16 replies to this topic

[Plum Pudding]

I've been wondering this for a while now but only just felt I can be bothered to ask about it: While in the map selection screen, I noticed that certain maps always get chosen whenever they appear: HPG Manifold, Solaris City and The Mining Collective are the top three maps that are always guaranteed to get picked whenever there is an option for them and I am wondering why?

So many people always say "Oh, HGP is THE best map!" (for example) but never go into any specific reason. What is it that makes HPG Manifold so great? Is it because the low ambient temperature works in favour of heat dissipation? Is it the brawling aspect? Is it that that 'mechs are able to blend in more with the grey walls and structures and provide better camouflage?

Solaris City... While my LEAST favourite map, I can understand the appeal for the brawling it allows (and let's face it, there IS a certain appeal to fighting on the galaxy's most well known blood sports planet when you've read about it in books and manuals for the last 30 years).

TheMining Collective. This one I just don't get. It's ugly, there are ramps and domed structures to trip you up and hamper your movements and generally frustrate the hell out of anyone trying to move when under enemy attack. Let's not forget the three bottleneck routes at the centre of the map where your teammates ALWAYS decide to set up camp in front of you so you can't engage the enemy yourself or block your exit when being pelted missiles.

So, just what IS IT with maps like these do people actually like to choose over others, like Veridian Bog, River City, Forest Colony (underestimated in my opinion) or even Caustic Valley (another underestimated map)?

[Sergeant Destroy]

What makes them good, is not being Canyon Network.

[Bud Crue]

Plum Pudding, on 24 June 2020 - 06:59 AM, said:

I can understand the appeal for the brawling

That's pretty much the reason for all three of the maps you mention. Plus, Mining and HPG are small maps so you get quicker matches.

[Stingray Productions]

I think small maps+cold temperatures are some of the biggest reasons.

[Bowelhacker]

Anything that isn't Polar Highlands gets my vote.

[John Bronco]

My theory on mining is people know if you get the good side you can easily take top first which usually guarantees a win.

And these people are more than ok with that 50/50 coin toss.

[Plum Pudding]

Sergeant Destroy, on 24 June 2020 - 07:29 AM, said:

What makes them good, is not being Canyon Network.

What's wrong with Canyon Network? It incorporates a little bit of all fighting styles on a Road Runner-esque map, allowing you to divert away from the generic battles that repeat every time on Alpine Peaks (gain the high ground and you're practically guaranteed to win every time) and Crimson Strait (fight solely in the tunnel and under the platform).

[Lanzman]

Let's face it, every map and mode in QP is "run to the middle and shoot."

Canyon Network and Alpine Peaks are my personal favorites, btw.

[East Indy]

They're all relatively symmetrical, which makes them more predictable in match's early stages. The Mining Collective's size has made its spawns a little problematic in mixed queue, but that's shared between teams and otherwise neither side of these maps is superior. Most importantly, the maps encourage engagements at medium to short range, have a lot of useful objects for cover and dis-/reengagement, and require a lot more effort and exposure for locked-missile fire against most locations.

Compare this to, say:

• Grim Plexus, which is asymmetrical, has idiosyncratic geography, a lot of unused space and PGI's patented no-man's land in the center
  
• Canyon Network, which is a favorite, though small and unidirectional
  
• Rubellite Oasis, which is like syllogistic logic in that only 24 of 256 possible locations you can take your team are survivable
  
• Frozen City, which has interesting urban geography split by another no-man's land
  
• Alpine Peaks, which is a rush for the better half of several setpiece features
  
• Polar Highlands, where engagement location completely changes the experience

[Nesutizale]

Oh how much I hate HPG. Makes me want to quite the game before it begins. Allways the same and the map where the fewest people will even listen to a caller. Caller says "Take top" people Nascar, Caller says "Nascar right" people go left or top or whatever....*sigh*

I can life with most of the other maps also I like Rubi and the new Ice Canyon a bit more. Also like the old maps if they are in every now and then, just not as the constant selected maps.

Polar...I have mixed feelings about. Depends on the mode and the team a lot. Had everything from the most interesting to the worst fights there.

[Captain Caveman DE]

Nesutizale, on 27 June 2020 - 05:33 AM, said:

Oh how much I hate HPG. Makes me want to quite the game before it begins. Allways the same and the map where the fewest people will even listen to a caller. Caller says "Take top" people Nascar, Caller says "Nascar right" people go left or top or whatever....*sigh*

I can life with most of the other maps also I like Rubi and the new Ice Canyon a bit more. Also like the old maps if they are in every now and then, just not as the constant selected maps.

