17 replies to this topic

[Papaspud]

map voting. It doesn't matter how many maps we have, we play the same 3-4 over and over and over. .. getting very stale- very fast. Thanks François for all your work, not that we get to play the new stuff much, I was all for map voting, but it just isn't working- unless you like playing the same map ad nauseum.

Reminds me of GSGO- everybody plays dust all the time....zzzZZZZzzzzZZZz.

[Bassault]

Democracy has failed.

[memorandum]

maybe it's time for a totalitarian regime, fascism for the win

[Bud Crue]

Besides Canyon and "Cold Canyon" which almost always win the vote, and to a lesser extent Mining Collective, I see pretty much every map save Alpine and Caustic get voted for with regularity. Imho, no loss there, but even with these, every once in a while folks collectively lose the mini-game and these get played.

Since we're on the subject, I'm also dumbfounded by the continued popularity of "new" Forest Colony (lets go to the plateau circle it once and then fight along the water every time), "new" Frozen City (lets trade across the map until someone gets impatient in the last three minutes every time) and River City (everybody run to the citadel except for the two guys sniping from the airport or water's edge respectively every time). Apropos, Francois and some others complained that old HPG was objectively bad and needed to go becasue it was so "predictable", but as far as I am concerned, the aforementioned three maps have always been thee most predictable and boring maps in the rotation and yet they still get consistently voted for and regularly played.

Edited by Bud Crue, 21 April 2022 - 01:28 PM.

[ThreeStooges]

Bud Crue, on 21 April 2022 - 01:27 PM, said:

Besides Canyon and "Cold Canyon" which almost always win the vote, and to a lesser extent Mining Collective, I see pretty much every map save Alpine and Caustic get voted for with regularity. Imho, no loss there, but even with these, every once in a while folks collectively lose the mini-game and these get played.

Since we're on the subject, I'm also dumbfounded by the continued popularity of "new" Forest Colony (lets go to the plateau circle it once and then fight along the water every time), "new" Frozen City (lets trade across the map until someone gets impatient in the last three minutes every time) and River City (everybody run to the citadel except for the two guys sniping from the airport or water's edge respectively every time). Apropos, Francois and some others complained that old HPG was objectively bad and needed to go becasue it was so "predictable", but as far as I am concerned, the aforementioned three maps have always been thee most predictable and boring maps in the rotation and yet they still get consistently voted for and regularly played.

You recall when pgi first announced river city being redone? How every one was looking forward to the citadel being removed from the map? Nope. Still there. Along with the same map design problem that still exists in this game. Even though I like how colorfull and how vertical the new maps are (color! yay! hpg grey nay!) All the maps have some central thing in their design. Be it a building or lack of one there is always some thing in the design which forced the teams to go center of map.

People here have such a herd sheep mentality. Grid xx is THE GRID where the vast majority of battle happens. To the point where just the name of the map comes up you know exactly where to go and expect. D5 mm that must be snore laris. K8 lets guess Alpine etc.

Asmemtical map design can't be used here because the map maker probable has a mandate that a 48 kph assault has exactly xx amount of time before encountering any enemy. There was a whole article in pc gamer back in the day about this game's whole map design process but I haven't found it yet. I had the physical copy of it which got lost to time and multiple relocations for work. I think it even had a game code that game you some skin for a mech.

[Stonefalcon]

I LOVE ANNIHILATORS, on 21 April 2022 - 11:03 AM, said:

Democracy has failed.

So this is how liberty dies, with Thunder LRMs

[Corbantu]

I intentionally vote for the maps that I am sure are gonna have the lowest votes so to build up my multiplier. then when I get to 8x vote, I vote for canyon to ensure we never play Terra Therma. I'm kidding about that last part.

There are definetly more popular maps, but I feel like I get a good balance of all maps in a 3hour session. I do wish there were more maps tho.

Also if you play with friends, do a pre-made Lances or take command of the randos on the team, you can force the battles to be more dynamic than a typical Nascar or two deathballs. Although this whole thing fails when your friends won't shut up about Beserk anime and Arbys vs Jack in the Box **** on Discord.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Corbantu, on 22 April 2022 - 06:39 AM, said:

I intentionally vote for the maps that I am sure are gonna have the lowest votes so to build up my multiplier. then when I get to 8x vote, I vote for canyon to ensure we never play Terra Therma. I'm kidding about that last part.

LOL. but yeah, I build up multiplier the same way so that when I drop in a dedicated short range brawler or LRM heavy mech I don't get stuck on a map where I'll be useless.

