CRYSTALLINE

[Rayner Sutardja]

CRYSTALLINE

 

By n0mnom321

2-6 players

 

 

" Later known as 'Blamite' during the human-covenant war, unstable Platinum(VI) Permanganate(VII) crystals were grown by the forerunners for use against the flood. The helium-rich atmosphere and high caesium fluoride composition of the caves of Suban provided an inert environment for the solidification of these crystals, making it the forerunner's ideal research facility. The reactive nature of the crystal meant that it would oxidise anything but the most inert of substances, making it nearly impossible to analyse. Long forgotten, the coveted secrets of the crystal remain hidden in these forerunner facilities.

 

These unstable crystals were charged through molten electrolysis, allowing them to be magnetically guided. The high oxidizing power of 7 or more crystal shards could produce voltages high enough to ionize and vaporize most liquids, including water. However, only prototypes of the proposed crystalline weapons could be constructed before the firing of the halo array. Experiments with the crystal as a battery tripled the power of common weapons like the Lightrifle, but the risk of instability was deemed a cost too expensive for the forerunners. "

 

https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/xbox-one/map-variants?lastModifiedFilter=Everything&sortOrder=Modified&page=1&gamertag=n0mnom321

 

 

Crystalline is a symmetric 2v2 competitive map with a theme I've not encountered before - Blamite. The map depicts a forerunner facility nestled in dark crystal caves, which have glowing pink crystals growing from the cave walls.

 

 

The map takes advantage of the req weapon glitch for it's power weapons. At the two ends of the map lie a Suppressor and a scattershot. However, they are vastly more powerful than normal. The scattershot fires clusters of needle rounds in rapid succession, offsetting the needles' slower travel time. 

 

 

The Supressor fires Blood of Suban rounds, allowing one to take out an opponent extremely quickly with a supercombine. At the center of the map lies a Speed Boost, which lasts for a longer time. However, ammunition is very limited for each.

 

 

There is a speed boost on the map that has extended duration, making it much more valuable than usual and a real winning factor.

 

 

The timings of the weapons are 130, 170 and 210 seconds. This means that every 40 seconds, a new power weapon will be up. This is meant to pull combat throughout the map at different times, as the power of these weapons make them essential to achieve victory. Hence, the map is very porous. There are many small routes and jumps to get from here to there to facilitate movement, and out-maneuvering your opponent is as important as out-strafing or outgunning them.

 

https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/xbox-one/map-variants?lastModifiedFilter=Everything&sortOrder=Modified&page=1&gamertag=n0mnom321

 

"I do believe there are termites that actually explode when threatened. We should call them Blamites." - "Give the covenant a spoonful of their own medicine. A spoonful of Blamite." - "It’s about as close to a fire-and-forget small arm as we're likely to ever see, and it ain’t ours. Blamite ain't friendly. And that's why we're losing."

[Drizzy_Dan]

I remember seeing this on HaloCustoms. Really nice map, thanks for submitting here Rayner. 

[RedStarRocket91]

I really love the theme you're going for here! There's always a lot of talk in the community updates and sprints about how the the multiplayer maps have to fit with the writing teams' backstories, but it's sad that they usually end up feeling kind of oddly lifeless and characterless. Just looking at these maps gives such a sense of personality and atmosphere, and going on to tie the actual weapons to the theme of the map is just an extra step toward making it feel brilliant. Really great work here, can't wait to try this out!

[Rayner Sutardja]

Thanks guys! Yeah, the non-standard weapons are pretty fun. The blood of suban-suppressor is extremely powerful, so.... I may have to change it one day.  it only does have 2 clips, though.

I'd been planning on making a map with a crystalline theme since halo 4, where I would use the dominion hologram pieces and merge them into rocks to make crystals. Finally got around to it in Halo 5, I guess.

[Zandril]

Looks pretty. I'll give it a look and come back with any feedback

[Rayner Sutardja]

I'll probably spice it up with the new forerunner pieces once I get forging

I forgot to mention: the player count for this map should be between 2-6.

[Zandril]

- Found some framerate problems in several areas.

- I'm not really a fan of the blue glow on the entire map.

- Call outs are tough because the map is symmetric, the aesthetics make every area look similar. Try to find a way where it would be easier for players to make callouts/orient themselves.

- The death pit area with the rocks looks ugly.

[Rayner Sutardja]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

Just to clarify, which death pit are you referring to?

[Zandril]

Forgot. It's off to the side. Idk I just remember disliking how it was forged. Looked tacky. It's not really a big problem though so I wouldn't worry about it TOO much. Just me nitpicking

[Rayner Sutardja]

Yeah, I couldn't help it much. Wasted too many pieces on the rest of the map. Once I delete some of the more unnecessary detail to improve framerate, then I can think about helping out those areas. The blue glow itself probably contributes to the framerate, so I'd be able to kill two birds with one stone.

 

As for callouts, I intended the red side of the map to have a more reddish/violet colouration, while the blue side would have a stronger blue glow. Learnt that tip from the old THFE. I guess I could increase the contrast, or change up the aesthetic so that one side is more degraded than the other. (destroyed/damaged aesthetic)

 

Any comments on the layout of the map and the flow of gameplay?

 

 

[Zandril]

Haven't played it yet

[Rayner Sutardja]

I've managed to reduce framerate issues quite a bit on Crystal(the latest version), but i think there's still framerate issues on the map. Not sure what's causing it.