Sniper Tundra
For the Sniper Hill gametype.

Download link for Sniper Tundra
Download link for the Sniper Hill gametype

Sniper Hill is a recreation of one of my favorite custom games from the Halo 2 days. Back then, we played it on Headlong. The idea behind the game was simple: there is one central hill, and everyone has a sniper rifle. On Headlong, it meant some players ran toward the hill desperately trying to dodge sniper fire, while other players camped in strategic locations to provide cover fire.

Now I’ve finally been able to recreate the experience in Halo 3. On Sniper Tundra, I’ve been able to adjust the game settings and the scenery to make the game work just right. I’ve been able to recreate the experience but with more options and strategies for the players.

Sniper Hill gametype settings: The most important thing to know is the scoring. For each uncontested second in the hill, a player earns one point. For each kill, a player earns two points. “Run and gun” type players can help their team by rushing the hill. “Campers” can help their team by getting kills and eliminating the opponents in the hill.

The next important thing to know about is the custom power-up settings. The CPU spawns in the center of the hill, every 20 seconds. A player who nabs the CPU will be rewarded with 150% damage reduction and immunity to headshots for 30 seconds. This means that it will take 3 sniper shots to kill the player, regardless of where you hit them. It’s a good way to gain an extra couple seconds in the hill.

Other notable game settings include a sniper rifle as the starting weapon, a magnum as a secondary weapon, infinite ammo, no starting grenades, and team based play. All weapons, vehicles, and grenades are map default.

Map Details: So it’s just a map where you snipe people out of the hill, right? Wrong. The map was built for gameplay, not aesthetics. I’ve included many strategic locations and shortcuts to keep the gameplay fun and intuitive. I’d like to take a moment to showcase some of the map’s features.

Let’s start with the high ground, and work our way downward and inward. At the farthest edges of the map, you’ll find two Watchtower Platforms which are accessible through teleporters. Each one contains a beam rifle for all the killing and none of the reloading. These locations are far away, but they offer the “camper” on your team a nice secluded spot to do some killing.

The next best sniping spot is the Treetop Platform. It’s a single horizontal barrier atop one of the nearby pine trees. A regenerator, a beam rifle, and two frag grenades await anyone brave enough to take the mancannon up here. You can lob grenades down on enemies in the hill. An active regenerator means that only a headshot will kill you, but its green glow will grab everyone’s attention. And remember that the branches will stop sight, but not a sniper round.

Another notable platform is the High Bridges platform. This one can be reached by one of two mancannons, and also contains a beam rifle. A couple glass barriers will protect you from other sniper perches, but you’ll have to step out from their protection to have a view of the hill. This is an important perch to control, because it’ll help you keep enemies off the other perches.

In this picture, the large default mancannon takes you to the lower tree platform and the places mancannon takes you over to the High Bridges platform. You can also see the Light Perch which contains a beam rifle and a grav lift.

The Floating Platform is another good spot to control. You can reach it by taking a teleporter or running up the ramp. Atop it you’ll find a crate leaning over the edge and a beam rifle. The soft barrier of the level will help keep you on the platform, but you can still fall off if you’re being careless.

You’ll see some shield doors placed near the hill. They are angled so that they provide no protection from enemies within the hill. You’ll only use them as cover against other enemies who are advancing toward the hill.

In the center of the hill, you’ll see a couple of floating glass barriers in the shape of a “t”. They float off the ground to keep the hill open but still provide some cover against the snipers on the high perches. Being aware of where your enemies are and keeping the barriers between you and them will keep you alive in the hill much longer. And it sometimes forces enemies to abandon their high ground in order to take you out.

One last bit of cover worth mentioning is the Bouncing Box. It’s a crate suspended above three grav lifts. It will bounce up and down randomly, so it’s a fun little piece of cover to use. There’s no better feeling than when your enemy’s poorly timed shot hits the crate right before you take him out while it’s floating above.

The mancannons spread around the level will do one of two things. The ones pointed inward will take you to the hill quickly, but you’ll risk getting shot out of the air. They were designed to drop you on the active camo which sits above the hill, but mancannon trajectories are horribly unpredictable. The mancannons pointed to the sides will take you to other perches. But the one angled to the Treetop Platform only works sometimes.

Besides the semi-effective mancannons, there is another way to acquire the active camo. There are four grav-lift equipments placed around the map. Deploying one at the edge of the hill will let you jump up to the camo. Hopefully it’ll activate before you get sniped. And if you do become camo, resist the urge to shoot or melee nearby enemies. It’s very difficult to snipe an unmoving invisible opponent inside the hill.

Like I said earlier, this map was built for gameplay, not aesthetics. So although it may look like random objects placed around a hill, a lot of thought was put into the balance of each piece of cover. And I did do some merging. Legendary merging, as it were.

So download the map, and download the gametype and check it out with a group of friends. It’s really quite fun. And that’s coming from someone who hates the sniper rifle. And remember, no matter what the final score is, don’t be a sore winner: No break-dancing on the ice!

Download Sniper Tundra
Download the Sniper Hill gametype

P.S. If you like this map, check out my other Sniper Hill map.