Map Homogenization.

[Lee_scar]

The main suggestion is to create something of an open door policy for maps and mapmakers in this community.
Since each server tends to get its select mapmakers and the other servers and beyond the beauty of these creations.

The ideal would be that when a map is submitted to one server, all servers would get an equal opportunity to add them to their repertoire.
The only complexity I can see is the fact of the AoD chest and class system vs RoF lava timers.

The premise of it all would be while one is submitting a map to one server should a relatively high number of staff or otherwise the higher ups from the other server(s) be interested they would confer with the owner and take it from there.

The conference being about ideal settings for that server as in timers chests and yadda yadda, but the main load of the work would be with the unintended servers staff allowing the creator to not have to put in hours more effort then they intended for the map.

The reason for this suggesting is that I see a few maps that would look like they would play fairly well on multiple servers, but get submitted to only one and are abandoned if denied even if they were fairly excellent maps.
While complexity and variation are key to the servers success to me these style of servers could benefit from a map bloat where you may not even see the same map today. While you might argue this would lessen one picking a 'favorite' map, it surely does liven up things when you play for 10+ hours and not see the same map but maybe once.
However that's not possible because of server-backend load perhaps?

What does everyone else think? I rather enjoy the idea not simply because it is my suggestion but rather because it may be interesting to play infection on a few RoF or AoD maps, the AoD tag maps for one, fight to the death on a RoF map, or run from lava on infection maps.

 

[Psycho]

I think this would be an interesting idea to implement, but at the same time you will have to think about the gameplay required for each server that each map was specifically made for. It should be a given that not all of the maps on one server will work for another server, maybe due to how the mapmaker created certain areas of their map, but there are probably a select few maps that would work for another server.

The only drawback that I see is that if you see one map on a server, then you see that same map in another server, then the whole "feeling" of that map may get lost in the player. Like certain areas of a map that's hard to get to on one server may end up being easy to get to on another server. And sometimes, seeing the same map more than three times on each server may cause the player to end up hating that map.

Overall, I think the idea is interesting, but I feel that each server should just have maps created specifically for them. Then again, it's really up to how well the mapmaker can create a single map for each server that takes each server's gameplay into consideration.

Would you happen to know a few good maps that would work for another server?

 

[Lee_scar]

Would you happen to know a few good maps that would work for another server?

At this time I do not know specific names as a lot of maps from RoF and AoD have switched around from when I had the time to invest more then a finite time-frame. As well I usually never pay attention to names, I just throw out a vote based on whim. Much like how I pay attention to music, names and bands escape me and I enjoy the content. I will be putting some great hours into going over the maps for concrete suggestions.
Really was hoping for those who have already become highly familiar that do cross-server play would suggest being looked into, crowdsourcing if you will.

However I'm not completely knocking the ideal that some maps should be only available for a single server, just that it would be nice to have a full array of maps in numbers close to about 100 maps in circulation. Where-as the idea that no one will get tired of a certain map as the frequency to see the map will be limited to a 1:100 or rather because of a vote system the odds may be not exactly such. Edit: Well more or less a few hundred is what I meant, not a singular hundred.

I can understand that some secrets and areas will with a doubt spoil some maps play-ablity for other servers. This is where the conferring with the owner behind closed doors happens to alter and tweak the map towards each server.

While game-play itself may certainly affect the feel and content of the maps, that aside the core of each server runs on the principle of being the same game. While the delivery and systems in place are utterly different in a variable of complex ways per server.

Though I can understand the principle that getting to a select and secret area that's made to be entirely hard and impractical to reach inside of an AoD map applied within something as free as RoF to build destroy and such or the ability to roam and need to be tagged rather then combated as in Infection can ruin the playablity and aspect of the map conversely for other select maps within each server.

Again this falls back onto the modification and tweaking where each servers staff can use and apply their knowledge arduously gathered with seasoned playing to then modify and expand upon each map, should the interest arrive.

 

[SirComputer]

Perhaps an 'Other servers this map could be tweaked for' box would come in handy.

 

[JtTorso]

I already have done this! In theory, it's an absolutely great idea, an issue with this is that some maps require editing, and if you're someone in my position (infection controller) and can edit maps it means I can afford to spend x amount of hours editing and revamping a RoF map to fit infection. A posibility would be to have a neutral map submission section and you can submit a map to any or all servers and then the staff could approve or disapprove for their respective servers, this would certainly save you from posting 3 different submissions, but the submission formats very from similar to very different (the formerly appalling AoD format).