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General Forums => Aces High General Discussion => Topic started by: Citabria on June 01, 2012, 06:21:09 PM

Title: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Citabria on June 01, 2012, 06:21:09 PM
after seeing another rant about a map I made that gave no specifics other than length of time in play I am asking for actual feedback about what is liked or not liked about the MA terrains in rotation.

considering that I am actually working on updating an old main arena terrain I did in AH1 to be submitted now is the time to air your list of grievences with everything you hate about certain maps and why.

don't give me a mindless rant that I can't use.

tell me what specific things you like or dislike.

positive feedback of certain aspects of particular maps is good as well.

the only map I made that is currently in rotation is Ozkansas, I am working on updating my first MA terrain called FesterMA.


so air it out now is your chance to influence an MA terrains design.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: lyric1 on June 01, 2012, 06:33:29 PM
I like Ozkansas except for the partial or no fleet with the CV's.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Debrody on June 01, 2012, 06:35:15 PM
For me the main deciding factor was the distance between fields. When i had to fly 40-50 miles to the nearest enemy base, well, that wasnt as nice. But we were discussing about it a couple times.
The other thing i liked was real life - like landscape, like on the grinder map.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Lusche on June 01, 2012, 06:37:57 PM
I like

- VBases set up like V135&V136 on Ozkansas - close to each other with spawns almost meeting up in the middle, for a much more balanced and actually maneuvering GV battle. More of them is my biggest wish for future maps
- base numbering in a logical way (minor issue, but on large maps bases can be hard to find if base numbers are just all over the place)
- maps that try to provide equal gameplay opportunities for most playing styles (CVs, vehicle combat) - hard to achieve on small maps at times
- european tileset, quire dislike the pacific one, especially when tanking
- initial fronts defined by geography, for example compello.


I dislike
- maps with too much intitial obstacles like trinity
- "attention traps" like A1(country A) - A2 (country B) on sfma, both being standard log-in airfields.
- beta2. Sorry to whoever made that, but I know I'm not alone. When we still had 2 LW arenas, it was in fact the only map that consistently made players prefer LWB over LWO  :lol

Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Babalonian on June 01, 2012, 06:47:18 PM
It's non-stagnant gameplay, so I guess the "smaller" or fast-paced maps.  You can play all night, capture 8 bases, defend 5, loose 2 or 3 of those.... and not do it all over again, on the same map, at the same bases, for the next 6 nights.

I honestly wouldn't be griping about the map we got stuck with for the past week so much if last night, after it finally changed, so much progressive/active/participating/fun (with BBQ sauce) gameplay was unleashed in the arena by everyone in it.  The only sad thing to me is, the two maps we jsut had a blast on (and blasted through), we won't see again until after another rotation including another week-long map as hosted by Buzz Killington.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: The Fugitive on June 01, 2012, 06:49:16 PM
Ok, I don't like bases close to the water. Ports I can understand....tuff to launch a boat with out water, they did teach us that in the Navy one month  :devil Is there really a need to have bases right on the water? If they are on the water it makes it far to easy for the NOE crowd to just run base after base because the water is much easier to fly NOE over. Set them back a bit, give some elevation to the land between the sea and the base, make them work for it. Sure it will be a bit tougher on the LVT's but I hear we are getting duck boats  :noid

GV spawns. Make them multiple pronged like in a TT, and increase the "random spawn area" at each spawn. The idea is to make it much harder to set up a spawn camp. I think the valley runs you have on your map as well as the ones on the TT island on the big  island map we have are good, but spawning is still too predictable. If the spawns are spread out it will make it harder to camp, but also harder to group up for the attacking force moving out. People spawning out would just have to group up at a grid marker like an air wing does then move out on the attack.  

More bases with some alt. Map makers seem to have gotten away from bases with alt. Use to see 3k 4k alt base, but now rarely see one over 1k. The towns don't have to be at alt, so the GVs don't have to fight up hill, but even that would be a good twist. Build the town of a few base with some alt, but add a couple easy approaches to set up GV ambushes. The attacking team would need to bring in dive bombers to clear a path in for there tanks so they don't get cut down by the ambushes. I think it would be great to set up a few bases along possible attack fronts that need "special" work to take. In stead of a country just rolling along steam rolling base after base, put one of two of these special bases that need a coordinated mission to take.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: JunkyII on June 01, 2012, 06:56:11 PM
I'll start by saying NDisles is my favorite and OzKansas is number two. The only reason for that is on Ozkansas people have all those v bases they can run to and hide in ack.

