34 replies to this topic

[PCHunter]

This was a change that no one asked for. Change it back please. Make sure the spawn points for all match types are the same. The new version is a sniper's and LRMer's paradise. Polar Highlands I revisited. Put some terrain and more topography back. Or add some interesting shelter items - dead drop ships, buildings, etc. This is particularly a problem with soup queue - 4-man groups specialized for sniping or LRMing can skew the selection of and play on this map. If it were just PUG queue, maybe keep it to see. But otherwise, change it back.

[Half Ear]

LordNothing, on 24 June 2022 - 05:53 PM, said:

different, yes. better, maybe.

i think what people are liking is the novelty, not so much that the map has improved. ive always considered tourmaline one of the better playing maps in the game as there are a lot of different ways it plays out. the additional asset geometry was always full of bad hitboxes, and there are a few happy to see that go as well.

what it does show is that terrain-only maps can work out pretty well and doesn't need to be full of assets to be viable. you are going to have softer curves and no hard angles but there are a lot of environments that can work out without those, like sand dunes.

I love the messed up version.. when PGI fixes it back to the original one ... they should keep the messed up one also and rename it PLAIN or ROLLING HILLS TOURMALINE

It is not necessarily wrong to have lots of assets, though that is when PGI could make more maps with same... sandbox and change up some of the assets so it is more like slightly different landscapes of a planet.

Edited by Half Ear, 26 June 2022 - 03:26 PM.

[Maddermax]

Half Ear, on 26 June 2022 - 03:20 PM, said:

I love the messed up version.. when PGI fixes it back to the original one ... they should keep the messed up one also and rename it PLAIN or ROLLING HILLS TOURMALINE

It is not necessarily wrong to have lots of assets, though that is when PGI could make more maps with same... sandbox and change up some of the assets so it is more like slightly different landscapes of a planet.

Honestly, it’s not far off classic polar highlands, and a lot of people hated that.

The only change now is that it’s much easier to get 100% radar deprecation, which makes it much easier to avoid the early LRM rain, but still, a map with no real cover isn’t what we need.

[PocketYoda]

No i'm not a fan myself.

[Meep Meep]

Maddermax, on 26 June 2022 - 05:10 PM, said:

Honestly, it’s not far off classic polar highlands, and a lot of people hated that.

The only change now is that it’s much easier to get 100% radar deprecation, which makes it much easier to avoid the early LRM rain, but still, a map with no real cover isn’t what we need.

Old polar was hated due to lrm spam and how ineffective ams was even when there was lots of it. Easy to get 100% radar dep and more effective ams have really cut into lrm effectiveness so as has been said its much less of an issue.

As to the map itself yes it would need an actual dev pass to block out the obvious op sniper spots and to add in cover and other artistic stuff to make it look like a huge shell cratered battlefield littered with dead mechs and blasted terrain. But the proof of concept is pretty solid and I love that you can go anywhere with no invisible walls or skyscraper tall unscalable terrain blocking you.

[GoGo Yubari]

I don't really think it's better (and I do miss non-broken Tourmaline), but after the initial shock wore off I have grown to like some aspects of it quite a bit. I have had some interesting fights on this map so yeah, I'll probably end up missing this version too if it's just entirely done away with!

As others have said though, it could use a development pass or two - as there's a lot that could be made better with an actual intentional change as opposed to an oops. Initial sniping sight lines could be worked off and maybe give some of the hills more defined/solid cover by adding in features. It would indeed be a nice balance to the arena style which is prominent lately (which I don't mind either [except Vitric which I'm not a fan off], but I'd love some diversity).

Meep Meep, on 27 June 2022 - 12:52 AM, said:

As to the map itself yes it would need an actual dev pass to block out the obvious op sniper spots and to add in cover and other artistic stuff to make it look like a huge shell cratered battlefield littered with dead mechs and blasted terrain. But the proof of concept is pretty solid and I love that you can go anywhere with no invisible walls or skyscraper tall unscalable terrain blocking you.

Yep, and I love the cratered/blaster concept - a graveyard of 'Mechs.

Edited by GoGo Yubari, 27 June 2022 - 01:57 AM.

[Sug]

Just got it for the first time.

I liked it.

Brawl started less than a minute in. The map felt almost claustrophobic in a good way. Finally the mechs were the biggest things on the map. No gigantic structures or artificial pillboxes. At no point was I stuck waiting behind someone hillhopping the only path over a hill. I spent like 90% of the time firing my weapons and maneuvering instead of walking in a circle.

Thumbs up

[killkimno]

sniper , lrm , sniper, lrm again?

NO

[Meep Meep]

killkimno, on 28 June 2022 - 05:22 PM, said:

sniper , lrm , sniper, lrm again?

NO

What if adequate cover was added along with traversable hills that block the worst of the sniper spots? I think what most are liking is the freedom to roll around anywhere they want and this can be kept even after adding in lrm cover and sniper blocking terrain.

[Ihlrath]

I liked that there weren't sniper nests all over the place. But the LRM spam.. holy bonkers.

[ArmourGone]

Terrible map as it is, without ranged weapons your a sitting duck waiting for multiple snipers and pop tarts to frustrate your game. If you happen to have long range weapons you can at least have a fighting chance.

[Skippy The Danger Squirrel]

Tourmoline was AWESOME - then PGI had to go and "fix" the map by adding the features back in. We don't need more peek and poke e-sports arenas. We need old Polar Highlands and other open maps with few places to hide.

[Knownswift]

^ Woh yeah. A tactical shooting game without any tactical elements sounds REALLY fun.

[Meep Meep]

There was plenty of cover with just the rolling hills. The only issue really was the lack of cover vs lrm if you happened to not have 100% radar dep like everyone else and early game some of the more op sniper spots could farm early damage as players raced for cover. But once everyone got settled in the game turned into a nice infantry shooter with snipers and fast flankers suppressing the other snipers as groups moved from hill to hill to close to brawling distance.

[martian]

I liked this "broken" version of Tourmaline Desert. I would love to see both versions of Tourmaline in rotation.

By the way, I loved the original Polar Highlands map too and I would love to see both versions of Polar in rotation.