Maps ranked from TG / serious 1v1 perspective

[Yekaterina]

Some players have become bored of playing just Mainland after spending years on this one map, so I decided to rank other available maps in terms of how suitable they are for 4v4 TGs, hopefully we can bring a few new maps and playstyles to the lobby. I made a public spreadsheet that anyone can edit, so feel free to put your opinions down!

This is a screenshot of my table as it is now, containing a few of my favourite maps: 

The scoring system is as follows:

2 = Absolutely perfect in this aspect

1 = Very good but not absolutely ideal

0 = meh

-1 = bad, but we can get around it somehow

-2 = Unplayable, eliminates this map from the list

 

Explanation of each criteria:

Spawn: Is there enough space to build? Are all players equidistant from their enemies or are some players in dangerous spots meanwhile others are very safe? Are there many obstructions? Is there hostile gaia? CAN IBER WALLS GENERATE CORRECTLY?

Woodline: high score for large and dense woodlines that you can gather efficiently from; 1 for small but dense woodline or large but loose; 0 for small and loose but enough wood within territory to go P2; -1 for single trees or small patches or needing to extend to get trees and 0 for not enough wood for even P2.

Other resources: hunt, berries, metal, stone. Is the map severely missing stone or metal? Are the berries or hunts near the cc?

No ships: 2 for not needing ships at all, 0 means you can reach the enemy without a ship but only through chokepoints or difficult paths; -1 means you have to use ship to transport but most fights happen on land (british channel); -2 is all naval with only small islands (e.g islands). 

Balance - does 1 team get more of something than the others? Are all players getting roughly the same access to resources or are some people being left out? 

Turtle - does it encourage turtling strategy at choke points or are you given the opportunity to rush or push early? 

Lag / bug - is there any significant code bugs with the map? Does it cause a lot of lag? 

 

All of the conditions are assumed to be 4v4 on medium sized maps, temperate biome. 

So the next time you host a game, you know what other maps you can play apart from Mainland. 

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by Yekaterina

[Yekaterina]

Example: Mainland (temperate)

Spawn: I gave 1 because there are pocket players and flank players - some are under more enemy pressure than others. Pocket players have to walk extra distance to reinforce meanwhile flank players may not have enough space to build. Also there are inconvenient ridges that may cause bugs or stuck units. 

Woodline: very good, very large woodlines, dense enough 

Other resources: Not lacking anything in particular. 

No ships 

Balance: most of the time each team gets enough resources and the layout of the map is balanced enough. 

Turtle: not easy to turtle because your enemy can attack you from all directions (if you don't scout or build enough palisades in time). 

Lag / bug: If you don't use KateGUI mod, then the temperate trees have quite elaborate leaves -> might lag. 

 

 

Lorrain plain

Spawn: ideal spawn, enough space for everyone, symmetric layout. Occasionally 1 team will get a small stream on their side, cutting off a bit of landmass but it is no big deal. 

woodline: as you can see the trees are large and dense. 

Other resources: reasonable amount of berries and hunt; metal and stone are abundant at the back of each team's territory

No ships: at medium size, the river is too narrow to fit in docks and ships; it is too easy for the enemy to deny or capture your docks; towers, forts or even ranged units will destroy your ships before the ships can do much (remember there is elevation bonus)

Balance: seems quite even

Turtle: there is enough hunt for cav rush; there are choke points but also so many river crossings, so it doesn't really encourage turtles. 

Lag/bug: if you don't use KateGUI mod, you will see that the trees there are A23 trees -> less laggy than A24 or A25 trees. Only cause of lag is huge battles and pathfinding when dancing 100 units at a time. But, large battles can happen anywhere, so not a problem with the map but player strategy. 

 

[Yekaterina]

TG hosts @juarca @Cesar @king reza the great @Player of 0AD @Emperior @BreakfastBurrito_007 Any thoughts on this? 

@LetswaveaBook what do you think about these maps in 1v1 situation?

[real_tabasco_sauce]

7 minutes ago, Yekaterina said:

No ships: at medium size, the river is too narrow to fit in docks and ships; it is too easy for the enemy to deny or capture your docks; towers, forts or even ranged units will destroy your ships before the ships can do much (remember there is elevation bonus)

 

IMO there should be a way to cross the river.

[Yekaterina]

2 minutes ago, real_tabasco_sauce said:

IMO there should be a way to cross the

There are passable points, a lot of them.

[real_tabasco_sauce]

Oh mb @Yekaterina, I was thinking of one of the unknown land maps with a similar division with water.

Lorraine plains does look fun.

[LetswaveaBook]

On 17/02/2022 at 1:55 AM, Yekaterina said:

@LetswaveaBook what do you think about these maps in 1v1 situation

I think the best biome for 1v1 on mainland is Aegean. It has less wood, which makes controlling area more important. This map suits my taste sufficiently well, so I don't really bother trying the other maps, which am might have their issues. That also means I am not qualified to compare other maps to mainland or any other standard.

Also, if you and your opponent have the APM then empire can be nice. If I wouldn't be interesting about learning more about how different strategies are executed well and work against each other on mainland, then I would consider empire very much worth my time.

Edited February 18, 2022 by LetswaveaBook

[alre]

red sea uber alles

[alre]

also ircanian shores and kerala. they deserve a -1 at wood but are not as bad as other maps on this regard (uknown, frontier, stronghold - see one of the latest Jim videos)

Edited February 23, 2022 by alre

[alre]

I'm serious about red sea! its resources are nicely balanced, and random spawning makes for the most varied games.

[Yekaterina]

1 hour ago, alre said:

I'm serious about red sea! its resources are nicely balanced, and random spawning makes for the most varied games.

Let me check it out. My concerns about it are woodlines, too much navy and turtling.