CE Map List Update!

The mega Halo CE Map List has been updated again. I've added the following maps:

containment_beta02 CoverCanyon2_Race crandorcayon dangermod deathisland.v.1.2 flatland foe2 fox_abandoned fox_abandonedepsilon freelands gauntlet_1.0 Gauntlet_Race grasslandv2 grope h2 oblivion highlow_race hopeless_war_beta_v0.6 hypo_v0.3 hypothermia_race kensworld2 lost

mass meatlocker_race mt_cereal_bowl multiplex my mystic_classic_race nervous_canyon_race pharaoh_2_final purity_and_innocence rider sanctuary sanctum teletubbies The_Hollow the-bridge trush_island1.1 vertimad whenhootersfly wishbone_beta X

Halo CE Non-Race Maps #1

This is my first in a series of posts about Halo CE maps that are not for race. Some perhaps could be made into race maps but none of these currently support race. I would love to play around on these, either CTF or KOS or just messing around.

Room Final

This is an efficiency apartment with a kitchen, living room, and front patio. It has teleports to take you up on top of the furniture as well as ramps to drive up on the couch. This could be a fun slayer map. It wouldn't make sense as a race map. It might be okay as CTF if it supports it. I haven't checked where the hills are for king of the hill, but it could be good.

Toys in the Warehouse

This is another map where you play a toy-sized MC. This map is the inside of a warehouse full of boxes. Some of the boxes are open and boards make ramps up and down. There are mouse holes and pits in the floor, as well. I love this map but it would be a terrible race map. It's a great sniper map.

WPITest

This map is the campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It's nicely done, though not complete. The main courtyard and a few other buildings are detailed, but many are still blank brick. The map is primarily an outside map, though a few interior spaces are detailed as well. Teleporters take you to the rooftop sniper posts and tunnels take you underneath. It doesn't look like they'll ever finish it, but it would be a nice race map. The map has a web site where potential modders could contact the authors.

Solitude

This is a nice, medium sized map that takes place on a series of structures suspended over a long drop. The map is visually appealing and has lots of places to go and hide. It might make a decent race map, but is probably better for other game types.

Soli Deo Gloria

This is a large outdoor map with cliffside bases with tunnels and ladders. A middle structure provides some cover, as well. The existing race takes you out of your vehicle and up into the bases but it could probably be modified for a good race. It would also be a good CTF or other map, as well.

F.E.A.R.

Campaign

I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign. It was creepy and mysterious but had enough action to keep me interested. The environments were somewhat varied and the enemies were interesting. I love the slo-mo.

The ending was not entirely unpredictable, but there was a bit of a shock at the very end.

Multiplayer

I have mostly played 1 on 1 deathmatch and have had fun. I like sneaking around, stalking the enemy. The proximity mines are fun to leave in creative places. The weapons are somewhat varied but not goofy. Nailing someone to the wall is always fun as is frying them to a crispy skeleton with the particle beam.

I would love to see more maps with bots/AI. I hate them in Halo but I'd love to see them in FEAR.

User Interface

The user interface is pretty easy to use. Hosting a server is dead easy. You can choose a single map or a map cycle merely by clicking on map names. It's easy to set a password and the server name.

Custom Content

There is plenty of custom content available for FEAR. Some of the custom maps are goofy, but there are plenty of creative and interesting maps. The biggest problem with custom content is that you must have the same maps as the server or you can't join. While this is a good thing on a server with a map rotation as it gaurantees that you'll have all the maps in the rotation, it's very annoying when I'm hosting a pick-up game and everyone has to have all the maps I have even if I've only chosen one map for the rotation. I have not found a way to turn it off. Disabling downloads just blocks other people from joining.

Links

Fearmaps
Fear Files

Reviews

I plan on writing a series of reviews for games I play. I will not be trying to give an objective assessment or comprehensive review. I will be giving a very subjective review of the aspects of the game that I like or dislike. I won't review or comment on features I don't use. To provide some context, I am not a hardcore gamer. I generally play games casually and to have fun. I typically won't spend a lot of time mastering advanced techniques or difficult aspects of the game. I also tend to prefer simpler games over more complicated ones. I often use cheats. I have a full-time job, two kids, an older house, etc... My life is full of challenges. My gaming doesn't necessarily need to be. Sometimes, I just like to explore the game world without worrying about getting killed.

Halo CE Maps that Need Modding

This is a list of maps that should be race maps but lack some necessary feature, such as nav points or vehicle spawns. Hopefully someone (or I) will find the time to fix them up...

King

This is a small valley with a cool spiral ramp structure in the middle. It has no navs or vehicle spawns in race, though. This one just begs for a race game type...



Immure and Immure2

This is a very nicely done map consisting of a medium sized plateau. Immure doesn't have race navs but Immure2 is set up as a foot race. A hog race would work, too. The path could have as much or as little contact as desired and there are plenty of ramps and jumps to keep it interesting. Immure has chain hogs and wasps but Immure2 has a flamethrower hog.



