Long, long, long.....sorry.
Somebody Else's Skyscraper Idea
I remember somebody talking about making a skyscaper EAS map with elevators and stairs (multiple sets) where one team would try and secure floor after floor.
That sounded really nice to me. As long as it's not just "sit on this level and cap it after 15 seconds" 20 times. But as I recall, this person mentioned something of objectives like killing the power so the elevator doesn't move, limiting access to the stairwells. What would be cool is if the elevator shaft had a ladder too. So if it stops, you could still climb up. Or, maybe the elevator just drops and you turn into stew? Anybody know how elevators work in immediate power loss conditions? (just lock in place I think, right?)
Freeway 2.0
A map I remember from the "olden days" was "Freeway". I loved that map. Nowhere near as nice as modern maps like "London City", but it had some design potential. Almost all of the building were open. That's the one complaint I have with "London City". I feel like some of the buildings could've been opened up, had the map ditched the chopper and the breakable glass covering all of the buildings. Personally, I like a city map where I can go inside of all of the buildings. Some people don't...
Big ****ing Street
I'd like to see a nice city street map. To get a taste of what I'm thinking of, watch the movie "Heat". The scene where the robbers are escaping and there's a massive gunfight on a crowded city street. A few building + a huge street filled with vehicles for cover. Of course, it would have to be as long as RtK to be really intense and fun (by my standards). Perhaps one team starts in a building, the other on the far end of the road. The attackers in the building have to accomplish some objectives before they leave. These objectives take about as long as it takes for the defenders to reach the building doors. Maybe one of the attackers keeps watch and tries to draw fire to distract the defending (and advancing team). Either way, time is a major factor. The sooner the objectives are accomplished, the less chances the attackers have of being mowed down.
Better Time-based Objectives?
Is it possible to have objectives that are time-based, but go faster with the more teammates present? As in, two people minimum are required to trigger a zone. But if 3,4,5,6 etc are there, it counts down faster? That would really be interesting (provided people communicate with each other).
Multiple Routes For "Big ****ing Street"
There could be maybe 3 exits. One of them being the front door, perhaps one to a parking garage or deck and maybe one that leads a walkway connected to another building (I forget the name for these walkways. Usually connects buildings over popular downtown streets...encased in glass, etc). Maybe the connecting walkway can be taken out with a few 40mm's, denying the attackers that route. Perhaps the benefit of that said route is that the walls are thick enough to keep the attackers safe from 5.56 rounds. So, if they crawl, they're safe from most rounds and out of view. If they stand up, they can be seen, sniped, naded etc. Maybe, to make this route a challange for the attackers, they have to place breaching charges on both entrances to use it. The walkway leads to the easiest escape route/extraction point. The downside is that it's easily destructable, it requires breaching charges and they're visible unless they crawl.
More Cover On City Maps
It would be nice for the street to have lots of cover in the forms of vehicles, bus stops, etc. The map would really only have to be one huge street, provided the sides have some cramped alleys or buildings you could use as alternate (cover) routes to the extract zone. I'm thinking about something like an 8-lane downtown road with at least a few cars every 40 ft.
Defensive Objectives
I just think it would be nice to see some EAS maps with many attack routes that can be taken out and force you to rethink your strategies. Maybe, as a trade-off, the defensive team would have to place some charges instead. Making them vulnerable to fire in order to deny the attacking team a route. Think about what Chasm would be like if the Iron Bridge could be taken out by the defensive team (although, I suppose the wooden-bridge is a more realistic scenario). Not just by a single M67, or a single 40mm; but by many sachel charges that require the majority of the defending team to be exposed to fire for at least a minute or so as they all place a charge. Maybe a bridge takes 4?
Hoover Dam
The attackers are trying to plant a "CS bomb" to blow the dam. Of course, it would be something more engaging. Perhaps like "multiple CS bombs" (so original). Perhaps the multiple bomb strategy is non-linear and forces the defensive team to split up and watch different sections of the facility. Also, if possible, it would be cool if bombs exploded during gameplay, not just the end sequence. For example, the bomb on the console featured in "Reactor Sector 46k" explodes in real-time. But nothing happens until the end when that whole section starts to explode and fall apart. It would be nice if bombs for once could make a wall collapse and deny access to a portion of a map/deny access to attack routes. Not sure how possible that is with the UT engine though...
