Tyrargo Rift - Feedback Thread

[Steelpoint]

@charlie_t24

the map may be too porous, too many paths for marines to go around xeno defenses, needs more chokepoints less open field and maybe close off a few angles of approach? very pretty map, but very marine sided ATM.

This is something I will keep a eye on in future play tests, as I am sure others will point out, to make sure some areas are not too open.

@TheAdamantVeil

probably needs some distinct signs like floor signs on the wall and maybe make up stairs different from down ward stairs spite wise

Hopefully the tests insprite spriters to come forward to help in that regard

@NyoomVoyager

Depending on what has or hasn’t changed since two playtests before this one, ditto above, pathing and open fields were probably the biggest issues, but nothing that a few random buildings/scenes or closing off of some paths can’t fix.

yeah, this second test I did some more work to add more obsticals in certain areas, I think its been a good change, but likely I need to add more.

@DangerRevolution

First Thing: I feel like the LZs are just too large. They’re large enough that, if you try anchor your barricades against natural features then you have long barricade lines that are very thin. However if you try make smaller barricade lines (and therefore more), they’re too tight and the FOB ends up too small? As a result, you give up those natural features for cover for Xenos.

I am not too concerend due to the imminent FOB rework which will render this a moot point. But, I can address these issues still.

@EmpressEri

Army troopers should be balanced more around ERT level like the UPP/PMC surv inserts

I admit I might not be the best person for survivor balance. In my mind the US Army guys are very well armed and armoured by surv standards, being pretty much the most consistently powerful spawn I feel aside from maybe a lucky PMC spawn. The RNG ammo and medical supplies is meant to be a constraining point, but if its too much I can look in to other ways.

I’d love the idea of some kind of alt system like the Army guys having to defend a FOB location, but this might be a complex code system that needs someone else to address.

@kryth

My take is that the underground on the outskirts of the city needs more love, maybe its just the lack of xenos playing around it due to round ending but they need more attention, maybe put tunnels on them in roundstart

Will do.

[eMiiX]

My two cents, the map feels very huge due to the amount of paths and ways to get lost, and multi-z doesn’t help it at all.

Love the aesthetic and the ambience, but nothing is clear to navigate, we spend more time “finding” the remaining xenos than actually playing the map due to how many paths and places to hide.

The buildings all look very indistinguishable specially in the dark as marines, many of them don’t even use their respective doors and just use a default black door

[trollologist1 (Dvorak)]

I didn’t get a ton of time to actually play on the map (huge thanks to whoever let me hop in and saved me — you’re a real MVP), so I can’t go super in-depth on gameplay balance or flow. But from what I did experience, and from what I’ve heard from others, this map is genuinely excellent — easily a 9/10 or even 10/10 in my book.

I actually laughed when I died to a mine while trying to save another Marine… who also died to the same mines… right outside of FOB and we perma’d. We both laughed it off and felt it was funny. Stuff like that really sells the atmosphere. The lighting, ambient noises, and environmental hazards give it this gritty, oppressive feel that’s perfect. It’s unforgiving in a way that reminds me why I love the snow maps so much. (Bit of a tangent: I still think Ice is peak and should’ve stayed, while Shivas and that other slop map feel kind of mid in comparison and should’ve been done away with — just my two, off-topic cents.)

The distant gunfire and explosions in the background are such a great touch. It also adds to the atmosphere and reminds me of this S.T.A.L.K.E.R. server I used to play on with the tone it went with. I’m absolutely here for it.

As for the chokepoints, I’m indifferent to them. Yeah, they slow things down and make progress harder, but they also lead to longer, more memorable fights or instant wipes from either getting pincered or flanked. Forces Marines to lean on CAS (if the chokepoint is above ground), or very risky plays/battles of attrition when underground, or attempting to do a pincer attack as your counter attack if the Xenos make a decent/good offensive push. Though I’m sure there’s plenty of different ways/strats that could be used in a variety of situations. It also makes Xenos have to coordinate with boilers and well-planned screeches to push through. It adds a tactical layer that I think both sides can appreciate.

