Dead Streets v3.0

Opening

I've been away from Halo, and forging for a while now. But a couple weeks ago I woke with the desire to get back into both.

That being said, my first stop has been to revisit Dead Streets in the hopes of improving and "modernizing" the design. The forge community has come a long way in the five or so months I've been MIA. So I figured it was only right to bring this one up to today's standards.

Before we begin, I would like to say that it is not my intention to completely redesign this map. It is to instead revitalize, and improve upon what is already there. It's layout and design are what make this map so unique. Whether that is for better or worse is a matter for each individual to decide. But changing it too much defeats the entire purpose of coming back to it.

One more very important thing. This is the BETA version for Dead Streets 3.0. It was my intention to keep the attention on a preview thread until it was finished, but this works all the same. So please, hit me with as much critisism as you can possibly muster. Without forgetting to sprinkle in some compliments of course...

Design Goals

From the beginning, the main overarching design goal for Dead Streets has been "make it unique." I tried to refrain from looking at past Halo maps for inspiration. Instead, I wanted to come up with a brand new, off the wall design that hadn't been done before. Because of this, though, balancing weapons, and spawns has been a tremendous task as I couldn't look to "X map" or "Y map" to see how said issues were handled. I had to really do my research into how things like the spawn engine work, and why they function that way. In the end, I think these struggles have made me a much better forger than I otherwise would have been.

Cut To The Chase Already!
Here are the basics: Dead Streets is a small, symmetrical 4v4 slayer and objective map. It puts a strong emphasis on teamwork, while also rewarding players who are skilled on there own. Movement is constant, and the pacing is akin to that of Midship. Its fast, ferocious, and keeps you on your toes. Stay sharp, watch your corners, and you'll do fine.

Here are some comparison screens of the old version, versus the new one I've been working on the past few weeks. The old version is on top, the new one on bottom. Click to "spoiler" to view them all. Below each pair is a brief description explaining why the changes were made.

Comparison Screens

* Swapped the shotty with a low ammo sniper. Having one guy kinda hang back and support has really helped tone the pacing down a notch. But, giving it a low ammo count ensures that player eventually leaves. The wall behind the sniper has also been "spilt" down the middle to give players both more cover inside the base, and movement option.

* Putting the spiker out in the map gave players incentive to push out, while also giving players spawning in the pillar areas something to use in combination with the newly added NR spawn.

* Unfortunately, the ghosts have been removed. They felt too cramped, and made traversing anywhere but the high ground unsafe. I was really torn about removing them, but in the end I feel it was for the best. Also notice that the HK has been lit using the corner 2x2 trick, making it much more visible. You can also see that the spawning area (the elevated area behind the HK) has been lowed 3 units. It feels much more natural to move from this area at spawn.

* Made green/gold ramp much more pleasing to look at, which helps guide players up the ramps towards the rocket.

* Added a pair of frags to the mid HK spawn. Greater incentive to move here, relieving congestion around the edges of the map.

* The overshield now rests on a small platform, making it take an extra step to grab. I felt, and so did others, that it was far too easy to just sprint across and grab. The extra jump seems to help alleviate some of that. Also, the silent lifts have been removed. They weren't really all that useful, and just took up resources that were eventually put to better use elsewhere.

* As you can see in the above screens, this in conjunction with the removal of some brace-larges makes it slightly more visible. Which helps new guys realize its there BEFORE they are screaming "OMFG I SHOT HIM TEN TIMES IN THE FACE!!!" lol

* Made some modifications to the "pillar" area, affording players additional cover and two extra NR's (and a pair of sticks) This two fold gives spawning players something to push with, while also adding a sneaky way into the base.

* These screens illustrate some of the smaller touches I've added in aiding player navigation.

* You can see here that the brace-larges that made up the front cover for the garages have now been replaced by medium bridges. These look much cleaner, and also provide more cover as they slightly wider.

* This last pair shows that I replaced the concussion rifle with a low ammo rocket. I initially did this to provide players a more efficient means of combating the ghost, but stuck with it even after they were removed. Who doesn't love rockets, amriteguyz!?

Video Walk Through
Same deal as before, click the spoiler to view.

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Miscellaneous

Weapons list

DMR x 4, 30 seconds, 2 clips
NR x 4, 30 seconds, 2 clips
Sniper Rifle x 2, 120 seconds, 0 clips
Spiker x 2 , 45 seconds, 2 clips
Needler x 2, 60 seconds, 2 clips
Plasma Pistol x 2, 30 seconds
Rocket x 1, 180 seconds, 0 clips
OverShield x 1, 180 seconds
Frags x 4, 35 seconds
Plasma Grenades x 4, 30 seconds
Middle Health kits x 2, 35 seconds
Base Health kits x 2, 45 seconds

GameType Support List

2 Flag

2 Bomb

Team Slayer

FOUR player FFA.

I decided that I would focus on polishing these as much as possible, seeing as how they are the most popular gametypes. Also, 4 player FFA just feels like the magic number, given how much more chaotic it is than normal slayer.

Spawning

This one is a huge work in progress and will be updated shortly. Check back soon!

Closing And Special Thanks

Holy crap that took forever to type! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this new, and much stronger version of Dead Streets. Let me know what you like, and dislike so I can make any appropriate changes. Also, remember: Feedback is great, but suggestions are even better. Thanks for checking this one out again!

Special Thanks

MrGreenWithAGun for his INVALUABLE research into Reaches spawn engine. His blog "Forging Reach" has been more than just a resource, but a saving grace for this project. I know he doesn't frequent these forums anymore, but he deserves thanks here nonetheless.

Flying Shoe ILR for supporting since all the way back when I first released it almost half a year ago.

Since this version of the map is technically in the "beta" stage, I'm going to wait until it's finished to post the testers. As I am too lazy to go through and edit this everytime someone new pops into a lobby lol