Invasion: Conceptualization

Community General Discussion
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The following piece is a culmination of the Invasion knowledge gathered by the Wheelmen over the course of Halo: Reach’s lifespan. This Conceptualization details common elements across the Invasion maps in an attempt to distill for the forgers what makes Invasion what it is.

Note: This was originally posted here on the Wheelmen forums. The transition to Waypoint forums may be a bit awkward, so you might want to read it there instead where the images show up and the parts aren’t split in half.

Part 1: Points to Invasion Awesomeness
Originally posted: 10/30/2010

  • Spartans vs. Elites
  • Story and Theme
  • 12 Players; 6 pairs
  • Expansion, not Progression
  • Weapon and Vehicle Practicality

1. Spartans vs. Elites

If your map fails to maintain the Spartans vs. Elites theme, then IMO it is not an Invasion map.

Invasion is a gametype about Spartans and Elites fighting each other in some sort of assault or slayer-style gametype. That being said, Elites should not spawn and get a Warthog. It immediately kills the Invasion feel for me. Yes, I love Warthogs to death, and I will steal the Spartan Warthog any day in an Invasion game and drive a Road Rage against them, and then listen to them rage in post-game. However, the idea of Invasion is for these two species to go toe-to-toe with each other. The Elites should not have human vehicles or weaponry on their side of them map. Yes, they can steal them, but they should not be spawning with them.

Boneyard: Elites pick up needle rifles at tier 1; Spartans pick up DMRs. At Tier 2, Elites get a focus rifle and a plasma launcher that the Spartans can steal; Spartans get laser, rockets, sniper, and shotgun in the refinery. Also, Elties get a Wraith and a Ghost; Spartans get a hog. Tier 3: Elites get a banshee, and another plasma launcher and focus rifle; Spartans get a Scorpion.

Spire: Elites get Needle rifles at Tier 1. Spartans get a sniper, rockets, shotgun, and a hog at tier 2; Elites get a plasma launcher and focus rifle. Tier 3: Spartans get a Falcon; Elites get a Banshee.

In both of these gametypes, The Elites get Covenant weaponry, and the Spartans get human weaponry. This is IMO the most important aspect of Invasion that gets lost on a lot of the Invasion maps I’ve played.

2. Story and Theme

The biggest thing people who forge invasion need to do is come up with a story and mission first.

This point originally came first, but the Spartans vs. Elites point had to come before this to segue properly.

Invasion’s true awesomeness to me is the feeling that a player is in a sort of campaign-style mission in matchmaking. Both Invasion maps play out a story.

Boneyard: The Elites must take a core containing valuable information from the Spartans. The Spartans set up a forward position in a shipyard to create a large shield that the elites must take down. Once the shield is down, the Spartans must fall back to the refinery, where they have Warthog waiting to help hold off the Elites, as well as some powerful weapons. The Elites deploy their power weapons, and launch their Wraith and Ghost. They must now take down the shields protecting the core. Once the core is down, the Elites push into the refinery to take it out to a waiting Phantom, but the Spartans have finally gotten their Scorpion up. However, the Elites have brought some air support.

Spire: The Spartans must take a core containing valuable information from the Elites. The Elites set up a forward position in a rock field to create a large shield that the elites must take down. Once the shield is down, the Elites must fall back to the Spire, where they have some powerful weapons. The Spartans deploy their power weapons, and launch their Warthog. They must now take down the shields protecting the core. Once the core is down, the Spartans lift into the Spire to take it out to a waiting Pelican, but the Elites have finally gotten their Banshee up. However, the Spartans have brought some air support as well.

Notice how the story for both Spire and Boneyard is essentially the same. This is what makes Invasion awesome, and what makes it different from the rest of Reach multiplayer. The biggest problem with many of the custom Invasion maps is that they don’t flow well, and don’t create the story feeling of the gametype. In both Spire and Boneyard, the goal is to get the core, but we have to take down shields twice before we can reach it.

3. 12 players; 6 pairs

3 pairs per team is optimal for Invasion.

In continuation with the idea of Invasion having a story. the Battle Buddy Relationship is also an important part of the gametype that is rarely reflected in most custom Invasion maps. Notice that on Spire and Boneyard, none of the pairs have line of sight on each other when they spawn. Players spawn with one other person, their battle buddy. Players also don’t have waypoints for everyone else, so they must rely on communication instead of “my X.” Players in Invasion should feel like it’s them and their buddy trying to get their job done as part of a larger unit, instead of herpin and derpin by themselves.

That being said, the fact that there are 3 pairs is another important aspect of Invasion. At first glance, it doesn’t make sense for such a large gametype as Invasion to not incorporate the 16 players like BTB does. However, remember the fact that it’s 3 units working together toward a larger goal. With there being an odd number of pairs, a big part of Invasion is determining where you want to push heavy. If you had 4 pairs, you could always break up 4 and 4, and then every Invasion game would stagnate if the teams were even. A huge part of the strategy of Invasion is confusing the enemy so that you have a numbers advantage on one side of the map to take the territory.

