Sorry for the crappy banner. I haven't re-installed Photoshop CS5 on my computer yet since it crashed. I had to use Photobucket instead.

Magma Mine Alpha
Created by Casselfied (Cassel)

Hey there Forgehub community!

After a long haul with this map, it is finally here. With my life not focused on video games anymore and too much outside stuff, I never originally got around to releasing this project. But after I got a chunk of free time from my normal schedule, I was able to fix it up and put it together for a release.

It wasn't easy and I definitely couldn't do it without all the people who helped me.

How long did it take to build?

Roughly about 10-12 hours total. Roughly 6 hours to build, but going back. editing and making new versions made things take about another 6 hours.

What was the most difficult part to build/longest to get right?

The main lobby took the longest because I kept going back and changing it. But the lava room was definitively the hardest to get right because getting the kill barriers to work was really tough. Once again, going back and forth really took a while especially how I had to test it on my own, and have a couple people help me out.

What inspired your creation?

I wanted to make a map, as I hadn't made one yet for reach. But I wanted to be creative. I wanted something that hasn't really been thought of in Reach and had ideas that people wouldn't necessarily come across when making maps. After looking at a bunch of infection maps on here, I thought it would be cool if I could make a map that had the defense focused on an uphill angle. This would mean that their backs would be against the wall. But I wanted to throw something unique that faced the players backs; lava. I had recently played Metroid Prime and wandered through the area of "Magmoor Caverns". Lava was something I hadn't really seen in a lot of maps, much less, Halo. Some people had thrown it around, but it was for aesthetic purposes. So, the idea of making a mine seemed like a good idea. I went at it from there. I am really happy with the way this project turned out.

How does it work?

Humans

The humans/miners will spawn in a tunnel, built big enough for a 16 player spawn. There is a soft kill boundary which covers the area of the tunnel (this is so the players can't camp the infection spawn or "refuse to play the map". All players will have to run down the hallway towards the main supply cave.

Main human spawn. This is also the main respawn area incase there is a late joiner or you are killed by other means.

End of the tunnel, entrance to the main lobby.

Now this is where the humans will make their first stand. The main supply lobby is where the majority of the items and weapons are located. This is temporarily the only available part of the map for the humans. There is a teleporter, but it is temporarily offline and will be available later. From the time the humans spawn, they only have 10 seconds before the zombies have access to the map through the human spawn (which is like 20 seconds before combat. Grab as much ammo as possible. As weapons/ammo are limited to 0 spare rounds and do NOT respawn.

Left side from entrance. Mine car, hologram and other weapons in the rocks.

Right side from entrance. Mine car tunnel is closed, sprint, main weapon supply crate.

Straight from entrance. Main weapon rack. Teleporter between the racks.

Miners taking defense.

Its easy, right? Wrong. Zombies will find another way into the lobby. About 90 seconds into the game, there will be a teleporter that spawns in the open rock hole in the ceiling (this is supposed to simulate that the zombies have dug deeper and found their way to you).

Teleporter. Spawns 90 seconds into the game.

Rainin' on your parade!

Don't panic. The humans that are left will have the opportunity to use the teleporter that was offline from before. It spawns 110 seconds into the game (20 seconds after the 2nd zombie teleporter spawns). After going through the teleporter, you can't access the main lobby again. Grab what you can find and head through. When you enter the tunnel on the other side, there is a soft kill zone. It is very small, but it is there to prevent people from camping the teleporter with swords, as this was a problem in previous test sessions.

Once you pass through here, there is no turning back.

2nd tunnel. The other side of the mine car door.

The tunnel will lead straight to a shield door to the processing chamber/lava pit. There is a rocket launcher with only 2 rockets and a jet pack. There are instant kill zones so do your best not to fall in. You may get lucky a couple times, but don't count on bouncing across your way across the chamber. Some kill zones work better then the others. But mainly, this room will be your last stand. Try to save your ammo a bit. It sounds crazy, but with a lot of zombies in a small space, it will be easy to let things play out. Ammo is something to be used in emergencies.

Warning: If you fall in, you will join the zombie ranks.

Jet pack spawn.

Rocket Launcher spawn.

Masta Hippie getting a little bit close!

Main overview of the processing chamber.

Human Weapon Statistics:

(No spare clips/respawn)

Assault Rifle x8
DMR x2
Magnum x6
Shotgun x1
Spartan Laser x1
Rocket Launcher x1
Frag Grenade x4

Sprint x1
Hologram x1
Jet Pack x1

Health Pack x3

Zombies

Zombie Traits:

100% Speed
110% Jump Height
100% Gravity
No Shields
No Shield Recharge (woopdydo)
No Health Recharge

3 zombies will spawn in a small room (big enough for 16 players if necessary) and wait for a teleporter to go up. The teleporter is timed to spawn 10 seconds into the game. When the 2nd teleporter spawns (90 seconds into the game) the same sender node will be used as the one in the first one. This is so that one teleporter doesn't get abused and it keeps it interesting for the humans.

A custom powerup will spawn 120 seconds into game at the zombie spawn.

Custom Powerup Traits:

90% Speed
100% Jump Height
100% Gravity
Normal Shields
No Shield Recharge
No Health Recharge

Zombies spawn.

When that teleporter spawns, its go time.

Zombies will make their way into the human spawn and the main lobby.

Zombies will drop down into the human spawn.

That about wraps it up folks!

File Set Download (Makes life easier)

Main Menu Download:

1) Go to "New Custom Search".
2) Select "Tag" and type "Magma Mine Alpha" or "Underground".
3) Go to "Map Variants" and "Game Variants". Select "Magma Mine Alpha" and "Underground" by "Casselfied".

or

1) Go to "Fileshare search".
2) Type "Casselfied".
3) All files should be there.

Special thanks to:

FedeltaXB337 - for some help with the lava room scenery and suggestions with the environment.
blh278 - for some help with the lava room.
xJAB199x - for some help with the kill barriers.
x Mythic 32 x - for some help with scenery in the main lobby.
OakleyHiDef - feedback on gameplay.
Darth Human - feedback on gameplay.
Masta Hippie - feedback on gameplay.
A J Yusi - feedback on gameplay.
anyone else I forgot...

Beta testers who made this possible:

A J Yusi
P4perweight
OakleyHiDef
Darth Human
Masta Hippie
smm2012
OptimusPAUL 93
the pib
CHICKEN42798
xSODAPOP 13x
xJAB199x
blh278
CursedGenise86
Kupopoo
Kanggo Sucka
Skele Brothers
te Flying Ninja
MorstLupus
AngelMajor
JoKeSterr
Yardbird92
CopperyFoot444
XxMUCHOwestxX
FearThatFence
freerunnerbeast
Zephyr The West
haloman1878
jake bobius
Accet
the jiggler678
nOvalyfe
and sorry if I forgot anyone...

Please download and give this a try. Everything in this map took a lot of work and I would appreciate some feedback. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Thank you and I hope you enjoy!