Sandbox Granite Basin

[Gunnergrunt]

Granite Basin
"Built for CTF. Compatible with all gametypes. 3v3 recommended. 2-8 players"
Gunnergrunt

Description
Inspired by Avalanche and Wishbone, Granite Basin is a CTF-lover's fantasy. More specifically, it's a symmetrical, U-shaped valley with multiple routes from base to base. Now, you may be picturing some of your favorite U-shaped CTF maps at this point. But I can assure you that this isn't your average CTF map. Granite Basin features a variety of unique slopes and angles. The geometry of this map gives it character and special atmosphere not found in other Sandbox maps. Most importantly, Granite Basin offers fresh and exciting gameplay. Furthermore, it's compatible with all gametypes, but I recommend CTF, KOTH, and Slayer. Read on, friend.


Weapons
4 Battle Rifles------------------------30 sec.
2 Sniper Rifles (1 spare clip)--------120 sec.
1 Rocket Launcher (0 spare clips)--150 sec.
2 Plasma Rifles-----------------------30 sec.
2 Needlers----------------------------60 sec.
4 SMG's-------------------------------30 sec.
2 Turrets------------------------------180 sec.
4 Plasma Grenades-------------------30 sec.
6 Frag Grenages----------------------30 sec.
2 Maulers-----------------------------45 sec.
1 Overshield--------------------------120 sec.
1 Bubbleshield------------------------120 sec.



Gameplay
As previously mentioned, the gameplay found on Granite Basin is probably different than what you are used to. The main reason for than difference would be the map's geometry. Because there are many unusual angles, players may have to slightly adjust their play style. This means nothing more than throwing grenades at different angles and using your right thumbstick more. But worry not, after a few mintues, you'll feel right at home.
Now that you have that in mind, let us take a quick tour through the map as it relates to gameplay. First off, are the bases. They may seem simple and exposed at first glance, but don't let them fool you. When standing at the rear of the base, you are protected by the front of the base. Why is this? The front of the base is raised to block off lines of sight and, more importantly, excessive enemy fire.
If we move on to the outter walkways of the map (between sniper tower and the base), you will find a BR and Needler. These outter ledges provide a defensive advantage when combating the enemies below. They offer an ample amount of cover as well as quick acess to key areas of the map.
It is a simple jump from the outter walkway to the sniper tower. And that is most likely the way each match will begin. As each team starts facing the sniper tower, you will probably head straight for it. If this happens, you will then grab the sniper, turn to the opposing sniper tower and let loose on the enemy team as they scramble to do the same.For the team mates that choose to bypass the sniper altogether, they will probably jump onto the turret or make a quick dash for the rockets.
Rocket, you say? Yes, the rockets are located on the top middle structure of the map (yes, that's creative). You will find them rested snuggly in the cradle of an obilesk bridge. When you pick them up, you may want to check your surroundings before you scurring away. From the rocket bridge, you will have a clear view into bottom middle. But remember, they will probably be carrying a bubbleshield. In that case, you should check the open slits into the top passageways. You may catch an unlucky enemy sneaking your way. Rockets are a powerful asset of the map, but remember, you only get two shots.
Back on ground level, things aren't quite as safe. I mean sure, you might feel pretty tough with mauler in hand, but bottom middle can be seen from many areas of the map, so move quickly. Now, there is an overshield in the bottom bottom middle. You will find it safely nestled in its own little cave. But, if you chose to get the overshield, there's only one way out, and it's through the most dangerous are of the map. So, good luck.
Well those are the basics of Granite Basin gameplay. If it sounds appealing, keep on scrollin'! If not, you can leave.

Pictures

Blue Side Overview



Overview of Purple Side



Central Overview



Blue Side Overview



Overview from above



Overview from middle



Blue Team starting area



Red Team starting area



Bottom Middle



Overshield spawn below. The ledges above the overshield are similar to the shield doors of Wishbone. They are one way drops into the middle.



Red Base



Outter walkway



Inside Bottom Middle



These opening of the left will take you into bottom middle. The one of the right will take you to top middle.



Blue Base



Purple side floor



Inside the top of the central structure



Sniper Tower




Video
Need...HD...capture card....

