Here's my official way2long reply to this. Good thing I'm unemployed, eh? I think I need a BuF break. My fingers hurt.
Gameplay, like other aspects of level design, is a measurable feature of a map that can be judged. Fun factor is not. Any map can be fun to any number of people because fun is purely subjective. Hence why many huge empty cubes, "mini me" maps, and other similar things have been made, played, and enjoyed.
I don't claim to be an expert, but I've played a veritable f**kton of maps made by authors of all skill levels. I've participated in enough playtime, competitive and otherwise, to understand the ideas behind what drives good and bad gameplay, both in the map and in the game itself.
Many people (hilo_, for example) seem to be of similar mind, though many are not. Many understand that gameplay has measurable elements that define the gameplay experience. Flow, Z-axis usage, item placement, tactical elements, connectivity, scale, overarching strategies, balance, etc. are things that are inherent to each and every map and separate from both what the game can offer and basic fun factor. Thus, these things are objective.
Now, since you and others obviously don't believe anything I have to say and are quick to accuse me of being a hater, here are two examples that I feel show that I can diagnose gameplay elements and also why I find the gameplay lacking in most UT3 maps. Technically, these are just my opinions, but I believe them to be quite true. First up, Sentinel, the map I consider to be the best UT3 has to offer as far as DM is concerned.
[screenshot]http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2087/gameplay1vi3.jpg[/screenshot]
The shield belt, a pickup of obvious contention, especially in a 1v1, sits at point A. Let's assume a player is waiting at A for the belt to respawn. Because ramp slides are no longer possible in UT3, any enemy approaches from within the waterway below the bridge are nulled out. Points B (both high and low) and C are the only truly viable means of approaching point A. Upper B is basically an extension of C.
While it's true that a hammer jump could come from D, it is highly unlikely (especially in a 1v1) for a couple reasons -- it takes health and it's very loud. If someone is at A already, they would hear the pumping of the hammer well in advance and prepare for it. Thus, the vast majority of approaches come from B and C since coming from D isn't all that effective. Avoiding a hammer jump, being at D means you must travel either up to C or all the way over to B first to reach the belt.
If everything comes from B and C, then everything comes from the same direction and within the same field of view when standing at A. This means the player at A knows exactly where an attack is coming from no matter what. Fighting for the belt on Sentinel is not terribly unlike running uphill in a war battle -- the enemy at the top of the hill knows where you are, can cover those spots easily, and thus has a great tactical advantage.
This distinction gives the player camping at A the advantage by far, meaning that camping there is a viable strategy due to this imbalance. This is a risk vs. reward concern -- the player at A gets a great reward for taking on only a little risk. Since camping is incredibly lame and boring, this gameplay quirk lessens Sentinel's viability as a 1v1 map, and, instead, likens it as a small FFA level.
Then there's the bars at point E. These just further extend the problems. You can shoot through them, which is kind of nice, but it's not enough, especially since the enemy can shoot back, and a shock combo in that small area is much more effective than one out towards the belt. From E your only choices are -- again -- to go up to C or run all the way to B.
To fix this issue of risk vs. reward, some sort of viable route is necessary near D that doesn't require the loss of both health and surprise factor due to a hammer jump. Removing the bars as well would then create a full 180 degrees from which one could approach the belt, upping the risk factor of camping near it greatly.
[screenshot]http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2541/gameplay5bx6.jpg[/screenshot]
Here's the area that I consider the most amateurish in Defiance. Why is this room here? Like other empty hallways around the map, its only purpose is connectivity. In fact, within the area I've lined off, the only pickups you'll find are ammo! Surely, ammo isn't a big enough reason to build a whole new area, is it?
The answer is no. The map needs this section for the sake of connectivity. To the left you reach the damage amp or shock depending on if you go high or low. You can get to the sniper and then head over to the goo if you want. It connects at A for the long vest sewer. Or you can go through a room opposite the "camera" in this shot with a few vials that dumps you out near the flak and shield belt.
I could have extended this outlined portion to include areas that only have ammo and vials. Then it would cover both catwalks, the halls between the far catwalk and the goo, and the connecting room between B and the flak/belt area. All that empty space is there for what reason, exactly?
This area demonstrates the importance of item placement quite well. I bet you've noticed that bots don't come here that often, and the lack of pickups is the sole reason. Pickups are what drives a bot to move around, not enemies, and without pickups or pickups of substantial worth, the bots aren't enticed to move.
So, could they fix this? Well, they could move the amp to these center boxes. That gives worth to the room overall but also alleviates some of the issues of empty upper hallways -- once you get through them you get to take an easy jump down onto the amp. However, having the amp there would put it too close to both the helmet and the vest below.
It's feasible, then, to consider having the sewer go from its current entrance near the shock rifle to the connecting vial room on the opposite end of this screenshot. Essentially, it would be rotated from the shock room entrance to the left some amount. This would keep the vest away from our new amp position, and then the helmet could be put basically anywhere since it's no better than a health pack and two vials.
My point is that this area of the map sucks because the item placement sucks. This place is nearly devoid of anything worthwhile because of how things are set up in the surrounding areas. A little thought in redoing a single hallway could probably fix it, but it didn't happen, so instead there's a ghost town in this section of the map.
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These kinds of gameplay mishaps are present all over UT3. Once you get rid of the gimmick maps -- Biohazard, Deimos, Fearless, Gateway, HeatRay, RisingSun, and Sanctuary -- we're not left with much. Arsenal and CarbonFire suffer the same problems as Defiance but in much more harsh ways. They both lack flow and strategy, have empty areas, and demonstrate questionable item placement ideology. Deck is Deck. Sentinel and ShangriLa round out the group -- both decent but nothing exciting.
With so many objectionable maps, it's not hard to see why I am sorely disappointed. Sure, not every map can or even has to be great, and any map can be fun when full of random players in a FAA, but there's no greatness in UT3. Where's the Ironic and Rankin and Antalus of UT3? They're not there. The "meh"s and "ugh"s are given out for a reason, and it's because there's no lasting greatness in any of UT3's (DM) maps. There's only one decent 1v1 map (Sentinel) and it's got balance problems. Awesome!
When you add in the rest of the problems outside of the gameplay and maps, I honestly feel cheated and I wish I could get my freaking $50 back. There were lots of other games I could have gotten with that money instead.
TL;DR SUMMARY
- Gameplay has measurable elements separate from having fun.
- Sentinel has flow/balance issues.
- Defiance has item placement issues.
- No great maps in UT3, but, instead, lots of gimmicks and mediocrity.
) of the game. There are lot's more stuff that made UT3 die a horrible, horrible death, but the one thign that will piss me off for the rest fo my life is how Mark Rein said "They are like our bread and butter". Bread and butter eh? :S I don't see any bread or butter on UT3 at all.</rant>