This map is strongly recommended for use with 10-16 players.
If you have many fewer people in the party, the game's fast-paced nature diminishes slightly.
Here I am again, for those (if any) who remember me, with my second map: The Panic Room. Please read all of the description to get a good understanding of what I hoped to achieve by making this map.
What is The Panic Room?
The Panic Room is an all-new infection map-gametype combination that is extremely addicting. It's fast-paced, exciting, strategical, and fun for everybody.
The main theme and aspect of this map is its unique and fundamental use of switches in gameplay.
You will see that your objective is not just getting the most kills or being the Last Man Standing, but to survive for the entire round.
How did The Panic Room come into being?
Maybe two months ago, a friend and I were messing around in Forge when he suggested that we make an infection map. I never really liked infection, so I was a little reluctant. Why did I not like infection? The short answer is because practically every infection game I had ever played was absolutely terrible. Garbage like "Fat Kid" on maze maps and stupid infection gametypes on poorly-crafted maps completely turned me off to Infection. The biggest problem I had with infection games was that zombies were ALMOST ALWAYS too easy to kill. The bad combinations of zombie speed, health, and gravity seemed to always cause alpha zombies to leave the game.
As my friend and I began making our infection map, I suggested adding different aspects to make survival MUCH more difficult for the humans. He gladly obliged, and we continued. I had been at Forgehub before and learned all of the advanced forging techniques, but it was frustrating to perform them through lag-related issues while the two of us were forging at the same time. As a result, the finished product was very poorly-made. Indescribably unpleasing to the eye. Nevertheless, we carefully planned a gametype to go with the map, and we built up a party to test out the game.
The result was amazing. My friend and I were both astonished with how well the gameplay worked and with the reaction we got from the people who played the game. We played the game again and again because it was so addicting. It was so successful that I went into Forge several weeks later and spent a couple of hours remaking the map with everything interlocked and arranged neatly, so that it might possibly be released in the future. Every last detail, even things that we didn't necessarily mean to put in the first version but that we found enhanced the gameplay, were put into the new version. Not surprisingly, when we tested the new version the gameplay was exactly the same. The new, well-made version of The Panic Room is the one you can download in this thread.
How difficult is The Panic Room?
I mentioned earlier that I found most Infection games to be boring because it was too easy for the humans, and that with The Panic Room I strove to make the game extremely difficult. But how difficult is that, exactly? Well, let me put things into perspective. When I call someone a "competent player," I mean to say that they are familiar with the map, the gametype, and "will pretty much know exactly what they should be doing the second the round starts." So that's not including rounds when the zombie makes mistakes (like activating the switches that make it harder for him to win; explained later) or spends several minutes just wandering around or any of that stuff. Do you understand now what I mean by a "competent player"? I hope so.
How difficult is The Panic Room? I have played...maybe 500 rounds on The Panic Room in which all of the players were "competent." And how many of those 500 rounds did the humans survive for the entire 5 minutes? Three. I kid you not. The Panic Room is pretty damn hard.
Why is The Panic Room so difficult?
I might be repeating myself. It's hard to tell because I've written so much. But The Panic Room is so difficult because the map and gametype have been matched perfectly to maximize gameplay. Strategically located custom powerups, hidden ledges, and more give the zombies an advantage that makes this game truly fun and addicting.
What is the map like?
Okay, here's where I describe the map. I tried to draw out a map overview in Photoshop, but it failed because there are many different things happening on different levels and crossing paths, if you know what I mean. So I'll just try to describe the map in as much detail as I can.
The humans spawn in the lower level of the Panic Room, or "human base." From there, jump on the crate to get to the upper level of the base. Gather weapons (battle rifle, shotgun, carbine, SMG, sentinel beam) and prepare to defend the base.
Meanwhile, two alpha zombies spawn at the "zombie base" across the map. The two bases are connected by an underground tunnel.
On the upper level of the human base, there is an area leading out into the rest of the map. This is the threshold of a door, which might be spawned later. But for now, you can go in an out of the human base through this door. The zombies run pretty fast, so hurry up and get your defense quickly.
Here's where it gets difficult to describe. It's all about strategy and teamwork. There are two teleporters on the map: one at the zombie base (harder to get to) and one just outside the human base (outside the closing door; easier to get to). If you go through either teleporter and get the custom powerup in the tunnel, you will hear a loud explosion. This means you have activated a switch.
The easier switch to get is the one just outside of the human base. If you get the custom powerup in that tunnel, you will spawn a machine gun turret in the underground tunnel connecting the two bases. You and your teammates can then use that turret as defense. The turret is pretty easy to get to, but it's pretty helpful. Be careful! There's a "secret" ledge near the teleporter that the zombies can jump down from. Make sure to check that there's not a zombie there before advancing!
The other switch is in the teleporter at the zombie base. If you get the custom powerup in that tunnel, you will spawn a dumpster in the threshold at the human base. The dumpster is essentially a steer door, which will trap the zombies (and your teammates if you're not careful--I told you it's strategical) outside of the human base! This switch is obviously much more difficult to activate, because you must risk going into the zombie base to retrieve it. The reward, however, is outstanding. The steel door is extremely helpful--much more so than the turret.
I can assure you that you WILL NOT WIN THE ROUND if you and your team do not work together to get BOTH SWITCHES. If several people have already gotten infected and you still haven't gotten the switch that activates the door, you are pretty much done for.
