With the first official task submission of Forge Hub's Library behind us we now look forward once more. Many of you may be surprised to hear of a new task given the state of the file share system. Worry not friends, the Library most certainly remains operational and apart from some minor submission changes will function just as successfully as last time.
THE TASK
Certainly the most important tid-bit of information here is what exactly you will be forging. Last time around we had a pretty specific focus on Team Slayer variants (with a dash of Invasion). This time around things will be a tad more open. For this task you will be forging maps to fit into any of the currently available Anniversary playlists. Those playlists include:
Anniversary Classic
Anniversary BTB
Anniversary Squad
Anniversary FFA (includes Infection)
That means if you are forging a map for Anniversary Classic you will most likely want to support Team Slayer as well as objective gametypes. For a full list of the gametypes included in the Anniversary playlists can be located here. Furthermore, just so we are clear on exactly what is considered Anniversary, your forge map should be built on one of the following canvases:
Battle Canyon
Penance
High Noon
Ridgeline
Solitary
Breakneck
THE SPECIFICS
After choosing your canvas and designing your map you must take care to focus on some important aspects that may be overlooked. Often, default maps do a great job of orientating players on where they're spawning and which direction the action is. However, this can sometimes be lost in the greyness and unfamiliarity of forge maps. It is very important that you do your best to help players who have never stepped foot on your map previously get themselves orientated. Good color usages and, luckily with this task, good existing geometry usage can help you greatly.
You must also pay very close attention to mistakes. Forgetting to cover an exploitable area with a killzone or covering more than you mean to can be the difference between your map popping up in a vote and your map sitting on your fileshare, never to be played by the masses. Be extremely diligent in combing your map for minor mistakes before submitting it to the Library (or even after, you can update your map until we close that task). We will look for these things to but, of course, we're only shoddy built robots and we miss stuff too. Trust me guys, you don't want to pay for these mistakes.
Finally, be cautious of your framerate. It's important to check how your map preforms under various circumstances. You will want to play splitscreen, single screen, with a full game, with many explosions going off and honestly: under any possible circumstances you can. However, don't be too cautious that it becomes a detriment to your map. Draining too much color in order to double safe your framerate may lead to some issues detailed above. It's important to find that harmonious balances between item usage and framerate lag.
OUTSIDE THE FORGE
Even if your map is a perfect recreation of all the best elements a Halo map can display you won't make any ground if you are a troublemaker. Both your behavior on the site and outside of it will make or break your matchmaking chances. Even if you manage to sweet talk your way through us, there are eyes watching everywhere. If you want to have the best chances of gracing the matchmaking world with your creation you should keep your mouth clean and your fists down. Avoid infractions, arguing with other members, insulting people on or off the site. Think of it as a job interview: how would you behave in that situation? Good, now keep that up!
RECAP
Just so everyone is clear, let us restate the Library rules for all the view once more:
All maps submitted must fulfil the current requirements (eg. gametype support/player count etc). These will be posted as an announcement in The Library, updated as and when they change.
All maps submitted must utilize the appropriate canvas map.
All maps submitted must follow the submission template exactly.
All maps submitted must not display more framerate drops than one would see on the base map.
General behavior on the site and off, especially in The Library, must be kept to the highest standard. Maps authored by disruptive members will not be considered.
No idle discussion in map submission threads: Feedback only.
THE DATE
Well, in truth, there is no date. We're shooting for the end of May at the moment so for all intents and purposes you should plan to finish your map prior to the final week of the month. However, it's always in your best interests to get your map submitted to testing as soon as possible in case any major changes need to be accomplished. Best of luck guys and have fun.