YouTube - Granite Basin

YouTube - Granite Basin

Special Thanks to:
Titmar- For his inspiring forging style.
Penguin Assassin- For finding two breaking points during the first testing session of the map.
Ell3ment- For suggesting that I add a back wall along the shield door walkway so people could bank grenades from above. He also suggested that I relocate the rocket launcher, but the final position was best.
Eyeless Sid- For suggesting that I add a small ledge along the back wall of the shield door platform so people wouldn’t have to jump down or across the get across the gap.
All my testers!


Download

[Gunnergrunt]

More Pictures

[Gunnergrunt]

Action Shots!












Sotha Sil defends the base his own way.



Flag Beatdown



Turret Coverage



Will he make it?



Battle for the Oddball




Extras

Map geometry



...and again, but better.



More geometry



The "terrain-like" geometry of Granite Basin





This is a fairly accurate display of the turret coverage





Think you know Granite Basin inside and out? Played enough matches to write a full-length review? If so, head on over to the Map Database and add another review to Granite Basin! Here is an outstanding review of the map by MickRaider:

Originally Posted by MickRaider

Unofficial Review
---------------------------------------
Granite Basin is a testament to what the community can accomplish with forge and sandbox. Drawing inspiration from U-shaped maps, such as the infamous Sidewinder, Granite Basin still manages to create a totally new and unique feel which provides amazingly fun gameplay. It still provides enough of a challenge to keep things interesting and even without being overly difficult. Granite Basin deserves to be played by everyone and I look forward to playing it in matchmaking someday.

Enjoyment:
The first minute you step onto Granite Basin you’re greeted with amazing aesthetic touches. You then find a hidden passage and are amazed at the feel, everything is perfect and well thought out; and every piece has its place. The transitions are amazing and you will never bump around as you move around the map. Weapons are in their logical place and you never feel like you’re ill suited for what’s ahead.

During my gameplay I did a 3v3 multiflag with no time limit, first to 3. It was amazingly fun, the game probably ran about 20 minutes and no one complained because there was always something going on, whether it was a fight over a power weapon, someone attempting to make a cap, or a fight for the overshield. The battle was back and forth the whole game, first they would score, and then we scored. 5 minutes later and a lot of failed attempts we’d score again, 2-1. We then had several close calls getting caught in the hallways 15 feet from the cap point, which left us out of position allowing them to tie it up at 2-2. After another 5 minutes of back and forth they ended up knocking us out. This was by far the most fun I’ve had playing a game of CTF in a long time, this map is perfect for it.

Granite Basin could be used for anything. It works amazing for slayer, its symmetry lends perfectly to assault, and king of the hill was a blast. Like any sky bubble map oddball has issues but that’s no fault of this map since it would play it perfectly if it wasn’t for that.

10/10


Balance:
This map could be used as an example of exactly how to do balance. You might not be aware of it but everywhere you go you can just feel the change of “Risk vs Reward” whether you’re going down low to get the overshield, right in the eyes of the rockets, or the sniper carefully eyeing the Spartan about to pick up the rocket launcher. Everything has its counter and never do you feel like something or someplace is over powered.

The routes are phenomenal, each has its advantage and disadvantage and you will find yourself using all of them as you move around. The obvious thing you’ll want to do is stay up high so you have the best vantage point, but with lots of cover and obstructions you’re very limited for line of sights. The low path also has its advantages because the action going on above you will keep the enemy distracted for long enough for you to pop up and cause some damage. Really this map has no wasted space, it’s absolutely amazing the way he manages it so efficiently. Camping is a non issue as well because any point that might have been used for camping is now easily grenade-able through clever uses of gaps and crevices.

The spawning during team games was perfect, you never felt like you were spawning at a disadvantage. Even during flag games you still spawned in a position that allowed you to make a stop on the flag, albeit slightly disadvantaged since you spawn low. Spawning was a bit of an issue in FFA slayer in that you would occasionally spawn directly behind someone, allowing for the quick assassination. This never happened in and team game so it’s only an issue due to this map not being very large and limited number of spawns.

9.9/10

Durability:
Saying Granite basin is impossible to escape is an understatement. Not only is this map inescapable but he does it and makes it look aesthetically pleasing and even improving gameplay in many situations. Really if you found a way to break this map you’d deserve an award.