Also, with there only being six teammates, players should feel like they HAVE to do more, because there aren’t enough people to just spread out. It makes the gametype harder, and that much more fun because it feels like players do so much more.

Continued in the next post…

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Continued from the previous post…

4. Expansion, not Progression

Tier 1 should not disappear after it ends.

This is definitely the most controversial point. Many custom invasion maps invalidate Tier 1 after it ends. Yes, tiers 2 and 3 of Bonyard and Spire essentially take place in the same area, as the spawns don’t change from tier 2 to 3. However, the offensive vehicles always spawn at the tier 1 spawns. Tier 1 becomes the path that your vehicles have to come from for you to use.

Back to the point about Invasion having a story and being a mission. The attackers drop in one area, and assault a forward position. After they take the forward position, they deploy their power weapons for the next stage. They also get some reinforcements in vehicles. A Phantom or Falcon has to drop a vehicle into a battle. You never see them dropping vehicles in the middle of hot zones. They drop them back to allow the vehicles to push forward.

Moving beyond the story portion, it just makes the map feel disjointed and disconnected when tier 1 becomes pointless. On Boneyard and Spire, the map expands outward and becomes larger; players do not enter an entirely new map. In a practical sense, players move into a new map at each tier, Invasion creates the illusion that players remain fighting on the same battlefield.

5. Weapon and Vehicle Practicality

Do not overload your map with vehicles and don’t throw down random power weapons.

Now, to the point out some ridiculous things in custom Invasion maps. It seems like a lot of people feel that Invasion should be a -Yoink- of vehicles. If players want that, go play Hemorrhage and Paradiso. There are only 6 people in Invasion, and it’s an objective gametype. Teams can’t afford to put everyone in a vehicle. Some maps start with lots of vehicles and power weapons in Tier 1. That, to me, makes no sense.

Harping on the story bit again, notice a Phantom or Pelican hovering above the starting spawns in Tier 1. That gives the illusion of troops being dropped into a battle zone. There’s no way militaries would just drop someone with valuable weapons into a situation like that and expect them to perform. That’s why players start without ranged loadouts in tier 1. Then, as they progress along the mission, they get access to the bigger toys we brought with us.

Along with that, keep to the campaign mindset. When playing campaign, the commanders usually drop off one Warthog, or one tank. They don’t drop tanks, gooses, and hogs all together. It makes sense that players only get 1 or 2 vehicles to use on their side.

As for loaduts, the Bungie loadouts for Invasion work. Notice that Boneyard and Spire have the same set of loadouts at each tier, and they are very well-balanced for Invasion. Moreover, if forgers want to build an Invasion map for matchmaking, they should probably stick to the loadouts Bungie uses.

More on weapon and vehicle practicality, maps need vehicles that make sense.

Boneyard is a good example of this. At tier 2, the Elites get a very fast, but light Ghost, and a tank. The Spartans only get a two-man light vehicle. This seems unfair. However, the Spartans get a laser and a sniper rifle AND rockets. Also, the Elites have to come from a long way to get to the Refinery from their tier 2 spawns. They need a heavy vehicle to anchor themselves with for tier 2. As for Tier 3, the Spartans get the Scorpion, while the elites do get some air support in the Banshee. The Scorpion can one-shot the banshee, which helps balance them, since the Elites can’t kill a tank in one shot with any of their weapons and vehicles.

For Spire, Elites don’t get a vehicle until tier 3, but honestly, the tier 2 Warthog is not that effective against a smart team of elites, since they’ll just PP it, and stick it. Then, the Spartans get a Falcon, which requires 2-3 people to use (a third or half their team), while the Elites get a Banshee (a single-man destructive force). Rockets and plasma launcher are about equal. Rockets can be used close quarters easier, but the counter is that Plasma Launcher is easier to kill vehicles with. The nature of the map allows the Focus Rifle to be more useful.

On another note, there should be no neutral weapons in Invasion.Some maps have had neutral concussion rifles, grenade launchers, etc. Keep to the story. Why would anyone have weapons laying around for the enemy to steal? They brought their weapons with them. If the enemy steals it, then they killed the person who brought it.

Conclusion

Invasion is a Spartans vs. Elites assault-style gametype in which the offensive team is trying to steal a core from the defensive side. However, the offensive guys must lower two shield barriers before they can reach the core. As they lower a shield barrier, they deploy new weapons and vehicles to help them. The sides break up into fireteams of 2 that each must handle part of the assault or defense without direct knowledge of their other 4 squadmate locations. Moreover, they fight the entire battle on one map, not 3 different ones, and they don’t have access to every single vehicle and weapon that their armies can muster.

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Part 2: Map Design
Originally posted: 03/27/2011

There are a number of common issues in custom Invasion maps, even if they meet a lot of the basic elements of Invasion. Some of these only occur to players who have played 1300+ games of this stuff.

