http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/FileDetails.aspx?fid=26774424&player=MockKnizzle008

Hello gentle populace of Forgehub, after much procrastination and endless postponement, I am proud to present one of my oldest and dearest creations:
Observatory.

http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/FileDetails.aspx?fid=26774424&player=MockKnizzle008
http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/FileDetails.aspx?fid=26768173&player=MockKnizzle008
http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/FileDetails.aspx?fid=26768122&player=MockKnizzle008

Many thanks to Psychoduck for editing all my pretty pictures. You're the best <3

Observatory is a small, asymmetric floating map reminiscent of both Guardian and Lockout, meant for 2-6 players. Gameplay is fast and furious, and the multitude of tactical jumps rewards the player who has superior map knowledge.

Observatory has been a journey of sorts. Conceived not long after the release of Halo Reach, you could say that it's been a long development cycle. Some old TG testers might remember when an early version of Observatory made it's rounds, waaaaay back when. In fact, between the date that Observatory was started and now, I've completed six other fully playable maps. That's not to say that I've forgotten about this one; on the contrary, it's been a slow, steady process of improvements and gameplay tweaks, and tests of one gametype or another are a common occurrence during TGIF lobbies.

Speaking of gametypes, Observatory specifically caters to an interesting, non-standard selection of game modes: King of the Hill, Infection (which I'll talk about more below), FFA, and two of my custom gametypes, Three-Ball and Hot Potatoes. Three-Ball is pretty much exactly what it sounds like - three oddballs for three times the fun - and is especially entertaining when you have a lobby of four players, as the game becomes a "musical chairs" of sorts. Hot Potatoes is similar in that there are also three oddballs, except now they're bombs instead of skulls and you can spontaneously explode at any second. Fun for the whole family. Crazy King is also a blast as well, especially if you turn on random weapons.

Weapons list:
1x Sniper Rifle, 120s, 1 spare clip
1x Gravity Hammer, 120s
1x Concussion Rifle, 120s, 1 spare clip
2x DMR, 45s, 1 spare clip
2x Needle Rifle, 45s, 1 spare clip
1x Needler, 45s, 1 spare clip
1x Plasma Repeater, 30s
2x Plasma Pistol, 30s
4x Plasma Grenade, 30s
2x Health Pack, 15s
And now for the part you've all been waiting for, the pictures:

As I said a little earlier, Observatory supports its own brand of infection. An alpha zombies variant, the infected spawn atop the high cliff overlooking the map. They must then jump down onto the heads of unsuspecting humans below, much like the Flood-themed levels of the Halo campaigns. Upon death, zombies are allowed to spawn on top of all the main buildings, and can drop down on the humans from almost anywhere.

The map undergoes a few changes during infection games, namely the large rockslide that cuts down the open sightline on the top half of the map. Survivors can jump on top of the rocks and gain a slight height advantage, but must be extremely careful as they're positioned directly below the main zombie spawn. The dangers of such positioning are illustrated below.

Poor Zatherla. He never saw it coming.

This concludes our featured presentation. Remember, always use protection, eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetable per day, and don't forget to download, play and enjoy!