Average5HeadEnjoyer
New member
I've noticed a few different threads regarding the new map, but a lot of them just have replies to the effect of "the new map is bad and I don't like it," or "it should be better," so I've decided to make one with the intent of discussing why people don't like it, as well as a place to consolidate thoughts on what the developers did well on the new map and how players might suggest the map could be improved. Both out of personal curiosity and for feedback purposes. Each post in this thread should try to have:
What I don't necessarily enjoy about the new map:
- At least 1 thing you don't like about the new map.
- At least 1 thing you think the new map does well (or better than the old map.)
- At least 1 suggestion for how the current map could be improved.
What I don't necessarily enjoy about the new map:
- Echoing what a lot of people have already said, the new map feels a bit cramped compared to the old map.
- The main contributing factor for me is that what used to be an open sky running through the middle of the map is now filled with a lot of oddly-shaped buildings (the most notable offenders being the new buff-bridges, although I do like the concept of having to climb upwards to obtain them.) When walking through the map for the first time at ground level, my first thought was that it just seemed very visually noisy, and it was hard to tell what paths I needed to take to position myself accordingly at a glance.
- At the same time, I recognize that the old map was pretty big in comparison, so anything smaller is going to feel "too small" initially, regardless of the actual size.
- I would also be curious as to how the additional buildings / building placement has affected those who play long-range heroes, such as Vindicta or Grey Talon.
- The new 3-lane set up isn't bad, but I do find myself missing the 4-lane / 1|2|2|1 set up of the old map sometimes.
- The extra lane added an additional layer of complexity when it came to considering pushes, ganks, team fights, etc., which I considered to be rather enjoyable. As far as I'm aware, this complexity didn't contribute to stale-matey scenarios, but I'm also only speaking from around the mid-arcanist rank range. Maybe it's different higher up.
- At the same time, I know some people have said they enjoy the new 3-lane set up, as it allows better flexibility when it comes to picking heroes / lanes, and it helps prevent scenarios where you have to 1v1 a lane in which you are ill equipped to survive, so maybe that's a personal preference on my part.
- I think 6 players is still a good size for each team.
- Texturing and modeling-wise, the new map looks really good! The textures are really pretty and generally pleasant to look at.
- I also really like the juxtaposition of billboard advertisements between "normal" things like dentists and hats and things like "spectral [guitar] strings". I think it does a good job of helping flesh out the setting as an alternate-reality Earth / New York and not just another world entirely.
- I think the random items place in the lanes like carts, standing signs, etc. were a good call, as they provide some extra cover to defend from behind and add a bit of flavor to each lane.
- I wonder if removing / shortening some of the pillars and raised areas between the middle lane and other lanes would make the mid lane feel less crowded, like the buildings circled in the picture below. Then again, perhaps that would remove too much cover / open the other lanes up too much.
- Jokingly, a friend of mine (who is far better than I at this game) suggested that we should add an additional lane in the sky (for a 7th person) which would:
- be only accessible from spawn via a special zipline only accessible by the player assigned to the lane.
- be accessible via walking from walking up a staircase from the 4 corners of the map.
- be theoretically both really easy to gank and gank from. (?)
- In all seriousness, I wonder if the old map + an extra player or two (turning the game into a 7v7 or an 8v8) would be a good idea. You'd have more people available for team fights and resources to spread across lanes, but maybe it would make the end game too chaotic. Who knows.
