SIERRA

"Nestled in the mountain range, this prosperous city is a high-value target for many factions."

Updated on 7/15/11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_pskip6j4o

Overview: Sierra is an Invasion map that improves upon all aspects of my previous Invasion map, Deference City, whether that be in aesthetics, balance, gameplay, or performance. It mainly focuses on urban combat and always keeps a fast pace of gameplay, reflecting its backstory.

Story: The Covenant have taken over a human city in the mountain range, giving them a key position in the area due to the city's high-value position in both trade and warfare. However, the surviving humans in the city have banded together to rebel against the Covenant oppression. After being forced out of the city by the insurrection, the Covenant deployed a strike force of Elites to retake the city in a brutal conquest.

Gameplay: Gameplay on this map was, from the first playtest to the last, fast-paced. There is always constant action on the map, keeping the fast, urgent feeling of a brutal Covenant conquest.

The Spartan defenders have only two stationary, armored Warthogs in the first phase to hold off the Elite assault. The Elite attackers are granted with a Ghost and a Revenant in the second phase, which is further followed by another Revenant in the third phase. However, infantry-vehicle balance is as close to perfect as you can get, since the close-quarters nature of the city, along with the Spartans' Grenade Launchers, give the Revenants a weak point that the Spartans can use. In the right hands, however, the Revenants can wreak havoc on the Spartans, bringing them down from their key vantage points and causing mass chaos in the city streets.

The armored Warthogs in the first phase also support the story behind the map. Seeing as the Spartans are part of an insurrection, they do not have the conventional means to hold off the Covenant forces. Therefore, they're forced to utilize Warthog turrets as a way to fend off the assault. In gameplay, the turrets are great for suppression, but they don't give a clear line of sight to the Elites' objective.

Objectives: The objectives for this map are as follows: Territories, Territories, Territories. The Elites first start off by activating the city's bridge controls in order to lower the shields. Once the shields are brought down, the Elite forces can proceed into the city.

The second phase consists of the Elites trying to take two major control points in the city itself. The Apartments and the Rock Garden are these two major points.

After taking either the Apartments or the Rock Garden, the Elite team ventures further into the city to take either the Park or the Parking Lot. After either of these two points are taken, the Elites have won in their retaking of the city.

Another thing to note is that the included gametype is standard Invasion, but with accordingly switched objectives for each phase. The third phase's Shotgun class also has no AL, as this was a common concern in playtests.

Performance: There is no z-fighting, lagging, or any other performance issues on the map in singleplayer. I've tested this many times with at most 12 players, and no severe issues have been detected by anyone. 2-player splitscreen is also great, and I got no framerate issues anywhere. 3-player splitscreen was tested, and no significant framerate lag or other performance issues were caught. I still have yet to test 4-player splitscreen.

Screenshots:

Overview (Outdated)

Offense Camera (Outdated)

Defense Camera

1st Phase Overview

1st Phase Armored Warthogs

1st Phase Man Cannons

2nd Phase Rock Garden

2nd Phase Apartments

3rd Phase Parking Lot

3rd Phase Park

City Streets

City Overview (1/2)

City Overview (2/2)

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the map!