Bungie details Halo 3 map changes

[Queasy]

Link - If you weren't a fan of the Mauler, you'll like these changes. If you were a Mauler whore, you'll hate these changes.

The playlist contains a lot of things people were asking for ? some visible, some not so easy to spot. Examples of the more subtle but vital changes are that in Team Hardcore, shotgun camping in Snowbound has been eliminated along with the shotgun itself.

A bunch of people asked what the specific changes we made to the map defaults are. This is the list, which is useful material for people who don?t want to just guess when they?re in the map, or find out to their cost when they go looking for a weapon that?s no longer there. If you want to really drill down into detail, it?s possible to save a map as a Forge variant and look at every single detail. This list ought to save you the hassle.

Making changes like this always produces some controversy and it?s a classic case of ?can?t please all the people all the time.? All we can promise you is that we expended a lot of thought and test resources to make sure that most people found this fun. We test hardcore differently than regular map variants, to look at things from a more competitive angle. And finally and most importantly ? this is a process of evolution. It is not going to be perfect first time around and we will continue to tune and make changes. And our actual sincere apologies if we changed something you like. Sometimes we have to sacrifice little things for the greater good.


As ever we?ll watch these changes to see how folks like ?em and keep an eye on things that need to be fixed and altered.



General Map Changes (see Team Hardcore for its differences and details)

1. We removed the Flare and Radar Jammer from Guardian, Last Resort and Narrows respectively (see below).

2. Changed out Maulers for other, less powerful dual wieldable weapons



a. Construct

i. Removed both Maulers from the top level. No replacement.

ii. Changed both Maulers on the bottom level to respawn time: 60 seconds.

b. Epitaph

i. Removed both Maulers, replaced them with SMGs. SMG respawn rate ? 30 seconds. Two spare clips.

c. Guardian

i. Removed Maulers (3 Maulers total). No replacements

ii. Removed Flare (see issue #1)

d. Isolation

i. Changed Mauler respawn time: 60 seconds. (2 Maulers total)

ii. Removed flare (see issue #1)

e. Narrows

i. Removed one Mauler from beside the barricade.

ii. Remaining Mauler centered behind the barrier. Respawn time 60 seconds.

iii. Duplicated on either side.

iv. Removed Radar Jammer

f. The Pit

i. Increased Mauler respawn time to 60 seconds. (4 total Maulers)


Other map variant changes

Creation of Covenant vehicle map variants (Tanks enabled in Big Team Battle. Disabled in Team Control):

* Sandtrap
* Valhalla



Team Hardcore map changes:

Construct

* Low Mauler version as base
* No other changes

Epitaph

* Low Mauler version as base
* Hammer removed

Guardian

* Low Mauler version as base
* Remove Hammer, replaced with sword on a weapon holder
* Respawn Rate: 180 seconds

Isolation

* Low Mauler variant as base
* Shotgun respawn time: 60
* Replaced regenerator with Bubble Shield
* Respawn time 60
* Two Assault Rifles ? top of the base
* 30 second respawn rate

Zanzibar

* No Equipment version as base
* However, Active Camo is there.
* Respawn rate: 120

Narrows

* Low Mauler version as base
* Replaced Active Camo with Overshield
* Respawn Rate: 180
* Replaced Power Drain with Bubble Shield
* Respawn rate: 90 seconds
* Placed Power Drain in Radar Jammer spot
* Respawn rate: 90 seconds


Snowbound

* Maulers:
* Removed central one near underground area
* Two Side Maulers: Respawn rate 90 seconds
* Moved Beam Rifle into Shotgun spawn area
* Shotgun: Removed
* Replaced Active Camo with Overshield
* Respawn time: 180 sec
* Replaced battle rifles with carbines (2 on the low base, one above the high base)
* Respawn rate: 30 seconds
* Removed Spartan Laser

The Pit

* Use Low Mauler variant as base
* Replaced Regenerators with Bubble Shields

Valhalla

* Replaced Regenerator with Bubble Shield
* Respawn Rate: 60

Before heading out for the Holidays, a few Bungie guys wrapped up work on their own variations of Foundry via the Forge, those maps have been put into Bungie Favorites for your enjoyment.

Magic Manufacturer Tom Doyle on "Anvil":

Anvil is a slayer and team slayer map best suited for two to eight players. Although it?s primarily set up for slayer, it also lends itself to CTF, Assault and Territory modes. Climb the rocket tower or sniper duel from the catwalks to gain an upper hand over the opposition. Tactical players should enable BR starts on this one.

Multiplayer Designer Lars Bakken on "Deathpit":

This is an old school deathmatch map specifically designed for 1 v 1 battles, but it also works in a 4 player FFA. Controlling the power weapons is key to survival. The Rocket spawns in the center high walkway, and the sword spawns down below. Each side has a shotgun and grenades. At its simplest, it is a maze filled with tight corridors, and lots of action. I hope you enjoy it.

Mission Designer Dan Miller on "Pac-Man":

In this parody/homage we built the level to be as faithful to the original "Pac Man" map as possible, complete with two-way teleporters on the sides and even the four "Power Pellets" in the corners! This infection variant allows one person to play as "Pac Man" with Gravity Hammer, the rest are ghosts with Swords. Pac Man's goal is to get to each of the four corners and grab a Power Pellet floating in the air (look for covenant equipment holders on the ground). Once he's obtained a power pellet, he'll become invincible for a short amount of time and be able to eat up the "ghosts." 4-6 players recommended.

 

[mugs]

Sounds good all around. :thumbsup: I had read that they were going to cut back on the Maulers in this past month's EGM. It's a very unbalanced weapon. At least the shotgun is balanced by its short range - with the Mauler you can hold a longer ranged weapon at the same time, which makes it too powerful IMO.

 

[JoPh]

oh well.

 

[kedlav]

I'd like the radar jammers back, they've been useful at times. Maulers definitely needed a toning, and making them available but increasing the respawn timer and limiting their spawn points has been excellent so far. Narrows has gone from Mauler-frenzy to a pretty well mixed map and the games on it have been intense. In other news though, the frequency of Team BR in slayer is just as bad as shotty/snipes was. BR's are good spawn weapons on maps like Valhalla, but IMO, are retarded on small/medium maps (especially guardian) where the fighting is supposed to be up close and personal. I recognize that BR's are an excellent equalizer, but the fact that they push fights farther away makes it a 'who can get the headshot first' game in lieu of a 'who can punch first/who has the better conn' game, and I'd appreciate fixing the latter instead of replacing it with a new problem.