1
Helmer, on 15 June 2014 - 08:20 AM, said:
Here are a few official statements made lately in regards to maps.
http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__3333181
"Lots of great responses. Here's our POV.
Maps are very important to everyone, especially PGI. We understand very well how much engagement is tied to a map, and we absolutely want to and will deliver more maps.
Many people have a general misconception that maps are easy to produce, they are not. A good map takes many revisions, often the first versions are tossed out entirely. They have to be balanced against the current and future metgame, and designed with purpose for multiple modes of play.
Maps are NOT cheap to develop, nor do they take a month or less. Each map takes between 2-4 months of development by a team of 3-7 individuals depending on the scope. This includes all the phases - Design, Prototype, Grey Block, Internal Testing, Art Pass, External Testing, Bug Fixing, and a Final QA pass.
We have two types of maps - ones that reuse assets (Crimson Straits), and ones that require new assets (HPG). The reuse maps are easier to develop. The new asset maps take much longer.
We currently have one reuse and one new asset map in the cooker. The new asset map is a Jungle style swamp map, with a lot of vertical play. The second is a base map designed to take advantage of future asymmetrical gameplay modes.
As for community made maps, this isn't like a standard PC game, where you buy a box, install the game, and can do what ever you like/want with some mod tools. The architecture of MWO is not like traditional PC games, where you can run your own servers, hosting your own content. All of the content in MWO has to go through our pipeline and be stored on the CDN and run by our dedicated servers in a secured closed environment.
It's an area we'd love to explore, but right now we have higher (community) priorities and we would like to deliver on those first."
http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__3292902
"Right now the art team is working on finishing up the Clan `Mechs. We have two maps in the cooker on hold for now. We're waiting for resources to free up and then we can see about finishing them up and pushing "Swamp" live."
http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__3325336
"Hey all,
Thanks for raising this concern, While map generation once all or most art assets are available can be a much quicker process, allowing other processes like testing to take place sooner as well: This is only the case once those art assets are indeed completed.
The Map team has been focused predominantly on getting as wide a range as possible of different kinds of environments put together. Once we've got those basic environmental types pinned down, it will be that much easier for the team to create more maps on the fly by reusing some of the terrains and doodads they'd previously created for that environment type. We've also attempted to balance the long-term need to have this range against player expectations for more frequent maps with the release of variations of existing maps, such as Forest Colony Snow or Frozen City Nights.
Please also keep in mind that some of the map design crew performs a different job than those who design the 'Mechs. Both have independent tasks involved with separate focus on level and environmental design and character design / 3d-rigging. We do appreciate that some players would like to see more maps sooner and others would like to see more Mechs sooner, but it isn't always a trade-off of one for the other."
Cheers.
http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__3333181
"Lots of great responses. Here's our POV.
Maps are very important to everyone, especially PGI. We understand very well how much engagement is tied to a map, and we absolutely want to and will deliver more maps.
Many people have a general misconception that maps are easy to produce, they are not. A good map takes many revisions, often the first versions are tossed out entirely. They have to be balanced against the current and future metgame, and designed with purpose for multiple modes of play.
Maps are NOT cheap to develop, nor do they take a month or less. Each map takes between 2-4 months of development by a team of 3-7 individuals depending on the scope. This includes all the phases - Design, Prototype, Grey Block, Internal Testing, Art Pass, External Testing, Bug Fixing, and a Final QA pass.
We have two types of maps - ones that reuse assets (Crimson Straits), and ones that require new assets (HPG). The reuse maps are easier to develop. The new asset maps take much longer.
We currently have one reuse and one new asset map in the cooker. The new asset map is a Jungle style swamp map, with a lot of vertical play. The second is a base map designed to take advantage of future asymmetrical gameplay modes.
As for community made maps, this isn't like a standard PC game, where you buy a box, install the game, and can do what ever you like/want with some mod tools. The architecture of MWO is not like traditional PC games, where you can run your own servers, hosting your own content. All of the content in MWO has to go through our pipeline and be stored on the CDN and run by our dedicated servers in a secured closed environment.
It's an area we'd love to explore, but right now we have higher (community) priorities and we would like to deliver on those first."
http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__3292902
"Right now the art team is working on finishing up the Clan `Mechs. We have two maps in the cooker on hold for now. We're waiting for resources to free up and then we can see about finishing them up and pushing "Swamp" live."
http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__3325336
"Hey all,
Thanks for raising this concern, While map generation once all or most art assets are available can be a much quicker process, allowing other processes like testing to take place sooner as well: This is only the case once those art assets are indeed completed.
The Map team has been focused predominantly on getting as wide a range as possible of different kinds of environments put together. Once we've got those basic environmental types pinned down, it will be that much easier for the team to create more maps on the fly by reusing some of the terrains and doodads they'd previously created for that environment type. We've also attempted to balance the long-term need to have this range against player expectations for more frequent maps with the release of variations of existing maps, such as Forest Colony Snow or Frozen City Nights.
Please also keep in mind that some of the map design crew performs a different job than those who design the 'Mechs. Both have independent tasks involved with separate focus on level and environmental design and character design / 3d-rigging. We do appreciate that some players would like to see more maps sooner and others would like to see more Mechs sooner, but it isn't always a trade-off of one for the other."
Cheers.
Make a sticky out of it. With a Q as a head title.
Prevent future posts or threads asking the same questions again.
