User blog:Greedyselfish/Greedy Ranks His Own Zombies Maps (Worst to Best)

Hello, this is Greedyselfish! As the title suggests, I am going to be ranking the Zombies maps I have made on this wiki from worst to best. I will also be looking back and giving my thoughts and opinions on each one.

Keep in mind, I am only going to be focusing on maps from Soul of The Machine, An Alternate Eclipse, and ones that are not connected to any storylines. I will NOT be including maps I've done for group projects like the original Eclipse Warfare versions of some of the An Alternate Eclipse maps, nor any of the Extinction maps I worked on for ''Eclipse Warfare II. ''With that out of the way, let's begin!

12) Celestial Abyss (Alternate)
Not to grow and ego here, but I like almost all of the maps I've done. And by almost all of them, "Celestial Abyss", the second map of the An Alternate Eclipse saga, is the exception. This is what I think of when I think of "filler map". It only just exists to keep the plot going. I find it kinda hard to make five maps in a storyline or saga without one of them becoming this. That's why Soul of The Machine has only four. Just not very interesting to read about. With that said, I'm at least glad I was able to add a layout for it unlike the original version, making it more fleshed out. But there's more going against it than there is going for it. That's why it's at the bottom of the list.

11) School of Doom
The very first map I ever made on this wiki (not including any previous attempts that never got past planning) so it's quite an important one for me. However, I rank this one pretty low because of how much I've grown since then. For one, the setting. Name one person that plays Call of Duty: Zombies regularly that hasn't imagined their school or workplace as a Zombies map? It has been done to death at this point. Plus, with the way our world is now, a school would not be a very ideal setting for something like this. And for two, the Easter Egg is probably the worst I ever did. It only lasts for a few steps and is easier than tying shoelaces. It also doesn't make any sense. Like, why was there parts of a teleporter in the school? I never came up with any explaination or any real plot. But it is quite nostalgic for me nonetheless. The layout is really nice and the "teacher bosses" was a good idea. Thankfully, as you will see later on, I remade this map as part of the Soul of The Machine saga.

10) Homecoming/Halloween Homecoming
I decided to put these two in the same place since they're both relativley the same map. Only exception is that the latter has a holiday theme and a couple of extra gameplay mechanics added. This was just a little fun bonus map of sorts. Because of this, there isn't really much to say about these two. It's just my house as a Zombies map. There's a lot of weapon variety on both of them. Plus, the Halloween version has the option to pick what character you want to play as. An idea, I admit, I copped from Zombiehunter115. Nothing really much else to say about this one.

9) The Mortal Conflict
From this point on, things begin to get interesting. This was the third map in the An Alternate Eclipse saga and where things began to ramp up. On top of fighting Zombies, the characters have to defend a military base from both Opposition Troopers and the Tachibana Cult. It's a very fun challenge map of sorts. I really dig the enemy variety. You're not just fighting Zombies this time, but whole armies! This would continue on in the last two maps of the storyline. I also like the three new weapons that were introduced here: The TX12 Multi-Purpose, EXSS-48 Super Shotgun (based on a really old idea going as far back as 2010), and the morbidly titled The Will To Live, the name and concept alone dropping hints towards the darker direction the story would take later on. Not one of my main favorites, but a good map nonetheless.

8) S.O.D. 2036
The second map in the Soul of The Machine storyline and the remake of "School of Doom". I could've just lumped both in the same place just like "Homecoming" and "Halloween Homecoming". But this a near drastic overhaul of the original map to the point where it's only the layout remains the same. Taking place now at the CODOL Institute's Scientific Observations Department laboratory in the year 2036. The four playable characters from the original return here. Much older, wiser and having nothing to do with the original "School of Doom" story, or lack there of. The Easter Egg is also much better and has more thought put into it. To me, this is what "School of Doom" should've been. But like the characters in the story, I had to grow up first.

7) Unquestionable Ethics (Alternate)
Now in the middle section of the list, we have the first map in the An Altern'ate Eclipse' storyline, "Unquestionable Ethics". A lot of people, myself included, have made maps set in laboratories and military bases. So I combined the two. Taking place at the Eclipse Military's Fort New Trinity, an super soldier experiment goes horribly wrong and causes an infection throughout the base and it's laboratories. I was inspired by a lot of old-school FPS and Horror games for this one. Hence the Half-Life reference in the title. A dark beginning for a dark storyline that wouldn't fully come into fruition until An Alternate Eclipse. This was a great setup to the story and introduced a lot of elements, such as memorable characters, a Major Easter Egg leading to a big boss fight finale, and many mysteries, some of which have yet to be solved. I'm really glad I was able to finally fully flesh the darkness out as you will see in a couple of later entries.

