Hollow

Hollow is a combination of different aspects that I like in a Big Team Battle (BTB) map. It features vertical play and vehicle routes spanning the entire map while still allowing for players on-foot to traverse from base to base.

Bookmark the Level here to play it in Halo Infinite.

Project details:

• Engine: Slipspace Engine, Halo Forge
• Mode: 12v12 CTF
• Contributors: Solo
• Blockout
• Level Design
• Vehicle play
• Technical implementation

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The basic vaguely heart-shaped layout came from me driving a vehicle on a flat surface with my eyes closed and imagining some vehicle path that would seem interesting. I built the map in sections, always just imagining how the pieces would fit together after designing one area.

I first built one entire half of the map and then painstakingly mirrored the entire map with no actual mirroring tools, as those aren't available in Halo Infinite's level editor. The map scale was referenced from a dev-made map "Fragmentation", which is the largest BTB map in Halo Infinite. Still the interesting pathways around the map made traversing it not feel like a chore.

The gimmick of the map is a loot cave within the central structure in the cliff wall. Players can access it by activating a hack switch at the bottom and staying within range for 20 seconds, after which both the bottom and the top door open, revealing the loot. The doors close after about 15 seconds, after which they can only be opened from the inside during the 2-minute cooldown period. This loot cave concept is borrowed from the aforementioned "Fragmentation" map, but fully custom-built, as the underlying lua script is not exposed to the user on the dev-made map.

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The design intent for the map was to build a BTB map that would allow both vehicle and infantry play with their own respective strengths. Players in vehicles could conduct quick flag pulls, but all of the vehicle pathways had intersections with infantry pathways where players could easily intercept drivers at a moment's notice.

The theme of the map took inspiration from the Halo Reach map "Breakpoint", being set in a blue ice cave. The layout of the map is 90% original with inspiration for the mid bridge from Breakpoint and the central cliff overlook structure design being taken from the Halo 5 BTB map "Basin", of which I had only seen videos of and liked a central structure interior design of. The top base designs took inspiration from the dev-made map "Highpower".

Later iterations of the map saw the addition of line-of-sight blockers in the form of large stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling and a tower structure extruding from the mid cliff overlook structure. These changes were made because aerial play was too dominant on the map as well as there were too long lines-of-sight for long-range weapons. The map also received a lighting overhaul and changes to the bottom base designs to allow players from the lower levels to travel up to the base easier.

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Development summary:

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