Hello again, Forge Hub. I've got another offering to lay on the Reach customs altar. This is a map of individual combat skill, satisfying a full party, without the chaos of FFA. No, this is very organized indeed. It's an automated 1v1 tournament. The concept here is that 16 players pair up in 2s and fight to determine who is eliminated and who advances, then the 8 survivors do the same, then 4, and finally the last 2 will meet to see who is the final champ.

This is another recreation of one of my H3 concepts to make it's way to Reach. And again, it's made the transition with flying colors. It's fairly intuitive, but there are one or two things that could use some illumination.

First item - opposition. It stands to reason that if there aren't 16 players in the party, not everyone will have an opponent in every round. When this happens in any other tournament, what happens is that some people will be given a bye, a free pass to the next round. Unfortunately, that means they have to wait a bit. If you don't have an opponent, just wait 30 seconds for the next round. You'll get to fight someone soon.

Now, the advancement mechanics.

Level 1

Pick your loadout (see chart above for Level 1), then find yourself in this L-shaped room with your first opponent. If you get killed, you will stay that way as there is only one life to live in this game. Watch other players from the grave.

If you win, find the flag in your room and wait for the timer to read 2:30. An Energy Sword will spawn, followed by a grav lift. The direction the flag is pointing is the direction you should face when you go up.

Level 2

Once you've both made it up, make your new opponent's bothersome self quit functioning in such an animated and aggressive manner. The Pro Pipe and Sticky Grenades are there in the room to help you do just that.

A DMR, Hologram AA, and Health Pack will spawn next to the exit at the end of round 2. There are 4 of these rooms, but 2 versions of the exit. Version one involves an exploding door, version two involves a teleporter. The exploding door version is pretty obvious. Once the door disintegrates, you can go through.

The teleporter version will let you know when you can pass with a light that turns form red to green (and the sound of the exploding door in the next room over). This happens when your timer reads 2:00.

Level 3

Now we move outside. You'll notice by now that the rooms are getting bigger and bigger. At this point, there will be 4 people left alive. The battle rages, 2 will be left standing.

The exit from this stage is simply a teleporter that lights up when the clock reads 1:30. A Jet Pack AA, Frag Grenade, and Health Pack will spawn.

Level 4

Once you go through the teleporter, each player will have the chance to grab a Sniper Rife. Additionally, there is a Concussion Rifle in the middle of the map for whoever grabs it first.

Now we're in the wide open. The style of play has taken a dramatic shift at this point form the cramped quarters at the beginning of the game. It's a big space for only 2 people, but the hunt can be intense and there's not much time left on the clock at this point. The winner of the inevitable battle in this phase is the winner overall and can soak in all the glory associated with such a feat. That is, until the next round starts, as the game goes through the whole process 3 times. Joy!! Redemption!!

That about wraps it up. I hope that many, many people play and enjoy this map for all that it's worth. Thanks to all, and to all a happy 2011!!