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*Updated Review*
Castlanche Review
Castlanche is an incredible map that mixes classic castle defense gameplay with revolutionary vehicular battles. In order to win players will have to be at there top game. They must be able to react to the intense action taking place on this map. Tanks blowing warthogs to bits, ghosts zooming around attempting to splatter somebody only to be hijacked, watching out for trip mines as you go around a corner. Castlanche provides the player with fast paced gameplay that never stops. That is not the only thing that never stops however. Excitement never falters on castlanche. Whether you are re-spawning after getting splattered by a warthog or if you have just killed the flag carrier, you can always have a good time. It seems that every problem on the map has been fixed. when players were having trouble with spawning next to enemies Toxic Spade made an entire neutral base where players could spawn in safety. All the work that has been put into the map really shows when it meets your controller. it is going to give you a Helluva good time.
Enjoyment: Hardcore players will feel at home with the firecracker like intensity of this map. I downloaded this map a few months ago and have not put it down since. Perfect for when you are in custom games and you have ten or more people load up this map. Only bad point of playing custom games on this map is that everybody will be begging you for you to put it on your file share! Excellent use of vehicles. They are placed perfectly which adds up to some impressive battles on avalanches snowy plains. Players on foot are not handicapped too much either. Towers of merged double boxes are easily put to good use when attempting to evade warthog splatters and large tank rounds. Castlanche flows perfectly. Tanks and warthogs have no problem maneuvering in the large snowy plain in front of the castle, but strategically placed cover prevents warthogs tanks from getting easy kills on foot soldiers. Overall Castlanche has everything a good competitive map needs. The cliff is a great feature that really adds to the intensity of gameplay on this map. Smooth interlocking and geomerging make the player feel like the castle is a part of a map rather than a structure made out of different objects. The Castle is laid out amazingly so that there are multiple entrances and many different paths to take. Overall: 10/10 (perfect)
Balance: Castlanche is slightly unbalanced as one team has a tank and instantly respawning trip mines, but proper weapon/vehicle placement cancel out many of this maps unbalanced features! Many of the respawn times on weapons are quite a bit ridiculous. For example, there is never an excuse for putting instantly respawning trip mines in a map. Especially when they are on the defending teams side. This safety allows the defenders to booby trap every entrance and gain a lot of free kills on their opponents. I loved the careful planning that was put into asymmetric gametypes. If one team grabs the flag then the defenders can use the ghost found at the top of the base next to the flag to track down the flag carrier. Another quite unfair feature that the defenders possess is the tank. A good player in a tank can quite efficiently wipe out every single player as well as help their team snatch all power weapons on the ice plain. This is quite unbalanced and needs to be fixed! Elevation presents another large disadvantage towards the attacking team. From behind the castle walls defenders have quicker cover than their opponents, greater combat efficiency than the attackers, and a further vision that allows them to see over objects in the snowy plain to the area in front of the attacking teams base. Overall: 7/10 (Fair, needs a considerable amount of work)
Durability: This section of the map is slacking when it comes to durability! Possibly the absolute worst problem on this map is that any body who wants to be a jerk will easily walk back to the other side of avalanche and continue hiding in their normal HLG spots. Aside from being able to break this map incredibly easily the spawn system is probably the best I have ever seen. 99/100 times I didn't have problems spawning. Whatever trouble I did have with spawns was because of elevation differentials on the map, or not spawning close to cover while a sniper had me in their sights. This factor could use some work. Don't have spawns placed where it would take more than 3 seconds to get behind cover. We spent a lot of time focusing on spawn traps. We wanted to see if it was possible to break it. However we could not beat the system. If it is possible it might take an incredibly good team, an unprecedented understanding of spawns in halo 3, and a considerable amount of luck! My props to you Toxic, your skill with spawns is unprecedented!
