105 replies to this topic

[50 50]

Solaris City is awesome.
Has all the bits I would expect from a full on city map from the sprawling suburbs where the streets twist and turn a lot more to the high rise metropolis with the longer and larger freeways and elevated transit system creating varied terrain and approaches.
There are also enough open areas and longer freeway sections to mix up the ranges a bit.
That there are areas the larger mechs cannot get through creates challenges for a team to move through and protect their flanks.
It creates the opportunity for mech guerrilla warfare, makes the 'deathball' a little harder to maintain and encourages greater lance based tactics as part of the larger team.

Most importantly, the map provides us with a different experience when we fight on it.
Overall, I'd give this map a big thumbs up and a 'well done' to the all the devs that put it together.

So what next?

There was a good discussion about a 'Farmlands' map.
I would like to see a variation on the metropolis map as more of a destroyed metropolis, barren and long forgotten.
A winding Forest/River Valley?
Ice caves?
Lunar Crevasse?

It would be great to see more maps added, though we might have to look at removing the option to vote on the maps..... though we nearly have enough for the match maker to provide a theme to select from. ie. All ice maps, all forest maps etc.

So, let's get behind the team there. It would be great to see another map or two this year.

[TheArisen]

I really like this farmland concept.
https://mwomercs.com...yyid-farmlands/

I'm also in favor of an Urban ruins type map.

[50 50]

That's the one.
Thanks for finding the link.

[Angel of Annihilation]

I want them to do something simple and realistic.

Use current assets to create multiple maps based on existing maps. For example, how about Caustic without the volcano in the middle or River City, without the river, rather just a big sprawling city. Another example might be Forest Colony only this time just one big forest where your cover is mostly just the giant trees. Another might be Canyon Network without the Canyons, rather just the same terrain but flat and broken up by alot of rock formations and ridges. We could also have Tourmaline but with different terrain features or Viridian bog set up with a significantly different set of Plateaus. Or how about some maps based on FW only maps like Emerald Tiage which is one of the most beautiful maps in the game.

The point is not all new maps need to be special snowflakes handcrafted to perfection and they have tons and tons of existing assets they can use that would greatly reduce the resources and time required to make new maps. Just reuse these assets to make 2-3 versions of the existing maps that we have in game and now you have a loads of new maps and tons of variety without reinventing the wheel.

Edited by Viktor Drake, 20 May 2018 - 07:20 PM.

[Asym]

I'd like the island invasion concept from MW4. Land on the beach and go inland.

[KrazedOmega]

Tropical island map. Palm trees, white sand beaches, turquoise water. I don't care if it's realistic to the BT universe or not, I want it.

[50 50]

Viktor Drake, on 20 May 2018 - 07:18 PM, said:

The point is not all new maps need to be special snowflakes handcrafted to perfection and they have tons and tons of existing assets they can use that would greatly reduce the resources and time required to make new maps. Just reuse these assets to make 2-3 versions of the existing maps that we have in game and now you have a loads of new maps and tons of variety without reinventing the wheel.

Absolutely.
You've listed some good examples there with some existing maps modified a bit to create variation and a different experience.
You would hope that doing something like that would allow the team to produce a number of new maps fairly quickly.

Given many of the maps have the dynamic time of day and weather effects, you would wonder if it was possible to set the tileset, gravity and temperature of the maps as another variable.
That is, could the maps be built in such a way that it is just a random set of variables decided at the start of each match?
Canyon network with the Viridian Bog tileset?
Grim Plexis in the Forest Colony tileset?
HPG Manifold in the Terra Therma tileset?
Visually you get some interesting combinations and the other little variables such as time of day, weather, temperature and so on create some subtle difference that provide variety.

Good questions for the programmers and perhaps getting those small adjustments for existing maps to multiply what is available for selection is something we should really get behind and ask for.

[MW Waldorf Statler]

Quote

Canyon network with the Viridian Bog tileset?
Grim Plexis in the Forest Colony tileset?
HPG Manifold in the Terra Therma tileset?

you can not change the assets with a handfull click . You must place all new changed Assets placed from hand like by a brand new map ...Making a New map its the same time as changing a Baseterrain with other Textures and Assets.UE 4 can make generic Maps , by assets (seeing HBS/Paradox BT or No Mans Sky) the problem thats many generic placed Single Objects (trees ...Lamps) not correct placed , flowing a Little in the sky or is half in the ground..by a Strategical game not really a problem ..by a FPS its looks terrible.

by Mapping you create with hand or Generic a Terrainmesh , now you can fill the full map with one texture (whats looks Terrible) or painted the Textures ( most up to 10 different detailed Textures) with Handbrush (what bring eyecatched natural Look)...now placing the Assets and you can placing the Vegetation with self made Layers, or thats you can painted with a Handbrush (treegroups ...grass ) or Handcrafted for eyecandy beauty look...for ideas the best try and use the cry Engine SDK (or UE4 SDK) to understand whats map making and the procedre to use the tools

Edited by Old MW4 Ranger, 21 May 2018 - 04:04 AM.

