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Some Thoughts On Boreal Vault


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#1 Jman5

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Posted 11 August 2016 - 08:18 PM

To be honest, Boreal Vault is my least favorite map on the Faction Play line up. The map strongly favors defenders and IMO doesn't give enough options for short/mid range builds.

Problem 1: Draw Distance

Boreal vault has a really bad problem of "disappearing" terrain on lower settings even when you are quite close.

For example, here's how much the terrain changes just by moving 1 meter back and forth. This is only about 400 meters away. The fighting at this entrance is a critical do-or-die moment on this map. Giving the enemy a chance to spot you through the terrain or smashing all your rounds on an invisible hill can make a world of difference.

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(sorry for the crappy image quality, but you get the idea)

This is a bit of an issue on the other entrance as well, but not as bad. It's also a problem on that mountain ledge right outside the defenders spawn. Players will visible to the attackers but in truth be under cover. So it winds up being very difficult to counter-snipe them up there because you keep hitting dirt.

Problem 2: Firing line of Doom.

This IMO is one of the biggest problems on the map. Defenders can set up this absolutely brutal firing line right on the hills outside of the base entrance. It makes attacking against an organized team, extremely difficult. It's not uncommon for a couple of players to die in the first 5 seconds of the engagement because you have nearly 12 mechs all pointing at that gate.

On other maps like Emerald taiga where gates are also somewhat close together, the firing line can be circumvented by a split push. However on Boreal, both gates can be defended by 1 forward facing firing line.

Attackers need some serious help here on the initial push.


Problem 3: Transitioning from the Outer-Base to the Inner Base

You can divide Boreal vault into 2 phases. Each phase involves hard-pushing into brutal firing lines.

Phase 1 is what I described above where you have to push through the gates and secure a foothold.

Phase 2 is pushing from the outer base and into the inner base.

This can be extremely hard on players. The cliffs surrounding the inner base force attackers to push through narrow paths. Meanwhile they are getting smashed by LRMs and players on that high mountain right outside the defender spawn point. (a mountain with significant draw distance issues)

Also by the time you reach the inner base, any defender you have killed have just respawned in fresh mechs and are ready to receive your battered mech. Oh and they've got 6-7 turrets backing them up now.

Improvements:

I think a big problem with a lot of maps in Faction Play is that defenders can climb up the tall hill protecting their spawn and shoot down at the enemy. Countering those players is difficult because they have respawning mechs and giga-killer dropships proecting their backs. IMO, I would just make those hills unnavigable. Or put terrain/structures in the way to block LOS more. Those spots are just too strong and unassailable unless you're just smashing the defenders all the way into their spawn.

Another issue I would address is making the gate-push more forgiving. I'm sure you guys can think of something, but I do believe something needs to be done there so teams aren't losing multiple 100-tonners in the opening 10 seconds of a push.

#2 Steven Hicks

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Posted 12 August 2016 - 09:44 AM

Hey Jman! Thanks for the post. There’s a lot of useful information in here that will help make Boreal Vault a better map and I appreciate you taking the time to share some thoughts.

Players getting height advantages on terrain is definitely something we’re focusing on with all Faction Play map. If you could provide any screenshots of these spots you find, it’ll be easier to find all of these positions and then fix or balance them if needed. Hopefully we can bring it to a point where it doesn't feel so one sided.

Thanks again! o7

#3 Jman5

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Posted 12 August 2016 - 06:37 PM

Sure thing. I'm sure there could be more if you hunt around, but here are spots I have seen players fighting from.

1. Location: G7

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The little mountain chain here protecting the spawn point is the most common area I see people climbing up and sniping from.


2. Location: E7

Jumpjet/climb up this path and there are no invisible blockers.

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3. Location: F4/G4

I've seen attackers jump up here and be practically impossible for the defenders to dislodge

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4. Location: D5

Like with most of these spots, you're right up against an invisible barrier, but there's still enough room to poke-trade from and make things miserable. I once saw an LRM maddog up here so I don't think you even need jumpjets to scramble up it.

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#4 Kurbeks

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Posted 12 August 2016 - 10:00 PM

+1 to this post. Boreal really should be changed. Especially as it has 3 sqares on map circle.

#5 Imigo Montoya

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Posted 16 September 2016 - 12:51 AM

I think the area form the attacker spawn to the gates should be changed so the gates are in G5, F5 (maybe beta) and E6. so there are three gates and a way the get around the firing line the defenders always use. After that open the map to F3-G4 and D5-E6.

Raise the hill in E5 so there is no way to see over it. After that the attacker could move form the dropzone to a rally point without risking shots from the gate area. flaten the passage between F4 and E5, it should be easier to use after that.

The attacker spawn could be moved more to D2-D3-D4 the first line of buildings could be moved more from H6-G7-F8 more to the gate area, this will give the attacker more chance to reach cover an will block more areas for the Spawn Hill in H8.

The Defender could get some turrets in G7 and F8 to cover the change a bit.

I think so best area is G 5 with the buildings and the hill giving cover but not enough for a whole team.

The worst area is the hill area between E6/F6 and E8/F8. The hill give to much cover and if there is a unit with high mounted Longrange weapons the defender can do nothing against them because if you try to move around them they will destroy your base, if you try to sniper them they have the advantage of the terrain, if you push them they could destroy you because of the terrain. jut lower the hills in this area a bit or open some passages there both sides could use them.





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