Melancholic Octagon
An Octagon map with scripted improvements to gameplay such as improved spawning and health restore on kill.
- Engine: Slipspace Engine, Halo Forge
- Mode: 2 to 4-Player FFA
- Contributors: Solo
- Art
- Lighting
- Scripting
- Solution to a problem
Scripted mechanics are implemented to improve where players will spawn based on enemy positions, a script restores player health on kill to allow more equal fights to happen and dropped items are cleaned up to improve performance.
What initially started as just a simple low object-count octagon map to showcase a health restore script to a friend turned into an art experiment along with a playground to test my knowledge of scripting and the spawn system in Halo Infinite.
Development summary:
Map idea
Melancholic Octagon was initially not supposed to turn into a fully realized map, instead just serving as a test map to show off a script to a friend. But after getting the script demo to work, I wanted to refine the map, which led me to develop the map more.
Blockout
There wasn't much of a blockout process as the core idea of an octagon map is just a pit in the shape of an octagon where players fight it out. I still wanted to add a little bit of character to the octagon design so I gave it some height variation in the form of outer wall levels that players could jump on.
Spawn setup
I placed 48 Respawn Points along with 24 Initial Spawn Points even in such a small octagon map to allow for the spawn system to have as much options to choose from as possible. The line-of-sight check on the Respawn Points also had to be turned off to allow players to spawn in enemy line-of-sight.
Art
The art theme for the map came from just scrolling through the materials available, when the brick texture caught my eye. I then thought it would be fitting to make the map have a melancholic theme, seeing as an octagon pit at night isn't the most uplifting of scenarios.
Scripted improvements
Scripts were implemented to improve the overall octagon experience for players. The spawn system was custom-built to alleviate bad spawns, performance was guaranteed and new fights made more equal with the addition of a health restore effect upon getting a kill.
Publicizing the map
After the map was finished, I made a twitter post showcasing the incentive to play the map due to the scripted improvements to the experience. A demo video compared the improved one to the ordinary octagon experience.