Overall: 8.5/10 (Very good, It is simply broken way to easily)
Aesthetics: Castlanche is an overall aesthetic masterpiece! Everything from the color coded boxes to the castle walls looks phenomenal. Possibly my favorite part of the map is the transition from the castle to the snowy walls of avalanche. Your boxes are merged so perfectly that it feels like some ancient race actually built a castle there. Adding to the epic aesthetics are the color coded boxes. Combined with the light colors of avalanches terrain blue makes the geometry feel much more natural. Overall your interlocking and geomerging looks very professional. There are a few minor bumps here and there, but for the most part your map is bumpless. Other cool aesthetic touches that I really enjoyed are that the slanted double boxes on the castle walls make the geometry feel much more dramatic. Also the cave section looks very nice overall, and the castle is placed very nicely. There was only one thing that I didn't like and it was rather minor. In a couple of your walls you have boxes merged with trees. This somewhat ruins the general flow of your structure when you view it up close. The castle could have been scaled better to avoid running into trees. Overall: 10/10 (perfect)
Originality: The concept of attacking or defending a castle in very unoriginal and has been done multiple times. However, Castlanche was executed very well and has broken away from the normal castle trends. For example, almost all castle maps are infection maps, and not many are as high end as castlanche. Most maps using this concept do not have as good of a spawning system as castlanche more than likely they will be a little more lopsided towards the defending team. Also Castlanche's geometry is original. Castlanche is the very first map to take advantage of both the cliff and that man-cannon and apply it into gameplay so well. Overall: 9.5/10 (Almost Perfect)
Personal score: 8.75/10
Additional Comments ~Block off the other half of avalanche. ~The tank and trip mines give the defending team a large advantage. ~Scale the castle down more to prevent having trees jutting out of double boxes. (Ruins flow) ~Elevation differentials between the castle walls and the snowy plain hurt spawns as well as give the defenders a large advantage.
Doom Pit Review
Enjoyment: Doom Pit is incredibly satisfying to play on. Being able to roll fusion coils down the base to kill an attacker is genius. This map is best when played on CTF or normal slayer FFA. Because of its unique layout there are many different heights and angles to mix up game play. That is Doom Pit's key factor. Versatility! There are hundreds of different combinations of angles and elevations to play on. Each structure has many unique ways in which the player can get up top. For example, The doom pit can be reached by using the fence wall walkways, Taking the gravity lift, or by jumping to it from the sniper tower. Because of this versatility, game play flows incredibly well. Doom Pit's best game type has to be CTF. There are many different routes a player can take to get from one base to another. Although it is really fun to play on, Doom Pit lacks in this section because the doom pit which the map is based on is merely an aesthetic touch. The doom pit is what made the map special. and it just doesn't seem to play that specially without it. Overall: 9.5/10
Balance: This realm of maps is not so strong in Doom Pit. Doom Pit is somewhat balanced but there are certain areas that people often camp at and some areas that are underused. As long as one team doesn't slack in the beginning of a round then they can prevent the other team from getting both the sniper and the sword. Often when a person gets the sniper they will just camp at the sniper tower. The long walkway up allows the sniper to kill the attacker before he can get killed. Imagine what happens when there is a sword carrier defending the sniper, Then they are invincible. In order to prevent camping at the sniper tower two decently powerful weapons should be placed at the two corner bases. The ones to both sides of the over shield. That way even if the other person gets a sword, sniper, and the other power weapon the losing teams has a powerful weapon that has the ability to take out three power weapons. This maps layout is also very balanced. Both teams have a decently equal chance to get the power weapons. Overall=8.5/10
Durability: Doom Pit actually excelled my standards in this category. Although the player cannot escape the map, seeing as it uses the back walls of foundry, I did a through search for HLG spots and other nook in crannies that a player could hide in. What i found was phenomenal. There are very few hiding places if there even are. The only place that could interfere with game play is on the two side bases. During a game of king of the hill a player could crouch behind the interlocked box with a barrier and a BR leaning on it. Not a critical flaw but every nook and cranny matters. It actually makes many players resort to grenade spamming. After a few rounds of King Of the Hill players will learn to toss a few grenades in the general direction of the base and flush out any enemies on the hill. Using the deploy-able cover found on this map can make this hiding spot even more dangerous, even making the player practically invincible from grenade spamming. Aside from that hiding spot, I found no other place for players to hide in. Overall=10/10