6) Cyborg Reliance
This was not only the first map of my first true storyline/saga, Soul of The Machine, this was a reinvention for me. After flogging around with silly ideas and rehashes, this was my first serious project. Based on the Cyborg Rising mode from Call of Duty: Online, "Cyborg Reliance" takes place in an alternate continuation and creates a whole new story. It's a bit bare compared to the rest of the maps in the storyline, but it, along with "S.O.D. 2036", sets the stage for the rest of it. On a personal note, this was made during a very happy time in my life. I had recently graduated high school and I finally had more time to think creativly about things. So I'll always have happy memories about coming up with this one.

5) Dissolution of Harmony (Alternate)
And now we've reached the Top 5! I always wanted this to be a big, dark and emotional penultimate map for the original Eclipse Warfare Zombies saga, but by then, things changed directions and went for a more adventurous route. I'm glad I was finally able to revisit and revise this one for An Alternate Eclipse. The story, setting and gameplay mechanics are my personal favorite parts of it. The ending in particular which would pave the way for the final map in the saga.

4) Guilin Peaks
The third and penultimate map in the Soul of The Machine storyline, "Guilin Peaks" is based off of a DLC map from Battlefield 4. It brought together the cast from "Cyborg Reliance" and the cast from "S.O.D. 2036" as they are forced to pull a favor for Dr. Van Lucker. It also reintroduces the character "Madman" and brings up the past of Sergeant and leads up to the big finale. For this one, I really like the features I put into it, such as the helicopter, the variety of weapons and the many Easter Eggs scattered throughout. The showdown between "Madman" and Dr. Van Lucker is probably my personal favorite part of the story, due to the reveal of Van Lucker's immortality. This would play a key role in the story for the final map afterwords.

3) Reign of Fire
The second map I ever made, though nostalgia is not the reason why it's in third place. I feel like that even after all this time and me slowly improving somewhat as a writer and as a person, I still think it's a cool concept and map. So much so I would intertwine it into the Soul of The Machine storyline as a dream sequence from the S.O.D. scientists and a small revelation about the history between Dr. Van Lucker and his brother Cortex. I'm personally satisfied with the fact that I actually went back a couple years after making it and created a proper Easter Egg quest for it along with a more fleshed out story. The castle ruins setting is probably my favorite part. I love Medieval History, even if it really truly was the "dark ages". Unlike "School of Doom", this is one that has managed to age well in my opinion.

2) Endtime
In second place is, coincidently, my most recent map as of writing, "Endtime". The darkest and most shocking map I've made to date. Perhaps the darkest and most shocking thing I've made yet. Unlike "Cyborg Reliance" where I was in the middle of one of the happiest times in my life, "Endtime" came right near the end of a very dark time in my personal life. This might explain why the story and setting is so "edgy", but I'm personally proud with how things turned out. Like "The Mortal Conflict", the four "heroes" find themselves against impossible odds. Dealing with The Armageddon Machine, a giant laser capable of destroying the entire planet of Earth, as well as "Athena" dealing with depression after the events of "Dissolution of Eternity". This sounds corny, but I put a lot of myself into the characters I write about. But that's the beauty of art. It's a release. I'm glad I finally recovered and put this thing out.

1) M.A.R.S.
And finally, at numero uno, it's the finale of the Soul of The Machine saga "M.A.R.S."! While not as emotional or dark as "Endtime", it's a conclusion to an epic adventure. Taking place on the planet Mars is quite epic enough. Dealing with cyborgs and mystical being? Sign me up! The feud between Van Lucker and Cortex climaxes in the Major Easter Egg quest. My most favorite Easter Egg quest I've written to date. I was influenced by a lot of older maps on the wiki, such as "L.U.N.A.R", "Nazizombiesplus.die" and "Schule der Untoten", during the creation of this map. It brought back a lot of good memories of me being a no-life and loving it. The setting, weapon variety, the final boss fight against "The Angel" and the revelation of the true antagonist of the storyline are my most favorite parts of the whole thing.

And that will do it! Thank you all for reading! Feel free to create your own rankings and/or give thoughts on these maps. I hope to create more in the future.