  • Spawn Placement
  • Weapon and Vehicle Placement/Balance
  • Lateral movement
  • Elevation
  • Pathways

1. Spawn Placement

Many maps do not have useful spawn placement. There are a few things players should be able to do from their spawns in Invasion:

  • Check for weapon and vehicle spawns
  • Look around to assess part of the map
  • Quickly get back into the fight

Invasion allows players to check for power weapons from the respawn screen to make decisions. On Boneyard, Spire, and Breakpoint, players can check if their weapons are up while they’re spawning. They have the option to spawn on teammates, and typically 1 or 2 other spawns to check. On Boneyard, one spawn can check for all Spartan power weapons while all can check for hog/tank. Elites can all check for their vehicles, but two can check for the Focus Rifle/Plasma Launcher spawns. On Spire, three different spartan spawns can check for Rockets, Sniper,and Shotgun respectively; and all 3 can check for hog/falcon. For Elites, they can check for focus rifle, plasma launcher, and banshee from their spawns. On Breakpoint, one Spartan spawn has access to sniper, laser, and rockets, while the other two have access to rockets (note: rockets and laser spawn Tier 3). One Spartan spawn is stuck in Vehicle bay, but everyone can spawn there. The point is that in Invasion, players don’t have to spawn and then walk around to look for weapons, they’re typically visible from the respawn screen, so players can choose to spawn for weapons, or spawn on their bro.

Players can also assess the map from their spawn. One thing Invasion spawns allow is for players to move the camera around to see what’s going on around the map. The view isn’t always perfect, but it gives players a chance to assess what’s going on so they can make plans before they spawn. One common problem on custom maps is a great deal of cover shielding the spawns. This essentially means the players spawn blind to what’s going on. For a few examples: the Rocket spawn on Spire can see the area near the sniper spawn, the ring of the spire, and the banshee spawn. The Sniper spawn can look around the road, and the ring. The shotgun spawn can see the banshee spawn and the ring of the spire, as well as the Elite high trail spawn. On Boneyard, the Vehicle Bay spawn can assess the area around Bravo. All the Elite spawns in the ship can assess the outside of the refinery. This applies to all tiers, but in Invasion, players typically can assess the area as they spawn. Forgers should play Invasion and look around the respawn areas to get a feel for how this works on all the maps.

Lastly, respawn areas should allow players to quickly get back into the fight. Now that the player has assessed their weapons and the general happenings around the map, they will want to be able to get involved again quickly. Some of the Invasion maps I play on are so large that it takes up to 20 seconds to get back into the fight. On Spire and Boneyard, as well as Breakpoint, players may spawn with a DMR/NR and start shooting almost immediately. Players can also sprint or evade around to get back into the Objective quickly.

2. Weapon and Vehicle Placement/Balance

Weapons should be visible from the respawn camera. At most, each side should get 3 appropriate vehicles.

Invasion power weapons require a lot of careful balance. Many players think that a fuel rod would help balance Boneyard, but in reality it would make the Elites overpowered, or make the Spartans even more powerful. Power weapons should not be a requirement for players to win the game, but they should help tip the scales in a team’s favor.

The mongoose is also an inappropriate vehicle for Invasion. Invasion is a footsoldier’s gametype primarily, but vehicles are essential to the gameplay. It’s an objective gametype, and players cannot win it in vehicles only. That said, the mongoose should never be on an Invasion map. It has no offensive capabilities on its own, and can only be used for transport. People may bash the Ghost as a glorified mongoose, but it can easily splatter, and its guns can quickly take out shields.

3. Lateral Movement

One aspect of Invasion that is often missing in a lot of forged maps is the ability to move laterally across the map. Players should treat Invasion like a pseudo-3v3 gametype. It’s 3 pairs vs. 3 pairs. That being said, one of the huge strategy points is overwhelming one side of the map. This is most visible on Boneyard and Spire, but it applies to Breakpoint as well. Attackers and defenders have to account for two extremes: right and left. In many custom Invasion maps, the design funnels players through easily controlled pathways, and cannot outsmart the enemy team by switching my attack to the far left or right.

In Invasion, the middle spawn in many cases is the most crucial to victory, because they can flip the number of defenders or attackers on either side. The decisions of the middle team are critical to victory. Custom maps need to allow the middle team to switch from right or left (especially tier 1) to tip the balance of the map.

Simply put: I think many forged maps have been too thin and and don’t allow tactical shifts to the left or right.

Continued in the next post…

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Continued from the previous post…

4. Elevation

The complex and annoying issue present on custom maps is Elevation. On Boneyard and Spire, the defenders have the elevation, but that elevation flattens out near the territories. On Breakpoint, the attackers have the elevation until they come down to take the territory. Some custom maps are too vertical. One other aspect of this elevation is that it only allows an advantage at certain ranges. While one side can have a height advantage, it should only be temporary, and should not apply to the area around the territories themselves.

