Author Topic: WE. NEED. BIGGER. MAPS.  (Read 1616 times)

Offline Oddonelynx

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WE. NEED. BIGGER. MAPS.
« on: December 29, 2019, 03:43:30 am »
The maps we have are more of medium, actually.. THEY ARE QUITE TINY! They're so small that you can collide with the map border in like 5 minutes. I do like the default maps, but they just seem too small. We need more places to EXPLORE! Like the Eastern Pass! We need maps so big it would take about 10-30 minutes to explore until you hit the border. Also, a big plains map that's huge would be awesome.. It'd be so much fun to run around! So what do you think guys? Agree, disagree?

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Offline LordSuragaha

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Re: WE. NEED. BIGGER. MAPS.
« Reply #1 on: December 29, 2019, 04:38:54 am »
I do understand the liking there is for bigger maps as it makes the world feel more expansive (rather than a limited box) and adds more room for exploration and points of interest, but do keep in mind that there’s only so big we can go at this current time with the current build of the game. Back in 2016 Red’s map update that overhauled the old maps was partly due to solve strain issues they were causing with the server. Most of the old original Feral Heart maps were massive, especially Fluorite. Unless xSpirit is able and allowed to work his magic we may not be seeing maps that are much larger than we currently have.

Personally I’m more of an advocate for more variation in the map environments in regards to their meshes/textures/terrains rather than more massive maps. I would like to see maps that feature more interactive aspects unique to each environment, some aspects like exclusive mini games etc that xSpirit has also touched on. Perhaps even a seamless world rather than the constant need for portals, as that could really up the way the scale of the game feels as well. This though is really up to Raz and whether he thinks there is a need for these features and whether they “fit” the game and it’s “direction”.

But yeah the other potential issue with larger maps is that the player base gets further spread out. This may result in more unused and uninhabited space making the game feel even emptier. I’m not saying your idea or suggestion is a bad one, but there are trade ins and trade offs to every potential addition or change in the game. <3

Offline Ishbacko

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Re: WE. NEED. BIGGER. MAPS.
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2019, 04:22:02 pm »
I can attest to LordSuragaha's statement about the old maps, fluorite specifically is definitely the largest map there was/is as it was the ONLY map where a character with wings was a BAD idea, since it'd take upwards of 4 to 5 minutes just to get to the temple of dreams portal (I should know, I used to play the old maps and recently snagged the old maps launcher over in xSpirit's post, fluorite is massive)

It's not really the size, but the quality of the map itself you should be concerned with, or, not be concerned with, as the new FH maps have considerably more detail and resources to make them feel more lively and like an actual environment instead of a giant empty open field with a few hills

And I also agree that larger maps would just mean a more widespread player base where it'd be a lot harder to find players to interact with, which my example is sky's rim. The map before it, ascension island, was a massive upwards parkour challenge that led up to sky's rim, and not many players had the determination or the drive to get to the top, so sky's rim was either empty, or had maybe a handful of players in it due to how hard some of the parkour jumps in ascension could be, which left dozens of players to flood the base instead

Honestly? With how tall some of the skybox invisible barriers are (Specifically in the grounds, it took like 15 or so seconds to fall all the way from the top to the ground) it would be possible to edit them in a way that would add more geometry and objects in to fill out some of that empty space and give you a larger map to explore while keeping the entire map's size (The square grid space it occupies within the game) the same
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Re: WE. NEED. BIGGER. MAPS.
« Reply #3 on: December 29, 2019, 10:26:54 pm »
I agree with what was said for the most part. Fluorite Plains had it's issues, mostly it being a big map and causing performance issues for the server and players. I remember back in the day people struggling to get into the map. I think in terms of the maps now, I do think it had address some of Feral Heart's issues in the past but I can understand not liking the boxed-in feeling, as it does make things seem limited. I think having more to do within the maps would be good, and I also think decluttering some would also be great. Don't get me wrong, I like the amount of detail in the maps but the clutter can cause lag for low performing laptops and nothing wrong with a bit of simplicity, as it sticks out more and might help people get around. I think less clutter and more 'charm' could help people enjoy the maps more without sacrificing the system we have in place. But who knows, maybe in the future that could likely change.