So there are two normal entrances into the human base: the underground tunnel and the door. But the door can be closed and the tunnel can be defended with the turret. A custom powerup placed in the tunnel allows zombies to be much stronger as they approach the turret, so even the turret operator is not always safe. It's wise to have a backup-shooter behind the turret just in case.
I know I haven't really explained the gametype yet, so try to stay with me. Each round is 5 minutes long. You got that? Good.
Now, to make it even harder for the humans, a man cannon spawns at 3:30 (1:30 into the round) that allows the zombies to get ON TOP of the human base. There, if they touch the dumpster on the base, it will shoot away, opening the "trapdoor" in the roof of the human base. This further allows zombies to enter the base and assault the humans. You really need to have closed the steel door by now, or else you'll be guarding two entrances to the same room at the same time. Trust me, bad things happen when that's the case ("new zombie," "new zombie," "new zombie," etc).
That's pretty much how the game works. The door and turret will both spawn after 3 minutes if they haven't been spawned already, but your chances of surviving that long without the turret or the steel door are almost zero.
The zombies can easily get outside of the map due to the man cannon, but that's not a problem at all. No matter where you get outside of the map, just jump on the crates to get back inside. It's pretty difficult for the humans to get outside of the map. They hardly have time to jump on each other's heads, and it's difficult to survive outside of the human base for 1:30 (when the man cannon spawns). If they do survive, however, they can get outside of the map by jumping on the man cannon. If you find that somebody is specifically trying to do this, just boot them. But it's only happened rarely, and it's even less likely to occur with "competent" zombies.
There is a small hole in the upper level of the human base (pictured below) that can provide a quick way to descend to the lower level. You wouldn't normally think much of it, but it can be very helpful.
There's not too much that I need to explain about the gametype. There are two alpha zombies. Headshots kill the zombies and they are not as strong as a normal player, but they are difficult to kill because of their fast speeds. The custom powerup makes them much stronger for 5 seconds, so as I said earlier, watch out if you're on the turret. It's helpful for the alpha zombies to split up when the round starts. Send one zombie to the steel door and the other zombie down the underground tunnel. That way you're likely to infect some players no matter which way they decide to go (although they typically go both ways).
Survive the 5-minute round as a human and you win! But as I've said, it's EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to win as a human. That's what makes the game so much fun.
The only setback to this map is new players joining the game. This game is so fast-paced that if all of the humans are killed while a new player is waiting to join the game, waiting 30-45 seconds for the player to spawn feels like forever. Nevertheless, that's just a small cost.
I can't really think of much more to say, so I guess I've pretty much covered everything. I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH that if you do not work with your teammates to form a strategy, you will lose. There's no two ways about it. You MUST spawn the turret and door; the switches are FUNDAMENTAL to this map, and they would not be there if they weren't important.
So many aspects of the map and the gameplay are just very difficult to describe. You might not understand a word I'm saying right now, but if you read this post after playing a few games on The Panic Room, I'm sure it would be loud and clear.
There are so many maps nowadays that are uninteresting and not fun. There is so much garbage on Bungie Favorites that people have lost the true meaning of a "fun map" with "good gameplay." I can assure you that of the hundreds of people who helped test this map with me, dozens and dozens told me it's worthy of being on Bungie Favorites. I am 100% confident that if this map gets enough popularity on Forgehub, it can be a featured map. That probably won't happen, unfortunately, because there's just so much stuff on this site. But if you give The Panic Room a chance, I promise you will not be sorry.
Here are some pictures!!!
Above: You spawn in the lower level of the Panic Room. You will spawn facing the entrance to the underground tunnel, which will lead to the zombie base. On your right is the crate, which will lead you to the upper level.
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Above: Screenshot taken from inside the lower level of the human base. This is the crate that will lead your upstairs.
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Above: A conveniently located hole in the human base's upper-level floor. It's just above the turret, and is actually very useful.
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Above: The zombie base and the teleporter leading to the "steel door switch".
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Above: The inside of one of the two "switch tunnels." Get the powerup to activate the switch. Camping in these tunnels does NOT work, by the way. You're not the first person in the world to think of it. I can assure you that it will not work.
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Above (2): The same view of the entrance to the underground tunnel; screenshot taken from the lower level of the human base. This is where the turret, when activated, will spawn.
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Above (2): The same view of the threshold leading into/out of the upper level of the human base. This is where the steel door, when activated, will spawn. Getting locked outside sucks. ;)
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Above (2): Two different angles of the same poor sucker who thought he was going to be so bad-ass by rushing to spawn the turret. He forgot to look up, however, to make sure there wasn't a zombie hiding on the "secret" ledge. Don't be like Old Yella, here.
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Not pictured: Trapdoor in the roof of the human base. I might update later with a picture.
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I'm really sorry for the book I just wrote you, but I'll really hope you'll read it all to get a true appreciation for this map and how it came into existence. It really is a great map with great gameplay, and you won't be disappointed when you play it.
Thanks to everybody who helped me test this map (if any of you happen to be Forgehub members). Special thanks to my friend, PoisonMyst, who helped me make the beta build of this map and overlooked the creation of the newest build.
Thanks for your time.
--RaVNzCRoFT
Edit: Please keep your negative and sarcastic comments out of my thread. If you're going to post or critique this map, be serious.
Click to download The Panic Room (with gametype)