Hey all. I suppose it is a bit weird to make my first post for a custom map, without saying high or anything, but I've browsed enough and I'm really eager to get this map out to the world. So hi - I am totally addicted to making maps in Forge, and while I don't have a lot of experience under my belt, I think I have a good sense of the art to map decent maps. That all having been said, here is the map itself.

Stratosphere features a series of interconnected platforms and buildings, mancannons and varied elevation. I was inspired by many elements such as platforming in the gameplay (don't worry, it's not a super mario level), a couple of maps in the Jedi Knight series (the aesthetics of Star Wars in general for certain areas, and specific levels like the floating refinery from Jedi Academy come to mind) and obviously my own ideas for how combat should unfold. I had an original idea of making a map that involved players jumping from platform to platform, which would obviously have involved a lot form of the suggested genre. As I began to connect the pieces more fluidly, the final idea began to flourish beyond floating slabs into the almost city-like look of the map. It still retains many aspects in its design of the platform-favored inspiration, and players who like jumping around to take shortcuts will be delighted by this map.

While a first glance might mislead you into believing the map will be dominated by jetpacks, the architecture and placement of walkways, buildings, and even forcefields obstructs or otherwise complicates the line of sight enough that jetpacks should be used for convenient transport around the map first and foremost. Even those that don't have jetpacks will have an easy enough time to move around as players can take advantage of mancannons that carry them all the way from the bottom to the top tier of the map, clever jumps across the platforms, and even carefully planned drops from elevated tiers down to lower ones. Constant motion and utility of the environment will be key to victory, as higher spots obviously provide combat advantages, while the lower tiers house most of the power weapons.

Study of the map and fancy footwork are key to utilizing its geometry to your fullest potential. While it may seem too easy to fall to your death, taming your use of the jetpack and learning which falls are deadly (it is actually safer to drop down than you would think - think of a marble in the old game Kerplunk) will limit your accidental deaths and reveal new paths that you may not have considered before. This also contributes to the overall flow and direction of the map and allows players to travel quickly - You could get from the bottom of the map all the way to the top, and then back to the bottom without dying in about 20 seconds or less, depending on your selection of AAs.

I have only made it work in slayer, oddball, and king of the hill so far (the last two untested, but I've played several slayer matches on it).

Okay, screenshots.

A large walkway spans across the next to lowest tier. On one end, inside of a small passage, is a sword. At the other end is the rocket launcher. The forcefields, seen in this shot, canopy about a third of this tier and protect players from snipers, but still allow attackers to drop in for the kill.

The highest point on the map provides a huge vantage point over the middle tiers, and can attack some areas of the lower ones. It can't attack players in the basement portion of the map at all. It is also susceptible to attacks from behind via the mancannon. Players will also have to abandon that spot if they want to get ammo, and the sniper rifle, which is on the middle level, can easily pick these players off.

These walkways can bring players on foot from the middle level to the top level. There are two ways of attack - good use of grenades will be crucial here. The walkways also tend to draw out chases rather than shorten them.

The central platform seen here is the centermost spot on the map and features two mancannons for daring assaults and a forcefield to mix things up a bit. This area is usually the most highly contested during my play tests.

The mancannon, seen here, launches players from the basement all the way up to the topmost building. Before landing, players can get a quick glimpse at the rest of the battlefield to plan their attacks. Players also have quick access to the rocket launcher and sniper rifle from this spot.

This basement area sees more combat than one might suspect. Pursuits that involve plummets to safety often end here, and counting drops, is accessible in three ways. The aforementioned mancannon is also here to launch players up to the very top of the map.

This platform, while tucked to the side, often sees more combat than not. It is a junction point between the blue base, the central mancannon assault platform and the two paths that lead by foot to the red base. It also has a needler, so players can lockdown the walkways up to the red base.

This curious crow's nest often goes unnoticed at first, but its ability to lock down a good portion of the map will draw attention to any snipers that get careless. It has a good view of the sniper rifle building and the red and blue bases, and it has a barrier that protects from the grenade launcher spawn. The forcefield canopy below will give the sniper a hard time supressing would be attackers, and it's small movement space likely means that snipers will have to make quick hit and run manuevers from the tower instead of elongated camping sprees.

This building is where the sniper rifle can be found, and attacking or holding the tower requires careful consideration. The most direct route to the top is via jetpacks, but the presense of the force field canopy below means that players will have to be somewhat far out before they attempt to fly up there. One of the mancannons on the central platform will launch a player directly to the top, but they will have to be careful about getting picked off. A wrapping stairway of blocks is a slower way up to the top, but is protected from the sniper's direct intervention until the very top. The red base overlooks this building directly, but a jump is nearly impossible from there without a jetpack, and an attentive sniper can take advantage of the lack of cover in that line of sight to keep himself from being bombarded by grenades.

This bridge is covered in most of its length by the forcefield canopy, and is directly beneath several landmarks - the central platform, blue base, and sniper tower. At either one of its ends is the sword tunnel (seen in the picture) and the rocket launcher (behind the camera). It is the main junction of the mid-lowest level and can get player access to the rest of the map.

Gameplay is a good mix of seek-and-destroy and all out bullet exchange. As I said previously, jetpackers will obviously feel at home here, but they won't necessarily be able to take free range when or wherever they want. I placed a heavy emphasis on long range combat when considering the construction, but it also has a duality in that it seems to foster close range combat as well. The lower levels especially seem to favor close maneuvers without completely shutting out the long to medium range.