On Boneyard, the Spartans can shoot down on the Elites, but the Elites can fight on level ground in the territory. On Spire, the Elites get the height advantage with the rocks, but they lose this when the Spartans move to their level near the territories.

5. Pathways

ON custom maps, there aren’t a lot of paths available on some of the forged maps.

Tier 1: On Boneyard, there are 5 stairwells the Elites can come up to get into the ship. There is also a lot of available cover on the ground for them to use to get to these stairwells. On Spire, there are 3 paths around the cliff cave, a number of paths in the Junkyard area, and two paths along the pipes. Breakpoint seems open, but there are a number of snow piles the Elites can use to move around to fight near the territories, and the available cover near the territories allows for a lot of creative fighting.

Tier 2/3: On Boneyard, the Wraith has 2 paths it can follow to get into the fight, and both of those branch off once it passes the ship. The Elites can come over the conveyor belt or through the Junkyard. On Spire, the Spartans have 3 paths with multiple branches. On Breakpoint, there are about 4 ways to get to the hub area.

The biggest point on pathways is that there should be more paths than the defenders can conceivably plug with grenades or team fire.

Conclusion

So, for Invasion Map Design, forgers need to remember to place the spawns in such a way that players can use them to assess the map and weapons, weapons and vehicles need to be appropriate, maps should allow for lateral movement without giving one team a constant height advantage, and attackers need multiple pathways available to them.

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Part 3: The 3-by-3 Theory
Originally posted: 05/04/2011

Invasion maps are divided horizontally into a right, left, and middle area. Then, the maps are divided vertically into three phases: leaving spawn, taking a forward position, and taking the territory.

Spire Breakdown

Horizontal Division

Players in Invasion often make callouts such as, “Right team headed left,” or “Mid team going right,” or “Left team coming left with mid team.” These callouts work because players intuitively grasp the three general areas of the map. As such, this appears on all the maps in tier 1 easily.

Take Spire for example, as a Spartan, the cliff team on the left usually pushes through or around the cave, or up the cave to attack Bravo, unless they want to overload one side of the map. The middle team of Spartans generally pushes up through the Junkyard area where there area lot of rocks and discarded construction pieces, unless they want to help overload Bravo or Alpha. The right team that spawns by the waterfall usually pushes up the Mountain Road or through the Pipes to attack alpha. Conversely, the teams of Elites usually try to stop their Spartan counterparts from pushing up. The Elites spawning above bravo behind the shield doors generally set up to prevent people from coming through the caves to Bravo. The middle team of Elites usually keeps people from coming up the Junkyard and Middle Road. The Alpha spawning elites generally control the area around Alpha and the Pipes. This is naturally designed into the map, and many players can callout accordingly without any special coordination

This also appears on Boneyard. The cliff team of Elites generally pushes right and attempts to take Alpha, but has the option to run all the way to the right to attack Bravo (though this takes longer). The Middle team of Elites spawns in a position to head to Bravo or Alpha equally. The bridge-spawning elites generally spawn in a position to keep attacking Bravo, though they can sneak under the ship to attack Alpha. On the Spartan side, the lobby-spawning elites spawn in a position to defend Bravo. The Middle spawn gets DMRs to help suppress Elites, and support Bravo or Alpha at range. The Alpha spawning spartans spawn in a good position to defend Alpha.

Lastly, Breakpoint has this as well, though it isn’t as immediately apparent as Spire or Boneyard. The right-spawning Elites spawn in a direct line to attack Bravo. The middle-spawning elites get the needle rifle to help assist in a Bravo or Alpha push. The left-spawning elites spawn in a direct line to attack Alpha. One team of Spartans spawns below the Bravo ledge in a position to defend Bravo. The middle spawning Spartans spawn next to the stair to grab the DMRs and support the right and left sides of the map. The third spartan team spawns below the Alpha ledge in a position to defend Alpha.

For tier 2 and 3, each team also spawns in a location that generally helps guide where they should defend as well, but I won’t expound on those further at this moment.

The point here is that the map has three sections horizontally that all players with some Invasion experience can see: right, middle, and left. As such, each fireteam spawns in such a way to easily attack or push right, middle, and left. The very nature of Invasion map design gives players an objective out of their spawn.

However, the maps also encourage pushing up and spawning battle buddies.

Continued in the next post…

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Continued from the previous post…

Vertical Division

Not only are Invasion maps divided horizontally for easy distinctions of play areas on a large map to give players easy objectives to follow, the maps are also broken up into what I call three “phases” of advancing: leaving the spawn, taking a forward position, and pushing the territory.

The first phase is leaving the spawn. This can prove troublesome for certain spawns on some of the maps. On Boneyard, the first objective of Elites is to leave their spawn, grab their needle rifles, and push on to the ship. On Spire, the Spartans must leave their spawn and get to the cave, junkyard, or pipes. On Breakpoint, the elites must leave their spawn and take control of the Alpha ledge, Bravo Ledge, and/or middle rocks. This leads into phase two.

