ever be a squad battle added in future updates?
I laughed when I read your commment.I almost feel the same way and had a blast testing these even though I didnt find out about this testing lobby until the last 2 weeks of testing.I wish I would of found out sooner so I could of seen all of these great maps evolve from their Alpha stages into the diamonds that they are today.Also it would have been sweet to have more time to polish my map since I only got 1 playtest on it since I discovered everything so late.
BTW I bet your map wasn't so bad, which one was it lol?, I hope I got or still get the chance to test it!
BADGERS!I laughed when I read your commment.I almost feel the same way and had a blast testing these even though I didnt find out about this testing lobby until the last 2 weeks of testing.I wish I would of found out sooner so I could of seen all of these great maps evolve from their Alpha stages into the diamonds that they are today.Also it would have been sweet to have more time to polish my map since I only got 1 playtest on it since I discovered everything so late.
BTW I bet your map wasn't so bad, which one was it lol?, I hope I got or still get the chance to test it!
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