[Sjorpha]

I agree, map voting is very bad.

The game should just roll map and mode randomly.

[Thorqemada]

The game had random map selection coupled with mode selection and that was the better way to do it bcs map voting is a popularity contest that makes map making superfluous as the population will tend to vote the same maps again and again and it makes a game boring.

Pre match mode selection is a good thing, bcs it makes peope of the same kind play together and in this game means you have in general 2 types of player:
Those who prefer Conquest and those who prefer Skrimish and both playstyles do not fit well together bcs when you mix the players it will end up as skirmish any time and make the conquest people become dissatisfied, they leave.

This game is left by so many parts of the playerbase that were negated by different decisions that it ended up in this low player state is since floats in now tailored to please the "remnants" for a little longer.

Its a lesson for the future...

Edited by Thorqemada, 23 April 2022 - 06:55 AM.

[John Bronco]

I agree, map voting can hit the bricks. Just wastes time and enforces an evening of Hibernal Raceway.

[DaZur]

Meh...

Quite being so fricking dramatic and just play the fricking game... Or don't.

There ya go. There's your binary outcome that you apparently need.

[Vellron2005]

Papaspud, on 21 April 2022 - 10:57 AM, said:

map voting. It doesn't matter how many maps we have, we play the same 3-4 over and over and over. .. getting very stale- very fast. Thanks François for all your work, not that we get to play the new stuff much, I was all for map voting, but it just isn't working- unless you like playing the same map ad nauseum.

Reminds me of GSGO- everybody plays dust all the time....zzzZZZZzzzzZZZz.

Yeah, you see, that's cose' the new maps mostly cater to a single playstyle, sniping. Sorry, no, I don't want to vote for them. Give me a normal all-round map, and I'll vote for it.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Vellron2005, on 23 April 2022 - 08:01 AM, said:

Yeah, you see, that's cose' the new maps mostly cater to a single playstyle, sniping. Sorry, no, I don't want to vote for them. Give me a normal all-round map, and I'll vote for it.

Okay, here we go… the new maps.

HPG… yeah, this one’s for snipers. And for the fast mediums that prey upon them!
New Caustic… can’t see crap on this map. But a sniper hit me once, so it must be for snipers.
Hellebore… so much verticality and cover, a sniper couldn’t possibly..l oh, no, I got hit by a sniper once, so the whole map must be for snipers.
Emerald Vale… those ridges along the side, but SO much cover in the center that it’s more of a brawl-centric map. But… a sniper hit me once, so it must be for snipers.

When you fear a play style to the point that it paralyzes your thinking and tactical options, then clearly all the maps are made for that play style. Originally it was pop tarting, then LRMs, now sniping. Adapt.

[Blood Rose]

ScrapIron Prime, on 23 April 2022 - 08:31 AM, said:

Okay, here we go… the new maps.

HPG… yeah, this one’s for snipers. And for the fast mediums that prey upon them!
New Caustic… can’t see crap on this map. But a sniper hit me once, so it must be for snipers.
Hellebore… so much verticality and cover, a sniper couldn’t possibly..l oh, no, I got hit by a sniper once, so the whole map must be for snipers.
Emerald Vale… those ridges along the side, but SO much cover in the center that it’s more of a brawl-centric map. But… a sniper hit me once, so it must be for snipers.

When you fear a play style to the point that it paralyzes your thinking and tactical options, then clearly all the maps are made for that play style. Originally it was pop tarting, then LRMs, now sniping. Adapt.

Your strawman doesnt change the facts that most of the maps unfairly benefit snipers

Edited by Blood Rose, 23 April 2022 - 11:12 AM.

[Ihlrath]

Or you can just be like me. I've accepted that I am a potato and I will suck no matter what map/mech I'm in. However as an old dude that grew up with Battletech (I even watched the cartoon for the short time it was on) this is about the only decent outlet to get my stompy robot fix.

Just try to enjoy yourself, maybe find some people to play with an accept that we are all naught but fodder for the seal clubbers.

[VeeOt Dragon]

honestly we can keep the Map vote but need to integrate a system the lags how often each map is selected and then take the most selected maps out of the rotation for a set amount of time. this would still let people chose what map they wont but keep the same map from popping up to often. perhaps reset this every hour or so.

[JC Daxion]

If they dropped the number of map choices we would get more chances to play other maps. I dunno if it should be a dual or 3, but just even dropping to 3 would greatly improve the number of different maps you would play just by the way the numbers would work.