I like a center island because you can always find the fight you want, tanking, jabo, furball, bombers...only thing that screws that up is when people start taking the bases there.

I like a variety of terrain, canyons, 2 land bases split by sea, cv vs airbase, mountains, flat ground....every terrain imaginable.

Distance between bases doesn't matter to me as much as it does with others....opens up better opportunities for higher alt fights.

My main dislike is when a base has a huge alt advantage on another base.....from a military point of view, I would not build a base near another that has such alt unless I had OPs on near by hills...since we dont have these OPs, I don't think this type of situation should be in game.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: TDeacon on June 01, 2012, 07:18:49 PM
I don't do the strat game, so I actually like maps which stay up for a while. 

Do GV spawn points in pairs, with a second one 3k in back of, or off to the side of the other.  (This might be too "busy" visually, but would make spawn camping harder). 

Hills in the GV battle area are nice.  In canyons, hills can be off to the side. 

Don't put trees or hills at the end of runways. 

MH
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Gixer on June 01, 2012, 07:19:57 PM
I prefer maps that have more realistic levels of terrain, 25,000 ft pyramid mountains and canyons from Mars don't have a place in a WW2 sim. Maps that actually represent a collection of real geographic locations and combined to make a map look good.



<S>...-Gixer
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Dadsguns on June 01, 2012, 09:08:01 PM
Would like to see;
-Length of Runways that can accommodate 29's without the fear of over running into trees at the end of runway, or eliminate trees in those areas......
-Bases with greater ALT....
-As mentioned, normal bases further away from shore....
-Sheep
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: titanic3 on June 01, 2012, 10:29:25 PM
Pros:

Tank town (MUST HAVE), there are those who hate hordes and land grabbing and just want to furball. Basically just copy okanzas's Tank Town.

Close bases (no more than 2 sectors apart at most)

Alternate the field Alts in waves. Ex: first 10 fields are at 3K. Next are at 0K, next ten fields are at 3K. Forces a leapfrog effect, if the attackers take the high fields, they'll have an easier time attack the lower fields. Vice versa for the defenders if they hold on to the high fields.

Decent amount of CVs depending on map size. Ndisles have the perfect amount of CVs for a map it's size.

Cons:

Mountains and gigantic hills. For the love of god, no. Don't make this another Trinity map where everyone is forced to fly at 15K+ just to avoid the mountains.

Space out GVs spawn so they don't get camped 24/7 (I'm talking to you V135 on trinity)

Towns too far from fields.
 
No water/CVs.



Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Shuffler on June 01, 2012, 10:30:19 PM
I hate any map I can't fly on. :)
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Greebo on June 02, 2012, 05:35:55 AM
I dislike any map that is obviously artificial, with a regular geometrically shaped (i.e. circular or triangular) coastline. Also artificial looking terrain features like dead straight canyons with mile high cliffs each side or regularly stepped mountains. Or roads that climb straight up 60 degree slopes rather than following the contours of the terrain. Also farmland on the same steep slopes. These sorts of thing just ruin my suspension of disbelief. I like maps where the designer has made an effort to make it look real, Grinder is my favourite.

I also dislike any map that has no oceans and therefore no CV groups. CV fights offer some of the best A2A fights in the game and maps that lack them are less fun for me.

Maps with huge mountain barriers that force aircraft up to silly heights to reach another field are a pain. Once an enemy has spent all that time to get up there it is far harder to get him to come down and fight. I would rather see mountains used to channel a fight into a canyon running roughly between the fields.

The main issue with gameplay and map design is the number of available enemy fields that a player can easily reach at any one time. If there are only one or two airfields on the whole frontline that are within 25 miles or for GVs that are reachable with SPs, then you get gang banging/camping. OTOH if there are a dozen options available it can spread out the players too much for it to be fun for anyone. On some maps you log in and there are 5 or 6 tiny dar bars along a front line 15 or 20 fields long. I reckon 4 to 6 available fields on each front line is about the best balance.

