Pixelatorx2
Platinum
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2012
- Messages
- 2,957
- Reaction score
- 2,625
Hello again. Welcome back to part 2 (probably the final part) of my suggestions to make MCGamer great again! MMGA anyone?
A big problem with MCSG, and videogames in general, is reducing staleness but not changing the game too fast that the casual player still logs into the same game as they left off with. This, in my opinion, is the core problem MCSG faces in their selection of maps. How do you keep the maps fresh, but still the familiar, so the game isn't entirely different to people who only play casually, but still cater to competitive players who play daily? Here's my idea to fix this issue.
Again: a tl;dr to begin
Again, but in words:
Every 2-3 months, or a 'season' (similar to other games like Fortnite, Overwatch), MCGamer would go through a significant map change. A total of 15 maps would be playable at any time. At the end of each season, 5 maps stay. These are 'fan favorites' of the last season, or some perma maps (maybe SG4? TSG2? Not sure -- the ones people really like). Then, 10 new maps are added -- these are ones voted on by the community from selections made by the mapping team. I am totally up for discussion about map numbers, honestly, these are just numbers I made up randomly.
But why tho?
Here's my logic around this. It's no secret that MCGamer used to have a lot of maps. So much so, that it actually turned me, personally, off of playing. I do enjoy playing MCSG on new maps. Actually, it's one of the most fun times I've had is exploring new maps. What isn't fun, is having that happen every single game, especially to a player who isn't new to the game. This was an issue that plagued casual players last time around.
It's a similar story with competitive players. Having 1000 different maps in the game means that it's a daunting task to learn routes for all of them. Now, I understand that clans don't use all maps. However, that doesn't change that competitive players still play on the server -- why would they want to learn a bunch of maps they might not use for a clan battle?
This is why I would propose that a smaller subset of the added maps be set as clan battle maps to be used in the system for clan battles. This may upset some people, but having an adaptive clan battle map scheme means that some maps won't just be "who-gets-to-a-certain-area-first". It will involve proper strategy based on new maps.
This could also tie into leaderboards. Seasonal leaderboards this time, based on an elo ranking (which you can read about my idea for here), would tie into when the maps are reset. We could also, at this point, have off-seasons. Or, in the end off of the last season, casual servers (which also, you can read about here) can have the new seasons maps, allowing for a 'transition' phase.
Finally, this would be good for the mapping team and the map makers. Implementing a reward for voting -- i.e. 5 points, or so -- would insensitive players to vote. This would result in a more accurate portrayal of what maps are favored. No more guessing, no more removing maps that people enjoy. This idea would, however, result in more work. Maps would have to be tiered, playtested, and generally combed over before being added. Doing this to a new set of maps every 2-3 months isn't easy. However, this would mean that new maps can come in and out more regularly, meaning maps going in can be from a wide variety of people and topics. If its winter, have more winter themes. Summer, islands.
Map makers would enjoy this change because more maps would get on the server. They would only receive mapmaker when their map is on the server. This is a good thing, though, as they would want to make maps that people enjoy playing and not just looking at. Maps that play better, that players enjoy, would stay longer. Longer staying = more time as a map maker. In the end, this is a win-win for map makers and players alike.
And that's it! Hopefully this made sense. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts, and any suggestions you may have. Thanks for reading this long essay, and hopefully my other one too!
A big problem with MCSG, and videogames in general, is reducing staleness but not changing the game too fast that the casual player still logs into the same game as they left off with. This, in my opinion, is the core problem MCSG faces in their selection of maps. How do you keep the maps fresh, but still the familiar, so the game isn't entirely different to people who only play casually, but still cater to competitive players who play daily? Here's my idea to fix this issue.
Again: a tl;dr to begin
- Seasons
- Maps rotate in seasonally, i.e. 2 or 3 months
- 5 maps stay in the pool (fan favs) and 10 more come in for a total of 15
- Players get to know maps they actually care about, aren’t forced to learn a ton of maps
- Having a map added to the server isn’t a huge commitment, they can be removed after a season, allows for higher map turnover and testing
- Map makers can get map making rank while their match is in the server, incentivizing making good gameplay maps that people enjoy playing, not just looking at
- 5 maps stay in the pool (fan favs) and 10 more come in for a total of 15
- Seasonal leaderboards
- Should be the ‘main’ type — they offer the most recent results since everyone will have the same maps to play on
- Reset these leaderboards every time a new 'set' of maps rotate in
- Maps rotate in seasonally, i.e. 2 or 3 months
Again, but in words:
Every 2-3 months, or a 'season' (similar to other games like Fortnite, Overwatch), MCGamer would go through a significant map change. A total of 15 maps would be playable at any time. At the end of each season, 5 maps stay. These are 'fan favorites' of the last season, or some perma maps (maybe SG4? TSG2? Not sure -- the ones people really like). Then, 10 new maps are added -- these are ones voted on by the community from selections made by the mapping team. I am totally up for discussion about map numbers, honestly, these are just numbers I made up randomly.
But why tho?
Here's my logic around this. It's no secret that MCGamer used to have a lot of maps. So much so, that it actually turned me, personally, off of playing. I do enjoy playing MCSG on new maps. Actually, it's one of the most fun times I've had is exploring new maps. What isn't fun, is having that happen every single game, especially to a player who isn't new to the game. This was an issue that plagued casual players last time around.
It's a similar story with competitive players. Having 1000 different maps in the game means that it's a daunting task to learn routes for all of them. Now, I understand that clans don't use all maps. However, that doesn't change that competitive players still play on the server -- why would they want to learn a bunch of maps they might not use for a clan battle?
This is why I would propose that a smaller subset of the added maps be set as clan battle maps to be used in the system for clan battles. This may upset some people, but having an adaptive clan battle map scheme means that some maps won't just be "who-gets-to-a-certain-area-first". It will involve proper strategy based on new maps.
This could also tie into leaderboards. Seasonal leaderboards this time, based on an elo ranking (which you can read about my idea for here), would tie into when the maps are reset. We could also, at this point, have off-seasons. Or, in the end off of the last season, casual servers (which also, you can read about here) can have the new seasons maps, allowing for a 'transition' phase.
Finally, this would be good for the mapping team and the map makers. Implementing a reward for voting -- i.e. 5 points, or so -- would insensitive players to vote. This would result in a more accurate portrayal of what maps are favored. No more guessing, no more removing maps that people enjoy. This idea would, however, result in more work. Maps would have to be tiered, playtested, and generally combed over before being added. Doing this to a new set of maps every 2-3 months isn't easy. However, this would mean that new maps can come in and out more regularly, meaning maps going in can be from a wide variety of people and topics. If its winter, have more winter themes. Summer, islands.
Map makers would enjoy this change because more maps would get on the server. They would only receive mapmaker when their map is on the server. This is a good thing, though, as they would want to make maps that people enjoy playing and not just looking at. Maps that play better, that players enjoy, would stay longer. Longer staying = more time as a map maker. In the end, this is a win-win for map makers and players alike.
And that's it! Hopefully this made sense. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts, and any suggestions you may have. Thanks for reading this long essay, and hopefully my other one too!
