MLG Standards and Posting Rules

[Shock Theta]

Welcome to the MLG sub-forum of Forge Hub!

Due to the popularity of MLG maps amongst the community, we have decided to separate these creations from the rest of the maps in the Competitive section.

However, this distinction comes with a polite reminder that MLG maps must adhere to certain standards in order to have a place in this board. Maps that do not meet these requirements may be moved back to the competitive section.

We won't leave you in the dark though. Below you'll find a series of guides to help you design and build your maps to MLG standards.

Having said that, the vast majority of MLG maps have been moved over to this new board to speed the transition and down time for those involved. In the future these maps will be open to review and may be moved back to the competitive maps board.

The rules that we are currently using to define a map as being non-MLG and thus not having a place in the MLG board are any of the below:

• Map includes Equipment.
• Map includes Vehicles.
• Map includes non-standard MLG weapons. Exceptions apply in cases of good reasoning with plasma rifles, magnums and the like. A flamethrower... your map's getting kicked out.

If you see any map that is not up to standard, simply report it and it will be reviewed and moved as appropriate.

Originally Posted by Matty

The only weapons available for MLG maps are the Battle Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Covenant Carbine, Mauler, Rocket launcher, and in extreme cases, the Plasma Pistol.

MLG does not use equipment. MLG does not use vehicles.

A commonly used technique in MLG, but not necessarily in Forge, are 'Drop Spawns'. Drop spawns cause items to spawn at certain intervals, regardless of whether they've been grabbed by a player or not. It eliminates the H2 system where only one team knows when the spawn is going to occur. It is an emulation of H1 where, for example, rockets will spawn every 2 minutes regardless of when they were grabbed. If you grab them at 1:59 they will still spawn at 2:00.

Another interesting point to note is that some MLG maps do not use spawn areas. They only use spawn points, because so long as a team sticks together and the points are set up right, they can be more accurate and fair to both sides. Onslaught and Amplified both use spawn areas, but at the same time do not overuse them. You need to find what works best for your map through extensive testing. A good place to start is by reading this guide by Devinish.

Originally Posted by www.mlgpro.com

*This is an article posted by Nasty detailing H3's strengths and weaknesses and a few solid guidelines for building a competitive map.*

Things the game play must do: (in order of importance)
1. Decide which team of 4 has the better combination of strategy, innovation, and shooting skill
2. Be completely balanced and fair for both teams
3. Move in a timely manner to promote tournament play
4. Be exciting to watch

Halo 3's natural strengths
1. When in range, the BR takes a lot of skill to lead and use properly. Out-BR'ing, when in range, exists again.
2. Momentum grenades - putting a grenade where you want it requires more thought than Halo 2
3. Sniping requires more skill, as long as your opponents are close enough to contest your scope
4. Jumps - many different jumps and techniques allow interesting traversal of the level
5. Weapons can be drop-spawned

Halo 3's natural weaknesses
1. Melees are unskilled and uninteresting without BLB, BXB BXR, variations but with lunge
2. Long range battles - they don't work like they should
3. Without melee options, close-range weapons run a thin line between too good and worthless
4. Average kill time with a BR is really long - doesn't reflect the skill required to hit all shots (assuming correct range)
5. Power-ups can't be drop-spawned

Game play Generalities
1. In 4v4, setups are actually good - as long as there are many interesting ways to break them (Jumps, coordinated grenades, partner jumps), and they are punctuated by grabs for power-ups
2. Power-ups/weapons should come up at a time both teams know about, or should spawn in a place that is easily seen/watched to prevent slippery slope victories
3. 3D level design is inherently better. Levels that require you to think of your opponents movement above and below you in addition to left and right make out-smarting your opponent more skillful. Imagine Midship with no area below the base, or Lockout without sword area - too simple.

So with these in mind, let's come up with a set of rules that govern what makes good and bad Halo 3 game play.

Halo 3 Golden Rules
1. Starting weapon = BR. To speed up game play, damage and movement should be at 110% to increase kill speed and accuracy requirements.
2. Level design should always promote battles that take place from short-mid to mid-long range. Either extreme doesn't work well under the Halo 3 engine.
3. Power-ups go in easy to see places, power-weapons go in hard to reach places. Both go away from any area you'd consider setting up in.
4. Blind sharp corners must be avoided whenever possible.
5. All levels should have multiple areas where a team can set up. All of these areas must be approachable from many different angles, and ideally there are innovative options for surprise attacks

[InnerSandman13]

a smart move by forgehub....I hate the fact that people seem to think only MLG is competitive but now thanks to this there won't be any more MLG maps in the competitive maps section.

[Bl00D F1R3]

Shock! Pegasi and I were suppose to write this and compose it. Oh well. Nice work any-how. Im glad we finally got this running.

[Pegasi Delta]

Originally Posted by Bl00D F1R3

Shock! Pegasi and I were suppose to write this and compose it. Oh well. Nice work any-how. Im glad we finally got this running.

Whilst I never turn down an opportunity to write, I think this thread has things pretty covered as it is, and I'm definitely not gonna complain to shock for taking care of things. I'm still up for helping with this thread/section if needed though, as I'm sure B100D is.

[Kon Artist]

you guys, all do a great job with writing articals and reviews. I have been very impressed with how well FH is put together. Also, the time others take to look at other peoples maps, play them, and give feedback. I really didn't mind the old system, with the MLG prefix search option. Anyways, this is a nice update. Now that I know, I thought for a minute all the MLG maps were deleted.lol.

[Dthen]

Well written post, and I'm loving this sub forum.
I personally HATE MLG so I thank you for getting rid of these annoying maps from under my nose. :)

[Shock Theta]

Originally Posted by Kon Artist

you guys, all do a great job with writing articals and reviews. I have been very impressed with how well FH is put together. Also, the time others take to look at other peoples maps, play them, and give feedback. I really didn't mind the old system, with the MLG prefix search option. Anyways, this is a nice update. Now that I know, I thought for a minute all the MLG maps were deleted.lol.

Thank you Sir. We're hoping to foster more respect for Forge Hub as a resource for MLG maps in this board and as a place to discuss their design in the MLG discussion board. There's a lack of communication and a certain waste of talent between our [forging] groups, and that needs to be addressed.

[nickseeknconker]

dud ei luv the fact that now people have to actually do this with weapon cuz b4 kids were puttin maps on the forums sayin mklg but had equipment thxz

[sangheili dude]

at least now it has its own catagory

[TheRagingBeast]

very good guide. however magnums are also mlg, check out Zenith or Empirical by Baron. and you should probably post something about not using movable objects unless they are held down, not using fusin coils, propane tanks or other forge objects like pallets, and finally mlg maps are not aesthetics! they need to play good and have call outs, its a must.-just a post for the newbies