I like maps where some fields have a special importance that makes them strategically valuable and therefore worth fighting for. An airfield with an alt advantage or close to a port or strats. Or a V base with loads of spawns radiating to nearby fields.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: WYOKIDIII on June 02, 2012, 05:56:36 AM
Any map :

The part where I fly poorly and die .
 :bhead
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: oboe on June 02, 2012, 06:24:09 AM
Everything Greebo said, spot on.   Also I dislike the DOS-era base/symbol graphics.  I'd like to see real base names printed on the map in a nice font.  With all clipboard icons turned off, I'd like it to look like a real map.   And i  really dislike all strategy targets clustered in a spot way to the rear.  I want to go trainbusting  again.

Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: guncrasher on June 02, 2012, 09:27:27 AM
I prefer maps that have more realistic levels of terrain, 25,000 ft pyramid mountains and canyons from Mars don't have a place in a WW2 sim. Maps that actually represent a collection of real geographic locations and combined to make a map look good.



<S>...-Gixer


this plus having bases at 7k or 8k.


semp
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: A8TOOL on June 02, 2012, 09:59:35 AM
Don't like that HT supposedly sits on a bunch of maps that people spent many days and hours making when some of the best could be of some use.

Don't like that HT never put any red squares around TT  FT vbases to save at least one base in those areas.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Reaper90 on June 02, 2012, 10:04:11 AM
Ok, I don't like bases close to the water. Ports I can understand....tuff to launch a boat with out water, they did teach us that in the Navy one month  :devil Is there really a need to have bases right on the water? If they are on the water it makes it far to easy for the NOE crowd to just run base after base because the water is much easier to fly NOE over.

I grew up just a few miles from Myrtle Beach AFB. Used to sit on the beach off the end of he runway and watch the A10's take off and land, low enough to make you feel like you could throw a rock and hit 'em.

I like bases right on the water. Adds something when you come in right above the waves, 'Flight of the Valkries' playing in the background.......  :)

Quote
GV spawns. Make them multiple pronged like in a TT, and increase the "random spawn area" at each spawn. The idea is to make it much harder to set up a spawn camp.

Best GV spawn idea yet, in my opinion. Every single GV spawn should actually be 3 separate spawns, with the center of each random spawn area separated by 1.5K to 2K.

Of course, if you kill the ability of an easy as cake spawn camp, about 2/3 of the "uber tankers" in the game will fade to irrelevancy....  ;)

My only gripes about maps?

GV spawns, or lack thereof. I don't know the name of the map, but there's one that regularly has not one single GV spawn from a friendly base to an enemy one on any front, depending on what fields are held by whom. Would be an OK map for tanking if there were 3 times as many spawns.

Bases too far away from each other. I don't know about you all, but I play AH to dogfight, not fly for 15 minutes to get to a fight. IMHO, bases should be no more than 1 sector away from the next base, maximum. If the alt monkies want to come in to a furball at 20K, they can always take off from a further away base.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: WWhiskey on June 02, 2012, 10:12:58 AM
I'll make a list of GV  map needs when I get home tonight
But basically spawns. Edd to meet instead of being on opposite sides of a base and they need to be within 4 k of each other, hills of all sizes would be greAt, their are some with perfect slopes but I'll have to work on it a bit to show you. 
Thanks for asking tho!!!
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Karnak on June 02, 2012, 10:13:18 AM
The two maps that make me log out as soon as I have logged in are Trinity, due to the mountain ranges between bases making for slow action, and the really small map that doesn't even have room for bombers to get to 25,000ft or able to attack the city without being intercepted by Me163s.

What I like in a map are bases no more than a sector apart and lots of CVs.  One person mentioned bases at opposite ends of a natural looking valley and that sounds fun as well, even better if they were off on the edge of the map and each were among the uncaptureable bases with perhaps a captureable GV base for each side between them.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Bizman on June 02, 2012, 12:53:44 PM
Maps that actually represent a collection of real geographic locations and combined to make a map look good.
That's why I like Baltic (although it looks funny compared to our maps) and Mindanao. It's nice to be able to refer to a certain spot on the map with a name instead of a letter and a number. Historical accuracy doesn't count that much, there's a bunch of them to be used in scenarios and such.

