52 replies to this topic

[Shiroi Tsuki]

What are your thoughts on MWO's current maps? What kind of maps are you looking for? Also, what kind of play style do you prefer in general?

[Appogee]

What MWO really needs are procedurally generated random maps.

Imagine a universe where each planet offers different maps and different battle conditions. This would offer true variety for players, the true need for scouting and situational tactics, and better simulate real world battle conditions ... never as artificially even-sided as map designers try to make them.

War is hell. Battlegrounds are asymmetrical. Dealing with it would add hugely to the variety and fun.

Long prior thread on this here:
http://mwomercs.com/...ng-and-prosper/

Edited by Appogee, 27 December 2014 - 03:26 AM.

[Ens]

Maps are all in all well designed...!

But River City and Boreal Vault man....

Edited by Ens, 26 December 2014 - 05:19 AM.

[NovaFury]

Often too heavily focused on a single, central feature that largely dominates the map with little reason to fight elsewhere.

River city Citadel, Terra Therma Caldera, Alpine Hill (you know the one), Caustic Caldera, Lower City in Frozen, even things like 'Jesus Hill' in Boreal Vault.

[Rhaythe]

Maps are sufficient, though occasionally quite barren. They need life to them. The new swamp map was a step in the right direction, even though it's still theta-oriented.

[CDLord HHGD]

They are too small. Every map should be like Alpine when the resource points were scattered to the four corners (I really dislike how they are now).

[StraferX]

Poor, inadequate and underwhelming as is the game code.

Forest colony, viridian bog and sulphurous rift are good concepts, even mordor is a good map with many great places to battle outside the center it just needs objectives opened before the gates to the center can be dropped.
many just need refinement, balance and a good cleaning up, to many places I should be able to shoot through one cant, building hit boxes are all astray in many places.

A mapping tool chest would be a great gift to the entire community with quarterly contest for maps to be tested and put in rotation.

I do appreciate PGI effort and in Dev Blog 10 they stated they new many issues existed and that they are just now truely learning the mapping so I expect great things in the near future but Boreal Vault is a major disappointment in balance.

Edited by StraferX, 26 December 2014 - 05:49 AM.

[Appogee]

No discussion on maps would be complete without mentioning the pervasive issue with scaling.

Most of the maps manage to make our Big Stompy Robots seem small because they feature gigantic flora and terrain features, and nothing that would make the Mechs seem appropriately large.

[El Bandito]

River City needs to be expanded, or removed until there is 8v8 or 4v4 queue..

[trajan331]

Appogee, on 26 December 2014 - 07:39 AM, said:

No discussion on maps would be complete without mentioning the pervasive issue with scaling.

Most of the maps manage to make our Big Stompy Robots seem small because they feature gigantic flora and terrain features, and nothing that would make the Mechs seem appropriately large.

Mechs really are not all that large. To be completely honest few are taller than two stories.

As for actual maps. Several need to be larger. River City needs to be 25-33% larger, Tourmaline desert about 10% larger. Caustic Valley 10-20% larger, Forest Colony/Snow Colony 10-20% larger, Frozen City about 10% larger and HPG Manifold 10% larger.

The biggest flaw on these maps that I suggest need to be larger is that you often have enemy contact too quickly. This might be remedied by adjusting the team starting points but, in some cases I think the map just needs to be larger. There is no map I particularly hate I just feel like some just feel to crowded.

[CDLord HHGD]

trajan331, on 26 December 2014 - 07:49 AM, said:

Mechs really are not all that large. To be completely honest few are taller than two stories.

As for actual maps. Several need to be larger. River City needs to be 25-33% larger, Tourmaline desert about 10% larger. Caustic Valley 10-20% larger, Forest Colony/Snow Colony 10-20% larger, Frozen City about 10% larger and HPG Manifold 10% larger.

The biggest flaw on these maps that I suggest need to be larger is that you often have enemy contact too quickly. This might be remedied by adjusting the team starting points but, in some cases I think the map just needs to be larger. There is no map I particularly hate I just feel like some just feel to crowded.