Polar...I have mixed feelings about. Depends on the mode and the team a lot. Had everything from the most interesting to the worst fights there.

with the right people, every map can produce different tactics, interesting matches and generally fun.
with the wrong people, every single one is hell.

.. that's why FW was my preference; I blame PGI for _a lot_ of things, but most of what happens in SQ has to be blamed on 'typically human behavior'; which by the way is the same thing in games like warthunder (arcade-mode).

Edited by Captain Caveman DE, 27 June 2020 - 06:44 AM.

[Nearly Dead]

I only vote to get my multiplier up by voting unpopular maps. So I can use it to vote against Solaris City. I hate that map.

[Nesutizale]

I find polar is espacialy team dependent. Most of the other maps most people go to a known point so you kinda know what to aspect. Polar....sometimes people are all over the place.

As for "typical behavior" you mean like people running away in a shooter where shooting and beeing shoot is the entire point of the game but they still decide to hang around on the other side of the map as far away from combat as possible just to find out that not helpin the team will lead to a defeat?
Yes I find that everywhere. Lately started with Warships again because I was tired of Nascar and the first match was....Nascar *sigh*

Funny thing was that I typed in all-chat "Damn not Nascar again" and someone replied "Oh you also play MWO?"

Edited by Nesutizale, 27 June 2020 - 09:01 AM.

[Captain Caveman DE]

Nesutizale, on 27 June 2020 - 09:00 AM, said:

I find polar is espacialy team dependent. Most of the other maps most people go to a known point so you kinda know what to aspect. Polar....sometimes people are all over the place.

As for "typical behavior" you mean like people running away in a shooter where shooting and beeing shoot is the entire point of the game but they still decide to hang around on the other side of the map as far away from combat as possible just to find out that not helpin the team will lead to a defeat?
Yes I find that everywhere. Lately started with Warships again because I was tired of Nascar and the first match was....Nascar *sigh*

Funny thing was that I typed in all-chat "Damn not Nascar again" and someone replied "Oh you also play MWO?"

yeah, polar doesn't define the 'race track' very good, hence in QP it is what it is. entirely different story in FW, though.

and yeah: it's that kind of behavior some 6year olds, MOST 9y olds would identify as 'clearly bad for own performance, let alone for your team' - and yet grown men do it over, and over, and over..
I've come to accept that it's typical human behavior, since it seems to 'evolve' everywhere; you think hard about any possible solution and then pick the one most stupid. like standing in the open on polar, watching the landscape in a brawler, waiting for whoever cores you; like taking a high-altitude fighter in warthunder and directly drag it through the mud at 10feet above ground, like taking your bomber up to 180.000 meters where your bombs NEVER find their targets (hey, but your safe up there. entirely useless and doing jack-sh*t, but safe) ..

it just makes me cringe when grown-ups behave that kinda braindead in a game, since playing against them is no fun.
it's even worse when there are lots of people playing in teams and it's full of ~these~, hurting both their teams in the process.

you don't see it in sports where everybody in a team is concerned about 'pulling his weight', but in computer-games its okay because who cares and gives a sh*t.. which begs the question why these people play in the first place if all they wanna do is acting braindead,
but hey: free world etc, so it's okay if 30 out of 36 are like that (or in mwo, I'd say about 6 per side at least), they are entitled to "their" fun, even if it kills fun for the rest.

sorry if ranting here ^^

[thievingmagpi]

Grim plexus is just as bad as canyon now if you spawn on buildings side.

Hey you know that one corner the entire enemy team comes from where we can easily all shoot them as they come around it one by one while still having a variety of positions of cover?

Nah.

Let's give up that position to the enemy, all run down into the low ground and hide in the valley with nobody shooting.

Lmao.

[Kroete]

thievingmagpi, on 27 June 2020 - 11:26 AM, said:

Let's give up that position to the enemy, all run down into the low ground and hide in the valley with nobody shooting.

Follow the atlas!


HPG where great, with closed gates, as arena map, for solaris, but for 12vs12 is too small.

Polar is fun. because it has no centerpiece to run around like all other maps.

[Captain Caveman DE]

Kroete, on 27 June 2020 - 11:38 AM, said:

Follow the atlas!


HPG where great, with closed gates, as arena map, for solaris, but for 12vs12 is too small.

Polar is fun. because it has no centerpiece to run around like all other maps.

that's simply not true, sorry. it may be your experience, but with a decent fw-team on both sides you CAN have very good matches on HPG; the map is small, yeah. you can still have great fights on it.
you just don't get them in SQ normally, that's all.