Hi there, I'm Nevz. I am the admin of this website and a founder. I enjoy creating all types of content, especcially intuitive, new maps and photoshop panoramas. I play customs all the time, but please do not send me an invite unless you send a message with it, explaining how you got my gamertag. Expect plenty of all kinds of content from me.
After a long period of anticipation, the next Forge Union masterpiece is released under the name of Tribulum. It is a competitive map with gameplay intentions based on LIGHTSOUT225's Verbatim: solid gameplay, durable, and ready for Matchmaking. The map will eventually be submitted to Atlas. It has little flare, aesthetic features, or rediculous geomerging, but everything is smooth, durable and well-planned.
Attention to detail makes Tribulum stand out. The middle structure that sports a power drain (Or Rockets in asymmetric games) makes the game start off very similarly to the regular Foundry. The back base makes Tribulum an excellent choice for games of One Flag or One Bomb, with many symmetry changes to maximize its gameplay experience.
There is one sniper on top of the back base, one bubble shield on the B side branch structure, camouflage opposite the bubble shield, and a ghost in asymmetric games only. Rockets and power drains spawn on the middle structure or on the merged single box, and they switch based on symmetry.
The map has many entrances and exits in every spot, along with many optional ways to higher elevation, so you will find the map flows exceptionally well. For this reason, the map plays very much like many maps in matchmaking. The layout is easy to learn for new players, with no schemes or tricks that anyone could find confusing.
Tribulum is best played with 4v4 or 3v3, but also supports doubles or 5v5 well. It is only set up for the gametypes below.
The reason for the lack of diversity in the gametypes was again to meet the demands of matchmaking. It was set up with a few gametypes in mind, and made to excel at those gametypes. I'm not going to set it up for a game like Two Bomb Assault or Oddball that I know won't work well. The games it was made for, however, play to perfection.
Fissure is a project that I have worked on for months on end, testing and re-testing, perfecting again and again. I wanted the best gameplay possible, then I wanted to achieve the best aesthetics I could, without harming the gameplay. I enjoy Custom Games just as much, if not more, than I enjoy designing a map. I think that a well-forged map is nothing without solid gameplay. And after testing and re-testing, and making drastic changes 83 times, I am satisfied.
I submitted Fissure to matchmaking in Atlas, and I look forward to seeing my results, whether Fissure is accepted or not. If not, then I will go back to the drawing board. Either way, I enjoyed the process. Anyways, enough about my journey, on to the map.
Fissure is an advanced map with a unique layout, that utilizes all of Foundry but the back hallway. Its unique rows of boxes divide the map horizontally, and bridge hills provide cover while providing a unique atmosphere. Fissure combines long lines of sight and a competitive feel with unique battle tactics. It has a number of landmarks including the back sniper towers. Although the map, divided into two sides, is asymmetric, the gameplay is perfectly even, and each side has the same attributes and advantages. An interesting quote arose, stating that Fissure "played like Avalanche," but on a smaller scale. I can see where that came from; the map itself may appear to have little cover, but the natural geometry and hills provided the protection. The middle wall dividing the two teams is now inaccessible and completely redone. FIssure utilizes many complex techniques, such as geomerging immovable objects, geometry interlocking and geomerging gravity lifts, but always maintains a "gameplay first" mentality.
A standard complaint that has been asked about time and time again is "if there is enough cover." Yes, there is. Just because I didn't have geomerged walls or barriers spreaded around my map, doesn't mean cover is non-existent. It is just a different type of cover. The map itself, the rows of boxes, the bridge hills, they provide enough cover. Please do not ask about cover. There is enough, and if you ever play the map you would agree with me.
The map can play anywhere from two to fourteen players successfully, but it works best with four to twelve. Any more, and it gets crowded. Any less, and the power weapons become a bit too common, and the map is too open, with too little action. As for symmetry of the map, you could argue both: by its geometry it is asymmetric, but the sides have the exact same attributes, weapons and landmarks.
Below are the screenshots, with captions photoshopped in.
Industrial is a medium-sized FFA map that comprises three sectors, unique formatting, and fast-paced gameplay. It is not budget glitched, and sometime far down the road, I may design a version around submission for Matchmaking, but that's a long time from now.
It utilizes movable objects for unique scenery setup, various power weapons for fun, explosive gameplay, and many routes from area to area for smooth, spreaded action.
This Free-For-All gem houses one teleporter node, moderate geomerging, and many rare features such as fence catwalks, dumpsters used as pillars, a unique "courtyard" area, and much, much more.
This map was a test of my skill in designing layouts, not aesthetics or even an entirely new concept. You won't see an insane angled geomerge never done before, and you won't see some minigame gimmick. Just solid gameplay on a unique map.
Industrial is set up for all Free-For-All gametypes, with a recommended two to six players. Recommended gametypes include oddball, ninjanaut, slayer BRs, and even swords.
SnipeFlag is a long-time custom game classic in my parties. It varies greatly from the default CTF. Power weapons are removed from the map, and you will find an abundance of Carbines, BRs, Duals, and the occasional Mauler. You spawn with a Sniper Rifle, with infinite ammunition, and 110% speed.
