11 replies to this topic

[Paul Inouye]

Hello folks,

I am looking for feedback on the small team competitive maps that are currently available in Private Matches only. It is imperative to get community feedback, especially the competitive teams, as to what is working and what isn't in terms of these map layouts. I have received feedback from a few of the top competitive teams already and am looking forward to more from everyone who is looking forward to what might be termed as the S-word 7.

Thanks in advance!

[Tarogato]

Map is way too small and favours face-hugging brawlers. There is no point in bringing non-brawling weapons because there are no sightlines long enough to use them. Like the 1v1 map, I would suggest expanding this map, giving it elevation changes, and adding noise to the heightmap. With these changes the map could be even suitable for 3v3 or larger, or even suitable for 1v1 with mid-range weapons since it gives players enough room to actually maneuver and use cover and strategic positioning. Here's an example I brewed up:

Edited by Tarogato, 07 March 2016 - 09:03 PM.

[Karl Streiger]

as with 1 vs 1 again the blocks are to big
(it would be better to split one block into 4 columns - yes you can shoot through but its more a kind of skill shot)

otherwise the duells are just 2 on 2 or 1 on 1 without any terrain features - so you can remove them entirely

[Tarogato]

Karl Streiger, on 07 March 2016 - 11:26 PM, said:

as with 1 vs 1 again the blocks are to big
(it would be better to split one block into 4 columns - yes you can shoot through but its more a kind of skill shot)

otherwise the duells are just 2 on 2 or 1 on 1 without any terrain features - so you can remove them entirely

The 1v1 test map didn't have blocks.

[Liveish]

Map are too small, most of all these maps = Press w and fire.

If you can have maps were you can use strategy, flank ect ect, pull back Ect ect

[Karl Streiger]

Tarogato, on 08 March 2016 - 11:39 AM, said:

The 1v1 test map didn't have blocks.

Oh - so must have been 2 vs 2... well anyhow the issue keeps the same

[50 50]

With the abundance if sudden extrusions for cover, this map looks like it might encourage pressure play with mechs using cover fire to allow their team mate to move up.
There are a couple of spots to get a few sniper shots on the diagonals and that may be what happens in the opening stages.
A mech at the rear of the map on either side has a good view.
The changes in terrain and the buildings look like they provide plenty of hiding spots, though it is worth noting that the buildings are not too high and favour the smaller mechs should a push down the centre be made.
Larger mechs will need to rely on the hills for cover and their heavier armour.
Teams will need to be careful about their approach through the centre.

The outer lanes behind the high rock walls provide very little cover in those passes so controlling the building at the mid way point may become key should the fight move into those lanes.

In that sense, it seems the map may work nicely in combo teams of 1 light/medium plus 1 heavy/assault but will looks like a good map for 2v2.

[Catho Sharn]

I'm not a competitive player, but I found the bare maps incredibly useful as a teaching tool when introducing new players to the game. Having an uncluttered environment is an excellent way to teach movement basics and maneuvering without worrying about a stray pebble or log blocking a newbie. It's also useful for teaching targeting, firing without a lock, and ECM effects. I'd urge PGI to keep at least one bare map available for teaching purposes. The 2v2 map worked out best for our little group.

[Omaha]

I've always thought about these kinda maps, "Solaris Style" If you will.

I'm always picturing a 3 tier lvl Indoor round map, with a Colosseum look. You have upper floor, ground floor and a basement. And all around every level are stonehenge looking pillars. Possibly even vegetation in the center. And Skylighting from the Dome above.

But I dont think thats the goal they are trying for, more like small mech skirmishes. Actualy battlefield, and not spectating gamefields.

I've only play a few of the non textured ones so I'll have to get back into and check them out.

Edited by Omaha, 19 March 2016 - 04:31 PM.

[Paul Inouye]

Thanks for the feedback so far folks. Notes taken and you'll see adjustments made to these maps soon.

[Paul Inouye]

Just to square up development on these maps, I'm going to draw a line in the sand and ask for further feedback from this point on. Our new Level Designer Liz will be tracking your feedback and will check in with you as updates are released in the patches.

[Tarogato]

Okay, so now that I've had a LOT of play time on this map against a lot of different players, I've decided it's my favourite for 1v1. And here's why:


1. Instant sightline to the enemy. The moment you walk around the first corner, you can see what mech your enemy brought and even begin trading shots or surmising loadouts. It's a bit foggy and hard to see, which I think is great because takes a little bit of knowledge to pick out what the enemy mech is early enough to make a game-winning decision like "do I push" or "do I hold at range". In revamping this map, please don't ruin this aspect.

2. Midrange and brawling are both viable (because of the double coolshots in the skill tree). In medium mechs, you can almost get away with playing the range game, but generally brawling wins. With heavies, you have slighter better chances at range because of the slower closing distance (esp. post-skilltree). With assaults, brawling is still viable, but range definitely works. And actually, if you both bring range, it's actually really fun to fight across the map with both players ridge-peeking the hills immediately at spawn. The only downside is that there's no places to side peak.

3. The cubes are actually really interesting to fight in and around. They need to be taller for sure because they don't provide actual cover as is, and maybe slighter wider spaced so that going in between them isn't as annoying, but I hope they don't get changed too much. I feel like the cubes could be moved so that they are slightly less to the side and more useful, but I just don't want them moved to block the straight line path across the map. If you're brawling, your best bet is really to charge straight across the map. Which... is fine. I actually like that - it's especially good for testing how loadouts perform against one another, like... will a Gargoyle be able to close the distance on a Mauler before it gets torn to pieces? Great map to test this on. There's no junk in the way, it's straight to the point.




Now for some negatives:

1. Without double super coolshot 27, this map favours brawling too heavily. It's just a little bit too small for ranged mechs to deal enough damage before a brawler can get in range. The super double coolshots from the skill tree are ruining the game, making the meta stale, and breaking balance. They should be removed. As long as they are in the game however, the size of this map is okay. But if double super coolshot was removed like it should be (because it's stupid), then this map should probably be stretched a tiny bit. Not too much, that would ruin it! But just a little bit. Maybe another 200 meters between spawns, and that's it. I think that's a 8-10% scale adjustment.

2. It favours ridge-peekers in trade matches. We could have another map of similar size to favour side-peekers, but probably ideal to fix this one so it provides both opportunities. Just adding some vertical features here and there should help. I tried throwing some in willy-nilly, but it's clear I have to be much more careful about the positioning so that it doesn't interrupt the ridge-peeking gameplay. I might draft up ideas tomorrow.

3. There's literally only one avenue of fighting. Most of the map is wasted space because there's no reason to visit it. It takes too long to go to those places and they don't offer any advantage. It's kind of okay that it's rather one-dimensional, if we had a lot more of these kinds of maps. But we don't. So we either need a lot more of these maps to offer different experiences, or maybe we need to open up this one to offer some alternate routes. I have a couple vague ideas on how to do that, I might draft up some tomorrow.



I def wanted to have some drafts/images in this post, but holy eff me it's 5am and I just wanted to get some words down before they all slipped my mind through sleepmosis.