I know the results of the Reclaimer: Sandbox are long overdue, but at long last, the judging is done and the winners chosen. Eighteen submissions were sent in, with four being disqualified for not following the submission guidelines or for dead links. Of the remaining fourteen, six made the cut for my favorites, which I then had to winnow down to a winner and a runner-up. Below you will find a quick synopsis of each map and a download link to grab the files from the various File Shares. Following that, I’ll reveal the winner and the runner-up!
3 Ways 2 Victory by Flamedude888 (Download Map)
3 Ways 2 Victory involves all three levels of Sandbox and is a map originally designed for all gametypes. (It appears to be serving double-duty as a submission for a filming set for this contest.) Lots of open spaces and a sky bubble that can be tricky to navigate if you aren’t careful about that first step.
Sand Cops by MasterHano009 (Download Map)
Sand Cops is a clever little cops-and-robbers map with some interesting devices for making a jail cell. Despite being a map built for a specific gametype, I think it would actually work out well as a set for any kind of filming project.
Floating Base by Captain EVA (Download Map)
Floating Base looks a bit like a clubhouse that’s been slapped together, with a variety of heavy artillery arrayed around it. The base has three levels, light and heavy arms alike spread throughout. A plank ramp provides one mode of entry, and a man-cannon provides a second.
Gillocee by IIMiNDIISPiNII (Download Map)
Gillocee is a beautiful sky bubble map, clearly meant for some fast and chaotic slayer action. It could also pretty well for a movie set, with or without alterations. Just be careful about falling off!
Judgment by DE4TH DEAL3R (Download Map”)
Judgment is another slayer/objective-style map repurposed for this contest. A red and blue base face each other, with a central platform/bridge between them. Dual kill balls provide a tricky route to teleporter to the sky bubble, where a Spartan laser is available. Training grounds, anyone?
Reclaimerbox by anthraxgoon (Download Map)
Reclaimerbox is one of the few submissions actually designed with this contest specifically in mind, and as such is one of my favorites. A tall tower serves as the centerpiece of this set – and good luck trying to climb it. This tower has a secret, however. Drop into the crypt to find the tower’s sublevels.
Repurposed by Krevil 3000 (Download Map)
The most interesting part of Repurposed is in the crypt, where a hidden base lies abandoned. A series of teleporters provide access to winding corridors on the surface and in the sky bubble before returning you to the base below.
Wretched Ruins by DoodtheDud (Download Map)
Wretched Ruins is a map that even comes with its own backstory – “Explorers have crashed in an ancient ruin and zombies rain down upon them from the ancient graveyard above.” It makes use of the built-in Halo 3 filters to great effect; it’s a scary place to be in the dark.
Sandbox 3 by sdc63 (Download Map)
Sandbox 3 is a lightly modified version of the default Sandbox map, and so is not all that different from its cousin. The most notable differences are a handful of items and structures located in the sand around the main arena.
Sarlaac Pit by Bad Bob HD (Download Map)
Just when you thought it was safe to leave the Star Wars universe, the Sarlaac Pit hunts you down and devours you. Victims of the sarlaac best beware – a long fall into the beast’s gullet will find you in the middle of a kill ball that will slowly and painfully digest you over a thousand years.
Reclaimer SET by HolyJunkie (Download Map)
The Reclaimer SET provides a staging ground by which you may arm yourself with any number of weapons before teleporting to the stage in the sky bubble. The scenic view provides a great location for a secret outpost.
The Sun Temple by EvilPigMonster (Download Map)
The Sun Temple isn’t much to look at from the outside – two boxy, opposing structures built inside the Crypt. But walk inside the red structure and you’ll find yourself walking through winding corridors and up multiple levels before ultimately ending up on the room. The blue structure is less complex, but leads you to a lift tube that launches you back out into the Crypt.
Symmetry by Alpha Omega Fin (Download Map)
Symmetry is a simple map that is, as the name suggests, completely symmetrical on all sides. The base actually reminds me a little of the bases on Blood Gulch/Coagulation – just a little.
Temple by by X Phoenixe X (Download Map)
A long-forgotten house of worship, Temple is another set that makes great use of the Crypt and the Halo 3 filters to generate mystique and awe. The actual dais is quite tall, and a series of lefts on the right side will get you all the way to the top.
So who won?
