How Many Main Arena Maps?

[Simon]

A snow map would be real cool! Maybe next decade...

Great in theory and visually fresh, but no fun for dogfights. They're very disorienting in my experience. Picture dogfighting in AH's night time over black water in reverse.

Upvote to remove immediately:
BowlMA
CraterMA
Oceana
Buzzsaw

I would add to that list with all the giganto-maps if we could replace them with smaller varieties.

I'd also like to see Northco pop up 2 or 3 times through the cycle and ETO an extra time. They disappear pretty quickly and even as a regular I've only seen them a handful of times combined. They've generated some great action every time so far, especially Northco.

[Dadtallica]

I like all those but buzzsaw.

Can we vote to have the Fjord map use a water background that isn’t a picture of actual water. It’s slightly off putting to me anyway.

[Dadtallica]

The sheer obsurdity of Buzzsaw is starting to grow on me. Please help! 

[Bopgun]

I'd also like to see Northco pop up 2 or 3 times through the cycle and ETO an extra time.

ETO is great but the performance issues I experience In VR are frustrating especially considering the hardware I have.

[molybdenum]

Agreed.  I don't care how long a map lasts unless is 3 to 4 days and stale garbage.  We have a couple of those, and I hope they leave rotation as soon as they have replacements.  Hell even if they don't have replacements.  I've been here over 20 years and I log when I see them.  I can't imagine the impression they leave on a new player.

The gameplay possibilities this game has is one of its few advantages over its competitors.  When you put a chokehold on that with a garbage map, you are shooting yourself in the foot.

When I was a new player, everything was new. There were no "garbage maps," nor do I think there are any now. I rarely survived long enough to understand the big picture. So the map is very likely very more important to the experienced player (who uses its nuances to ambush and slay the newbs you seem concerned about, btw). But that's another topic.

[molybdenum]

Yes less maps if that means getting rid of the larger ones that are unfun due to low numbers..

One good map is all some of us need

Eagler

Variety is the spice of life. If maps get sacrificed to appease vocal players (even those maps I dislike intensely, like Northco), then it is more likely than people like me will find something else to do for entertainment.

[DmonSlyr]

When I was a new player, everything was new. There were no "garbage maps," nor do I think there are any now. I rarely survived long enough to understand the big picture. So the map is very likely very more important to the experienced player (who uses its nuances to ambush and slay the newbs you seem concerned about, btw). But that's another topic.

No... just no. If a new player doesn't know where the fight is. They aren't gonna be able to find any action that makes their time worth it.

[TWCAxew]

Upvote to remove immediately:
BowlMA
CraterMA
Oceana
Buzzsaw

I like the water maps actually but Buzzsaw makes me log instantly.

(i do like the design of the map and i see what the creator went for. So props for that. But it plays meh.)

[Lazerr]

Variety is the spice of life. If maps get sacrificed to appease vocal players (even those maps I dislike intensely, like Northco), then it is more likely than people like me will find something else to do for entertainment.

The first criteria of a garbage map is not being able to generate a full dar bar, which indicates where the action is on a map.  I'd say a new person would recognize that.  The rest of the criteria comes along with the slow boring game play.  Probably ideal for you at 30k in ki67s, but the majority won't pay 15 bucks a month to watch paint dry.

[Lusche]

The first criteria of a garbage map is not being able to generate a full dar bar,

To be fair, most maps, even the smallest ones, fail at this most of the time because of the low numbers. I only can see full darbars when flying very late at night/early morning, and even during that US primetime there is often only one of the three fronts having significant action.

During Euro prime with player numbers below 40(!), getting any full darbar anywhere is extremely rare as you need about a quarter of the total arena population in planes in the same sector as hostiles at the same time.

[CptTrips]

even during that US primetime there is often only one of the three fronts having significant action.

That sucks for the 3rd team that can't get over to the front where the one good fight of the night is happening.  They get left of of the party.

Where-as in a two side configuration, every furball anywhere on the front line can be accessed by both sides.

3-sides was great when you had 500 players in the arena.  2-sides would work better with the current numbers.

[Lazerr]

To be fair, most maps, even the smallest ones, fail at this most of the time because of the low numbers. I only can see full darbars when flying very late at night/early morning, and even during that US primetime there is often only one of the three fronts having significant action.

During Euro prime with player numbers below 40(!), getting any full darbar anywhere is extremely rare as you need about a quarter of the total arena population in planes in the same sector as hostiles at the same time.

Yeah, unfortunately in your time zone, there is little hope for that to happen for you again.

Then again, even in the games prime in Euro primetime, I'd wager the majority of the players were in the US, just playing at off hours.

[Dadtallica]

I like the water maps actually but Buzzsaw makes me log instantly.

(i do like the design of the map and i see what the creator went for. So props for that. But it plays meh.)

I agree although no map makes me log instantly I just may not be on as long as normal. Buzzsaw gets a few good full battles sometimes. The strats being so intermixed is part of what makes it a bit much among other things.

[nrshida]

During Euro prime with player numbers below 40(!),

I'm on CET like you Lusche but am presently unable to play in the evening. I've been monitoring MA numbers this week. 8-12 with a rare spike of 16 during one check.

[CptTrips]

I'm on CET like you Lusche but am presently unable to play in the evening. I've been monitoring MA numbers this week. 8-12 with a rare spike of 16 during one check.

Nothing like dividing 8 players across 3 countries.