If you look in the city maps though, the cars are way off, or at least feel way off. The tallest mechs barely reached 14m tall, the average being 9-10 (even light mechs were relatively tall, just spindly little suckers).

[Mudhutwarrior]

I think they should have changing options in the older maps so they can change them up and keep us on our toes. It would curb the always boring old maps.

Not real fond of the weather options but more of adding in and taking away features. Maybe bounce the drop locations around too.

[KuroNyra]

Appogee, on 26 December 2014 - 05:10 AM, said:

What MWO really needs are procedurally generated random maps.

Imagine a universe where each planet offers different maps and different battle conditions. This would offer true variety for players, the true need for scouting and situational tactics, and better simulate of real world battle conditions, which are never as artificially symmetrical as map designers try to make them.

War is hell. Battlegrounds are asymmetrical. Dealing with it would add hugely to the fun.

Long prior thread on this here:
http://mwomercs.com/...ng-and-prosper/

Good idea on the paper. Horrible in the practice.

It would create countless of maps with handicap for teams and you would likely kill the game with a system like that.

[DaZur]

Being a little obsessive compulsive I cringe when maps are designed with poor real-world correlations...

Things should be properly scaled, roads should go "somewhere" and just just in circles and hills / mountains don't just pop up in the middle of "nothing"...

Most MW:O maps feel like little Lego towns built on a 4 x 4 sheet of plywood.

[FROGGY CHAIR]

The same thing happens almost every game.
Go here, to the middle.
Wait.

Peekaboo.

[LordKnightFandragon]

NovaFury, on 26 December 2014 - 05:24 AM, said:

Often too heavily focused on a single, central feature that largely dominates the map with little reason to fight elsewhere.

River city Citadel, Terra Therma Caldera, Alpine Hill (you know the one), Caustic Caldera, Lower City in Frozen, even things like 'Jesus Hill' in Boreal Vault.

Yeah, the maps look very hodge podge, thrown together with little rhyme or reason. And everything you said. They make a big ol map, no reason to fight anywhere else. Ofc, that is also a result of the game design and the feeling of needing to deathball...and everyone just kinda migrates to the center of the map. Borreal Vault is just a bad map to attack on....that map needs some heavy redesigns.

Mining looks very random, like the big boom theory was the one used to create it. We have ramps going in odd directions in weird places that make little sense, drop offs and tunnels and buildings on ridges and w/e else.....place looks more like a Mc Donalds playland then any sensible manufacturing facility.

[DaZur]

LordKnightFandragon, on 26 December 2014 - 09:39 AM, said:

They make a big ol map, no reason to fight anywhere else.

Which is kind'a sad... There are some great areas to slug it out on peripheries of almost every map. Hell, I've purposely dragged my lance to odd areas on some of the maps and let the fight come to us for this reason.

But like everyone has mentioned... map design is too "centrist" and everything essentially spirals counter-clockwise to the center.

[jackal40]

Frankly, I am sick and tired of the channeling all the maps posses. Yes, city streets are confining. Real terrestrial terrain is seldom so constricting, with a few obvious exceptions.

If you removed many of the plateaus from Viridian Bog and added more trees and flora visual obstructions it would become a great brawling map.

Canyons is a particular frustration for me - unless you have jump jets you are constricted to the few ramps up to the next levels.

Sure, there need to be some out of this world type maps - varying colors and terrain, but the channeling needs to be greatly reduced!

[Dirkdaring]

I think the maps are quite good. I know how long it takes to put one together that's fairly balanced. No one wants to start on 'that side of the map' that always loses.

[DaZur]

jackal40, on 26 December 2014 - 10:08 AM, said:

Frankly, I am sick and tired of the channeling all the maps posses.

the channeling needs to be greatly reduced!

Earlier maps are greatly limited by their design due to no consideration to the movement archetype assigned to a mech when they instituted the movement capsules...

I think Canyon was the last map that was designed prior to movement limitations... Which explains the sparsity of access ramps and grades that make it virtually impossible for anything categorized as a "Assault" movement type to traverse.

It's been explained they may go back and re-do most of the old maps but I'm guessing that days a ways off...

Edited by DaZur, 26 December 2014 - 10:25 AM.