Competitive Abyss [Deleted]

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Abyss (version 1.0) - Small symmetrical balanced map for FFA/1v1/2v2

Abyss
View attachment 7220



Set on the Ravine canvas, Abyss is a small arena rising out of the water. The map is easy to learn and the overall layout is very clean with no unnecessary cover and no real corners to hide in meaning the map offers straight up combat where players will rarely be running away and avoiding fights. Both the design of the map and weapon layout...

Read more about this map...

 

[Zandril]

This map is an improvement over your previous ones, I'll give you that. I think it'll appeal to the more casual-competitive Halo player. I only played on this once so I don't really have too much to say.

I do remember that there weren't enough neutral power positions in the map. This led to gameplay being running around killing players instead of focusing on controlling a set location.

I'm also not a big fan of the death pits.

Although I'm not too sure about these issues I have because I only played the map once.

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

The version you played had awful spawning too which is now much better for 4 players thank god. There have been a few changes but the idea of no power positions for this map was actually intentional. I wanted to see how a map played when the layout was totally balanced. I see how power positions are useful for giving more direction to map flow in giving players locations to fight over but because this map was so small I gave each area its equal use. I understand why neutral power positions are important for maps but this was more of an experiment if anything. Its more down to opinion than actual issues if you ask me. Some would say Lockout is a perfect map because they think a good competitive map has players controlling positions that give them map control. I would say Lockout is one of the most irritating maps to play on because if I don't camp on one of the 2 main towers and attempt to use any other areas I get punished as long as the enemy team aren't complete idiots. On Abyss the middle is open because it contains a Rocket but apart from the middle you can run anywhere you want and not be at a disadvantage which for me is a good thing. Everything about Abyss was intentional and I suppose this was more of a selfish map that was made for me based around my opinions of balanced gameplay. If anyone else shares my views and enjoy the map then great and if they hate it then hey nothing personal I wont force you to play it. In testing some have told me they enjoy the balance of the map while some shared similar views on power positions. The weird thing is I kind of agree with both sides and I always take note of peoples views on maps. Zandril, you have made some awesome competitive maps and I particularly enjoyed testing Aether with you so I would be an idiot if I completely ignored what you had to say. I am questioning the need of power positions not to say Abyss executed this perfectly but I wonder if a map needs power positions to be competitive. The only people I do not listen to as much are those people that are just really bad at Halo and always blame maps for their deaths. You know the one 12 year old that just runs in to enemies without thinking and then blame everything but themselves? But I have learned many useful things from what people had to say about Abyss. I know how controversial death pits on competitive maps can be too and that will definitely be a factor in the design of my next map. Thanks.

 

[Zandril]

There are no absolutes in competitive forging. There are many controversial and unpopular elements that a competitive map can have. For example, there's the dead end to the Shotgun spawn in Guardian. Usually, dead ends are a no-no but Guardian made it work.

It all comes down to how the map executes it. I'm not saying that having power positions is an absolute requirement for a competitive map. Who knows, maybe someone will make a map without power positions and it would play well. It could happen.

However, I think power positions would help a competitive map and the way it flows. If a map has power positions, gameplay wouldn't consist of just running around shooting anyone you see. With power positions, players would have an actual goal or strategy when playing. That, if you ask me, fits the term "competitive" a lot better.

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Very true. I see now how lack of power positions can have people running in circles aimlessly. I certainly don't think Abyss is a perfect execution of my ideas on what could work but I think its worth challenging ideas of how competitive maps should function. There are already enough maps doing what Midship did a long time ago with two bases, a middle power position and two areas that lead to it either side. While I acknowledge Simplex and Onyx as good maps I feel like they are safe maps in the sense that its difficult to mess up a map in that format and that the makers did not challenge themselves but instead made something guaranteed to work. Plenty of new forgers might take up that format of map and ruin it with clutter but generally if you understand forge it is almost impossible to fail with those kind of maps. The reason I think Exin is a good map is because it has a lot of unusual geometry that I don't see everywhere. I love the Ricochet map Hekau because of the curved shapes as opposed to the damn block 4x4 maps! Yes it can be hard to be original with the forge palette but its not impossible. I plan to keep experimenting with weird ideas until I find something that really works. Thanks Zandril for actual feedback because I know many people that will tell someone a maps good and never play it again and you learn nothing from it.

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

This resource has been removed and is no longer available for download.