Phase two is all about controlling the neutral ground. The attackers must take a forward position that they can spawn in. At high-level Invasion, most of the fighting occurs in what I call “phase two areas.” On Boneyard, the stairs, lobby, and Ambush are all phase two areas. These are areas that the elites can spawn in to keep pushing the territories without having to spawn all the way back at the start. On Spire, the cave, junkyard, and pipes are phase two areas the Spartans try to control to keep spawning near the territories. On Breakpoint, the Alpha and Bravo ledges as well as the area in front of the research station are phase two areas elites try to control to keep attacking the territories. These areas are typically neutral, and in many cases, the defenders also push toward these areas to prevent the attackers from getting into the territories. This is why phase two is the most important aspect of Invasion.

Phase two’s importance derives from the Invasion spawning system. The key component of Invasion after the Spartans vs. Elites aspect is the spawning system. Because “spawning your bro” is so critical to Invasion, phase two becomes crucial. If the attackers get repelled, often the supporting slayers will try to run and stay alive to spawn their buddy close to the territory so they can keep attacking before the defenders set back up. It also saves a lot of time in a short, 4-minute gametype. Thus, Invasion maps need to incorporate the advancing aspect of Invasion that encourages both sides to fight over neutral ground so the attackers can spawn their buddies close, and the defenders can try to prevent this, so that the attackers don’t reach phase three.

Phase three, the last one, is the actual push or taking of the territory. On Boneyard, Elites attacking Bravo will push from the lobby once they’ve established a safe forward position; on the Alpha side, they push from the Alpha stairs or behind from Ambush. On Spire, the Spartans push out from the cave, pipes, or Junkyard once they break the elite setup. On Breakpoint, they push down from the ledges into the territories when they make a hole. Of all the phases, phase three is the most intense because it turns into an all-out brawl for control of the territories. Thus far, phase one fought at long rage; phase two combined close, mid, and long range; and phase three combines close and mid range fighting. Attackers can spawn their buddies in phase three areas, but it is extremely difficult. Phase three is like the last stand for the defenders. If they haven’t been able to prevent the attackers from pushing up, they have to fight for their lives to prevent them from taking the objective.

Thus, Invasion becomes enjoyable in this aspect. Players must advance and try to strategically spawn their buddies to keep up the offensive or defend against it. The maps end up with three phases of advancement as such: leaving the spawn, taking a forward position, and pushing on to the territory.

Conclusion

This is the 3x3 theory as I see it. I say theory because I don’t consider it a law or set of rules to Invasion. This is just what I’ve seen as a team captain for the HaloWheelmen (HWM) Invasion team and as a Halo tactician. The Invasion maps appear to be divided horizontally into left, right, and middle areas that the corresponding spawns attack and defend; and the maps appear to be divided vertically into three phases of advancement: leaving the spawn, taking a forward position to spawn buddies, and advancing to the territories.

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Part 4: Objectives and Tier 2/3
Originally posted: 05/08/2011

Objective Placement

Often times on custom Invasion maps, forgers place the territories extremely far apart, but allow players to shoot across map to both sides, which is counter to the normal maps. Invasion objectives are relatively close to each other. In addition, the two territories never have line of sight on each other.

Usually, objectives are about one sprint’s distance from each other on Spartan defense maps, and just over two evade’s distance on Elite defense maps. This translates across tiers on all of the maps. On Tier 1 Boneyard, Bravo and Alpha are just under one sprint’s apart from each other. On Tier 2 Boneyard, the territories are just over one sprint’s distance from each other. Tier 1 Breakpoint’s territories are just over one sprint’s distance from each other. The tier 2 Breakpoint territories are almost exactly one sprint’s distance from each other. For Spire, the Tier 1 territories are slightly more than one sprint’s distance from each other, and the Tier 2 ones are just about one sprint’s distance from each other. This distance helps ensure that the defenders can properly assist on both sides. It also keeps the map from being too large for attackers to assist each other as well. If the territories were too far apart, the Alpha team would never be able to receive help from the middle team if they had recently gone over to Bravo to help that side.

Thus, the distance between territories allows the middle team to effective attack and defend either Alpha or Bravo while still making pushes on either side effective.

In addition to this sprint-distance between territories, Alpha and Bravo never have line of sight on each other. On Boneyard, the tier 1 the generators themselves block line of sight on each territory, and the walls of the refinery block the tier 2 territories. For Spire, the cave separate Alpha and Bravo at tier 1, and the Spire itself block Alpha and Bravo from seeing each other. Breakpoint Tier 1’s territories stay separated by the research station and the Retrieval at Tier 2. Because the territories don’t have line of sight on each other, there’s a clear distinction between Alpha and Bravo defense. A team must make sure it has people covering Alpha and Bravo. Someone at Bravo cannot sit with a pistol, DMR, or Needle Rifle and shoot across to the other territory and clear it.