Aesthetics: This map has some of the best aesthetics I have ever seen. The detail on each of the structures blew me away at first glance. Floors and ceilings have been merged in interlocked very sharply, so that you can not even feel the slightest bump or crack. The soccer ball concept was a new and original one and it turned out excellent. The gravity lifts look much more professional when merged into the ground like that. I am glad that you took the time to merge them instead of just setting them on instant re-spawn. I see that you are getting a lot of messages criticizing your lack of cover. I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about because the cover is placed perfectly. I have averaged all the positions and distances up and found that on average, a player is never more than 4 seconds away from cover. For accuracy I have graphed over 75 points. Also excelling in this category is object placement. Your use of barriers, fusion coils, dumpsters, and doors is amazing and really helps people get around on this map. Overall=9.5/10
Originality: Although this map is not very original, (every map post used to pretty much be just a pit full of instant re-spawning fusion coils) It is original to the fact that you are the first to actually make a good competitive map doing it. It One very original feature that this map includes is that it uses the back parts of foundry. Sure it is done once in a while, but not often. Most maps that use the back alleys of foundry aren't as good as this though. One last very original feature is the use of the soccer ball where it is Geo-merged into a wall and is constantly spinning. That is the most novel aesthetic feature I can think of. Overall=9/10
Personal rating=9/10
Additional comments ~Fix the hiding spots on the side bases ~For a higher score in aesthetics please make the soccer ball stand out more. (Colorful teleporters and power ups) ~Fix up weapon placement. Place sword further away from sniper. ~give people a way out of the pit. Making them commit suicide is cruel. Give them a chance. ~CTF needs a little, tiny, minuscule, amount of work. Which ever team is better CLEARLY stands out in the final score ~More power weapons to shift camping away from sniper tower.
*New Review*
Dark Playground Review
Dark Playground is one of the most intense maps I have ever played on. Correct use of filters and superior placement of objects create that powerful heart thumping sensation that we all love! However there were a few rather major flaws that should be addressed. Many problems with balancing made it unfair for zombies. There were a few major problems, and many much smaller ones. Overall, with all problems aside, it was a very exciting game. You did a great job making it feel like a deadly game of hide and seek. Larger parties from six to twelve will really enjoy this.
Enjoyment: During the review sessions there were a couple flaws that really hurt gameplay. As the humans, I would often have trouble. This is because I would run into an object where there is no light. It might take players a few seconds to realize this due to the filter effects. Avoid having dead ends. Instead make sure you never have to go backwards to free yourself. There needs to always be a second option. A more minor issue is that new zombie players will wait on top of the teleporter waiting for it to open. It is very annoying when they get teleported straight into an explosion and die. Focus more on having a gravity lift move an object away from it so that it is explosion free. Dark Playground has a rather repetitive spawn system for both sides. Zombies have always spawned in the same place and have to wait thirty seconds with nothing to do. Never have players sitting around doing nothing. Even something simple such as giving them a few golf balls to mess around with is sufficient. Humans Spawn in a small armory and take a teleporter into the battlefield. Because the humans are forced to take the same path time after time it grows to be very repetitive. This issue often results in humans heading to and camping in many of the same locations time after time. Aside from these few flaws however gameplay on Dark Playground is really exciting and intense. Your use of filter effects is very professional. Except for a few key spots, the dark effect compliments this map's eerie feel very well. For the most part gameplay was very good. I really enjoyed it! Overall: 8/10 (Meets expectations; Needs a little more work though)