[Ripper X]

Could take the current maps and make alternate versions of them. For instance. Polar Highlands could become temperate farmland or a desert wasteland. Forest Colony Snow or a Forest Colony with the volcano blowing its top and burned everything with random fires spread about.

There is a lot that can be done with these map templates.

[50 50]

Old MW4 Ranger, on 20 May 2018 - 08:41 PM, said:

you can not change the assets with a handfull click . You must place all new changed Assets placed from hand like by a brand new map ...Making a New map its the same time as changing a Baseterrain with other Textures and Assets.UE 4 can make generic Maps , by assets (seeing HBS/Paradox BT or No Mans Sky) the problem thats many generic placed Single Objects (trees ...Lamps) not correct placed , flowing a Little in the sky or is half in the ground..by a Strategical game not really a problem ..by a FPS its looks terrible.

That's a good point and thank you for the info.

[Asym]

The other map I liked from before was the Templar Factory scenario. That was a fun match that had all of the elements in one place: Long ranges and shooting; brawling as you took over the mech facility and "difficult" terrain to get too the drop ships.

[Tom Sawyer]

map talk is crazy

all you need are mech packs. mmmmm mech packs

[Haipyng]

More maps would be awesome, but...

• They are very labor intensive to make. If it bombs, it's wasted effort for the programmers.
  
• They are not currently monetized (they don't make PGI money directly, unlike Mechs)

Edited by Haipyng, 21 May 2018 - 06:59 AM.

[Vonbach]

Solaris is the best map they've ever made. If whoever made it actually reads this, you did an awesome job.
Any future maps should be patterned on it. With multiple lanes, choke points and cover.

[GBxGhostRyder]

New map is awesome but now it gets played less and less just like Terra Therma-Caustic-Forest-and Veridian Bog and its because of the Lousy Vote System.

PGI really needs to scrap the vote system and go back to random map rotation so we get to play all the maps not just the ones players think have less heat.

And PGI what does that tell you? weapons are too hot they all need to be rebalanced with less heat so players play hot maps.

Edited by GBxGhostRyder, 21 May 2018 - 06:57 AM.

[Haipyng]

GBxGhostRyder, on 21 May 2018 - 06:56 AM, said:

PGI really needs to scrap the vote system and go back to random map rotation so we get to play all the maps not just the ones players think have less heat.

And PGI what does that tell you? weapons are too hot they all need to be rebalanced with less heat so players play hot maps.

I would rather see it where I can pick the Mech from a drop deck of preselected mechs once a randomly selected map and game type is drawn. I used to love to play Conquest with a fast light. I never get conquest when I have my light mechs out. Now if it happens at all, it usually happens when I have my Assaults out to spite me.

[GBxGhostRyder]

Haipyng, on 21 May 2018 - 07:07 AM, said:

I would rather see it where I can pick the Mech from a drop deck of preselected mechs once a randomly selected map and game type is drawn. I used to love to play Conquest with a fast light. I never get conquest when I have my light mechs out. Now if it happens at all, it usually happens when I have my Assaults out to spite me.

It was like that in MechWarrior4 you got a map a game mode then picked your mech then your mech loadout you had like 5 loadout variants to choose from then you dropped to battle.

Like all things PGI for 5 years they made it just backwards from what the old PC games were like to play. I assume it was all done to spite the old games and players from all past PC MechWarrior BattleTech titles.

[LordBraxton]

Yes farmland map plz, with areas of buildings, areas of forests, and areas of open fields all in center of map so there are multiple ways to engage

[Vonbach]

I'd be happy with a farmlands map so long as its not LRMageddon hell.

[Jettrik Ryflix]

Ripper X, on 20 May 2018 - 10:02 PM, said:

Could take the current maps and make alternate versions of them.

I like this idea, but in the opposite direction, if you will.

Take some of the maps we already have, and create adjoining maps, as if they were in the same area. Kind of like in MW3 where you do multiple missions across a certain terrain type. This way they can add map diversity without having to create as many new assets.