Thus, the separation of the two territories forces defenders to watch both sides of the map and allows the attackers to successfully mount assaults on the weak points in defensive setups.

Tier 2/3

Each Invasion map has a central defensive base that the attackers push which serves as the focal point of the map. In addition, Tier 2 and 3 play in same playing space, but it’s used differently at each tier.

NOTE: The 3x3 theory does apply to all the maps at Tiers 1 and 2, and tier 3 to a lesser extent.

For Boneyard, Spire, and Breakpoint, there is a central focus for the map at tiers 2 and 3. On Boneyard, it’s the refinery. Spartans spawning there intuitively know that they should defend the refinery. The Spire itself is visible on the Spartan loadout cam, and Elites spawning know that they should focus on defending this building. For Breakpoint, it’s clear that the Retrieval is the focus point for offensive/defensive action. For tiers 2 and 3, the Refinery, Spire, and Retrieval are the focus points of the map. These large structures also serve as viable defensive locations.

When playing Invasion, consider actual military tactics. Think of the D-Day invasion of Normandy in World War II. Allied forces landed on a beachhead, assaulted German defensive positions, and then pushed into the mainland, eventually retaking the city of France. Invasion works similarly, but on a smaller scale. The defenders are trying to prevent the capture of the core, which is housed deep inside a well-defended position. Military planners would never leave a valuable asset in vulnerable positions. The Refinery is an excellent place to defend from, as are the Spire and Retrieval. Invasion maps need to focus on the Invasion of a central building.

Now, moving on to tier 2 and 3 integration:

In Invasion after Tier 1, players move into pretty much the total playing space of the map. Tier 2 and 3 are not so different that players require new spawns at tier 3. For the most part, the only major addition to the Invasion maps at tier 3 is a capture point. However, Tier 2 and 3 execution is different from each map, and I can’t simply create a broad theory like the 3x3 theory to cover the construction of each map, so I must talk about them separately.

Continued in the next post…

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Continued from the previous post…

Boneyard: After tier 1 ends, players have full access to the map. Players can move about all of the areas of the Refinery and can even walk out to the capture point. The only thing different about the map from tier 2 to 3 is the addition of a Scorpion and a Banshee, and a Phantom lands near the capture point. The difference in play in the map involves the changeover of objectives and the new focuses of the map.

At Tier 2, Elites focus their efforts on the outside of the Refinery primarily. At Tier 3, after they manage to get the core outside, the area near the capture point becomes heavily significant. Boneyard uses the same playing space twice, but changes the focus of the map. Tier 2 involves a lot of combat outside around Bravo, or over the conveyor belt near alpha. At Tier 3, the heavy fighting initially starts inside the Refiney, but then transfers outside. The play of the map changes because the gametype switches from two territories to capture the core; a change from 2 areas, to one object. Now, instead of preventing Elites from staying within an area for a certain amount of times, the Spartans must prevent them from bringing an object to another area.

Thus, one can argue that the capture zone is a tier 3 addition to the map. I will concede to that point. However, this capture zone is visible and accessible at tier 2 and 3. It isn’t necessarily important at tier 2, but it is still there.

Breakpoint: Similarly on Breakpoint, the map is completely open on Tier 2, except for a small room that the core is in beneath the Retrieval. Once again, the change in the map’s gameplay results from the new weapons and vehicles as well as the change from 2 different objective locations to one moving objective. During Tier 2, the bridge mostly serves as a vehicle path for the Wraith and Ghost. However, the addition of the capture point makes the bridge a vital path for the core at Tier 3.

Spire: Spire is the only minor exception to this rule. Spire is the only Invasion map that adds a significant playing space at Tier 3, albeit small. However, like Boneyard, it’s about the focus of the map. For Boneyard and Spire, Tier 2’s focus lies in the capture of the territories primarily on the outer portions of the defensive base. Then, at Tier 3, players move deeper into the base to defend the core. Other than the addition of the top portion of the Spire to pull the core, players still move about in the same space for Tier 2 and 3.

Because the playing space does not change drastically from tier 2 to 3, players do not need new spawns. Moreover, Tier 3 is the most hectic of the phases, with 5 different loadouts as well as the addition of stronger weapons and vehicles. Players should not have to learn a new playing space at tier 3.

The Capture Point

The capture point itself is in what I consider neutral territory, leaning towards the attackers. It is usually in a side area added with Tier 2. On Boneyard, it’s off to the left for the attackers; on Breakpoint, it’s near the bridge to the left of the attackers’ spawns; on Spire, it’s off to the left of the Spire. Both teams fight for control of the area around the capture point. No team should be given easily attainable control out of spawn for the area around the capture point.

Invasion Assault (Bomb)

Assault is a difficult gametype in any playlist. The attacking team is always down one person. Invasion Breakpoint creates balance on the map’s tier 2 assault gametype with the weapon and vehicle set. Because the Elites are down a player moving the bomb, they have a Wraith to power slay for them. The Spartans only have a Warthog and Sniper to combat the Wraith, but they also spawn with DMRs and can pick up plasma pistols. The Wraith isn’t invincible, but it is extremely powerful. The Wraith’s dominance compensates for the bomb carriers non-combative nature. In addition, the Tier 2 loadouts prevent campers. There are no shotguns or swords to dominate CQC on Breakpoint tier 2.