So glad you asked. It was difficult to narrow the field. There were several very fine maps that made the final cut. Shaving it down to just two selections was even more difficult. In the end, the grand prize winner – who will receive a free Reclaimer t-shirt, Tobias Buckell’s The Cole Protocol, the Halo trilogy soundtrack anthology, and one 12+1 Month Xbox Live Gold Subscription – is:
X Phoenixe X with Temple
The runner-up – who will receive a free Reclaimer t-shirt and one 12+1 Month Xbox Live Gold Subscription – is:
DoodtheDud with Wretched Ruins
Thank you, gentlemen. Your prizes will be in the mail this week.
Again, thank you to all who participated. I just wish I’d had more prized to give out, but as a consolation, I’ll be running another contest sometime this summer, so keep your eyes peeled for that. In the meantime, look for your map to appear in a Reclaimer comic near you!
holy crap jim thank you for picking my map its quite an honor
My pleasure, sir. I no sooner saw the map and thought, "This is where Ferial lives. It just suits his massive ego."
hey jim any idea when you'll use the map in the comic im just getting a bit antsy
btw this is X_Phoenixe_X
Good job David! That map is awesome!
Curious to know if my map didn't follow the submission guidelines, or just wasn't one of your faves. Mine was Element by LIGHTSOUT225
I don't recall ever seeing it come into my inbox, I'm afraid.
was sent to reclaimercomic@gmail.com on March 4th, from ataylor.design@hotmail.com with my Map Name, GT, Creator, Link, My name, e-mail, and mailing address.
I'm not sure what to tell you, bub. I have no record of ever having
received it. Sorry.
that sucks. i definitely have it still sitting in my sent box. and i definitely spent over a month checking this site on the daily waiting to hear the results. weak shit is weak.
anyway, congrats to the winner and runner-up. well done, gentlemen.
Ill take my couple thousand DLs and top-rated sandbox map elsewhere, i suppose.
Much as I sympathize, there's not really much I can do about it when
email itself messes up and fails to deliver messages to me. I can't
reach magical fingers into the Internet to retrieve that which was
lost. Perhaps a follow-up email next time to make sure I received your
original would be good.
Perhaps next time you run a contest dealing with direct e-mails you'll learn to check your spam and junk folders for those that got lost in the cracks, because you DID receive it. I never received an error message in return, and the message is still in my sent box. It doesn't take magical fingers, just takes a bit of attentiveness. Lesson learned, hopefully.
Ah, but I DO check those folders. Religiously. Especially when I'm
running a contest, just to make sure nothing gets lost in the cracks.
But if the email never actually makes it to my account, there's not a
lot I can do about it. It's the Internet. Sometimes emails get lost.
I understand you're disappointed, but being snarky about it isn't
going to change the fact that your email never actually made it to my
inbox – in any shape, fashion, or form – in the first place.
I wouldn't be snarky had you just not liked the map, but I find your claim pretty hard to believe, so I guess you most likely just deleted it out of inattentiveness. It happens, its cool. But e-mails that aren't delivered get sent back to the sender, common knowledge. The fact that you beat around the possibility of self-fault is basically what's bringing about said snarkiness.
Anyway, like I said, congrats to the winners, I'll have to DL and check them out
Wow, this guy needs to stfu.
Wow you like my submission!
Thank you so much, even though I didn't win, I'm glad at least I was noticed. _
P.S. Wait, are all of these subs going to be featured in the comic? When is the next issue coming out?
Reclaimer updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I have no set schedule to include these maps in the comic, but I'll work them in as things develop.
Well, wow.
These do look awesome, and that's with the small screenshots. You really are quite the judge, Dear Jim.
There was a lot of good stuff in this contest, to be sure.
its an amazing map! wow… just wow…
I may have not won but now that my map is out there for people to see i am still happy. (im making version 2 at the moment.) Congratulations to X Phoenixe X and DoodtheDud they are fantastic maps.
My new map is a remake of the one i entered here. Quite a bit different but has the same idea.
http://www.bungie.net/Online/Halo3UserContentDeta…
Woah! My map got runner up? That must be why it got a recent huge bump in downloads. Guess I better start actually reading your comic then
Seriously, I will. I entered this from the Bungie website.
And to those downloading it, remember to get the gametype as well.
You mean you don't already?! I'm hurt!
hmmm. If i had of picked up the Mythic map pack and made the map i had so eagerly mentioned to you, i might have won…
I would love to play on the saarlac pit
My map is much darker than that. Screenshots always make it look well-lit. Hehe.
Anyways, forgot to say thanks.
Thanks alot. It means alot to me.
Yeah, I noticed that little fact. Kinda funny, actually.
And you're welcome! It's a nice little map, rife with story-telling possibilities.
Wow, 9 months after entering a competition I didn't know about, I discover I've been picked out!
Thanks for picking Sarlacc Pit!