Balance: As with the enjoyment factor, Dark Playground has a couple balancing issues. There is one huge flaw that if the humans use to their advantage can absolutely dominate zombies. When zombies go through their teleporter they pop out into the crypt. There is but only but one receiver node that they enter through. A group of 3 humans can easily hold of 6 zombies for about three minutes using this technique. However the real thing that annoyed me is that you have placed a flamethrower and an infinite ammo powerup in the corner above the zombie’s receiver node. There should always be several exits when you go into a teleporter. If you are not sure how to do this just send me a visitor message. Overall there were only two camping places that need to be fixed. It was discovered that the turret area was overall very good for camping. The first mistake in this area was that the turret has a perfect view of the teleporter that zombies come out of. By continuously firing at the teleporter the turret can kill all zombies that come through this way. The second camping area that needs to be fixed is the sniper rifle spawn. This vantage point gives the player a wide range of sight, as well as protects the player from getting attacked from behind. If all of these camping spots are ignored the game turned out to play very nicely. The only thing that is separating you from a ten are these two flaws. Overall: 6.5/10 (Did not meet expectations; Needs a considerable amount of work)
Durability: There were no major issues with durability. The map is unbreakable. There are no spots that humans can reach that zombies can’t reach either. The only flaw that was found is that if somebody decides that they want to annoy their team as the humans, they can simply shoot the fusion coils blocking the teleporter. This lets the zombies in before the humans are ready. It was suggested by drekdemon02 that you put the teleporter and fusion coils in a tube piece so that Humans could not see them. Overall, this map was very durable. Aside from a few major camping places you’ve made a great noobproof map. Overall: 9/10 (Exceeded expectations; Fix up your teleporter issue for a better score)
Aesthetics: I wasn't very awestruck when I first viewed Dark Playground! There are many bumps and cracks within the geometry. Many players including me agree that different places like the sword and sniper spawn are not structurally possible. The whole map has to flow well together aesthetically. You have your second ramp floating above the first one with nothing to support it. When I see this in a picture I tend not to download because it often tells me that the map was rushed. Since your filter effects make it very hard to see you need to attempt and interlock objects and round off corners when ever possible. Otherwise players will be annoyed when they run into a corner and can't tell if they're facing a wall. Finally, I feel that many of your objects have been placed poorly. Let's take a look at the turret area. The walkway leading up to the watchtower base has been placed so that if you try to walk down it you have to jump. This is very sloppy. Also in that area the platform is placed rather poorly. It is just far enough from the wall that you can get inside the bars of the base and easily defend it. Once again, this gives me the impression that your map was rushed. However there are many good qualities to Dark Playground's aesthetic appeal. For example, You have done a great job mixing the filters. This maps filter effects add so much to the general gameplay experience. It is scary to know that any second a zombie could lunge at you and you have but a second to shoot it. Another good aesthetic touch is your strategic placement of lights in places where humans really need it. Overall: 7/10 (needs attention; You need to devote more time to working on aesthetics)
Originality: Nothing on this map is truly original. There are many maps who use filters for a hide and seek game. This map feels unique the first time you play it but after four or five matches it becomes slightly monotonous. personally, I don't believe that this map brought anything new to the table. For hardcore infection fans should probably pass this one up. For new or average infection fans it is a good choice, however many other maps execute the idea better. In my personal opinion, this map is perfect for a download to play a few times. Don't expect to keep this forever though. If you want to improve your score on this section you should try to bring something new for a turn. Make a killer layout that map reviewers can't argue with. Do something unique. Overall I do recommend downloading this if you plan on playing a few custom games with friends, but not keeping it on your hardrive. Overall: 6.5/10 (Did not meet expectations; Needs a considerable amount of work)
Personal Rating: 7/10
Additional Comments ~Work on aesthetics. (Particularly making structures realistic) ~Make it so that Humans cannot shoot fusion coils ~Weaken the turret so that it isn't so powerful. ~Add more receiver nodes for the zombies. ~Round out corners (if possible)
*New Review*
Tunnels Review
Tunnels may be one of the most impressive infection maps ,gameplay wise, that I have ever played on. It has most certainly changed the way I look at casual infection maps. Its very unique concept guns for the top of my list in terms of excitement and intensity. Tunnels is very balanced which is a huge improvement from many of the zombie maps that we've all played. Rounds play very fast. You do not need to worry about being zombies for 10 minutes. At most rounds usually lasted four or five minutes maximum! Overall I recommend downloading tunnels if you like to have fun and play a really good infection map with your buddies!.
