56 replies to this topic

[AnimeFreak40K]

I vaguely recall the Before-Times; back before HPG Manifold and Veridian Bog....before the Forest Colony and River City reworks... I remember a significant complaint being that the maps in general were far too small and a slew of folks begging for larger maps.

This being said, I believe a lot of these older maps were designed with 4v4 and 8v8 in mind, and so things were just fine. But those maps don't work out too well for 12v12 because they are too small.

So as someone who is not affiliated with PGI in any way shape, form or fashion and have been playing since 2013, the best answer to your question I can think of is this:
The maps are getting larger because that is what a sizable portion of the community wants.

...just keep in mind that these forums are NOT a good or accurate means of judging this, as the majority of the people who play don't even poke their heads in here.

[Shirow]

Well yeah I have noticed bigger maps , even though I was told the maps weren't big enough , now that
We do have some H U G E Maps lets up the mech count on those maps for bigger battles:).

[DAEDALOS513]

AnimeFreak40K, on 10 February 2016 - 09:47 AM, said:

I vaguely recall the Before-Times; back before HPG Manifold and Veridian Bog....before the Forest Colony and River City reworks... I remember a significant complaint being that the maps in general were far too small and a slew of folks begging for larger maps.

This being said, I believe a lot of these older maps were designed with 4v4 and 8v8 in mind, and so things were just fine. But those maps don't work out too well for 12v12 because they are too small.

So as someone who is not affiliated with PGI in any way shape, form or fashion and have been playing since 2013, the best answer to your question I can think of is this:
The maps are getting larger because that is what a sizable portion of the community wants.

...just keep in mind that these forums are NOT a good or accurate means of judging this, as the majority of the people who play don't even poke their heads in here.

The point of this forum is to figure out why the maps are overly big? PGI tends to overdo things when trying to satisfy the masses..

Shirow, on 10 February 2016 - 10:25 AM, said:

Well yeah I have noticed bigger maps , even though I was told the maps weren't big enough , now that
We do have some H U G E Maps lets up the mech count on those maps for bigger battles:).

That would be epic! Would there servers explode? o.O

Edited by DAEDALOS513, 11 February 2016 - 06:40 AM.

[DAEDALOS513]

OZHomerOZ, on 10 February 2016 - 06:46 AM, said:

I hear what you're saying.
But in my view the problem is not the map.
Causal players want certain things
Harder core players want certain things
No map is going to completely satisfy all parties, all the time.

That's why we have QUICK-PLAY and COMMUNITY WAFFLES... to satisfy all parties. If you want to spend 30 minutes strategizing and sneaking around.. we have CW for that.

Archie4Strings, on 10 February 2016 - 08:22 AM, said:

Well, finally a map on which light mechs gonna win the game. Usually they are far less important compared to heavier mechs, just because on most maps their mobility isnt important enough to outweight (can i say it like that??? otherwise i take "compensate" - sorry i am german) their lack of firepower.

What you probably want to have is a narrow and small map,. Just one direction to go, and that is where the enemy is.
1 front line, 12 vs 12... Sorry dude. But that is not what the game is meant for. It is about tactics, moving into the right spot, regretting false maneuvering, finding a good spot to fight before the enemy does it.
I like that "sneaking" around, scouting for the enemy, feeling the tension of not knowing where they are and what will happen next. That is the truly important part!
Once the enemy is in front of you, you just need to aim and press fire. But we all know that this is not that hard. All decisions are made. If you randomly end up in front of a direwolf, you are dead. If you are a direwolf and you end up in front of 4 heavy mechs, you are dead. There often are not many opportunities left to fall back again and to correct a mistake (i know i am pointing it out a bit to much, but i think you guys know what i mean)
You should probably go and play another game.

That's why we have QUICK-PLAY and COMMUNITY WAFFLES... to satisfy all parties. If you want to spend 30 minutes strategizing and sneaking around.. we have CW for that.

Edited by DAEDALOS513, 10 February 2016 - 10:46 AM.

[DAEDALOS513]

Stryker Ezekiel, on 10 February 2016 - 05:40 AM, said:

You guys all seem to fail realise half this games income is based on being able enjoy the variation between QUICK MATCHES, its in the name, and it doesnt just mean sign up time, versus the long fights of Warfare and such.

Larger maps might seem a good idea but when this 'F2P' game needs pay the bills, it needs consider who its rivals are, and there are a few if you count things like World of Tanks, some will argue its a different type of game, but do remember not everyone who plays and pays for MWO is a 1980's born and bred mechaverse addict and simply want to break metal.

Quick matches are just that, and Polar Highlands is just a sign the developers are struggling make maps to satisfy both parties, its not a crime to struggle, but just increasing a map size isnt an answer, thats my approach to it, Highlands would be fun if it was shrunk a third in size.

