Foundry Ephasus

Zombievillan · 02-28-2009

EPHASUS
4-10 PLAYERS, Supports FFA Slayer, Team Slayer, Capture the Flag, 1-Flag, FFA Oddball, Team Oddball, all Assault variants, and all Territories gametypes

Recommended: Team Slayer, Multi flag, 1-Flag, Assault, and Nuetral Bomb is fun.

Download Ephasus

Link to map database thread

Well as with most of you,I wont be forging on Foundry much anymore with the release of Sandbox and I wanted to hurry and release this latest map of mine asap.

Basically, Odessa (my last map) failed greatly and I had to make a comeback to show that Aerialis wasnt going to be my only decent map. So for once I decided to actually plan my map out with a layout design and everything and I came up with this.

EPHASUS is a competetive map that uses about 95% of Foundry. I wanted to actually use the entire map for the first time in my map making history. Some people might think of it as very aesthetic but really, its not. I tried to make everything on the map have a purpose but I still want it to look good. Gameplay is always important but nobody wants an ugly map either.

In this map, bases alter with each gametype and also with symetric and asymetric. In words it would get confusing so I will have to desctibe it to you with the pics.

Okay, in Team Slayer, Team Oddball, and Territories; Both teams use the default Foundry bases which have been totally remixed. Here are some pics of these:

Attackers

Defenders

Like I said, these are the bases in those games alone. In other games the bases change. I wanted CTF to run across the map from corner to corner but that would not have been as good for Territories or Oddball so in Multi Flag, The Defenders keep the same base as above and the Attackers base is caddy cornered from that as seen here:

This gives the maximum distance between flags as possible in Foundry. These are also the main bases in symmetrical Assault.

Now, what was the attackers base in Slayer, Oddball, and Territories; Is now the defenders base in 1-Flag and 1-Bomb. The attackers, who dont need a base in those 2 gametypes, start in the area thats caddy corner to that base which is seen here:

Are you still with me? Basically, in symetric Flag and Bomb games, the teams get the two bases that are cross-cornered and in asymetric Flag and Bomb games, Defenders get the other default Foundry base and Attackers get the area cross cornered to that. Not too confusing eh?

Any ways, here are some pics to fill in the gaps of the rest of the map to give you a better idea of the gameplay.

This is the view from the front of the Defenders Multi flag base

The ramp on the right leads up to this center structure

To the right of that pic is the structure that holds the Active Camo room:

In symetric games, Rockets spawn up on top towards the back which you can kinda see in this pic:

In asymetric games the Rockets move up towards the curve so the attackers cant just start and have rockets so fast.

This is what the other side of the map looks like

Overshield room, Sniper spawns up on top of the stair/walkway

This bridge is just to the left of the attackers Multi flag and Assault base. Through that hole you can see the structure by the Attackers 1-Flag and 1-Bomb Starting area.

One more detail I should fill you in on; The back hallway is open so that you can cross sides. This offers another path into, and out of the Defenders base in symmetric flag and bomb games. It may seem too much of an advantage but trust me, and all the testers, its not as powerful as you think. Trying to sneak through the hallway can cause deadly grenade bombardment if the opposing team sees you go there. I also did my best to "camp proof" the hallway. Since it is open to one side, I knew that it would be easy to camp with the Oddball so I used fenceboxes so that you can shoot anyone trying to camp in there. Heres a look at that:

Nowfor the weapons list

6 BRs - 2 spare clips - (4) 10 sec, (2) 20 sec
4 ARS - 2 spare clips - 30 sec
2 Carbines - 2 spare clips - 30 sec
1 Sniper Rifle - 1 spare clip - 150 sec
1 Shotgun - no spare clips - 150 sec
1 Rocket Launcher - 1 spare clip - 180 sec
1 Needler - 1 spare clip - 90 sec
1 Brute Shot - 1 spare clip - 90 sec
2 SMGs - 2 spare clips - 30 sec
2 Plasma Rifles - 30 sec
1 Plasma Pistol - 30 sec
1 Magnum - 2 spare clips - 30 sec

1 Active Camo - 180 sec
1 Overshield - 180 sec
1 Bubble Shield - 90 sec
1 Power Drain - 90 sec
1 Regenerator - 90 sec
6 Frag Grenades
4 Plasma Grenades

Weapon placement on this map is very balanced. The Shotgun is in the very center of the map and takes the exact same amount of time to get to it from both bases, no matter what game type is played. In all symmetric games, both teams have equal chances at the power weapons, but usually 1 team gets the Camo and the other team gets the overshield.

Please download and give your thoughts on the map before it is completly wiped out by all of the Sandbox maps.
I had a good time building this and a lot of fun playing on it and I hope you feel the same.

Thanks to everyone who helped test and gave me their thoughts during the process that was EPHASUS.

Just a few:

Adelyss, Deathtoll, Vorpal Saint, Phreakie, Pvilleplaya,
Christphrbrnnn, Pucketter, Goatnutts420, Thesilencebroken, cheesepuffs andso many more that I cant remember (sorry), Thank you all for your help and support.