Enjoyment: Tunnels was solid when it comes to excitement. Zombies as well as humans have many different opportunities to have fun. The great placement and variety of entrances for zombies created many chances for interesting kills, assassinations, and bulltrues. Our review party almost constantly had something to laugh about. Whether it be screaming as a zombie assassinates them from above, or laughing as the last man standing shoots a zombie at the last possible second only to be surrounded by the infected horde. The effective layout of tunnels promotes constant movement as humans. Very rarely will the zombie become angry because the non-infected are hiding in a corner. Surprisingly, there is almost nowhere that a human can rest and not worry about getting infected. Zombies were also rightfully given waypoints towards there opposition so that they can make strategic decisions about how they attack their prey. This is the perfect combination for a heart thumping zombies map. Overall: 10/10 (Solid excitement for the whole match; Unbelievable)
Balance: One component of Tunnels that doesn't show up often in casual infection maps is that they are perfectly balanced for both sides. Neither faction has a large advantage over their opponents. We encountered no locations where humans could camp where they could not be easily and efficiently assassinated. An excellent layout combined with strategically placed cover provide many challenges for both sides. Humans, as well as zombies have to overcome countless obstacles in order to achieve victory. Zombies need to use cover to their advantage and sneak up on their unsuspecting prey. Humans need to do everything in their power to prevent this. Including constantly looking around for zombies lurking in corners, and maintaining a good defense with the surviving humans. there can be some luck involved but overall the best player with ultimately rise above the others. Good map Mr. Fausticals! Overall: 10/10 (Very balanced; Unbelievable)
Durability: During our review sessions for tunnels I noticed only one major flaw as to where humans could break the map and run rampant amongst the zombie spawn. Humans can easily jump from another players head on top of any ledges throughout the map and roam free in the zombie spawning area. This can cause an annoying spawn killing if the player manages to make it into the corner. A wide range of view and a perfect angle at the zombies main spawn grows really annoying during gameplay. This definitely needs to be fixed. It was decided that there were no major camping positions that either faction could use to their advantage. Aside from one rather major flaw tunnels is relatively clean in the durability factor. Overall: 9/10 (Aside from one major flaw it is great)
Aesthetics: At first glance you may not notice the detail of every nook and cranny on Tunnels. This map is no masterpiece beauty wise, however it does complete its role quite well when it comes to aesthetics. For example, the wooden boards on the ceiling of the tunnel create a ramshackle theme that complements a casual infection map quite well. Red and blue lights do a great job defining which corner of the map players are in. Also, they create an eerie glow that covers the surface of the tunnel making gameplay all that much creepier. Correct use of filter effects do a phenomenal job of complimenting the infection like theme of Tunnels. However, interlocking is quite bumpy which subtracts from gameplay quite a bunch! Overall: 9.5/10 (Almost perfect)
Originality: Overall Tunnels breaks the flow of traditional infection maps and twists it into something new and exciting. Tunnels is a very original infection map. It has many unique features as well as a few, unoriginal parts. For example, The map has a very unique layout with the zombies spawning in the middle, and humans in the outskirts. Also, the general concept of having zombies attempt to break into the tunnel and try to kill humans is one of a kind. . However, there is a features that have been using several times within other maps. Making zombies break into a structure and attempt to kill an opponent is highly unoriginal, and has been used in many maps to this point. Tunnels is a well executed casual infection map that brings many fresh features to the table, while still maintaining all that classic zombie gameplay that everybody loves. Overall: 9/10 (A very fresh map when it comes to the world of infection)
Personal rating: 9.7/10
Additional Comments ~Fix the issue of breaking the tunnel area by jumping from another players head. ~Tidy up interlocking and the general structure of the map
to add to my previous app. I reviewed Auxiliary, by Null parameter (not posted on FH)
Creativity: Rating: 3/5
Well the Map is older so I will take that into consideration. Still there is the fact that the map is not that original. The cover using the fence walls semi-interlocked has been done to death. Also the shield door is pretty common placed even before the release of sandbox. The one thing I did like was the trucks, the box geomerged into the corner and the tele-door.
Aesthetics: Rating 3.5/5
The map structures themselves were interesting, the tele-door was seamlessly constructed and most of the boxes were interlocked well. There were however some spots where laziness was evident, specifically the side opposite the rockets. The boxes and walls could have been interlocked and frankly some of the stairs were bumpy at the top, so much so that it restricted player movement.
Gameplay: Rating 4/5
I got to play a game of team slayer on this and it was quite fun actually. The weapons seemed to be balanced; no team was given an unfair advantage. The game was decided on skill not luck, which makes for a good slayer map. Then capture the flag came and I assumed it would be just as excellent but the spawns made it unfair and frenzied. I will discuss further in said category. The map geometry did interrupt fluid play though. Case point: I’m running up the stairs and through a bubble shield at the top (stairs above tele-door). I got to walk out and hit a bump sending me flying through the air, basically an easy target.