Try playing Conquest mode on it, no matter what you do, team with the fastest lights win it!

In a world full of players with little sense or logic, there is one man that steps forward to say NO, this will NOT stand! That mans name is STRYKER and his logic is UNDENIABLE!

Every word you speak is truth.

[Red PwnYa]

LOL, face it DAED, its not gonna get any shorter, and it really shouldn't. You wanna cut half the game out by taking out the opening chess moves to the match man? Because it looks like you just wanna go strait to the shooting, but if you can already see everything the enemy is doing, then its just point click shooter and what kind of fun is that? Like hot drunk chicks at a prom party, so easy its discussting. Give me room to run man and I can out smart most, nut if there is no where to run then all it ever can be is just who has the bogger alpha strikes and who can get them off first. If any battle were actually gonna play out like that, no commander in his right mind would send in troops to do that job. They'd just nuke the bad guys from orbit and then take what they wanted.

I love this new map. My sneaky, little spider realy anoys the crap out of people. Hit em on one side, then flank back the other way and hit em from the other side, I love sowing confsion. Try that on something like caustic and you lose a leg every time. But Polar... OMG, what a gorgeous map man. This map is best map yet, I'd never leave if I could get away with it.

[DAEDALOS513]

OZHomerOZ, on 10 February 2016 - 04:56 AM, said:

I remember people asking for larger maps and PGI delivered.
Thank you PGI

They tend to overdo things when trying to satisfy the masses, even you cannot deny this.. and these latest maps are a recent example.

[DAEDALOS513]

Mr Gibbins, on 10 February 2016 - 04:07 AM, said:

You have a vote multiplier, use it when you don't want the maps you don't like.

If people are voting to play on it they like it.

If you find it gets voted for more often than the smaller maps then there is the community decision on which maps they feel are more fun.

My fear is that new maps to come will continue this ridiculous trend, making maps so big that 50% of the realestate is never used except for walking to a destination.. (not even for scouting). How does this make sense to anybody? Something needs to be adjusted.. tweaked.. quirked... something.. some creativity or imagination is needed here. This game needs new game modes period.

Edited by DAEDALOS513, 11 February 2016 - 06:43 AM.

[DAEDALOS513]

Red PwnYa, on 10 February 2016 - 11:15 AM, said:

LOL, face it DAED, its not gonna get any shorter, and it really shouldn't. You wanna cut half the game out by taking out the opening chess moves to the match man? Because it looks like you just wanna go strait to the shooting, but if you can already see everything the enemy is doing, then its just point click shooter and what kind of fun is that? Like hot drunk chicks at a prom party, so easy its discussting. Give me room to run man and I can out smart most, nut if there is no where to run then all it ever can be is just who has the bogger alpha strikes and who can get them off first. If any battle were actually gonna play out like that, no commander in his right mind would send in troops to do that job. They'd just nuke the bad guys from orbit and then take what they wanted.

I love this new map. My sneaky, little spider realy anoys the crap out of people. Hit em on one side, then flank back the other way and hit em from the other side, I love sowing confsion. Try that on something like caustic and you lose a leg every time. But Polar... OMG, what a gorgeous map man. This map is best map yet, I'd never leave if I could get away with it.

You and most others keep taking my opinion to its' most extreme. I DON'T want to go straight to shooting.. did I ever say this? You guys have your opinions and don't think about what you are replying to. Did you ever think about this.. if the new maps were slightly smaller (maybe 2 or 3 grids) then fights would take place in more varied locations.. as it stands, the maps are so BIG that people dread going anywhere other than middle or slightly to the left or right of middle. Why? Because then the wait for the other team to realize what is happening and to walk to your location will waste at least 5 minutes.

It's ironic.. the size of the maps is OVERKILL and you are blind to this..

Edited by DAEDALOS513, 10 February 2016 - 11:35 AM.

[SpeCtaCular]

Lost my thoughts while thinking what to reply to so many people.

@DAE , im worried about the same as you are. Polar Highlands was the only map that made me stop playing for 2 weeks when it got released, since it was being voted everytime and to me it feels that on that map...

The strategy and all that is forgotten, it's more about which mech and weapons you happen to have selected when you drop into that map. Like me im mostly a brawler type of a player and on Polar Highlands it's almost impossible to get to a range to do much damage before you get outranged by clan er/ppc's Gauss rifles and not forgetting the LRM rain.

Sure i've had some good matches on it but it's mostly like i said, that happens when i happen to be a light or with ranged weaponry. At least on other maps all weapons work.

Sure if i drop in with my unit i can have a good time as brawler but in solo drops that map is just pfft... Makes me wanna eject right at the beginning ( which i can't do ofc ) .
I've been lately secretly wishing that PGI would come up with a new map that is hot like Terra therma and small like sauna.

