Competitive Cryptic

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Cryptic (version 1.0) - Small asymmetrical interior good for low player count.

Cryptic began with the simple idea that I wanted to make a great indoor map. Most maps tend to be on Forge Island and due to the lighting they will almost always be outdoors. I was inspired by the interior design of Halo 1-3 forerunner structures. It began when I was playing the old Halo CE classic mission The Silent Cartographer and I noticed how fun it was to navigate my through the underground rooms within the island.View attachment 6789

I have experimented with indoor maps before...

Read more about this map...

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Sgt x Slaphead updated Cryptic with a new update entry:

Cryptic 1.1

Fixed a texture popping issue.

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[GrmnEscaltrPrty]

You know i tried covering the ceiling once on erosion. The lights still shine through them as well.

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Trust me the map looked like crap when I did. It depends where you place your celling pieces. Erosions a weird map to build on for several reasons. I wanted the indoor space to still feel well lit as if it was outdoors for the most part. I also needed the map as bright as possible so that spotting players was not an issue.

 

[GrmnEscaltrPrty]

Trust me the map looked like crap when I did. It depends where you place your celling pieces. Erosions a weird map to build on for several reasons. I wanted the indoor space to still feel well lit as if it was outdoors for the most part. I also needed the map as bright as possible so that spotting players was not an issue.

Ah ok. I didn't know the placement of the pieces had to be correct.

 

[Zandril]

For a first competitive map, this isn't bad at all. I've seen so many horrible first maps including my own that I expected this map to be just as bad. But it wasn't.

The map surprised me. You surprised me. You built on the worst possible canvas to forge on and built it in the worst possible area. But somehow you made it work.

A couple of things did bother me though. I'm sure you've heard me say these to you directly before but I figured that I'd post them here anyway.

Sightlines: This map has so many 90 degree angles that it leads to awkward, overly direct, and sometimes bad sightlines. Try to incorporate angles to keep the geometry interesting and to lessen the amount of bad sightlines.

Orientation: It's very hard for one to orient himself in this map. This isn't entirely your fault. Erosion is a hard canvas to forge on. You did place extraction cylinders but there's not enough of them. Try to color different parts of the map with them. Red, Blue, Gold, etc.

Lift: There's a grav zone in the lift that's overextended. When players are already at the top, they're still floating in the air because of the grav zone.

Green base shields: They make doorways look like teleporters when they're not. This just ends up creating confusion instead of aesthetics. I suggest removing these and finding a different way to enhance the aesthetics. The ones by the cover glass can stay though.

FFA spawns: I think this map is destined for FFA. Its layout just feels very FFA-ish. Doesn't really give off the 2v2 vibe. However, the spawns are extremely messed up for 6 player FFA so if that is a gametype you wish to pursue, I suggest fixing the spawns.

One-way shields: They are inconsistent. Sometimes they bring you to the second level, sometimes they don't work as well as they should. A fix is needed.

Hard routes to the upper levels: Ok, this is something that I'm not completely sure about since I don't remember a whole lot about the games I've played on here. But as I recall, there weren't enough hard routes to the upper levels of the map. One can't rely too much on one-way shield jump pads, grav lifts, and teleporters as these are soft routes.

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Thanks for the feedback. As you know this is the first of my competitive maps to post so there was almost certainly going to be issues. However the lessons learned from this will go a long way to improving future maps. Also I think I may leave Erosion for a while!

 

[GrmnEscaltrPrty]

For a first competitive map, this isn't bad at all. I've seen so many horrible first maps including my own that I expected this map to be just as bad. But it wasn't.

The map surprised me. You surprised me. You built on the worst possible canvas to forge on and built it in the worst possible area. But somehow you made it work.

A couple of things did bother me though. I'm sure you've heard me say these to you directly before but I figured that I'd post them here anyway.

Sightlines: This map has so many 90 degree angles that it leads to awkward, overly direct, and sometimes bad sightlines. Try to incorporate angles to keep the geometry interesting and to lessen the amount of bad sightlines.

Orientation: It's very hard for one to orient himself in this map. This isn't entirely your fault. Erosion is a hard canvas to forge on. You did place extraction cylinders but there's not enough of them. Try to color different parts of the map with them. Red, Blue, Gold, etc.

Lift: There's a grav zone in the lift that's overextended. When players are already at the top, they're still floating in the air because of the grav zone.