Normally, CTF on small maps like Epilogue and more-so Guardian are extremely easy to capture. SnipeFlag encourages this fast-paced tempo by having no score restriction in a four minute round. There are four rounds, and your team tries to score as many caps as possible as the defence must demonstrate quick triggers. To make it harder on the defence, there is no flag returning or resetting. Unless a flag falls off the edge, if it's dropped, it's staying where it is.
The maps do not vary greatly, except for the weapon set. Each map has a custom powerup, which gives you 125% speed, active camo, and makes you resistant to headshots. They spawn every two minutes to help either force that last capture or to help the defence sneak up on the offense.
Finally, there is no radar, unless you have the flag. When you are the flag carrier, you have a one-hit beatdown, and allies-only radar. It is very normal for these games to end with a score of somewhere around 15-13.
Both maps play differently. Getting to the flag may be easier in Epilogue, considering the attackers can much more easily get to the custom powerup. However, the route back to the cap point is longer. In these ways, it is a bit more like "standard" CTF. Guardian is a bit for the more experienced players, and is a group favorite. It is a very difficult task to reach the flag in bottom blue, but once you have it, pass it up the lift and run to elbow for the capture. However, the custom powerup at Gold 3, plus multiple routes, makes battle spread throughout the map nicely.
Infiltrate is a unique Stronghold-type infection that will have you leaping out of your seat. It was intended to revive classic, pure infection, and rival the old, repetitive Fat Kid and 300% speed, 1-shot zombies. The High Ground map gives you a network of connected buildings to hold down against the zombies, who intend to sabotage and infect you. There are many useful hidden weapons, such as a Fuel Rod gun, Power Drain (Which proves to be the best offensive weapon), Bubble Shield, Firebombs, and more. Nothing respawns except equipment.
Two zombies start each round by entering their ghosts (Otherwise they are slow). They are incredibly hard to kill, and will circle the bases looking for unfortunate prey. The zombies sometimes are known by their class, in which these are the hunters. It is advised to avoid these versatile tanks, and find safe ground. However, when infected, you are faster and weaker than normal (By a fair amount, 150% speed). These are the infiltrators who will flush out the campers. Pick your poison, because they are both coming for you. if you survive to be the last man, you deal much more damage than normal, however you have a waypoint.
Zombies do not have radar. It is a three-minute game. Having problems flushing out a camper? At 2:30, a single custom powerup will deploy. Picking it up gives you a three-second ability to pick up weapons. Specifically, the bubble shield and grenades at your feet. Use those to help your zombie brethren to seek out the campers.
Frontlines is an intense, unique Non-Foundry game that brings King of the Hill to a new, literal meaning. Teams spawn in separate lobbies, or armories, and choose their power weapons. Everyone has 300% health and normal damage inside the hill. After picking their weapons, they head through a teleporter and onto the hill. Once you're on the hill, you cannot pick up weapons, so be satisfied with your choice. There are four receiver nodes per team on Junkyard (High Ground) and three per team on Center Mound (Valhalla). This system effectively creates a spawn system after players get to choose their weapons.
Each player has infinite ammo, grenade regeneration and cannot pick up weapons once on the hill.
The hill is large and takes up a spacious, open part of each map. There is sufficient enough cover to possibly evade an enemy for a while, but not enough to run away from him for good. Team firing is a huge key to success in this game; every player has a power weapon and 300 percent health, so focus fire to take out a player one at a time.
There are three rounds, and in each one, every player has seven lives. Don't play conservatively, because it doesn't help to be the last one left on your team, getting slammed by power weapons by yourself.
Running outside the hill will make you very weak and unable to do damage. The reason this isn't just a slayer game with weapon lobbies is to eliminate areas like the base-side of High Ground and the majority of Valhalla, leaving one smaller arena.
Junkyard, taking place on High Ground, is best played with 4 to 6 players, while Center Mound on Valhalla is a bit larger and can support 6 to 10.
The lobbies are a huge part of the maps. The weapons inside them vary based on the maps, but each team has the same weapons. All of them have a very quick respawn time. Most have a ten second respawn time, some have 30, and one power weapon per map has a 45 second respawn time. This may sound rediculous, but the maps are based around power weapons. One weapon, the laser on Valhalla and the Rockets on High Ground, only spawn once per round. Keeping in mind you have infinite ammo but cannot pick up weapons on the hill, one player will have a chance at using those power weapons per round. Use them wisely.
Because Center Mound's lobbies are symmetrical, screenshots were only taken of one.
Frontlines also has a few more advanced techniques in spite of the limits of Non-DLC maps. No interlocking, but a timed event and a save and quit, precise mechanism.
On the start of every round on Junkyard, two fusion coils will drop. One will open the hatch on the only high-tech part of High Ground reachable. The second drops through the hatch and destroys the aesthetic vehicles. That explains the name, huh? It produces a few nice destroyed vehicles for aesthetics.
On Center Mound, because elevation is such a huge part of gameplay, and controlling the high ground means you are dominating the map, there are a few saved-and-quit grav lifts for additional ways up the hill. One of which is slanted to act as a man-cannon, precisely launching you up to a floating crate and you can jump onto the hill.
Thank you for reading about Frontlines. It is an addictive, fun game where details matter, which is why the post is so long. Hills have been reformatted, teleporters have been moved, and they have even been rotated. Every detail has improved this into a very fun, competitive game.
