Originally posted by SlapShot
Big maps (AKDesert being the first) were not designed or introduced with the intent of removing the horde factor. The large maps came before the "horde" became a problem.
No...they were probably created because HT was moving towards the larger setup in anticipation of ToD or for the increased number of players (ala horde). The large maps, however, do not provide a playing field for an increased player base as players still horde, thereby overstressing frame rates in the vicinity. That, coupled with the new terrain increases the frame rate hit.
My problem is my bottleneck is probably my monitor. I don't have $800 to upgrade from my 19" LCD that's 2 years old and only supports a refresh of 75 at my reoslution level.
I have found with smaller maps that the player base is more dispersed, and not a tax on my system in regards to frame rates. On Baltic the other night, I had 4-5 base options to attack.
Equinox last night I was relegated to 1-3 options...all horde events. When we (the squad) did stir trouble at an undefended base with the intentions of getting some people away from the hording, we were quickly overwhelmed. 3 against 15 is not lovely odds. I can handle 3 to 7 odds, but I won't stick around for a 5:1 ratio.
So, we left because we got tired of the horde banging we were receiving and went to a more balanced fight. This fight, however, was about 2 bars of rooks versus 2 bars of knights. OMG my frame rates blew monkey chunks, and my performance suffered. Planes warped (I still attribute that strictly to this map), gunnery suffered (and I suck bad enough in gunnery), and of course I died a lot....which gets frustrating leading to logging.
I'm not saying the small maps are perfect, that there is never any hording going on cause that's just not true. I do see better balance though on the small maps with a fluid ebb and flow of numbers at bases. Anyway, just my rant....sorry for not being brief.
