34 replies to this topic

[m]

Would anyone care for a Salt Flats/Desert Flats/Flatlands type of map?

It would be a retro-type of nod to the previous Mechwarrior games.

The setting I imagine that would be the ideal location would be where electromagnetic radiation is constant.

Please describe your ideal location below or what features you would like to see within a flatlands type of map. Fog? Snow? Rain? Lightening? etc..

EDIT:

Just so everyone understands, 'electromagnetic radiation' would place radar and ecm inoperable.

Edited by m, 07 November 2014 - 02:48 AM.

[Lily from animove]

the problem is with te current pvp gameplay, how would that turn out? ecm and lrm will win. such a map would be too much of a luck based win by the teamsetup. Got all the brawlers on their side? GG EZ.

So then you would chnage the map and basically end with somethign alpine ot turmaline like.

On the other side, if we would have enough of these maps as well, people would probably start to use more mixed builds to be less luck dependend with their loadout fitting the right map.

But I guess people would start complaining about the imbalance of the map instead of the seeing the inbalanced loadout of their mechs.

[Thunder Child]

Hate to say this Lily, but you're wrong. A Flatlands map would be won by the team with the most Gauss. Followed by the team with the most ER Lasers, or AC5s. Pinpoint fire beats LRMs everytime when the entire teams Dakka can be brought to bear. Even if both teams started within LRM range (which, to the best of my memory doesn't happen on any map we have), the pinpoint fire could bring down LRM boats before they could do equivalent damage.

Not saying this is a bad basic concept for a map, mind you. It just needs to have SOME cover to prevent PPFLD AND LRM fire from wiping people out in the first few minutes. What they COULD do, if they wanted to, is actually make it a sand flats, with a sandstorm going on. Limited visibility, and electrical interference due to static build up, could result in some very tense, if brief, fights.

[Apocryph0n]

I just want a proper snow map and the Kodiak 'Mech ingame. And, of course, the ability to hide under the snow until you find something to rip into pieces on the surface.

[Nightmare1]

...I vote no.

[Tarogato]

The point of a flat map is that there needs to be some way to prevent snipers from overpowering brawlers. And electromagnetic storm would be perfect. Visibility at about 500 meters, radar ineffective beyond that range, BAP and ECM ranges reduced significantly, maybe a little lightning and rain. Somewhat dark, but not so much as to force night or heat vision.

It would be a programming nightmare perhaps, but the level design itself would be ridiculously easy - just make a flat level and throw in some rolling hills, maybe a canyon pass on one side, bada-bing bada-boom.

[FrontGuard]

I voted no. It would be a horrable joke. If there were anyone left alive after the LRM rain stopped there would be a Giant Circle of death where mechs without long range weapons hid behind those who did and which ever side happend to have the most ER weapons would win.
....thinking
actually that would be SO weird it may be interesting.
hmmm...

[Burktross]

Tarogato, on 07 November 2014 - 06:05 AM, said:

The point of a flat map is that there needs to be some way to prevent snipers from overpowering brawlers. And electromagnetic storm would be perfect. Visibility at about 500 meters, radar ineffective beyond that range, BAP and ECM ranges reduced significantly, maybe a little lightning and rain. Somewhat dark, but not so much as to force night or heat vision.

It would be a programming nightmare perhaps, but the level design itself would be ridiculously easy - just make a flat level and throw in some rolling hills, maybe a canyon pass on one side, bada-bing bada-boom.

Yes if this is executed correctly.

[Heavy Metal Boar]

So far, I really like the idea of a flatlands/rolling hills map. The storm sounds like what would make this work. In order to allow an all ranges combat, I don't think the storm should be constant. This would result in brief, horror film like engagements. I like the idea of an EM storm messing with equipment.

If the flatlands prove to be unbalanced, perhaps catacombs with many entrances/exits could balance range focuses.

If all suggestions that appear in this thread are included, this map would definitely ad value to balanced load outs, as well as a nightmare to the map selection.

Just my $.02

[Johnny Z]

I went with yes if it means a new map.

I know there has been a new map added recently... Also that there is a swamp map and 2 new succession wars maps, but a few added quickly would be nice change.

BTW I would bet alot that they are making a Solaris expansion with a few new maps! I know it! *tinfoilhatsmiley*

[ChapeL]

Regardless of settings, every single map in MWO has the same problem. They are built to be fought one or two ways. There is one, perhaps two advantageous positions and a kill zone. EVERYTHING else is fluff, no one goes there and nothing happens there except once in a blue moon when running down the last light mech on the enemy team. The maps in MW4 for instance had far less "character" but allowed for much greater tactical flexibility and movement... and they were bigger. Forest colony, River city and Frozen city ( night, day, snow, whatever ) should be capped at 16 players total. They are just too small for 24 considering what I said above about emplacements and kill zones.