Incase you missed the link at the top, Here is another one:

DOWNLOAD EPHASUS

ENJOY!
PLEASE RATE

CC Pybus · 02-28-2009

WOW!, honeslty its been a while since i saw structures as original as this, I can't wait to play, i love how you chnaged the bases for different games like last resort. This is probably one of the last maps i will download befoer I get sandbox, it looks amazing and makes foundry look new again (to me anyway). 5/5 Qued

idiotninja · 02-28-2009

This map plays very well. My favorite is still team slayer though, even though you went to great lengths to make all the other team games work. One of my favorite things about this map is how you make the weapons change depending on where the teams spawn so it is evenly balanced. I have pretty much told you everything I like about this map during testing so not much to say here. I must say though, this map is very good and I hope this gets featured.

DeathToll77 · 02-28-2009

Agreed this map is quite enjoyable, I had the pleasure of watching this through production until about 75%. And then you finished out of nowhere and I was like D:

Anyway my favs would have to be team slayer, one flag and one bomb. I give you an extra 10 points due to that fact that a needler is present on the map. I hope to see more MAPS in your future. *cough* It's a good thing you finished this one because I think you have another awesome one brewing in the oven.

Sotha Sil156 · 02-28-2009

I've tested over 9000! games with you on this map, and all of them were quite enjoyable. I've already told you everything when we were testing, so I won't rewrite them here. It is well forged and has a great layout. My favourite was one-bomb, though we never actually armed it and team oddball, though we lost by one point. Great Job!

NYYanks33 · 02-28-2009

It has been a while.I like it.It feels really smoth and no bumps.I will be watching you when the Mythic Maps are out. 5/5

II AceMasta II · 02-28-2009

I got the liberty of testing this map and to be honest it played quite well. I dont know if you kept the flag return point but it made gameplay very interesting and fun to play. I liked team slayer the most out of all the games i tested. My favorite part of the map is the stairs they look so cool, almost like machinery.

Phreakie · 02-28-2009

I'd like to take the time to say.
"I'm glad to have the honor of reviewing this map instead of just posting this:"

Quote:

It has been a while.I like it.It feels really smoth and no bumps.I will be watching you when the Mythic Maps are out. 5/5

Quote:

Review on Ephasus

Enjoyment:
Ephasus was quite enjoyable. I'd have to say that I for one had more fun when the teams were actually fair. The map itself boasts amazing aesthetics that really caught my eye. Not to mention great gameplay to compliment the eye-boggling map. Of the many tests I ran with you, each one grew better, better than the last. My overall favorite would have to be playing multi-flag or plain ol' team slayer.

Balance:
The map is very balanced now that the Rocket clips have been reduced. Spawns were mediocre at best but they didnt present the biggest problem when playing. I for one am unhappy that you reduced the sniper clip. It was much more balanced with two spare clips; since the map was not small in the least. A little more BR's or Carbines could have done some great justice to the map though. Ephasus really lacked those. Although, with many cons, they somewhat did create balance in the map.

Durability:
Durability was spot on. Zombievillain clearly made sure to keep anyone from getting to a place where they werent supposed to. Ledges and higher ground have been blocked off neatly and sufficiently and durability was not a problem.

Aesthetics:
We all saw in the pictures and on Forge what Zombievillain was capable of doing with the mere double boy of foundry; but now, I've noticed that he's turned to the art of using stairs and walls especially. Zombievillain made an amazing stairway structure (leading to the sniper) that really stood out to me. I also loved the centerpiece where you created a somewhat crossroads in the map.

Originality:
Ephasus was pretty original to me. It had structures and bases I'd never would have thought were capable of creating on Foundry. I really liked the base by the carbine cubby though. It was small and tight but really looked the part and was an unlikely choke point as well. Great map Zombievillain.

Total: 7.9/10

AI_Twitch · 02-28-2009

With the first few pictures, this map is a great example of how geo merging and merging does not make a good map. However, with the later pictures the enviornment is much better and plays better as well. I like the stairs crossed with each other for the sense of a bridge, along with the area surrounding it.

AceOfSpades · 02-28-2009

I am editing my post because of Sarge's TGIF that we did. I brought this map to the party and here's my review.

This map plays very nicely. We played 4v4 multi flag and 4v4 Team Slayer. The Slayer game was very balanced. I think the game ended 50-46 or something like that so neither team had a great advantage.

The CTF game was iffy. I felt that the Red Team's base was much more protected and harder to get the flag. Blue team's flag was very out in the open while red team's was a lot harder to get to. Nevertheless, Red team won by a little too much (3-1) seeing as we had the same teams as the TS game.

The forging on the map is very good and all of the interlocking and geomerging is flawless. It's been a while since I've seen structures this original. My favorite part is the walkway made of stairs leading to the sniper.

Very good map... 4/5