by radu123 » 11 Apr 12, 8:19 am
i think we should forget about the idea of 'balance'. none of these maps are balanced, not a single one, and whilst perhaps a few come fairly close, that dynamic is lost when it's a 16v16 match. if you truly want balanced maps, you have to go to RTS or DM games, where the maps are mirrored to ensure balance. but that isn't the point anyway, because this isn't a competitive ladder, this is a public server, created for one purpose: fun. and that's what it is, the majority of the maps are indeed fun, and at the very least offer quite a different gaming experience from the other (except perhaps dust / aztec / prodigy). hell, half the fun is the imbalance, and how a team has to overcome it and complete the objective. that's why the objective are being defended in the first place. if the maps were perfectly balanced, it would probably be a stalemate
nonetheless, removing more maps would be bad idea. dismiss it. we've got a good rotation and flow to the maps
in regards to the maps you recommended, that version of militia looks terrible, and considering you're an advocate for balance, i think that you're going to hate it. look at that first screenshot, out the front of the house. no cover or camouflage at all, and a larger space to traverse before you reach the house. as someone who plays terrorists almost exclusively, i can say i'd much rather the old version, because what's exactly what it fixed - more cover, a more realistic setting, and more fun.
parkhouse looks like it could have intense, fun moments. northtower barely gives us a glimpse of the actual gameplay area, and if those gigantic open spaces are part of it, it will undoubtedly suck. frozen looks similar to parkhouse (and militia, in fact), another estate that needs to be defended, but again, could be fun and frantic. meridian looks terrible and cartoony, and desperados looks interesting. reminds me of helms deep (from lord of the rings), i imagine it's probably going to be quite favoured towards terrorists
if it were a poll:
siege (dunno, never played the original enough)
militia reskinned (hell no)
parkhouse (yes)
northtower (no)
frozen (yes)
meridian (hell no)
desperados (yes)