Unchained
Updated version: it's now much more difficult to escape from the play area.

Tired of the same old Foundry maps? Unchain yourself from the standard boxes and bridges.

Quick Links:
Layout Screenshots
Action Screenshots
Recommended Gametypes

Summary:
Like many of you, I've gotten tired of the same old Foundry. I was looking for ways to make something fresh. Also, I've wanted to design a compact map for small Slayer games, especially head to head.

I knew I wanted a multi-level map where you could jump from level to level easily. And I knew I wanted to avoid 90o angles whenever possible.

The map has several BRs, a sentinel beam, a shotgun, a mauler and SMG, a turret, and a brute shot. There is also a bubble shield, deployable cover, and a regenerator. In the center of the map in the triangular hole is an overshield.

During testing in the early versions, I discovered that the overshield was pretty powerful for this map. You're invincible while it charges and you can get pretty much anywhere in the level before it's done charging. It was basically a guaranteed kill. To make it less powerful, I added a few flame grenades. If you hit the overshield guy with one, it will keep burning him till he dies. It's your best defense. Also, the overshield is set to spawn every 60 seconds, not the default 30 seconds.

With the overshield, you can survive a plasma stick and still have full overshields if you are stuck while it is charging.

But you can't survive a firebomb grenade.

We're playing with motion tracker disabled. Somehow, I get away without getting assassinated.

The orange guy throws an orange grenade, the blue guy throws a blue grenade. These nades actually hit each other, but the "impact" frame is skipped in the video. But you can see how their trajectories changed. It was pretty sweet.

The sentinel beam, back by popular demand and for added balance.

I chose the name Unchained for a couple reasons. First, I wanted to get away from the overdone warehouse/factory feel of Foundry. I wanted to think outside the box and be a little unconventional. Also, "chains" kind of reminds me of the interlocking technique, and I did a lot of interlocking.

Gametypes:
Unchained is set up for Slayer and King of the Hill games. I used several respawn areas for both gametypes, but respawning can still be predictable at times.

I recommend turning off the motion tracker for head to head and team doubles games but leaving it on for free for all games of 3-4 people.

I also highly recommend rockets with motion tracker enabled.

Anyway, I hope this gives everyone a breath of fresh air from the standard warehouse maps. Also, it goes to show you that you can come up with some interesting level designs with some imagination and a lot of patience.

New Screenshots later on page 4 of this thread. Click here to jump there.

Download link: Unchained