Big ****ing Map, Where Defenders Actually Spawn NEAR Their Defending Objective...
This map, again, would be huge. Defenders start perhaps in the engineering room, or somewhere nearby the target generators (never figured out why so many maps place the defenders so far away from their defending objective). Attackers start on the road above and work their way down. I remember Tac-Ops (yes...cringe...) had a dam map that had some cool elements, but in the end, failed because it was too small, and because Tac-Ops sucks.
Multiple Routes For "Hoover Dam"
At least 3 or 4 different routes should be there for attackers. Perhaps the longest route involves running down some CQ corridors inside the damn. It's the safe route (safe as in, you should expect minimal enemies due to it's size, and by the fact that it takes each team just as long to meet each other halfway), but it takes a long time to travel, and if there's just one enemy with an M249 in a good spot, you're in trouble.
The easiest could be a set of elevators (which could be shut down by the defending team). Another one could be an external ladder, which has little to no cover, and if it's covered by one skilled defensive player, wouldn't be an option (kind of like the Vent in Frozen. Good if nobody's watching. Suicide if they are). Maybe have some large air ducts that could lead right into the objective room, or somewhat close to it. The ducts are paper-thin and can be shot up by any weapon. Perhaps they also make a lot of noise unless you crawl in them (or perhaps you have to crawl in them in certain portions?). I think having a large number of ways to attack some objectives would really add to EAS. It would add more of a random element to the (usually) linear gameplay. I've seen small exmaples of what I've mentioned in other maps, but it has never been used on a grand scale.
I'm not familiar with the Hoover Dam because I've never been there. Those of you that have, feel free to correct my suggestions and provide the thread with some realistic scenarios. I'm just throwing it out there.
Required Use Of Breaching Charges
Something I'd love to see is the required use of breaching charges. Maybe have a few at spawn just in case people don't know about them yet. But it would be interesting if the attackers could access the control room to kill the lights...but in order for them to get in and provide them with this luxery, they have to use a breaching charge to get inside the room. The room is also a risk, as it is not on the way to the objective and is closer to the defender's spawn perhaps...
More Non-Linear Maps
I've always liked the possibility of there being a large objective-based map that requires both teams to split up into small groups, each defending non-linear objectives (like on Tuscany). Something that encourages the use of TeamSpeak and really gets your blood pumping. With 4 or more attack routes (some of them being nearly impossible to defend, or requiring at least 3 people to do so properly), defenders wouldn't know what to defend and it would require your team to have some strong leadership and on the fly planning/communication to win. It would be really nice to have like 3 stairwells, 2 sets of elevators and some ducts/maintenance corridors. The defensive team would then have to split up and cover sectors instead of just camping a main door and a few hallways. In this case, there are so many routes that one of them will almost always be open, unless the team splits up entirely.
Maybe Sector 1 has a stairwell, a duct system and an elevator. Each one on opposite ends, the duct running overhead with vents every 15ft. or so where the person inside is somewhat visible, etc.
They could limit the routes by shutting off the elevators and making it more reasonable to defened. Or they could all just hold up at the major objectives and access points hoping for the best/not risking any manpower trying to decrease entry routes. The defenders could access the control room to turn off the lights for whatever sector they want (it would make sense for both sides to be able to do this. Some players prefer darkness, others don't.). Maybe a team of two guys is watching Sector 1 and plans on taking out tangos with suppressed weapons; waiting until the attacking team makes their way into the open before they engage. The darkness makes up for their lack of firepower and helps conceal their claymores.
Kasbah = Good
Fist did a pretty cool thing with "Kasbah", where the various exits can be secured by the defending team; limiting the attackers to only one door (if the defenders can communicate and secure the zones). I think a lot of maps should have this, but the zones should require more than just a defender sitting there (if possible). It would be nice to make them work for the secured zone. The best I can think of is forcing multiple people being present (at least) and perhaps forcing the defending team to destroy certain acces points (like bridges).
If all else fails, somebody make "Mostar 2.0". Mostar is the best map ever.
Sorry for any typos/run-ons/fragments etc. Just getting all of these silly ideas out of my head and hoping a mapper thinks "yeah, that would be cool".
