H3 Foundation
Created by Shock Theta

Many Halo maps of old have been remade in Halo 3's forge since the games release. Some are better than others, some more demanded than others. I decided to wade into the brawl with my own attempt at a map that I've seen oft attempted and yet, to my mind, never done justice to. I'll leave you to make up your own mind as to whether I succeeded or not. Welcome to H3 Foundation, by Shock Theta.

Read more after the pics.

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Overview of the map. Jump distances, geometry and weapon placement were designed to be as similar to the original as forgably possible.

The destructible columns add a new twist to the map aesthetic.

Original favourites return with Foundation Zombies!

Eventually their ammo will run dry... and their brains will be ours.

Neutral bomb played really well on the original Foundation, and the same holds true here.

The central area windows can now be crouch jumped through - enabling you to evade and surprise attack those in the centre. It also makes this area more viable as somewhere to engage in more interesting and tactical skirmishes.

More map gameplay.

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Design Choices

When setting out to create my version of Foundation, I had several things I wanted to prioritise and retain from the original.

The map should look and feel like the original
The gameplay should be as similar as possible
Eliminate teh superbounce

Luckily Halo 3 dealt with the last point for me, but on the others I managed to reach a satisfactory conclusion. The choice of objects and the use of interlocking helped immensely to create a gameplay space that reflected the aesthetic of the original whilst not sacrificing playability. I glitched unlimited money and still only just came up against the item limit with one item left to place. Nothing was spared in the maps creation.

The walls were set up so that grenade bouncing and placement are still an important part of the gameplay. The scaling of the centre structure and upper platform are such that jump distances and movement times from place to place are almost identical to Halo 2 if gravity to 150%. In testing this proved to be great for encouraging competitive play, something this map shines at.

The map gave way to the limitations of Foundry and the Forge in the following areas:

The four upper rooms are smaller than the original at the expense of distances across the map, something I felt was more important. The rooms are still fully protected from explosions and weapons fire.
The turret side platforms are slightly longer than the BR side platforms.

Recommended gametypes

H3 Foundation supports all gametypes and you are free to create your own variants to suit whatever gameplay you prefer. After extensive testing I have several suggestions for settings you might wish to try out.

For true to the original play, I strongly recommend SMG start, 90% run speed and 150% gravity.
For competitive play, try BR starts and play Team Slayer, Neutral Bomb, Multi Flag and VIP.
For some old-school matchmaking fun, try Fiesta Hill - Random starting weapon on KOTH.
And the old favourite, Zombies!, the game that inspired Infection in Halo 3, try No Shields, Humans on Shotgun/Magnum start, 1 Zombie on start and a round time of 8 minutes.

I hope you enjoy the nostalgia of H3 Foundation, and find something you enjoy from the wide array of options this map presents.

Shock

Download H3 Foundation