I once had an idea or two concerning MA maps. One of them was to use the The Great Lakes region, the lakes naturally dividing the chess-piece countries. Another was to choose some peninsula and rotate it in a three-fold kaleidoscope for a balanced theatre. Think e.g. about a tripled Italian, or Arabian or Iberian peninsula with real situations of known cities: "Let's try to take the bish Rome!" "Oh my, they took our Abu Dhabi!" "Our fleet is reaching the Knight Gibraltar!"...
And how about triplicating the British Isles? Should the Scotlands be in the middle, or the Londons?

Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: bustr on June 02, 2012, 01:25:14 PM
Aside from the trrain features which Fester has always been creative with.

Some basic formulas for distance to the fight seem to keep popping up.

1. Furballers are happiest if they don't need to fly more than 1\2 sector to engage. This means if they die, reupping has a good probability of the furball still at peak play and closer distances allows for taking less fuel for the percieved benifits or more to hang around longer.

2. Base takers in fighters are happiest flying a maximum of one sector, while particapating bombers 1.5-2 depending on their alt preferences and tollerance to proximity of enemy fighters.

3. Gvers want close spawns to promote mass sneaking around and sniping from the trees and features without driving more than 3 or 4 minutes to engage someone. If possible a setup that gives the spawner a running chance to evade campers. I understand an ambush while waiting for a tank column to come down a road and the possiblity your position might be discovered. I cannon't understand a published "Park here to kill all you want freely" sign uphimisticly called "Spawn Camping".

Time spent getting to the fight versus the fight. Beautiful terrain and clever features are just that if you punish players with long transit times rather than maximising their time spent shooting at each other and blowing things up. Setting bases farther apart as a rule all over a map promotes large collectives of players to concentrate in a few places for a very long time.

The longer a large group faces off, the more opportunities for human nature and lazyness to dictate conduct.

For a number of years now we have been playing mostly on giant maps with longer distances to fights. We have also been spending much of that same time observing the increase in lazy, risk adverse game play habits in this forum. Perhaps it's time to swing the pendulum back to constant and quick fights so players don't have all that transit time to worry about loosing fights. Eventualy we can complain again to lengthen the transit times to adjust for the bad game conduct that will evolve from upping and deing sooner than later.

Time is everything when you are looking to have fun.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: lulu on June 02, 2012, 02:09:47 PM
Well,

I love the hills ... 2 hills and the ... valley


 :salute
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: chaser on June 02, 2012, 02:50:45 PM
Ozkansas is one of my favorite maps. The only real problem with it is having the airbases in Tank Town. We need a map that has 9+ Vbases on an island like that with no airfields close by.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Lusche on June 02, 2012, 02:56:01 PM
Ozkansas is one of my favorite maps. The only real problem with it is having the airbases in Tank Town. We need a map that has 9+ Vbases on an island like that with no airfields close by.


That will result in rolling the island even quicker after a CV gets there.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: mthrockmor on June 02, 2012, 02:57:59 PM
I don't know the names but...

First, is a solid land mass with no water. All mountains are in excess of 10K. 5-10mins of climging for all fights.

Second, primarily islands. Invites one side to park a CV off the target base so close 3K ack zone covers airfield. It invites ack hugging on both sides.

Boo
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: cactuskooler on June 02, 2012, 03:03:49 PM
I'd like to fly over something other than green.

I enjoy fighting in canyons too.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: MickDono on June 02, 2012, 03:18:03 PM
Tanktown with uncapturable Airbases please  :aok
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Chilli on June 02, 2012, 03:33:07 PM
I have to nod in agreement with playable features listed here:

GV spawn distance with no extreme drive distances but enough room to regulate spawn camps.

Limit on mountains and trees near runways.

Areas like Tank Town (maybe even multiple towns like that), or Furball lake, that spawn 24/7 action.

I would like to add:

Attention to field placement so no one country start position adds any advantage over others.

Add multiple tank town areas all over the map.  This will make for quick GV action with awesome hiding places and more realistic WWII tank warfare.  (it is a shame that the current airfield towns don't spawn this kind of GV action - but that is understandable considering the high stakes value of the maproom).

Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Lusche on June 02, 2012, 03:35:51 PM
Areas like Tank Town (maybe even multiple towns like that)


But oddly we have at least two "tank towns", including one perfectly shielded from enemy air intrusion, that are completely deserted all of the time.

But players still wish for it  :headscratch:
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: chaser on June 02, 2012, 03:53:31 PM

But oddly we have at least two "tank towns", including one perfectly shielded from enemy air intrusion, that are completely deserted all of the time.

But players still wish for it  :headscratch:

Both of which have incredibly horrible terrain to tank in. That is why I never wanted to play in them. They both have next to no cover and long drives just to get to the action.. That's not a very usefull Tank Town
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Klam on June 02, 2012, 03:53:32 PM
I'm happy to leave up to you Fester,

I guess that if you make a map that sticks , the duff ones will gradually get rotated out.
Just bear in mind the oddities that thin the immersion.  Planet Zog hills and slopes, vertical roads, supply barges grinding thru the runway are a giveaway that the mapmaker smokes weed while listening to the BonzoDogDooDah band.  How many wishing wells do you need?

If you really have to have livestock..............nah, forget it.  The sappers would 've eaten that already.

Get a bulldozer and scar a 1/2 mile, forever barren strip at the runway entry.


Just an idea, (wish), but keep the distance between capturable fields, but sprinkle a few runway strips with rearm pads.  No hangers or map-room.
A kind of utility that all players can use, enabling them to rush back to the f'ball and finish off what they didn't finish.  200 will go melt down with whines over vulchin'..................but will promote caps and thus more combat. (me thinks)

What ever you do with the monster you're creating, I wish you the best of luck.

<<S>>
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Chilli on June 02, 2012, 03:56:13 PM

But oddly we have at least two "tank towns", including one perfectly shielded from enemy air intrusion, that are completely deserted all of the time.

But players still wish for it  :headscratch:

Completely??  I don't agree but on occasion your description does fit.  I am asking to place a "Tank Town" at a spawn that leads to a base (for example).  It will give the campers plenty of spaces to hide and also provide cover for GVs heading to an enemy base.

I guess that I remember too well when they were first inserted how much time folks would spend there.  I can't explain why they are empty as you say (and I have noticed on occasion also).  Possibly, the frustration kicks in after being bombed, camped or glitched (numerous hits on a lightly armored vehicle and one pop tower trip from another).
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Lusche on June 02, 2012, 04:05:51 PM
Both of which have incredibly horrible terrain to tank in. That is why I never wanted to play in them. They both have next to no cover and long drives just to get to the action..


Before the map was put into hiatus, Trinity Tank Town was the most pupulated of them all. When the action was going it was eactly the spawns that made it working so well, because it prevented the degeneration into an eternal point-click spawncamp. You had to move, and there most exciting battles were to be found in the town.

Now the place where you can bet to fidn the majority of 'tankers' on Trinity is V135, a place where you either don't have to move (camper) or can't move most of the time (camped) ;)
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: TDeacon on June 02, 2012, 08:45:21 PM
All the "avoid high altitude" complaints may be a bit off-base.  Some planes are better at high alts.  If you have most terrain at low alts, then those planes will be less likely to have a chance to fight under conditions which favor them, as their opponents can just dive to the deck.

So perhaps this is an argument in favor of Trinity-type maps.   

MH
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: oboe on June 02, 2012, 09:19:52 PM
Another thing when I think about it - most maps have the color way too intense.  I think the saturation should be dialed back quite a bit.   I think realistic terrain colors are dull, flat, faded greens, browns, tans and grays.   
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: coombz on June 02, 2012, 09:25:00 PM
Don't like that HT sits on a bunch of maps that people spent many days and hours making when some of the best could be of some use.

Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: MickDono on June 02, 2012, 11:37:45 PM
Don't like that HT supposedly sits on a bunch of maps that people spent many days and hours making when some of the best could be of some use.

Don't like that HT never put any red squares around TT  FT vbases to save at least one base in those areas.


