It’s finally here! This $1000 tournament will include a maximum of 8 teams with 8-12 man rosters.
Teams may gain entry by one of the following ways:
- Direct invitation by BTBnet to existing and veteran teams that are interested.
- Request entry by signing up in this thread. Your team may be directly approved or asked to play an approved team that may qualify entrants.
- If there are enough teams that want in and there is question as to who should be let in, we’ll have a qualification tournament or playoffs the night before. The remaining spots will be filled by the top teams that come out it.
For more detailed information or if your team wishes to participate, please visit the link below!
Hello BTB community!
Several of our staff members were lucky enough to receive early access to the upcoming Castle Map Pack courtesy of 343 Industries. Because of this, a few of us will use this article to give you our first impressions of this DLC (to be released on Monday the 8th of April).
Daybreak:
MATCLAN:
As unusual as it is to play CTF on maps which aren’t at least functionally symmetrical, I feel as though Daybreak could result in some quite intense games. It’s sized well enough to allow for frequent action and has several viable flag routes ranging from a straight cut through the middle of the map to riding away in a Warthog around the perimeter.
Daybreak’s asymmetry will be most significant as the game starts due to teams having different movement options. As the game progresses, I don’t see this asymmetry being much of a problem.
Both bases have multiple points of entry which should ensure that playing extremely defensively will not be easy.
Overall, I’m looking forward to giving this map a shot at CTF.
Audley:
Daybreak is a map of many faces, with its main face being a familiar two base map, but a side face with a Banshee to offer a less straightforward player another option of battle. On the outskirts of the map, the more explorer-oriented players have networks of caves to keep them entertained as they attempt to flank around away from the heavy crossfire the open central face grants.
However, a player won’t want to get too comfortable in the bases of Daybreak as they are a bit too cramped to really facilitate great combat.
Mania:
Daybreak…Daybreak…I don’t know what to say about this one.
The map is absolutely beautiful: rich green grass, rays of sunlight spilling across the canyon surface contrasting with the thick shadows of the opposite facing side. Daybreak definitely has a Big Team feel to it, yet I can’t help but wonder if the bases are too small in comparison to the rest of the map.
The map looks like it was designed for 2 base CTF, but I believe this could also work as a modified arena team slayer map. The bases are so close that we could see a team slayer game escalate very quickly without being overly chaotic.
Outcast:
MATCLAN:
A large, cavernous map, Outcast is best described as a dusty ring encircling a complex cave system. Points of control appear rather thin on the ground at first glance which sets this map up best to play more reactive gametypes such as Extraction or Dominion.
I believe that despite the push for heavy vehicles on this map, most engagements at a competitive level will consist of infantry battling it out within the caves due to the proximity with cover and the likelihood of ambushing enemy vehicles venturing too far inroad.
Audley:
Outcast has a bit more of a labyrinthine feel, with its various tunnels and canals leading around, through, and betwixt one another. And although there is room for vehicles, including the Wraith it sports, it is not nearly about freedom of those vehicles as Perdition, and infantry will be able to find pathways across the map that they need not fear being gunned down by a skirmishing warthog.
Mania:
Of the 3 maps demoed at the 343i Panel at PAX, Outcast was the only one that left me skeptical. Upon walking
around it, I remain skeptical. It feels too large to be an arena-style, 4v4 map, yet too small to be a Big Team
map that contains a Mantis, Wraith and 2 Lasers. It feels as though it has an identity crisis out of the box.
It is advertised as a Dominion-specific map, but seeing as how BTBnet does not support Dominion at the moment, we
may be able to give it a celebrity makeover to work with Extraction. This may also be a good opportunity to test King of the Hill
in a BTB setting?
Perdition:
MATCLAN:
Initially, Perdition is my favourite Castle map – it has an industrial theme reminiscent of notable maps from Halo 2 such as Headlong, Turf, and Terminal (there’s even a monorail). This industrial playspace is made up of 6 colour-coded sections which will surely help players with orientation and communication.
The asymmetry and clearly defined shapes of this map will lend it well to Extraction and Slayer gametypes and I’m very excited to see how teams will play this map and just how important long range spacing weapons such as the DMR and Light Rifle will be at holding down certain positions on Perdition. Light vehicles will also play a part in keeping certain streets clear, so players on foot might want to look both ways before crossing the road.
Audley:
Perdition is a great cityscape offering with every path wide enough to accommodate an adventurous warthog driver. It begs a recollection of Turf from Halo 2, but with significantly longer sightlines in parts to give an even more comfortable feel for fans of the Big Team Universe.
Mania:
I got to experience Perdition in a 6v6 Capture The Flag game and I have to say it was one of the better maps I have played in Halo 4. Everyone continues to compare it to the fan favorite map Turf from Halo 2. With the exception of being set in a high-rise metropolis, however, I don’t find many similarities between the two maps.
Without going into too much detail, Perdition offers much wider angles with its two-lane streets
and open courtyards without limiting players to only long-range or crowded, inner-city combat. If we can get
1-flag to work (*wink wink*), I see this map playing very well as an asymmetrical CTF map, as well as with our existing 3-site Extraction gametype.
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Part 2
Sup sup BTBnet-ers!
BTBnet is looking for a talented, driven graphic artist to add to our staff. Your responsibilities would include any and everything art! Interested or know someone who would be a good fit? Send them our way!! For more details click here!
Also, for those of you whose social network of choice is Facebook — We now have you covered! BTBnet is on Facebook! Head over and give us a like! And if you aren’t on Facebook, be sure to follow us on Twitter . If you aren’t on either, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!
Lastly, be sure to follow our stream on Twitch . We will be giving away 1600 MSP once we reach 300 followers!!
Much Love,
-Mania
Tonight at 8pm EST check out an exhibition match between team Wake Up and a combination of the professional team Pulse Ambush (Snipedown, Formal, Heinz, Pistola) and Carbon v2 (Gandhi, Ghostayame, Maven, Hoss).
The series will be as follows:
Solace CTF5
Vortex Slayer
Complex Extraction
Longbow CTF3
Exile Extraction
Can the combination of some of 2006′s National Champions and the current top AGL team prove a challenge for Wake Up? Find out tonight at:
Is right around the corner! If you’re going to be in the great city of Boston from March 21-24, come find Mania, TsengMao x MT and Vanirfreyja and be the first to get your hands on our very first BTBnet convention SWAG! We’ve got BigTeamBattle.net wristbands, cards and insider info on the upcoming $1000 tournament!
343 Industries
will be at PAX, hitting the ground running with a PRE-PAX party @ Guilt
and Jess a.k.a BS Angel has personally invited all community members for some Face-to-Face meet and greets at their Booth!
Will you be at PAX? Let us know!
Got questions?
We’re going to have lots of face time with 343 staff this weekend, and we’re going to try to get as many questions answered as we can! Get them in now!
Also don’t forget to stop by the Astros booth and say hi to Molly!
Please bear with us as we update our homepage with a new theme and Halo 4 related settings. In the meantime, please visit our forums and register for the 2013 BTB Winter Tournament.
Thanks,
BTB.net Management