10/10

Aesthetics:
Saying that the Aesthetics make this map isn’t fair, because they really don’t, the gameplay does. That’s not to say the aesthetics on this map aren’t perfect and make up the other part that really turns this into an A+ map. You really feel like you’re in a rock quarry, carved out specifically for capture the flag. As said before “... everything piece has its place.” The jumps are amazingly fun and provide a really awesome way of moving around the map, but that’s not to say there aren’t plenty of perfectly smooth foot paths to move around as well.

I would give this map an 11 if I could.

10/10

Originality:
While this map’s shape is not exactly ground breaking, that doesn’t make this map any less original. He manages to make use of all the space available and he does so while making a totally new and unique feel. You definitely get a feel of remembrance playing this map but you’re never really sure why. Other than the brief moment of nostalgia this map feels like nothing else out today. The only other map that comes close is Sacrifice with its rocky feel.

10/10

If I thought this map could be improved it would go here, but everything that I would have suggested has already been fixed and improved. Amazing work.

Overall: 49.9/50

9.98

And here's another great review by AgileDan92:

Originally Posted by AgileDan92

Granite Basin is a unique Halo 3 experience that I am confident can be found nowhere else. It is a map in the sky bubble that resembles a granite quarry, and sometimes you feel like that's exactly where you are. It is compatible with nearly every single game type: capture the flag, slayer, team slayer, oddball, you name it. All in all, Granite basin has that flare to it that keeps you coming back for more time and time again. I personally think that this game could be put into matchmaking, replacing one of the former sandbox maps.

Enjoyment: I personally found this map to be one of the funnest forged maps I have ever played on. You can completely lose yourself in it, and before you know it, you've just played three rounds of capture the flag, and are about to play a fourth. (This cycle may never stop, so watch yourself.) If capture the flag starts to get monotonous, which only happens after prolonged game play, you can try any other game type to mix it up: oddball, slayer, even VIP if you're feeling creative. This map is definitely the most fun you'll have on a forged map for awhile. The enjoyment scores an easy:
10
Balance: At first glance, the map is perfectly balanced, especially for symmetrical game types. After delving deeper into game play, that first impression is only confirmed. There are a lot of power weapons on the map (especially for such a small map, but they seem to counteract one another nicely. The rockets are out on a ledge in the middle of the map, and venturing out there, risks a lot of sniper fire. The snipers are on the turret platforms to either side, and have a nice view of the map, except for the base on the other side. The sniper's power is countered both by being open to fire from the other sniper position and by the map geometry itself. The sniper position is extremely open to fire from all directions, and may not be the ideal place to stay. People with maulers tend to stick to the tunnels, but I don't see that as a problem. If you have a close range weapon, it makes sense to go to where there would be close quarters combat. If the person with the mauler makes the tunnel impassable, then he has done his job in my opinion. Besides, there is still the outside part of the map which is a longer route, but averts the tunnels completely and bypasses the mauler wielder. In FFA games, there is a small chance that you will start with someone behind you and get assassinated right away. Due to the size of the map, this can't really be avoided, and is so rare that I don't see it as an issue. Balance definitely receives a:
10

Durability: The map, unfortunately, can be broken in a game play situation. Now don't panic, it is by no means easy, and took Articonecro and I a long time to find in the first place. In team gametypes, someone can (and usually will) grab both the overshield and rockets at the beginning. Because of spawn times, this is the only time that can really be done by one person. If this person immediately goes to the place in the tunnel that opens up (where the plasma grenade is), he merely needs to jump on an ally's head, and he can rocket jump to the above ledge. From this ledge, he can jump to the opponent's side of the map, or stay on the middle divider and rain rockets (and possbly sniper fire if he has one) down on the other team's base and spawn locations. He also has a shot straight down at overshield spawn and pretty much everywhere on the map. This never happened during our game play, but the possibility of it cannot be ignored. The map does; however, go out of its way to prevent breaking (and does it in an aesthetic manner), and this problem could be fixed by putting some sort of wall in front of the platform above the plasma grenade. Since there is only one way to break the map, and the entire team must be concerned with getting the one person up there (the rest of the team must keep opponents away) I cannot penalize the map too heavily for this one flaw. Besides, if betrayal penalties are on, the team breaking the map loses a point since the person on whose head you are standing is almost always killed by the rocket. Couple this with a long betrayal spawn time, and the person starts to want to so this. The durability still deserves a high score for a few reasons: 1.) The map cannot be broken any other way in any other place. 2.) This problem can be fixed very easily. 3.) The entire team must work together to break the map in this wayl. 4.) The spawn times make it difficult for a person to do this other than at the very beginning.
Because of this, I'm giving the durability a:
9

