72 replies to this topic

[BINDLETORC]

The map is a great brawler. Lighting is a bit hardcore, I think someone really likes Quake

Awesome map and I got to create a unit and a Tag. Made me a happy camper. Lag and 'desync' were evident in the matches I played and a few spots to get stuck in and some invisible barriers but that's why there is a test server. I have vid and images that I will follow up with after a few more matches. Great work folks.

- edit to correct a typo

Edited by BINDLETORC, 21 August 2014 - 04:06 PM.

[Alistair Winter]

5 quick thoughts:

• The map seems really fun to play. Too early to say anything about balance, but this is pretty much exactly the kind of map I've been asking for since 2012. I am happy to see it.
  
• Way too many colours. There's enough colours at night anyway, with 6 different laser colours, 2 different missile colours and lots of explosions. When the background is green, yellow and blue on top of that, it's not pretty.
  
• I'm really glad that there's no dominating terrain features, like a huge palace, huge mountain, huge crater or huge dropship.
  
• I really hope you guys release both the night version and the day version at the same time. The map looks gorgeous in daylight.
  
• My favourite part of the map is all the different alleys and paths to take. It makes each match unpredictable, it makes scouting more important.

Dread Naught, on 21 August 2014 - 03:37 PM, said:

1. Color scheme / Effects - Particle emitters:
I would like to see some more unity and focused attention on color choice / palette. My first impression was "Whoa......colors."

Yes, I've seen a lot of people say this. And not only is there a lot of colours, but the yellow-green light is really not comfortable to look at.

Dread Naught, on 21 August 2014 - 03:37 PM, said:

Why not put the dropship landing pads in the middle of the map with an actual drop ship sitting there? It would serve as an obstacle in the middle of the map that could help sheild players from LRM fire.

If it was a big dropship, it would absolutely destroy my most favourite part of the whole map, and it would go down the same path as Caustic, Alpine, River City and Terra Therma with their huge centerpiece terrain that ends up dominating gameplay and making matches more predictable.

[greeeef]

The large platforms at either end seem quite difficult to climb without jjs, had to walk most of the way round it before i found a way up, and by then everyone was gone!

[TOGSolid]

The layout seems great, the green is pretty overkill though. I'm assuming/hoping that's something to be ironed out.

[Rebas Kradd]

Great design, great concept, months away from being ready.

You can close public test now. Not really sure why you gave it to us this early.

[Tiamat of the Sea]

Loving the map. The complex terrain and relative paucity of open spaces make this map a joy for agile 'mechs that aren't at over-120kph speeds. This makes the map similar to Terra Therma- but having everything be buildings and other structures also means that jumping 'mechs can actually stand and walk on everything too.

I predict this map being a favorite for Blackjack, Vindicator, Quickdraw, fast Shadow Hawk, Kit Fox, Nova, Summoner, and Trebuchet pilots.

It makes a wonderful change of pace, and a lot of the features here and there add even more fun- I was able to spot the Mechwarrior 3 MFBs, for instance, and there are several tiny cul-de-sacs that are perfect for rushing into with a light 'mech to stop, turn around, and rush out the other way.

[Code Name George]

got stuck I few times and had screen lock a few times to but over all good test thanks

[Maver0ick]

It was common for me to see many mechs stuck in each match. I got stuck here on training ground.

[Outcast1six]

I like the map. There is no real focal point to it yet, a place where mechs always congregate like Therma. plenty of places to escape from enemies if you are quick enough.

[Snowseth]

Overall, very nice map. Lots of areas to hide and move. Seems to be a mobility-oriented mech map (JJs).

The color? Hideously green. If by design: good! If not by design: blech.
Personally prefer something more grey and grungy, and less pukey.

[stevemac]

Lots of dark little corners to hide. the lighting is off in some spots over all great map. With these corners be nice to have atlas eyes as something comes around the corner. One feature would be add weather to it like rain storms or have us fight it out after the power is knocked out( total darkness)

[Tyrchon]

The predominant feature for the map is that it is the close confines with lots of cover and few long distance firing avenues. Verticality is another big feature as there are a number of Mech-sized ledges to drop off of and climb up using small ramps. This will hinder a player from taking certain courses to get to targets and can force them instead to take round-about paths. Without jumpjets this map can be a challenge to traverse quickly. Jumpjets allow players to get to certain areas for better line of sight and direct fire avenues for sniping, but doing so will often open them up for brutal return fire as such areas are pretty exposed. A few tunnels and channels/ravines exist to let Mechs sneak around the map without being easily detected. A few small open areas exist, much like near the Arch/Epsilon Point on Forest Colony. These areas, for the most part, have multiple avenues in and out of them, though in many the verticality allows for Mechs to shoot down into those areas at any opponents that may become distracted or lured into the area expecting an easier time maneuvering.

Due to the close confines large, slow moving Mechs like the Direwolf are both helped and hampered. It is easy to ambush and trap enemies in some of the narrow confines to absolutely wreck them with overwhelming firepower. At the same time though one can just as easily find the tables turned as an enemy suddenly appears from behind and you are unable to maneuver to protect your rear armor and escape. Also, LRM boats are not as effective as they are on other maps due to the close confines and abundant cover.

