Complexity in an arena is a dangerous concept; too much and the players wander off, not enough and it becomes boring. House of Pain handles the situation quite well using 3 height levels, with access for each level available only at key points along the circle. Object placement has been planned to make each level desirable without making any clearly superior. The channels below the main floor and the ledge above it provide tight, enclosed spaces within a wide-open arena, accomodating most play styles.
The only asymmetric Bungie map, Lack of Vision is also an example of a solo level done well. Bigger guns are harder to get to, while the simpler tools of carnage are always nearby. Weapon-wise, you want to be on the platform at the 2X recharger, but the location is very hard to defend, more than justifying the rewards. If you look closely at the layout of this map, you can see that there are no real rooms - because everything is so well connected, getting from point A to point B is never the same twice.
This brightly-lit, beautifully laid-out level was designed for King of the Hill, but it plays just as well as a classic kill-your-friends game. The basic layout is an open area in the center, with the hill on the third floor...but most of the action will take place around the outside. There are narrow stairwells, dark corridors, and a semi-secret teleporter, and many of the corridors double as crushers. The hill has a low ceiling, leading to serious vulnerability from below... but the vantage point is so good that it's tempting to go there anyway. Flow is tremendously good, allowing you to access almost any point (as long as it's below you) in very little time. As an added bonus, the aliens (which make solo play interesting) are turned off completely during netplay, if the "Turn Aliens Off" checkbox is checked.Created by Patrick Gavin, released April 2, 1996.
There are many different kinds of marathon players, and this map should satisfy all of them. On the surface, it's a large arena with a set of passageways around the outside. However, 5D space and some nasty traps make this map much more than it seems at first blush... A lot of thought was put into the relative advantages and disadvantages of each location. There are sniper positions with clear shots at the hill... but the player on the hill has access to crushers at those sniper positions. There are passageways from the outside ring to the edge of the arena, or to the center of the arena, and thanks to 5D space, these make the motion sensor all but useless. Weapons and ammo have been optimized for smaller groups, but the arena is large enough to accomodate 8... The entire package is wrapped up in some very nice eye candy.Created by Aaron Welton, released July 23, 1996.
This small, extremely dangerous arena works best with 2-4 players. Emphasis here is on speed, not finesse. The layout is simple: there is a central pit, surrounded by a small yard, with teleporter up to four overlooking ledges. Each ledge has a pair of switches bracketing it... but you can't reach the switches near the ledge you're on (you need to shoot one of the other three pairs). One switch activates a crusher that kills everything not on a ledge or in the central pit, and the other one fills the central pit with lava. This makes the ledges the only areas safe from external factors, but they're pretty small... and it's quite difficult to avoid a double-shotgun blast or a grenade aimed at your ledge.The readme says no net testing was done... which makes the extremely functional object placement that much more impressive. There are four fusion pistols available at the outset, but no ammo... and an infrequently appearing invincibility powerup will make you wish you had conserved ammo. The primary weapon here is the shotgun. This is the only weapon with regenerating ammo, so in games of any length, it'll be the only weapon you've got left.
While the various traps and tight layout makes this level work well as a KOH level, the extreme pace of gameplay makes small Carnage games the most fun. Kill rates should be very high, and death rates even higher-a great stress-burner.
Created by Ben Matasar, released February 6, 1996.
Randy Reddig, an artist in more than one sense of the word, originally created this level for M1. It was a great arena level in the style of Waldo World, but had a few extra features that added spice for folks who liked death in small places. The conversion to M2 brought even more interesting develeopments, with media playing a big role in the availability of large weapons. Cool tricks are fun, but sometimes you just want a pretty, open space with maybe a twist or two, to kill your friends in. This map fits the bill beautifully.Created by Randy Reddig, released December 21, 1995.
This level, inspired by a well-known location in Europe, exhibits superb flow and makes use of some very nice tricks, making it a fantastic carnage map for any number of players. (It also plays really, really well as a KOH map.) There are multiple rings looking over the central arena, with elevators and teleporters providing transport routes between them. There is also an underground sewer for hiding in, when the heat above gets to be too much. For the truly daring, there are alcoves in the central arena that, while not big, use lighting to provide perfect hiding places in close proximity to most of the action. On top of the great play, the texture choices are very easy on the eye.Created by Torsten "Totte" Alm, released May 13, 1996.
Combining awesome lighting and intelligent texture selection, This Marathon 1 port is truly impressive. Although it is divided into distinct rooms, flow is not compromised, and even the pools of lava cannot dispel the illusion of a real place. Weapons are not spread throughout the level; there is an armory that serves as a central repository. The low-key monster placement (reminiscent of Bungie's M1 net levels) can be turned off completely, a plus when playing with small groups.Created by Tom Phillips, released May 31, 1996.
(original M1 version by Lincoln Lydick)
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