++++++++++++++++ :aok :aok
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Chugamug on June 03, 2012, 10:36:40 AM
Spawn points, replace as many as possible with v bases. It would be a much simpler solution to the spawn camping issue. Maybe have a smaller GV base than we have now to use instead of spawn points.
The solutions ive seen for the spawn points are just too complex. Think chop sticks.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: LCADolby on June 03, 2012, 10:41:57 AM
Don't like that HT supposedly sits on a bunch of maps that people spent many days and hours making when some of the best could be of some use.

Don't like that HT never put any red squares around TT  FT vbases to save at least one base in those areas.
:aok :aok
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: matt on June 03, 2012, 11:18:08 AM

++++++++++++++++ :aok :aok
:aok
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: maxy on June 03, 2012, 11:31:23 AM
i would prefer maps without trees they continue to wreak havoc upon my plane
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: hitech on June 03, 2012, 12:28:22 PM
Don't like that HT supposedly sits on a bunch of maps that people spent many days and hours making when some of the best could be of some use.


We do not sit on a bunch of maps. There are not any maps waiting on us, although as of Friday I know of 1 that was almost ready for submission.

HiTech
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Latrobe on June 03, 2012, 12:36:40 PM
I just don't see a need for maps with 200+ bases. It seems like a good map for peak hours with 400 players since they can spread out over the map with multiple fights, but that's never the case. Look at the largest maps during peak hour and the smallest map on peak hours and they both have 3 seperate hordes from the 3 countries attacking one base. I try to avoid these and fly to other bases to find fights, but everyone is too busy hording over 1 base. Worst of all, during the off hours the maps are so large there is nothing going on.

Large maps are only good for the hordes to find undefended bases, and NOE raid the heck out of them.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Easyscor on June 03, 2012, 12:50:17 PM
We do not sit on a bunch of maps. There are not any maps waiting on us, although as of Friday I know of 1 that was almost ready for submission.

HiTech


I'm sure that's true, except for terrains that have been submitted, inspected and discarded. When a terrain is submitted, there is no feedback if a problem is found that eliminates it from the build/rotation.

How about a simple status reply stating see # x, x, etc

1 Terrain put into rotation
2 Balance issues
3 Errors. Find help within the terrain community
4 CBM
5 Other (and a note from htc)

Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: A8TOOL on June 03, 2012, 01:55:23 PM
We do not sit on a bunch of maps. There are not any maps waiting on us, although as of Friday I know of 1 that was almost ready for submission.

HiTech


I'm sure that's true, except for terrains that have been submitted, inspected and discarded. When a terrain is submitted, there is no feedback if a problem is found that eliminates it from the build/rotation.  <<<< well thats just terrible

How about a simple status reply stating see # x, x, etc

1 Terrain put into rotation
2 Balance issues
3 Errors. Find help within the terrain community
4 CBM
5 Other (and a note from htc)



+++++ :aok  :aok   :aok

I know many maps have been made for our scenarios that work just fine. (AVA, FSO maps) Some are Very Good but the only time you can fly in them is on special days. I could be wrong but it just seems some of that artwork and their layouts could be expanded upon and used as main arena maps fairly easily.

Was thinking that some of the maps that are in use but quickly turned over due to winning the war in under 5 hours could be extended by adding a time limit before the map is changed and then determine a winner.  (or just expand and improve on them to meet larger harder to win map needs)

Sure a few people would complain about the measly perks but so what. You got to be at the right place at the right time to get the perks anyway, whether you earned them or not.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: bustr on June 03, 2012, 02:13:08 PM
Ever consider spawn camping is akin to ENY to help the base defender?

You gentelment keep describing spawn pioints and not combining your bits and peices to look at a larger picture. Spawn points away from close GV feilds are an invisible circle of random spawning bisected by a linear battel line.

------->(  <-)----------Your Spawn Line

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The defenders can park around the perifery of the random spawn circle and shoot the spawners if they have taken control of the area. You do not have a battel front with a back feild to be spawned away from the campers to keep an active fluid battel going.

       ------
-->-(  <--)--------
       ------

       ------------------
--->-(<--)------------>
       ------------------

Most GV fights away from GV bases short hop spawns take place in corridors even if the game code describes an invisible circle to randomly spawn you in.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Make the corridor the random spawn area and update the code to track the location of all enemy GV inside of the corridor and within 1k of it's boundries. Then you get randomly spawned into the corridor backfeild far enough for a running chance against spawn campers.