Essentially, assault requires that the attacking team have enough firepower to compensate for the one player carrying the bomb who cannot fight.

Conclusion

The territories in Invasion are generally around one sprint’s distance from each other. Invasion Tiers 2 and 3 are played in the same playing space; the playing space does not change dramatically enough to require new spawns at Tier 3. Each Invasion map has a central base for Tier 2 and 3. Lastly, Assault works best at Tier 2 and requires that the attacking team have enough firepower to compensate for being down one teammate.

9

Part 5: Delaying Elements
Originally Posted: 12/30/11

Important information:

Terms used:

Line of Sight: The ability of a player to see a target.
Line of Effect: The ability for a player to affect a target (i.e. shooting directly at a target for damage, throwing a grenade to hit a target around a corner, etc.).

Note: Just because a player has line of sight to a target does not mean the player had line of effect to the target and vise versa. Shield doors allow sight but block effect. Solid obstacles usually block both line of sight and line of effect, but certain cases (such as throwing a grenade over an obstacle or using a rocket launcher to hit a target around a corner) allow line of effect to be established between the player and the target.Response: An fireteam’s retaliation to an opposing fireteam’s actions. Usually, a defending fireteam responds the attacking fireteam with a territory defense, and the attacking fireteam responds to the defending fireteam with a territory attack.

Coloring used in Screenshots:

Red: Denotes the area of the territory that the screenshot has line of sight on.
Yellow: Highlights the area of the territory that the screenshot lacks line of sight on, or the obstruction blocking said line of sight.
Blue: Respawn area of the defenders.
Orange: Possible path of a thrown grenade.
White: Possible path of player movement.
Green: Areas safe from attack.


When creating a forged Invasion map, there must be an element between a fireteam's spawn zone and an objective that delays the response of a respawning fireteam. This "element" requires a respawning player or fireteam to move a significant distance from their respawn area before they can enter or fire upon a territory or objective. These elements can vary from simple distance to line of sight blockers to line of effect blockers.

These "elements" must exist in order to award one fireteam for completely eliminating another fireteam. If an attacking fireteam eliminates a defending fireteam, the attackers have extra time to secure and capture a territory before the defending fireteam can respawn and reposition. If a defending fireteam eliminates an attacking fireteam, the defenders have a respite to regain shields and ammo and reposition themselves before the attacking fireteam attempts another attack. If a fireteam fails to eliminate both players in an opposing fireteam, then the remaining player may be able to take cover and respawn his battle-buddy much closer to the objective. In this way, delaying elements help accentuate the advantage that a victorious fireteam has achieved.

[spoiler]
In almost any Invasion map, the delaying elements for the attacking team include a significant distance between respawn zones and the objectives, limited line of sight, and limited line of effect. All Matchmaking Invasion maps have the attacking team spawn far away from the objective. Given the distance between the attackers' spawns and the objectives, obstacles may restrict the attackers' lines of sight and lines of effect to the territory. The distance itself may limit a player's accuracy enough to force the player to move up to a more advantageous offensive position. This delays an attacking fireteam's response as they must traverse the battlefield in order to secure the territory. This is immediately apparent in Boneyard, Breakpoint and Spire; attackers cannot see or easily affect the territory from their respawn zones. Therefore, they must move across the battlefield to secure the objective. The attackers' response to the defense is delayed as a result. In this way, distance combines with line of sight blockers and line of effect blockers to create elements that delay the response of a respawning fireteam.

Boneyard:

[spoiler]
Tier 1 Alpha Attacker's view:
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/8503/boneyardalphaattacker1.jpg

While the Alpha attackers can see into Alpha territory (highlighted in red), they are well out of range to launch any meaningful attack, especially with their starting weaponry. Bravo territory's line of sight is completely blocked, as highlighted in yellow.

The other territories are similarly blocked in line of sight, and as such are omitted for space. The Boneyard Tier 2 spawns are omitted for the same reason.
[/spoiler]

Spire: Off spawn, the rocky terrain of Tier 1 blocks all of the attackers' lines of sight and most of their lines of effect. In Tier 2, the territories are inside the Spire, so attackers still lack line of sight and effect to the territories. As such, screenshots for attackers on Spire Tiers 1 & 2 are unnecessary.

Breakpoint:

[spoiler]
Alpha, Middle, and Bravo Attackers' views in their respective order:
http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/759/breakpointalphaattacker.jpg
http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/5899/breakpointmiddleattacke.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5972/breakpointbravoattacker.jpg

In all of the attackers' cases, there are one or more rocks obstructing view of the territories. Only the Bravo attacking team has line of sight to a part of Alpha territory, and but the view of that territory is limited at best.