Spawns: Rating 3.5/5
The spawns were fine for team slayer. They were neither predictable nor unfair. I do not think one spawn kill happened throughout the game. The TS spawns let the game flow and I found myself using every part of the map at one time or another. The CTF spawns however, were another story. The start seemed fine but after a few conflicts I found my team spawning at the other team’s flag. This in itself is not good at all. Also when the other team had our flag, I was spawned at my base with no way to stop them.
Comments:
Well to sum it all up I believe it was a simple map that has potential. It was creative but could employ some more structures that would make this map unique. The aesthetics were well done, except for a few places, which did affect gameplay. The team slayer games on this map were a lot of fun but when it came to other gametypes, the spawns were the ultimate downfall.
I hope you guys will read these and consider the time and effort that I put into not only writing the reviews, but playing and testing the maps as well. I would work just as hard as a member of the review hub. Thank you for your time.
Enjoyment:This map is very enjoyable in many ways.The first reason being that ther map deploys a huge amount of comepetition to the racers and it is always action packed.And the many banks and turns make the track very fun and enjoyable.You will love this map if you like competitive racing.This is a true hardcore racing map and is very enjoyable.
Balance:This is very balanced and you get no advantages over other racers what so ever.You vannot break out of the map and then just simply hop back onto the racetrack.But there was a small flaw that I found here.When you are on the final turn when you are going down the huge slope you can just turn left and get an unfair advantage knocking the other racer right into the wall and they will most likely flip over and that causes a lot of complaning.Besides that the map is average and balanced.
Durability:This map can be broken,but what would you gain from that?Absulutely nothing is what.You want to win the race and that is the goal.Also that open hole in the middle has become a problem for me and I fell down an that was it for the game =(.Well and the one thing is that the concept bothers me because I can not see that great and while I am passing the dark part I always fall off so guides might be nice.The map is not so good in this section.
Aesthetics:Well nothing really to say here.There are really no aesthetics on this map in my book so I will talk about the effects on this map.They are alright but I think simple is better here.It sorta solves the issue on the dark thing and it will make ther map lighter and easier to see.Also nice job on them though.
Originality:This map is very very original.It is a map that is on one half daytime while on the other half is daytime.Man I love this concept.But yeah the nighttime is too dark and I gave a solution to that earlier but this is very original and the ending was made of stone platforms...thats a new one.Overall the map is very original.
Enjoyment:This map is an aw some map that deserves more attention then it is getting.This map is a very fun map and it is very enjoyable.It is a sweet map that features many unexpected banks,turns,twists,dips,and hills.This is the map that you want to download and play again and again until you die.Not really that much but this is a great fun map and this map is very enjoyable!
Balance:This map is very balanced and it supports battle tracks a lot here.Lasers are very open which makes for pure chaos.There are no un-fair advantages to any other racers.And nobody can easily drift inside and gain an easy quick lead.The finish line is very straight and well balanced.This map is very well balanced from my knowledge.
Durability:This track is well bordered up and most players will not feel the need to break nor get an unfair advantage via breaking the map.The scoring system for the gametype that people usually race on are efficient and the usually is an issue and is always the case.This map is good,but not the best in Durability.
Aesthetics:This map has some stunning structures and provides eye candy.It always gives people something to look at while you are flying by.And the finish line has some great aesthetics and lights.The structures are so original and great.This map has very very great aesthetics.
Originality:This map is original,but not that much at the same time.Most race maps all feature banks,cambered turns,and dips and they all have used it to their fullest.I would like to see something new and not usually used like a jump.But the map overall including the sweet building are very original and makes racers say"Wow this is a new one."This map is not very original though but including aesthetics it is an original map.
Final Comments: This map is very fun overall.I love playing lasers on this map but it really doesnt support Battle Snipers.I liked reviewing this map though and think this map is aw some,.Great map Spectac!
I thought I was going to be notified by PM if it was excepted or denied. Eh, anyways, I was just wondering if I could get a reason why mine was not accepted.
01-11-2009
Linear Mode
