Amidst the blue waters of Delta Halo lies a remote island characterized by an enormous Forerunner structure and the scars of past battles. Perhaps at one point this tropical destination served as a place of rest and relaxation but today the heat of battle eclipses that of the sun. What mysteries lie within the rocks and sand of Relic? Exactly how did this island paradise come into existence?

Bungie Designer Rob Stokes provides this insight into the original ideas and inspirations for this latest Halo 2 map:

" The initial idea for Relic was to create an asymmetric map that would be good for 1-flag CTF, like Zanzibar. The design team (Barrett, Justin, Vic, Eamon, Luis, Shiek, Jay, C Paul, and myself) considered a bunch of different ideas for layouts, but we kept coming back to the desire to create something that played differently than other maps. We discussed some very unusual layouts/progressions, such as ascending through a tower. And in the end, Chris Barrett pulled an idea from the ether (also known as his ass) that was the foundation for the final map.

The idea was to construct a map that forced the attackers to traverse the whole length of the map and double-back to reach the flag. The hope was that this would allow for combat to occur down the length of the entire map. We were also intrigued by the idea of a shift in power, where the defenders initially have a huge advantage, but once the attackers touch the flag, it’s knocked down to the ground, where it’s now much easier to return."

Play a game of single-flag CTF and you'll quickly see this power shift in action. As you can see from the shot to the right, the flag itself is a mere stones throw away from the scoring location. When you spawn on offense, it's almost as if you can reach out and grab the flag. It's just right there, begging to be taken. In order to actually grab it though, you'll have to fight further into the map and then backtrack into the base (though it is possible to jump into the base from a few of the rocks midway through). However, once you have the flag, all it takes is a quick toss over the edge and you're home free. Almost . Unless the defenders use the teleporter… but more on that in a minute.

The overhead map below gives a better understanding of the overall layout and flow of Relic. The offensive team starts on the beach, near a downed Albatross transport while the defending team has a gigantic base to call home. There are multiple paths to victory and a variety of weapons and vehicles to use strategically to your advantage.

The actual origins of Relic go back much farther than you might think. While this map ultimately took shape in the weeks and months following the release of Halo 2, it started from a concept created long, long ago. " Visually, the artist, Chris Barrett, went back to the very first multiplayer map ever made for Halo. This was a test map made in the days before Bungie was bought by Microsoft, when Halo was a PC project," explains Stokes. So in essence, this map is quite literally a relic from the ancient days of Halo.

Despite having ancient roots to draw upon and a fairly clear idea of the gameplay goals, Relic was not without its challenges when it came to design. Whether it's balancing vehicles against foot soldiers or the delicate balance of offense vs. defense, the team had quite a few puzzles to solve. Designer Rob Stokes elaborates on some of the major design hurdles the team had to consider:

"We had a few goals that fought against each other. For instance, we wanted the map to be fun for the vehicles, like Blood Gulch. But we also wanted to create the feeling of storming the beach at Normandy. Unfortunately, these two ideas beg for different things. The vehicles need open lanes and spaces to tool around, while infantry combat requires lots of cover. We did our best to accommodate both, but it’s not perfect. For instance, the openness means that a competent sniper can really shut down the other side. So we tried to tip this in favor of the attackers by making their sniper rifle more accessible from the start."

"Another problem was that it was too easy to defend the flag at first. Initially, there was a destructible gate preventing warthog rushes, and there was a lot of cover for defenders to hide behind near the flag. We tried to address these issues by removing the gate (allowing for the quick hog rush), by removing some cover, and by placing grenade spawns along the route to the flag (so attackers can toss them into the nooks ahead and soften up defenders)."

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