Since i don't mind managing my heat.

[Stingray Productions]

I actually like hot maps too. Smaller maps can be beneficial for those wanting to earn c-bills quicker, because you get into a fight and end the fight quicker.

[Thunder Child]

DAEDALOS513, on 10 February 2016 - 10:47 AM, said:

That's why we have QUICK-PLAY and COMMUNITY WAFFLES... to satisfy all parties. If you want to spend 30 minutes strategizing and sneaking around.. we have CW for that.

The problem is, Community Lolfare isn't what it's meant to be. It's a half-assed attempt at being a LoL clone. You have Turrets (Towers), Gates (Those fort things), Generators (The Pre-Citadel Things), and the Omega (The Citadel Thing). All it needs now is Creeps (Tanks/Infantry), respawns, and collectibles that you can use to power up your mechs. And both sides have to have a base.

The reason it works for LoL, is because the game was built around this style of play. MWO was not.

I'll be honest, I actually agree that Polar Highlands would be an amazing CW map, especially if they had a base at one end, with walls, destroyable gates, generators that power a range of turrets (Gauss, Dual LL, LRM20, AC 10, and Quad Med Laser), and something that needs to be captured, rather than destroyed. Add to that some outlying bases with additional (smaller) defenses, maybe protecting either generators for the main defenses, or capturable resources that give an end of match bonus, and Polar Highlands would be an outstanding CW map.

But as it stands, it is still one of the best maps to date, for general variety. There is no single point that everyone congregates on, Light and faster mediums can use that speed to stretch their legs, there is plenty of LoS blocking cover. All said and done, it is the most Tactical map we have yet, and requires the most thought and teamwork to achieve a victory.

So yes, eventually I'd like maps like PH in CW. But for now, I'm just glad to get away from the CoD style Corridor Shooter maps that we've been getting of late, even it is only on one map. I just wish Forest Colony had been more like that. FC would benefit greatly from halving the height of those weird ridges, and making them traversable.

Edit: I'll also concede the point that it could have been slightly smaller, but I like how it FEELs big. Maybe they could have made it a little smaller, but to be honest, we have a bucket load of maps that have us fighting in the first minute of the match. I like (and, to be fair this is just IMHO) the slower, more tactical feel of Polar.

Edited by Thunder Child, 10 February 2016 - 05:58 PM.

[AnimeFreak40K]

DAEDALOS513, on 10 February 2016 - 10:27 AM, said:

The point of this forum is to figure out why the maps are overly big? PGI tends to overdo things when trying to satisfy the masses.

I understand what you're getting at, and in many cases, I can agree... but in this one, not so much.

...but then again, I may be a little biased too. I like the larger maps. I mean, Alpine Peaks and Tourmaline Desert are large maps and I have always loved them. I am in love with the new River City and Forest Colony maps as well. Basically any map that is at least 8x8 grid-squares of playable space gets a thumbs-up from me.

Note: What I consider a playable grid-square is one that has at least 50% of space to move and fight in (D9 on Terra Therma counts while G2 on the same map does not, for example). I say this because some maps (such as Alpine Peaks) have grids going all the way to P16 (making it a 16x16 map), but entire rows/columns aren't even mapped (Rows A, O and P and Columns 1, 15 and 16) and others are minimally mapped and contain little or no playable area (Rows B and N and Columns 2 and 14). So by this metric, Alpine Peaks is 11x11 (or 10x10 if you want to cut off the extreme edges).

[CoreCommander]

Can't make everyone happy I guess, I rather have the map size to react/flank/scout. I would hold no interests in this game if it got closer to the small mapped game-play of games like COD. I want to play a Mech simulator not a FPS.

[Roughneck Cobra]

I'd be happier if they had some customer service go with the map design, anyone figured out how Polar Highlands was made yet?

Crumple up a piece of A4 paper in a ball, then flatten if out on a desk and cut it into a perfect square.

Try it, might be surprised!

[Rushin Roulette]

Yea, I really agree with the OP. I mean it is hard enough to conentr.-..... oh Waffles. Brb

DAEDALOS513, on 10 February 2016 - 10:47 AM, said:

WAFFLES

Where was I? Oh yes. It is hard enough to..... SQUIRREL!

Spoiler

This post was bought to you by the following famous film stars

Edited by Rushin Roulette, 11 February 2016 - 05:15 AM.

[tokumboh]

Rushin Roulette, on 11 February 2016 - 05:11 AM, said:

Yea, I really agree with the OP. I mean it is hard enough to conentr.-..... oh Waffles. Brb



Where was I? Oh yes. It is hard enough to..... SQUIRREL!

Spoiler

This post was bought to you by the following famous film stars

stop it..........

;-)

There should be a post of the day, since this one would win at least yesterdays prize