18 replies to this topic

[Urvanis]

Of all the maps in this game. Titan and alleys(though my favorite map) are the least realistic. its really hard to see the practical justification to the maps aside from being a battle arena.

As much as I hate Sahara, It really is the most immersive map in game. It feels like a desert city. Andromeda is alright, save for a few roads that lead into slabs of steel, it seems like a city scape.

But titan is the worse culprate, with the jump pads, and jagged steel landscape, it really feels like something strait out of Unreal Tournament. Don't get me wrong, these are fine battle maps. But I'd like to see some more realistic maps. Practical or natural landscapes. That sort of thing.

[ConsterMonster]

andromeda kinda makes sense to me - additions sort of built on to additions of buildings under weird subletting property laws blown out of proportion, aided by the fact some sort of "floatenite" or "bouyancol" has apparently been discovered (battleships/repairdrone engines)

this is, in my opinion, why hawken is the only mech game that sort of almost makes sense in terms of realism. Although i have enjoyed other mech games, its just been for fun that they use mechs instead of specialised tanks/aircraft. In hawken, each mech is like a tank that has been adapted to the more vertical and uneven urban environment, but is designed to be more cost effective than a helicopter, for example

i know yes mechs are always kinda rediculous but in hawken it almost makes sens xD

[HugeGuts]

They're unrealistic because they are completely covered by the Hawken virus. See those structures that look like circuit boards_ That's the virus.

[Kerbstomp]

HugeGuts is correct. Titan is intended to be the virus "ground zero."  However, OP definitely has some valid points.

[Elix]

The jump pads do sort of break immersion a bit, but not so much that it's spoiled, for me. Sahara does indeed pull off the "realistic" part over the others by far. I'm in love with the atmosphere in Alleys, however.

[Crimson_Corsair]

The only issue I have is that Titan and Alleys are too similar in such a small pool of maps. The solution_ More maps!
I'm sure you guys are on it though.

[Sylhiri]

Crimson_Corsair, on November 13 2012 - 12:30 PM, said:

The only issue I have is that Titan and Alleys are too similar in such a small pool of maps. The solution_ More maps!
I'm sure you guys are on it though.

To be honest I'm hoping for a mech graveyard type map. I'm not entirely sure if it would fit with the story but having a medium sized map with many, many broken down/abandoned mechs would look eerie.

[The_Silencer]

I'd suggest smaller versions of Alleys and Titan. Not to make the current maps smaller but adding new version of them.. but smaller

[ConsterMonster]

I loved how after 3 days of relatively solid play I was still finding places in alleys i hadn't seen before. If you ask me, bigger is better for these maps. I love how this game has a very calm, slow, methodical searching/repairing pace that instantly switches to high speed action which, in some cases can be sustained for a very long time (the health boosts from dead mechs are perfect) a bigger map would improve on that. Would make each life flow in a sense of spawn, regroup with team, join in epic battle, kill and/or get killed repair rinse and repeat - small skirmishes and 1v1's when you get separated by fleeing or waiting to repair or catching up with team. Good balance of strategy and reaction time in my opinion.

[KejiGoto]

Urvanis, on November 13 2012 - 05:46 AM, said:

But titan is the worse culprate, with the jump pads, and jagged steel landscape, it really feels like something strait out of Unreal Tournament. Don't get me wrong, these are fine battle maps. But I'd like to see some more realistic maps. Practical or natural landscapes. That sort of thing.

Titan actually makes sense if you look at it from a battle stand point and what matches are typically fought there. The map is heavily contested by both sides and in something like Siege Mode everything comes together so well as both sides battle it out for control of energy sources, the AA guns, and more. The jump pads make sense from a mech stand point because not all mechs have the ability to make jumps or reach certain places so wouldn't it make sense for jump pads to be placed allowing people to move around the battlefield more easily_ Not only that but it also makes it so neither side can pin the other team. Often I'd see everyone meeting at the AA gun so I would slip off to the side, use a jump pad to launch myself from the bottom level up to the top and flank the enemy from behind.

I think a mixture of map types would work best with some feeling like a city while others should feel like battles are often fought there and each side has made additions to the map trying to get an advantage over the enemy.

[DarkPulse]

...Titan can't get much smaller, man. It's a pretty simple map once you learn the layout.

That said, those jump pads definitely need some work. They'll kick you into walls if you enter from the wrong side, and it seems like sometimes their collision detection is flaky.

[OhPlz]

I hated the jump pads the first time I saw them because I prefer simulation over arcade style gaming.  But having them only on some maps strikes a nice balance.  One of them is so vertical now that you'd have no hope of accessing some of the ledges and platforms.  Plus they're handy if you want to cut and run.  You can disappear a lot easier on those maps.

That said, Sahara is probably my favorite, especially when I'm trying to hunt down something to kill.  It has a very convincing feel to it.  Might be fun to have some dust devils or an occasional sand storm, mix it up a bit.

[Ryujin]

Imho Sahara, as it is now, has that nice balance that supports a variety of play styles.  Running 'n' gunning, sniping, tanking, they're all pretty valid on this map.

I'd personally like to see a more open map, yet one with poor visibility/low light.  More emphasis on concealment rather than cover, and the primary method of spotting an enemy at longer ranges is by their weapons' muzzle flashes.  Throw in some pervasive low-level EM radiation that limits radar range on the map, as well.

[AsianJoyKiller]

I've often wondered what it would be like to have a map that was similar to Manhattan.

A few shell-out, or toppled skyscrapers for vertical play, but just a lot of glass and steel canyons laid out in a grid.
Perhaps throw in a Central Park styled area for a battle ground in the in, well... the center.

[DarkPulse]

AsianJoyKiller, on November 17 2012 - 04:32 PM, said:

I've often wondered what it would be like to have a map that was similar to Manhattan.

A few shell-out, or toppled skyscrapers for vertical play, but just a lot of glass and steel canyons laid out in a grid.
Perhaps throw in a Central Park styled area for a battle ground in the in, well... the center.

Well, if the devs make 64-player maps, something like that is feasible... but I don't think you could pull off that kind of scale with 6v6.

[Sparkard]

City scapes are nice, but i find "mech graveyard" a really interesting idea.
I also can't imagine how could you make titan even smaller than it is now, imho it's perfect. Although smaller would be good IF devs were to make 1v1 mode.
Bigger maps_ Like DarkPulse said, meaby for 64-players game but other than that... meh.
Again: +1 for mech graveyard. Could be interesting.

[PlagueDoctor]

Icy mountain could be fun, not up and down, but maybe attacking sideways, with each base at an equal altitude. One side of the map could be higher than the other. Could make a fun dynamic!

Also a pristine natural area could be neat, maybe with hawken crystals encroaching on one side.

[Elix]

No one loves alleys quite like I do. (Full size pic.)

[The_Silencer]

First of all I'd like to share with you guys that I had second thoughts on Alleys and Titan... but hey.. after all these many intense fights I played on both maps with many of you guys I just want to state in here on that I DO LOVE these 2 maps. And I feel very excited at realizing that I've just had a teaser on the inherent gameplay potential into, now particularily, these 2 maps.

I had to share this and.. err.. why are we still posting in a closed beta 2 forum branch_   - I'm not so demanding.. lol.. so I'm cool with this!