In Tier 2, attackers spawn so that the rock spine blocks all lines of sight and effect from the attackers. As such, attackers' views on Breakpoint Tier 2 are omitted.
[/spoiler]

[/spoiler]

Continued in next post...
10

Continued from last post…

When playing on the defending team, the delaying elements are less significant. Usually, the distance the defending team must travel to reach the territory is less than the distance for the attacking team to achieve the same feat. However, the defenders’ amount of initial line of sight and line of effect blockage must be similar to that of the attackers’ initial blockage in order to prevent instantaneous response off-spawn. In order to achieve this goal, most respawn zones are put in such a place that respawning defenders must move a certain distance before being able to effectively defend the objective. This movement requirement slightly delays the defenders’ response, allowing the attacking fireteam to score more time on the territory, as mentioned before.

The obstacles blocking the respawning defenders can vary. Some map formats block line of sight while still allowing blind line of effect via lucky grenade placement and other explosives. Other formats block line of effect while allowing line of sight (shield doors) so the positions of the attackers are visible, but it is otherwise impossible to affect them. Still others use intermittent cover and/or height advantage to deter instant defensive response.

Boneyard:

Tier 1 Defender’s views off-spawn: Alpha, Middle looking to the right, Middle looking to the left, and Bravo, respectively.
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/3295/boneyardalphadefender1.jpg
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/9632/boneyardmiddlerightdefe.jpg
http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/7725/boneyardmiddleleftdefen.jpg
http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/3882/boneyardbravodefender1.jpg

Off-spawn, defenders’ views of the territories are nearly completely blocked. Repositioning or skillful grenade placement would be necessary in order to effectively clear the territory, as shown with these following images of Alpha and Bravo:
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/4628/boneyardalpharoutes1.jpg
http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/3122/boneyardbravoroutes1.jpg

In Tier 2, Defenders face similar issues. Vehicle bay spawn must first move through the shield door and circumvent the yellow-highlighted corner of the building before they have a clear shot into Bravo:
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/8615/boneyardbravodefender2.jpg

Alpha spawn has absolutely no view on either Alpha or Bravo off-spawn.

Middle team’s lines of sight and effect are obstructed by not only their defensive shield doors, but by the weapon platform as well. Middle team must move a meaningful distance in order to gain a clear shot into Alpha.
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/2550/boneyardmiddledefender2.jpg
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/950/boneyardmiddledefenderu.jpg

Spire:

For Bravo defenders Tier 1, the shield door blocks line of effect. After moving past the shield door, there remains a rocky outcropping that blocks line of sight into part of the territory. Smart attackers will position themselves to utilize the generator and rocks as cover from several positions.
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/4344/spirebravodefender1.jpg

The large rocky outcropping protects Alpha territory Tier 1 from Alpha defenders. Grenades can be thrown into the territory, but their effectiveness will be dependent on the thrower’s skill.
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/1722/spirealphadefender1.jpg

At first glance, Middle team breaks this mold. They possess a dominant view on Alpha territory off-spawn, though the generator grants additional cover to attackers.
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/7496/spiremiddledefender1.jpg

However, if we take a bird’s eye view, we can see that defenders can easily position themselves from harm by taking cover in certain positions (positions highlighted in green). As such, even Middle team must reposition to have a clear shot on attackers in Alpha territory.
http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/8783/spirealphasafezones1.jpg

In Tier 2, the territories are within the Spire, and all defender spawns lack line of sight into the building. As such, screenshots have been omitted for this portion.

Breakpoint:

In Tier 1 Breakpoint, defenders must move to circumvent both the corners of the building and the cover granted by the generators in the territory. Bravo spawn has the least amount of cover to circumvent, but as attackers gain more time in Bravo, the Bravo generator rises and covers the attackers. Alpha spawn, Middle spawn (right and left views), and Bravo spawn appear as follows:
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/4085/breakpointalphadefender.jpg
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/3497/breakpointmiddledefende.jpg
http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/8664/breakpointmiddleleftdef.jpg
http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/4039/breakpointbravodefender.jpg

In Tier 2, defenders lack line of sight and effect to both territories off-spawn due to shield doors and basic map geometry. Retrieval Spawn, emergence from Vehicle Spawn, and Sniper Spawn are shown as follows:
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/8592/breakpointretrievaldefe.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1923/breakpointvehicledefend.jpg
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7198/breakpointsniperdefende.jpg

Conclusion

Due to the prevalence of these delaying elements in Matchmaking Invasion maps, successful forged Invasion maps must include these elements. Delaying elements reward players in one fireteam for completely eliminating their opposing fireteam through additional time to reposition, recharge, resupply, and capture a territory. Without these elements, players would flood the objective without heed and create an over-hectic slaughter-fight for the objective. These delaying elements should be wisely utilized in order to prevent the objective from becoming a mosh pit.

11

I never noticed this on the site… It’s a great read though so far.