New 1v1 Ranked Map Lineup: Final!
The new 1v1 ranked map lineup poll ended yesterday and the new lineup is now implemented. Liberium Battles and Thawing Glaciers are history. Snoey Triangle and Sentry Point were also removed, so the two largest and the two of the smallest maps have been removed. In their place Theta Passage, Canis River, Blasted Rock, and Fields of Isis have been added.
Some quick statistics on the new lineup:
- 12 maps total
- 6 are 5×5 (small)
- 6 are 10×10 (medium)
- 4 are “water maps”
This means you technically have a 50/50 chance of drawing a 5×5 or 10×10 map, and a 33% chance of drawing a water map. In reality these odds are adjusted by a variety of factors but you get the idea.
Now I can understand some criticism of the new lineup changes. By removing the 20×20 maps, an element of SupCom gameplay, the lengthy “large map T3 slugfest”, has been more or less removed from ranked play. It is still possible but will be very rare and will only occur between cautious evenly matched players. Some people might thus argue that ranked play no longer represents skill at SupCom since the games will be skewed towards T1 spam, commander rushing, and early map control to decide victors, without the intricacies of a T2->T3 economy transition and T3 battlefield tactics.
In my opinion, this change is a good one. As I’ve previously said, not everyone has a large amount of time to devote to ranked play and a selection of smaller maps play faster and regulate game lengths to generally 30 minutes or less (with exceptions of course). This means when you click to play a ranked game you have a fair idea what to expect and don’t have to worry about drawing a 20×20 monster of a map when you only have 30-45 minutes to play. It also establishes what 1v1 ranked play is about: early game tactics. 1v1 ranked play is about seizing an advantage in the first 10-15 minutes and then crushing your opponent. This usually means lots of T1 (which I don’t consider a bad thing at all, I enjoy T1 play) and lots of battling over map control (also not a bad thing, this is the very thing FA fixed from the original). If you are unable or unwilling to play this type of SupCom in a competitive environment, 1v1 ranked play may simply not be for you. However, I would argue those two elements are a microcosm of the entire game, and while the units and tactics change as the tech levels progress, the basic gameplay elements remain using your armies effectively and controlling the map to obtain an economic edge.
December 4th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
FSM dammit, Fields of Isis again?! I hate that map with a passion. It’s all you ever seem to see in custom games (still!!!!). I could definitely do without it in ranked.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Fields of Isis may be vastly overplayed, but remember that many of the original maps have been heavily modified in Forged Alliance. Though they may look the same, they play vastly differently. Isis now offers much more advantage to early map control and you can’t throw away the value of the central valleys anymore. It almost feels like a new map. Still, all that said, I think Saltrock would also have been a very interesting addition and hopefully we will get Isis out and Saltrock in at some point.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Isis is indeed massively improved. It plays more like Open Palms or something now. You can’t play it so defensively anymore.
December 5th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Wow, after everything everyone had to say earlier about the 20×20 maps, there seems to be no discussion about them being removed. I guess the people who supported them truly were in the very small minority. (or they no longer visit this site after I put down the maps…)
December 6th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
I’m of two minds about it. This basically makes 1v1 ranked play a small subset of the skills it takes to play FA overall. On the other hand you shouldn’t ever have 81×81 1v1 matches to show skill. I definitely think 10×10’s aren’t big enough to allow a real representation of everything but I agree that 20×20 are too big. Maybe 15×15’s or something like that?
December 7th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
id like to see a 20×10 or 15×15 map in there that way if i thumb it up and u thumb it down there is ONLY a 1/12 chance of getting that map
i dont realy like the little 5×5 slug fest maps! i admit they are great for a short game but sometimes i want a longer game!
anyway id like to see a larger map come back into play!
January 30th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Isis has totally been revamped since vanilla. Being a pretty decent player, I’ve always played ranked and really hated the “isis turtlefest” as it was in vanilla SupCom. Lately, when my buds and I play Isis(they seem to think it’s the same as vanilla), we’ve been getting lots of T1 play, and it’s much more like ranked than it used to be. I say thumbs up to Isis, as it pretty much REQUIRES a forward commander at higher levels to gain the reclaimable material in the middle. That alone makes it feel like a true ranked game.