Forging Contest Winners
Well Hubbers, it may have been a long time coming but the wait is finally over. With almost one hundred finely crafted submissions to pore through the judges certainly had their work cut out for them, so much so that we lost two of our foremost staff members to sheer exhaustion. Never has the term 'retired' been so apt as when used with reference to chrs and Shad0w, and they now spend their days glued to their grandpa chairs muttering little else but 'throwdown.....throw...down' as kind nurses tend to their needs, we pray that you keep them in your thoughts.
However, the trials proved thoroughly worthwhile and three stunning winners have emerged from the pack to steal our hearts. Even without the tournament which stands as the Premise for all this, the quality of forging we've seen in this preliminary competition would have made for a fantastic forge-off in itself. But before we get on to the detailed run down, budding producer Rho Fs has been kind enough to provide us with a video previewing the three winning maps:
YouTube - Forgehubs Throwdown Winners
First place:
Premise by AceOfSpades
As the only symmetrical (or rather inverse symmetrical) map of the three winners, AceOfSpade's creation ticks all of the competitive forger's boxes in terms of maintaining perfect balance, whilst still having an interesting enough design to content with and even surpass the other two finalists. Height variations are significant enough to maintain a proper incentive for gaining positional advantage on your opponents to win encounters, but not so much that any one spot on either side of the map lends itself too well to holding. The seemingly unbreakable standoffs which often plague symmetrical arenas are no where to be found here, and a strong approach to circulation of the whole space and a focus on keeping your opponents pressured off spawn brings a refreshingly fast pace to proceedings.
The central Rocket placement makes timely control of the middle bridge a must, and whilst a skilled team will be able to use this position to their advantage in many situations it must not be relied upon too heavily or you risk being hemmed in from the more developed geometry on either side. Dual Snipers give each side of the map something to fight for and maintain a sense of balance for a team caught on the back foot, and a single Evade AA placed at bottom mid brings a significant advantage for any player willing to venture out of cover for it. The burst of speed this powerup brings will prove invaluable in moving between the distinct areas within each base, rushing to assist a stranded team mate or even making a quick dash for Rockets.
Download Premise
Forge Hub Thread
Second place:
Coma by BlazeIsGod
The first of the asymmetrical pair in our three finalists, Coma was forged by BlazeIsGod, a member well known for his extensive and successful exploits in the era of Halo 3 forge. As the only one of the bunch to feature no AAs at all, players are treated to a rather fitting return to a more consistent speed and style of play, something which will prove very familiar to those well versed in the past Halo iterations. Originally designed as a 1v1 map before being adapted for submission in to this contest, Coma's contrasting areas give players the choice of strong height and field of vision advantage, but with wide open surroundings leaving the player vulnerable, or the more enclosed corridors toward the edge of the map which provide a little more cover and room for tight DMR battle strafing, or even a quick escape.
A pair of lifts provide quick access to the upper areas of the map, one of which lands the player near enough to make a quick dash for the Sniper Rifle placed out on the central ledge, and there are also a few carefully tuned jumps scattered around the map which reward players with a keen eye and nimble feet in terms of quick, advantageous shifts in position. The other power weapon available on Coma, the Grenade Launcher, is tucked away in one of the higher corridors to the side of the map, and in the hands of a skilled player this weapon is arguably even more deadly than the Sniper, especially in the more enclosed areas. A strong awareness of lines of sight and exactly which direction you are visible from at any given point, as well as a tight focus on maintaining sensible proximity to your partner, will give players a distinct upper hand when it comes to besting the competition on Coma.
Room-based map design has not seen such a beautiful interaction with the Halo gameplay mechanic since the days of Combat Evolved, and in Reach this is a strength of design approach which goes beyond the relationship with gameplay alone and finds strong footing in the nature of the forge tool itself. Rho's Compass plays to this strength perfectly, utilising more open ended areas and lines of sight nearer the edges of the map and focusing more on distinct spaces as you venture further inwards. Clever use of glass stops these sweeping lines of sight being left too open whilst maintaining proper levels of visibility to reward the more aware team, leaving no route as too much of a death trap as long as you are smart and maintain an emphasis on covering each other's backs when venturing towards positions such as that of the Armor Lock AA.
On that note, Compass' use of this ability should not deter those who are put off by its reputation in the wider Reach sandbox. The demand on players to strive for the defensive advantage it brings, rather than being handed it off spawn, leaves it akin to a more dynamic version of how we saw the Overshield used in previous Halo titles. It seems rather fitting, then, for it to be placed alongside (in strictly figurative terms, of course) the Active Camo powerup which has seen a return to form with the gametype patches recently provided by Bungie. Sporting the largest power weapon and powerup compliment on show within these three finalists, Compass rounds out its arsenal with an Evade AA pickup, a Sniper Rifle and a Shotgun. The distinct variety and nature of these pickups, however, prevents games becoming a power weapon contest, and control of these assets goes hand in hand with control of the map itself rather than being the defining factor in clinching victory.
Download Compass
Forge Hub Thread
Our sincerest congratulations go out to all three winners along with thanks to all those who entered, and you can look forward to seeing Premise take up its spot in the map lineup of the ThrowDown tournament itself. Speaking of the ThrowDown, those of you who are more keen on the competitive aspect of this upcoming competition than the forge-off which precedes it should start getting in to gear, further details on the tournament will be forthcoming in the very near future and your respective appetites for destruction will soon be satisfied beyond measure. We've also been using this time to fine tune the particulars of the tournament, as well as cook up some tasty forge creations of our own behind closed doors, and we can promise you now that this inaugural Reach competition will build on our past tournament traditions to provide the most competitive and enjoyable experience to date. We'll keep you posted.