I’ve also heard the survivor gameplay is more engaging than FORECON, though I can’t say that with certainty as I didn’t experience or witness it myself. However, I did see a ton of US Army soldiers in Alpha’s spot, so I’m not sure what that exactly meant — or if Alpha are deployed directly at round-start. Might’ve just been me overlooking something, and maybe they just had similar coloring. If that is the case, their color on the monitor should probably be tweaked to avoid confusion. Regardless, I think the survivor elements add more flavor to the round-start, at least from what I’ve heard.
Feedback from both Marines and Xenos has seemed overwhelmingly positive, and I’m definitely looking forward to reading more once I finish typing this wall of text.

All in all, this map gives me a lot of hope. It feels like it takes a bunch of elements the good maps got right and blends them into something new that feels unique — from gameplay potential to RP opportunities and just raw vibe.

Honestly, I’d love to see this map swapped in for Shivas or Hybrisa, even temporarily. Even just having a round-start or late-join disclaimer telling players that it’s a WIP/Beta and linking this thread could go a long way toward collecting more feedback. I know the usual answer is “when you code it,” but hey — just throwing the idea out there.

P.S. I do think the chokepoints may need some reworking if this map ends up being used for HvH events. Hard chokes can become an extreme headache in HvH even more so than in HvX. Also, I personally disagree with the current LZ criticism. One of the things Ice did really well was having large, open areas that encouraged Command to collaborate closely with Intel and Requisitions to build a proper FOB — which was often prone to hive piles, backliner probe attacks, or their general attempts to exhaust Marine resources or just out of spite. From intel being processed for req budget boosts, to Req needing to be more conservative with their spending, that kind of interconnectedness added depth and I think this map could absolutely lean into that more.

[victoriousv]

The map feels a lot softer in terms of its destructibility than others. This wouldn’t be a bad thing, but it increases the power of marine orbital bombardments a fair amount.

[DukeofCagliostro (Archibald V. Cartwright)]

Thank you for making this map. It looks amazing and the lore is great.

[cuberound]

to the topic of climb balance as you were all good boys and have not brought it up, I did fix the issue with wall boosting and it should work now, also the queen falling to her death was not compelatly her fault as safeclimb was not tested with… ledges of all the cursed stuff, right now you first bump into the eldge before otehr stuff can trigger and leap over the ledge to your death. fall stun numbers are prop gona go down and I might put in some slow to compensate it, still want big xenos to get decent stun from falling as upper levels are suppsoed to be risky in that way for them

[detectivegoogle]

@Steelpoint

restore their power to an ‘APC’

“The underground could be flooded if the hosts restore power to the area” is fine.

[Steelpoint]

I released a video of my observer perspective of the most recent test, should be a bit useful:

CM PvP SS13 | Tyrargo Rift - Test Run

@trollologist1

P.S. I do think the chokepoints may need some reworking if this map ends up being used for HvH events. Hard chokes can become an extreme headache in HvH even more so than in HvX. Also, I personally disagree with the current LZ criticism. One of the things Ice did really well was having large, open areas that encouraged Command to collaborate closely with Intel and Requisitions to build a proper FOB — which was often prone to hive piles, backliner probe attacks, or their general attempts to exhaust Marine resources or just out of spite. From intel being processed for req budget boosts, to Req needing to be more conservative with their spending, that kind of interconnectedness added depth and I think this map could absolutely lean into that more.

I do feel the FOBs are fine, its just teething issues with Marines needing to adjust, the south LZ is far more “open” than the north LZ but this is compensated by it being much harder for xenos to get as its much further from hive locations. Chokepoint issues can be addressed with nightmare inserts for HvH in the future.

[BasilHerb (Samson Jack)]

Man, this map easily looks like the most unique and interesting one to date. I can’t wait to play it. I just wished the playtests wouldn’t be at 4 in the morning

On an unrelated note, the admin PM noises in the video scared the absolute living shit out of me

[Steelpoint]

The trials of being a staff. To be fair, there were far more ahelps this round than normal, due to this being a new map.

Sadly I don’t control TM times, hopefully once the PvE Tacmap PR is merged, we might be able to get the map TMed for longer than 1 round