Green base shields: They make doorways look like teleporters when they're not. This just ends up creating confusion instead of aesthetics. I suggest removing these and finding a different way to enhance the aesthetics. The ones by the cover glass can stay though.

FFA spawns: I think this map is destined for FFA. Its layout just feels very FFA-ish. Doesn't really give off the 2v2 vibe. However, the spawns are extremely messed up for 6 player FFA so if that is a gametype you wish to pursue, I suggest fixing the spawns.

One-way shields: They are inconsistent. Sometimes they bring you to the second level, sometimes they don't work as well as they should. A fix is needed.

Hard routes to the upper levels: Ok, this is something that I'm not completely sure about since I don't remember a whole lot about the games I've played on here. But as I recall, there weren't enough hard routes to the upper levels of the map. One can't rely too much on one-way shield jump pads, grav lifts, and teleporters as these are soft routes.

Agreed. But those dominion shields aren't confusing. At least not to me at any rate. I've seen a lot of dominion shields being used as teleporter indication, but those dont even look like there's supposed to be a teleporter behind them. Thats because of the placement and the quantity of them in areas.

 

[Great Mist]

I'll play this with FFA and it will probably start with 2 then extend to about 5 or 6. Those are the circumstances with this and This will be the first map to be played in "Guilt" So look to be tagged

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

The original version of the map can be found on the channel Fighter x72.
He hosts a lobby every week and everyone votes for their favourite map. Most voted goes on his channel. I would appreciate anyone checking out his channel he is featuring some cool stuff. If you want to see some good maps from a variety of people on Youtube its worth checking his channel out.

Fighter x72 Maps of the Week Episode 13 -

If you want to submit your map to his testing lobby just message him.

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Sgt x Slaphead updated Cryptic with a new update entry:

Spawning

Slight adjustments have been made to weapon and player spawns.

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Sgt x Slaphead updated Cryptic with a new update entry:

Fake teleporter of death!

Changed an aesthetic feature that some players thought was a teleporter. Improved aesthetics on map for easier orientation and overall better look. Added more angles to areas which were otherwise just solid corners. One-way shield lift angled for better consistency. New trick jump from bottom to top level. Minor changes across map for improved gameplay.

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

[RogerDodger]

For a first competitive map, this isn't bad at all. I've seen so many horrible first maps including my own that I expected this map to be just as bad. But it wasn't.

The map surprised me. You surprised me. You built on the worst possible canvas to forge on and built it in the worst possible area. But somehow you made it work.

A couple of things did bother me though. I'm sure you've heard me say these to you directly before but I figured that I'd post them here anyway...

#ReviewCrewPls

 

[Zandril]

#ReviewCrewPls

You need a competitive map reviewer?

 

[RogerDodger]

You need a competitive map reviewer?

Well, it's just me right now. Debaytes has agreed to help, but some things are more difficult for him.
If you're interested, just submit an application and see what happens.

 

[RogerDodger]

Sgt x Slaphead, Master Debaytes and I played your map in Slayer yesterday. We expect to play some Objective on it before writing the review. Even though it's compatible with Capture the Flag, Oddball, King of the Hill, is there one of those you feel is best for us to test?

 

[PA1NTS]

Really enjoyed the game I played on this map. My favorite part was that drop down to the needler.

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Thanks! The main reason I like the needler drop is because of the x on the floor created by the shadow which was er... totally intentional of course

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

I have tested this for KOTH and feedback was mixed. I have not tested the map for CTF or Oddball. If the map were to be tested for CTF I would definitely recommend a variant that had a fairly high score limit and quick return times. I do think if not slayer KOTH would offer the best gameplay since oddball could just have players rushing the same room the whole game. KOTH on this map includes four hills with one being in each main room. I think each room has something different to offer in terms of attacking and defending routes. I would suggest KOTH if it had to be one of these modes.

I have been told SWAT was fun on this map but if we are just talking objective I would certainly recommend KOTH.

I also just wanted to say thankyou to everyone that has tested this map. This has been my first map to post so I was unsure of what to expect however feedback has been positive and constructive. My second map should be a great improvement over Cryptic thanks to lessons learned from this map and the excellent criticism from you guys.

 

[Sgt x Slaphead]

Sgt x Slaphead updated Cryptic with a new update entry:

Weapon spawn times

Weapon spawn times have been tweaked.

Read the rest of this update entry...