[Thunder Child]

What would be really awesome is if we got a map about 10x10, with a new game type that actually encourages lances to go off and do things, rather than just Deathball on Sniper Hill.

[Kalimaster]

I like the idea. No cover really. Speed would count making Light Mechs a dominate force. It would have to be big so that players would not cream each other right off the bat.

[9erRed]

Greetings all,

Throughout many of the books and lore related stories for BattleTech, battles were fought on or near the outskirts of built up areas.
- Be this farmland, grassland, forests, deserts, mountains or savannas.

This does not mean it was flat ground, rolling hills offer great tactical advantage to those that know how to use them. We have few to no maps in the game that use this method to break the sight lines of larger areas. (yes, there are hills or creators, but not vast rolling terrain.)

Even a desert is never really flat, vast formations of dunes are created by wind and erosion. This could be the types of locations that some future maps should be based on.
- Areas outside the 'infrastructure' location that the battle is happening over, and the entire reason for the battle in the first place.
- Both the IS and the Clans had a 'unspoken' rule that destroying the 'site' or reason for the battle was not something that either one wanted. Preservation of the resource('s) was the reason for being there.

We need to get away from the built up areas, and start using the terrain as the tactical element it was actually used for. I know it's a lot prettier to have buildings and structures around, but that's not how the actual battles were fought. Most of the conflicts were engagements on the approach's to the resources, you need to stop the Enemy from getting to them in the first place.
- You'll find that many of the stories and books only have lights make it to the area of interest, and normally only scouting that location. (there speed offered them that advantage) They don't want to fight there, but protect or capture that area or structure. The real battle happens miles away, and the main effort to stop any effective take over of the location.

Any invading or defending units would never chose flat open ground as an approach or defendable location. Not without superior optics, sensors and weapons. Even the Clans never chose that as they well knew the IS would use Arty from long range to soften them up before they achieved there effective range. So, no to flat land.

Just some thoughts,
9erRed

[Lily from animove]

Thunder Child, on 07 November 2014 - 01:35 AM, said:

Hate to say this Lily, but you're wrong. A Flatlands map would be won by the team with the most Gauss. Followed by the team with the most ER Lasers, or AC5s. Pinpoint fire beats LRMs everytime when the entire teams Dakka can be brought to bear. Even if both teams started within LRM range (which, to the best of my memory doesn't happen on any map we have), the pinpoint fire could bring down LRM boats before they could do equivalent damage.

Not saying this is a bad basic concept for a map, mind you. It just needs to have SOME cover to prevent PPFLD AND LRM fire from wiping people out in the first few minutes. What they COULD do, if they wanted to, is actually make it a sand flats, with a sandstorm going on. Limited visibility, and electrical interference due to static build up, could result in some very tense, if brief, fights.

wonder hwo you try to aimw hen ther eis constantly lrms landing oin your mech and youc ant see anything at all. or try to aim at specific components.

with so many targets, ERLL builds will run hot and be very soon on low dps. your gauss has a rather low dps as well, and only a few mechs can actually wield gauss or dualgauss. But the amount of lrms spam can sustain a massive amount of firepower and cripple the opponents visual and aim.

[GLaDOSauR]

I think it should be a rolling grasslands with lots of little hills. The catch? A massive thunderstorm is going on. High wind messes with missiles and blinding sheets of rain prevent accurate sniping. Every once and awhile a lightning flash will light up the whole map. The rest of the time it is VERY dark.

[The Massive]

The problem with gamers today is they don't care for immersion. When I see maps obviously designed so that one team starts there, the other starts there, and terrain is basically mirrored on both sides, it kind of kills the experience a little.

I mean I understand WHY it is that way..... but still.

Battles don't actually happen that way. Armies have to adapt to the terrain. Because the terrain sure as **** isn't going to adapt for them.

So I'd love to see a dessert/salt flats map. Simply because there ARE desserts/salt flats and battles WILL be fought on them. It is up to the payers to adapt to the map.

That, gentlemen, is immersion.

[DrSlamastika]

Sure, why not, every new type of map is good. But on the salt lakes we need to watch rust on our mechs

[Naduk]

absolutely not

anything not CLAN or LRM would be smashed into the ground in a matter of seconds

[990Dreams]

Yes, as long as you get rid of the ECM/BAP negating bullcrap.

Also, if there were a flat map, it'd need to have some awesome weather variations in my opinion. Just to keep it from getting too stale.