The Skirmish and Assault matches I played turned into really nasty close-quarter brawls. Conquest, I found, can be fast and furious or slow and methodical as the cap points are set in cove like areas near the edges of the map, though one is in the direct center.

I am really enjoying the map so far and would say that it is maybe 80-85% complete. There are some clipping issues with some of the structures on the map, causing players to have their Mechs get stuck in or on them. The hit boxes on some of the structures are also a bit off. Some of the hit box issues are similar to those found on HPG Manifold, though I ran into one where we were able to fire intermittently through what appeared to be a solid building near the center of the map.

[Sandpit]

Ok I figured I'd give the map an actual breakdown and rating 1-5 stars rated against the other maps

Ambience:
5 stars. This map is by far the best map yet for this. Dynamic lighting is great and it just "feels" like you're in some devious industrial park. Just the best map thus far in this regard.

Design(cover, layout, etc.):
3stars. Great design overall. Plenty of cover, different levels (height), and allows for multiple play styles. It would have gotten 4 stars but, as with every other map, it's simplistic in the "channels". Meaning there are obvious choke points and avenues to move forward in which will just result in the same thign we have on every other map right now. "moving up D line" and such. which brings us to the next rating....

Size
2 stars. Once again, if this map were about 25% bigger it would have so much depth built into it because of the great design. Scouts would be have a wonderful time on this map moving in and out of all the cover on this map, spotting, locating, etc. You're in range in medium and short range of the enemy within about 30 seconds of starting the match. This is one of the main reasons lights aren't utilized more. What's the point of taking a light scout mech if you have no need to scout?

Overall I'd give this map 3.5 stars. (I'm not taking points off for bugs as this was a test) It has a lot of potential and the atmosphere on this map is just awesome! Everything else is average to below average though. There's absolutely nothing wrong with having small maps like that. The problem comes in when it's the majority.

I'm tired of hearing from PGI, "Players don't want big(ger) maps" when every thread I've ever started, every player I've ever talked to, and many on the forums are asking for just that. Nobody is saying that needs to be the majority or only option. If you really want this game to grow and expand, start giving players options instead of trying to force players into a singular play style based on a select few you're talking to.

Lots of potential with this map but a lot of it is lost due to size.

Outcast16, on 21 August 2014 - 05:56 PM, said:

I like the map. There is no real focal point to it yet, a place where mechs always congregate like Therma. plenty of places to escape from enemies if you are quick enough.

D line
the raised area with the pipes. Every single match I played, the fighting took place right there and nowhere else.

Alistair Winter, on 21 August 2014 - 04:19 PM, said:

• My favourite part of the map is all the different alleys and paths to take. It makes each match unpredictable, it makes scouting more important.

I'd agree completely if it were just a bit bigger. Every match I played was stomp down the left or right avenue (one side is D line, can't remember the other) and fight. It has potential but you're in brawling range within about 30 seconds and that's it.

bigger maps please

[vortmax]

This map is heaven for jump jet equipped mechs. Was bouncing all over the place on my Jenner.

Still a few bugs on building edges. Would like to see it in daytime.

[Jman5]

Looks good so far. I wasn't able to find any obvious invisible walls which is nice. As others mentioned, the stuck bugs need to be settled before it should go live. It's too early to comment on balance or flow of the map because it's so new.

[Sheridan Mackison]

It will take a lot of drops to get used to the crowded design of this map. All of the drops I made as a LW were over very quickly. I do like the look though.

[SirLankyIII]

It's a wonderful looking map, it's nice to have a well lit (seemingly naturally lit) night map. There's an abundance of cover and the various structures allow for lots of vertical movement for jump jet capable mechs. Some additional sense of scale would be nice, there's not a lot to indicate the scale of the mechs, perhaps add some car parks (with cars) for employees, forklifts or other work vehicles to show off that it's an actual place for work.

That said it feels a bit tight for a 12 v 12 match, maybe some of these smaller maps could be set to be 8 v 8 instead and leave 12 v 12 for the bigger maps.

[kuangmk11]

Its too small and too busy. Seriously this is what has taken so long? We need more maps as fast as you can get them out. Stop OCDing and over polishing. Just crank them out. One a month minimum.

[xeromynd]

The map is a great concept that needs some tweaking. It's a brawlers total dream, finally the short range combat I've been looking for in MWO. Had some really brutal battles on it so far.

But it seems like like there are WAY too many possible hides holes throughout the map, when you're up 11-0 and there's that one Spider enemy that REFUSES to be found, you really have a needle-in-a-haystack chance of finding him/her.

I also think the map could be a ad bit brighter, there are some areas that are just way too dark for being right next to lighted areas

[Bulvar Jorgensson]

Plays well for both play styles.

Map could do with having variable heat levels as it seems to almost at the same heat level as Caustic valley, Terra therma.

Some of the lighting in areas could do with being killed, this would allow Dark Zones where night vision/thermal would have to be switched on to be more effective in that area.

would have been nice to see close-able blast doors in some of the corridors......walk into my trap....shoot the wee red button at the side of the door, SLAM door shuts on the attacker.

Over all I am impressed though I do agree with this will need at least another two weeks or more of bug fixing to be ready for proper introduction into the game.

Also it would have been nice to see some sort of variation in the conquest mode, either more nodes to capture or even major and minor nodes (major needs 3 mechs on it to capture it, minor just one (with different points for either type)).