All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

[bitvomit]

This seems to be a scenario that happens in every online game nowadays: Developer releases game, gamers find the best maps in the game and stick to them, while the rest of the maps are long forgotten except by the few hardcore players. Of course CS is the best example of this. How many servers do you see that play maps like compound, piranesi, or tides compared to the immortal favorites like dust, dust2 and aztec? Are Level designers getting sloppy nowadays and carving a few maps out of genius while the rest are just afterthoughts or are gamers just to stubborn to learn a new map?

Obviously the most popular maps in BF2 are karand, sharqi and wake. It also appears that the same trend is present in BF2's expansions and the euro forces booster pack. I've played neither of them but I've seen plenty of people complaining on here about how a couple maps are great while the rest are mediocre at best. Now that the Armored Fury booster pack is whetting everyones appetite it begs the question: Is $10 really worth 2 mediocre maps and one map carved out of genius? If all 3 maps aren't of the same calibur as wake, karkand, and sharqi, then EA has a dud on their hands. This is not meant to bash EA specifically but it's something that has become apparant in every game I play.

[Ghilleman]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

i think that the reason some maps are played more, is because people LIKE them better, for whatever reason. You will never, ever find a game with all maps played equally. Its a fact of life, some maps will be preferred over others.

[Saureco]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

I think all the maps are fine. If certain people like certain maps, it's usually because that map caters more to their play style. Like bombing the crap out of infantry? Try Operation Cleansweep or Gulf of Oman. Like infantry and armor combat? Try Karkand or Mashtuur City. Helo addict? Daqing Oilfields or Fushe Pass.

I, personally, will play on any and all maps. However, it's how your teammates handle the map as well that determines the map's fun factor. Like in CS, perhaps dust and aztec provide more camping spots, more flexibility to adaptation, and even better aesthetics. It's true. Personally, I think Strike on Karkand looks too dusty. Makes my eyes itch just looking at it. Dalian Plant, however, just seems like it's more humid, clear, and just plain cleaner. Same for Dragon Valley.

[Uranium235]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

Problem with some maps is that even though they are great. People dont play them. They get tunnel vision and play the same map over and over again. In CSS timeless classics like Prodigy, Assault, Nuke and so on were released but all the new players who came because of HL2 dont play them since they werent out at first and they decided that Dust, Dust2 and Aztec are the best maps on the face of the planet.

[unununium]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

I think the main reason is that playtesting only works for balance and bug-testing. They can't do the thousands and thousands of hours of 'preference testing' that the community does when a game gets released.

I also think the QA testers can't just go "yeah... I just don't like playing this map, cut it from the game". When a map has gone through all of the balance and bug testing you can't just throw it out completely.

[Tobacco]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

Yeah, I think $10 bucks is worth it. Side note, the reason there is only acouple good maps is because that's all it takes for us suckers to buy it.



T

[{USI}_DirTyDeeDs]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

are you saying there are only three good maps?
or are you upset that the community favors only three maps?

imo, they are all great maps, with a few exceptions :evil:

The players that choose Karkand, are the same ones that play Dedust, because it's easier.

:salute:

[Ghost_Rider72]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

It is a lot of random probability over what maps the people as a whole choose to play. Many people would also like to know 3 maps inside and out than just a little bit of 10 different maps.

[BaM]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

the reason is not because the other maps are bad but because poeple find a map that is easy to get good scores in and basically whore the whole time to keep there score up because they are scared to loose thier precious stats. Just think about it...

Karkand- tank whore
Wake- jet whore
Dalian- jet/tank/apc whore

[USARANGER]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

i hate when people burn other people for playing a few maps over and over again. maybe they just LIKE the maps and the excitment. i know that when i used to play karkand all the time (im not ashamed to say it), those first few minutes of the match i could almost feel my adreniline pumping from the head-on-collsion kind of play. it rocked. some of the maps i just find boring. DONT BURN PPL JUST IF THEY REALLY LIKE A POPULAR MAP!! and usually,the ppl who burn someone who plays karkand or shaqi a ton think that it is ok to do burn them just cause they whore up less popular maps. cant we just stop burning eachother over favorite maps?

[StevenNevets]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

It only takes 3-4 maps for a good game trailor

[Metasynaptic]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

Warlord > Karkand.

[DrunkenPirate]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

Been happening for onlines for as long as I know.

I used to play C&C95 online religiously via my 28k modem, as soon as I connected to Westwood online there would be dozens of people on chat asking for Tiberium Garden.
The rest of the maps would get played rarely.

[Foxtrot]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

Big Game Hunters?

[*{82nd)*Commando]

Re: All high quality maps or 3-4 excellent maps while the rest are junk?

Also, something that has not been mentioned yet. The server owners, if they watch the server, know which maps draw and keep the peeps! For whatever reason yall come with for one map being more popular, the server admins will increase this favor just by playing the maps people stay in and want to play.

I have tried so mannnnnnny different combos it would make your head spin. I think I have finally come up with something kinda fun and interesting with my maps. But at first - there were just the main three I would run to get the players in the server and keep them there.

So I guess I am saying, once the group finds there favs, the server admins actually put the icing on those maps so to speak.

But yeah, its that way with every single online game I have ever played also. Just the way it is.