Aesthetics: The aesthetics of the map are just about perfect. The only flaw in the merging that I could find is in a column beside the red turret. That column is just a tiny bit off, but it stands out amidst all the other flawless merging. The clean aesthetics are what whisk you away from sandbox to an entirely new place. Once I get into the game play, I completely forget that I'm on sandbox anymore. I love how the floor slopes smoothly in some places, and has almost jagged spots in others. This also helps to create the illusion of being in a quarry. Because of the tiny flaw, I can't give aesthetics a perfect score, but it easily earns a:
9.5

Originality: This map is extremely original. I have seen U - shaped CTF maps before, but for some reason, this one sticks in my head. You remember this map long after you play it, and I think that is partly because of the feeling that you are on a new, different map that isn't in sandbox's sky bubble. This map forces you to abondon strategies that were useful on other maps and create new ones specially tailored for this one. The game plat is a new experience that isn't duplicated by any map I've seen so far. The originality deserves a perfect:
10

Average scroe:
9.7

Score I would give this map:
10

The only improvements I can think of is adding walls on both sides to fix the issue discussed in the durability secion, and adjusting that one column discussed in the aesthetics section ever so slightly. Other than that, the map is perfect.

3v3 Multiflag

YouTube - Granite Basin Multiflag

YouTube - Granite Basin Multiflag

[Y35 <3]

Played this the other day, and i wish you would have looked at what Mastar did to it.
You have too many power weapons for such a small map.
The forging is good, but look for help with weapons and weapon placement.

[MickRaider]

This map is a testament to GunnerGrunt's skill. All his other work is simply a buildup to this amazing map.

I can't wait for xbox live to be back up so I can download this masterpiece.

Don't judge this map before you play it people. The skill and craft in this map can only be truly appreciated while playing it.

[last_chaos_7]

wow.... this looks amazing... the geometry is superb and this is the first map i've seen on sandbox with an interesting floor that is angled and multi leveled.... this will make it feel more like a real map with different grenade angles and lines of sight like you said... can't wait to see it tomorrow when the update thingy is done!

[Silver0range]

Playing this map was legit when I was in your party. I'm not very sure what Y35 is referring to; it seems that the snipers could have had 1 less clip, but for the most part they were balanced due to the sloping nature of the map and difficulty of scoping. It seems like it would be great for Flag Rally as well, seeing as it's set up for that. Sight lines were great and the map had a great balance of jump ups and slanted surfaces. A lot of the floor parts I just like to think about how you did without creating a jagged surface, and they're terrific. Looking down towards camo is almost like an optical illusion. Great job with this map, a good mix between gameplay and aesthetics.

[NinKeith]

Wow I'm pretty impressed with this map, as with all your other ones. I like the little slide jumps you have in there too. Now It's just a matter of waiting for XBL to get back on.

Edit: Now that you got the vid up I was able to see a better overview, it looks like a smaller version of avalanche.

[CaMOfo]

Straying away from Conquest I see, glad you're trying new things. This actually looks like a very well put together map and I still don't quite get the "awkward angles" aspect you were talking about. You also said this is a CTF-lovers' paradise, is it One Flag or Multi? I'll download this and play it tomorrow or whenever X-Box Live is up again. And you said you need some help embedding Youtube Video? Simply post the URL and it'll embed it for you.

I'll come back if I remember to comment on the gameplay, which I'm assuming is just as awesome as how the map looks.

[chung_wii]

Originally Posted by Gunnergrunt

I'll embed the youtube video when someone tells me how!

for a video you do this [media]LINK[/media]

you can't make the [media} things different colors. they have to be plain

that's how you do it.