EDIT: The Xenomorph 2.0 update is here! Pictures aren't quite accurate anymore. If you enjoyed Xenomorph, please try the updated version with several game play and aesthetic improvements.

Xenomorph is a Halo 4 map I made for the Salvation game type by AbandonedCashew. I took the name Xenomorph from the name of the creatures featured in the ALIEN movie franchise. My goal with this map was to create a really fun, intense scifi/horror experience in a lush, authentic-looking star ship interior. 3-7 players. You can only play this map with the Xenomorph game type found on my file share. It will not work as intended with any other game type. You may want to adjust the 'Rescue Point Grace' depending on how many players you have. It's set to 10 seconds by default, which seems to work well for 3 people.

Below you can see the bridge of the star ship. I built a pilot's seat attached to a robotic arm similar to the one seen in INTERSTELLAR. You'll occasionally have to use these computer consoles throughout the game. They turn on and you can see bits of data moving across the screens. One of the port side consoles will actually explode and turn off if you attempt to use it, as a nod to the many exploding consoles seen on the bridge of the Enterprise.

The story begins after you've answered a distress call somewhere in deep space, where you've already found a single survivor and brought them back to the Medical Lab aboard your star ship-- when suddenly something goes horribly wrong...

Above you can see the Medical Lab, with the infected survivor you brought on board floating peacefully in a bacta tank (like the one seen in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK) before it malfunctions and allows the creature to escape. You can also see the robotic surgical station in the middle of the room (sort of like the one seen in ALIEN: COVENANT). After bringing the ship's systems back online from the bridge, you can use this surgical robot to heal your injuries and prevent yourself from turning into a flood when you get infected.

One of the coolest features of the Salvation game type is you can become infected when attacked by flood even if you aren't killed. Your screen will start flashing and your movements get slower and slower as you transform into the flood. When this happens, get to the Med Lab quick and heal yourself before time runs out.

Another great feature of Salvation is that you can choose what kind of flood you'd like to be: a small, weak but fast flood with thrusters; a large, strong, slow but powerful flood with promethean vision; or an all around average flood with no abilities.

But the best feature of Salvation by far is the objective based game play. You'll have to interact with computers, search the ship room by room, open doors and perform all sorts of other actions in order to reach the escape pod at the end of the game. Plus, the objective nature of Salvation allows you to forgo some of the standard rules of forging. For instance, you don't have to worry so much about having multiple entrances/exits when you can simply force people to leave an area in order to reach their next objective.

But make sure you use the Xenomorph game type specifically (found on my fileshare) and not just standard Salvation game type.

Above you can see the crew quarters and the cargo bay. I tried to give the cargo bay a FIREFLY-esque feel to it. Two of the large containers found here serve as shotgun dispensers where players can exchange points they've earned (through kills or by completing objectives) for a shotgun. If you activate the computer in the cargo bay, a heavy machine gun will appear in the wooden crate.

The flood use a series of vent shafts to get around the ship unseen and to attack players by surprise. I made the entrance to each of the five shafts unique and I've also used some havens to highlight whichever shaft is closest to the next objective, so the infected will know where they're going. They lead to five crucial areas of the ship:

- The one marked by an extraction crate leads to the lower elevator hall (where the first thing you'll see is a matching extraction crate).

- The one marked by a ladder leads to the upper elevator hall.

- The one marked with a 'down' arrow will drop infected into the shower in the restroom of the crew quarters and launch them conveniently into the doorway there.

-The one marked by a red cross leads to the Medical Lab, where all players must go when injured or infected.

-The one that opens out into space leads to just outside the big cargo bay doors.

In the end, the players goal is to overload the warp core (which will cause the lights to go out), then you'll finally be able to unlock the door to the escape pod (the screen on the door console goes from red to blue when unlocked) and get to safety before the ship 'explodes'-- which really just means the whole ship despawns with a bit of a bang and drops anyone outside of the escape pod to their deaths.

That's about it. I'd love to hear from anyone who's played this map.

A very special thanks goes out to AbandonedCashew for making the incredible Salvation game type. It's so cool. I really appreciate it. Thanks, man.

Also thanks to Biggteddybear, whose DEEP SPACE TRANSPORT map inspired me to build Xenomorph.

And thanks to ill ian314 and TomarEstasBolas for helping me test this map a million times.