       ========================== - buffer
      |----------------------------------------------
--->|  <--------------------------------------------> - <<--battle front that way
      |----------------------------------------------
      ===========================

Update the GV spawn process with 3 choices:

1.auto spawning based on the corridor.
2. manual over ride based on a sub grid map of the corridor that you can move an arrow to where generaly inside of the corridor you want to spawn. A GV assault mission could make use of this to mass stage assets or rescue a failed assault.
3. old shool into the invisible circle around the point of the arrow.

The grid could even be part of the map makers responsibility to incorporate it neatly into the topography. The grid borders can be angled to snake the corridor around cliff walls or away from steep dropoffs. Some size boundry would have to be defined for the core like 3k x 10k with the code taking care of the 1k invisible buffer. Code would have to take care of showing you the manual spawn selection sub grid map after the map builder lays down the corridor opposed to bitmap file.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even without the auto update of enemy postions to auto spawn you into your 10k backfeild. A manul arrow selection could be coupled with the auto circle spawn and you be allowed to choose spawning into the 10k corridor backfeild once you are aware the spawn circle is camped. Or for this mode replace the corridor with a half circle of a 10k diameter circle to move your arrow around in. Orient it bisected by the spawn line.

       
       ----------------------------------------------
--->(  <--)------------------------------------------>
       ----------------------------------------------
     
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: The Fugitive on June 03, 2012, 03:05:45 PM
+++++ :aok  :aok   :aok

I know many maps have been made for our scenarios that work just fine. (AVA, FSO maps) Some are Very Good but the only time you can fly in them is on special days. I could be wrong but it just seems some of that artwork and their layouts could be expanded upon and used as main arena maps fairly easily.

Was thinking that some of the maps that are in use but quickly turned over due to winning the war in under 5 hours could be extended by adding a time limit before the map is changed and then determine a winner.  (or just expand and improve on them to meet larger harder to win map needs)

Sure a few people would complain about the measly perks but so what. You got to be at the right place at the right time to get the perks anyway, whether you earned them or not.

Yup, your wrong.  :D

The restrictions and conditions of an MA map as compared to a AVA or FSO map are like night and day. You might as well say lets build and F6F, after all we have the F4u to expand on. Their both blue and both fighters, but thats where the likenesses really end.

Changing the maps so they last longer would be too confusing to most players (they have trouble learning to hit the ground with bombs). Remembering which map needs more bombs to kill a town or more troops or what ever deal they set up to slow the win down might be too much for some of them to bear.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: bj229r on June 03, 2012, 03:21:11 PM
I've more a general observation--there are more than a few maps (mostly older ones) you log in.....glance at the title of the map, and instantly know which corner is going to be reset, and absent extraordinary effort by many coordinated squats, that pre-ordained outcome never changes......casts a bit of a pall over the whole thing
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: WWhiskey on June 03, 2012, 08:39:32 PM
I thought of this a while back, why are all airfields  fully capable as any other?
A small airfield shouldn't have bombers but would have ords  a medium  or large would still be capable, a large base should also have more than one gv hanger and spawns into the city next to it
In short different bases should have different capabilities! A small field could just have a dirt strip!
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: jtdragon on June 03, 2012, 10:29:08 PM
would like to see a winter map with Ice/snow, slip/slide, (Finland in combat theater years ago if not misstaken)
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: bj229r on June 03, 2012, 10:47:01 PM
After tonite, I think Compello exemplifies the worst quality that any map can have===only a very points out of 400 sectors where it is reasonable to have enemy contact, which means you either see 30 enemy planes, or nothing. Neither scenario is a plus for anything like dogfights
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: hitech on June 04, 2012, 10:24:15 AM
I'm sure that's true, except for terrains that have been submitted, inspected and discarded. When a terrain is submitted, there is no feedback if a problem is found that eliminates it from the build/rotation.

We always respond to main arena terrain submissions. As far as your list, you now can put terrains up online for use in any arena with out any HTC action required .

And what is "CBM" ?

HiTech
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: jimson on June 04, 2012, 10:31:55 AM


And what is "CBM" ?