Faith

This map consists of two bases in a medium sized valley. The race path takes you through the valley to one base, up the base, and over the "leap of faith" to the other base. The navs are set up and the path is good. But no vehicles spawn.



Cityscape

There are three different versions of this map. It's a city based map with a moderately long course. The course has plenty of opportunity for crossing paths to give some chances for combat.

Cityscape Beta and cs-v2 have race support but you have to hike from your spawn point to the vehicle spawns. Cityscape Classic has no vehicles.



Fox Island

This is a large island with a longish Death Island style race around the island. The nav points are there, just no vehicles.



X2 Mudslide

This is a steep map with a base at top and a base at bottom. It could be a great race, but the existing navs require that you get out of your hog twice. And there are no vehicle spawns.



Oblivion

This map consists of tunnels and ledges. It's a driver's map without a lot of contact. The race navs are set up so that you have to get out to get some of the navs and no vehicles spawn. It's a nicely done map, though.



Meatlocker

This is a simple map with lots of jumps. Contact would be frequent, but boulders and walls provide some cover. The map has nav points but no vehicle spawns. Personally, I'd probably move the nav points around to make the map a little less bloody...



Greenvalley

This is a small S-shaped narrow valley with a jump in the middle over one of the energy beams... time your jump right. It might have race navs and vehicle spawns but I can't tell. It doesn't have any player spawns for race mode. It would be a short, brutal race.

Another Map List Update

I've updated the mega map list again. I've added the following maps:

• CMT Coagulation CE - Race spawns no vehicles.
• CMT Dissolusion - Swampy Hang 'em High.
• CMT Fragment - Fragment with Race but some navs don't trigger.
• CMT Icy Swamps - Dark, icy swamp with tunnels you can't drive back out of.
• Super Mario CE Beta V2 - No race.
• Territory - Blood Gulch mod.
• Waterfall - Blood Gulch mod.

Updated Map List Again

I've updated the mega huge list of Halo CE Maps with some new maps. There are a couple of good race maps in the lot. Here are the new maps:

• astronomic
• covie-cruiser
• cracks_stack
• discovery
• DNL_Path
• elitegulch
• fears_of_jeff
• Forerunner_Waste_Storage_public_beta
• forest_gulch
• green_canyon
  
• magnus_trucido_ai
• meteorgulch
• No_Conflaguration
• Paradise-2
• runway
• selective
• Tiny-ass
• u_turn
• xf01
• Yoyorast_Islandv2_public_beta (actually a leaked alpha)

XF01

This is a fairly interesting race map. The course takes you through narrow passages, into the bases, and across rocks and ponds. The map itself is a little rough, with moderate flat triangles, so it's not a very smooth looking map. It's not as bad as some of the mega maps that look like they were made out of blocks, though.

Dioptase

This small map is very much like a small, desert sidewinder. It is a foot race only and may be too small for more than a few players before it turns into a slaughter-fest. A couple of teleporters in the base shorten the route and probably reduce the carnage.

There is a rocket launcher on the map, but it's pretty well hidden...

Needleosity

This is a great map for CTF and slayer. It's a small, indoor map with weapons modded to fire needles. The map has, of course, needlers. It also has shotguns (fire a spread of needles), rocket launchers (fire a needle bomb), and needle grenades (explode with a hail of needles).

The race is a straight back and forth from base to base unless you take the teleporters. These shorten the course and give it more of a figure-8 style. The middle room will always be bloody, though. Laps take about 50 seconds.

Updated Map List

I've updated the map list to add some new maps. Newly added maps are:

• Serenity(ADB)
• Sufication_Canyon
• Head_Water
• Paint_ForestV1
• trapsion
• Mystic
• snowtorn_cove
• mystic_classic
• TLS_Devils_Drop
• immure2
• school
• junglecombat
• gcse2
• Paintswamp_V1
• Sandwinder
• abandoned
• Hog Track

Bacon's Race Tracks

Version 1 and Version 2

The two versions have the same course and the same hogs so from a race standpoint, they are the same. The differences are the colors. There is a hangar floating over the map you can teleport to.

Version 1


Version 2

Wind Island

This is a small island with very low hills (bumps, really), small bases, and a number of small trees. The race criss-crosses the island providing lots of opportunity for contact. All-rocket hogs would be a bloody and long race as every encounter ended in spectacular death for one or both parties. Many times per lap. It's fun to drive, though.

Atephobia

This is a medium sized map bounded by rising cliffs on one side and a drop off on the other. The structures are forerunner-like, but sleeker and more modern looking. The map has a lot of elevation changes but the terrain is smooth and it's easy to race. Features include some H2 weapons, collision damage when a vehicle slams into something, and color-coded teleports. Don't be surprised if you spawn with a flag as one of your weapons...




The gravity gun is hidden under the waterfall. It doesn't do much damage, but it will send a hog flying off the map...