HiTech

Clip board map?
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: HawkerMKII on June 04, 2012, 11:37:54 AM
dislike........300-400 players on any small map....should never happen. But Grinder is the pits, I thinks it's 9 cv's on a small map, should only be 1 per side :salute
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Gatr on June 05, 2012, 06:48:21 AM
SQUID..... and more sheep of course.... But the Squid.. yes we need it back
salute
gatr
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Lusche on June 05, 2012, 07:02:35 AM
After tonite, I think Compello exemplifies the worst quality that any map can have===only a very points out of 400 sectors where it is reasonable to have enemy contact, which means you either see 30 enemy planes, or nothing. Neither scenario is a plus for anything like dogfights


So can opinions differ :)

In my view, Compello is the absolute best MA map I have seen in my 7 years of AH as far as gameplay goes. Provides lots of opportunities for all kind sof play, be it tanking, CV battles, coastal raids, long bomber runs, aerial defense of Vbases or furballs, while those contact points make sure that even at lower population times there is some kind of "concentrated" action can be found. In comparison, on Ozkansas the activity is very often way too spread out once the player numbers fall under a certain level.

If we had only one single map, I'd chose Compello for the great variety it offers,
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Midway on June 05, 2012, 07:09:32 AM
I like a map where bases are randomly assigned and scatterred to chess pieces all over the place to start and then each country can fight to conquer and build their empire from wherever they want as they see fit.

Such assignments would create dozens of friendly/enemy base combinations and create many varied fun fights and strategic thinking as to how best to build a country.

Base takers would be vey busy and so would everyone else.  

 :)

PS I also like a map with three little islands, one of which has an airfield port, and a 2nd little island that has a small airbase (kind of like Midway Islands).  Then I can feel at home and defend my archipelago against all intruders.  Don't forget it should spell out "Midway" in the trees on one of the three little islands.    :) :cry :D   :aok
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: A8TOOL on June 05, 2012, 12:34:43 PM


Montis is a fun map but too easily reset. It needs to be expanded upon to meet our needs


(http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii226/A8TOOL/ahss11.jpg)
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: zack1234 on June 05, 2012, 12:37:08 PM
I hate when you read a map and then try to fold it up properly again :old:
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: A8TOOL on June 05, 2012, 02:04:23 PM


Seems this map could be tweaked to get it main arena ready.


                                      AHRHINEWIN
(http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii226/A8TOOL/ahss12.jpg)
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: ghi on June 05, 2012, 02:24:57 PM

Montis is a fun map but too easily reset. It needs to be expanded upon to meet our needs
You are right.
Small maps are the best even with low # of players always easy to find some action; I would suggest HTC to increase the reset % to 30-40% for small maps. I like Baltic, Mindanao,Uterus, Small Isles, but are gone too quick in a couple of hours and again the boring huge maps stalled for weeks.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Reschke on June 06, 2012, 10:30:47 PM
I would like to see bases with actual names instead of numbers; perhaps have them as names of historical battles, various WW2 heroes from all nations that participated regardless of winning or losing the war or named for a member of the AH community that has passed away.
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: Midway on June 06, 2012, 10:43:44 PM
I would like to see bases with actual names instead of numbers; perhaps have them as names of historical battles, various WW2 heroes from all nations that participated regardless of winning or losing the war or named for a member of the AH community that has passed away.

 :aok
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: steely07 on June 07, 2012, 01:54:04 AM
I would like to see bases with actual names instead of numbers; perhaps have them as names of historical battles, various WW2 heroes from all nations that participated regardless of winning or losing the war or named for a member of the AH community that has passed away.
:aok
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: FiLtH on June 07, 2012, 09:40:53 PM
Mount Eversuck map is the worst
Title: Re: What do you love or hate most about certain maps?
Post by: icepac on June 08, 2012, 08:35:01 AM
I like all of the maps because they all have something to offer outside of the normal "win the war", "furballing". or "spawn camping".........which is all most of the complainers do.

They complain about having to drive from a spawn point put within 2 miles of an enemy base that they never actually attack.

They complain about terrain that doesn't allow GV movement yet I've driven to the city on every map without issues.

They complain about not finding a fight yet they are all over tank town in light fighters with 25% fuel.


The maps are fine, it's the players who are not.