Excellent blog. Loved the more 'hand-drawn' feel to the map pathing to show the common viewer how the process works.

One thing I would like to say though is that there are still instances where snipers can make continual headshots or have significant advantages in certain areas. Manus Peak, the team starting on the south side can field a sniper and have a direct line-of-sight on Alpha from the start of the map directly from their redline and can keep the northern team off of the objective for as long as he has ammunition.

Another instance that I've seen is that in some cases a clever sniper will deploy a vehicle of some description in a small dip in the map in their redline, giving him total and complete cover from all sides (one from the LAV, two from the terrain) that he would be fired from - the rest being too far into the redline to make a difference. The only way to remove this threat (being as he has direct line of sight with anyone who would try to kill him) will often always be an orbital strike. This is both a combination of game design mechanics and terrain tying into one another.

None more notorious is the Orbital Artillery Outpost's 'Forge Tower', which being linked to the Cargo Hub infrastructure in PC will almost always be the play the is run in every match. The first team to get a dropship to the tower has Alpha permanently covered, and a large portion of the rest of the outpost as well - often times the opposing team is unable to rid them off of the tower due to the forge gun taking out dropships (the only way to get up there) unless with an orbital strike, being the only 100% efficient means.

With that out of the way, I would like to say that you guys are doing a great job so far and the Gallente Research Facility is especially fun as it allows for more intense, close quarters combat and I always have fun when I play it. Looking forward to what you guys put out and definitely hoping to see more of that.

..... but I'm still convinced that the outposts should reflect the racial playstyle!

players are completely defenseless while hacking objectives. Because there is such a high chance of being killed while hacking, those positions must be well protected. There should not be a direct line of sight from any point on the map which could allow for a sniper to make continual headshots.

You are talking about areas that are far behind our current standards. We will eventually address them. Manus Peak is a great example of how we do NOT want to make battlefield areas any more. Orbital Artillery is being re-designed entirely (as we speak, I am on it). Production Facility will soon be coming your way. OWN IT!

A large terrain map in DUST 514 contains several battlefields, and each has its own use. They can be an energy supply base, an ore mining field, a facility for resource storage, or just a part of the natural terrain of a planet's surface. We try to make every battlefield authentic through logical and reasonable design. They are the "real things" in the EVE universe.

IN B4 ANYONE ELSE! water!!!!! OCEAN!! HIT THE BEACH ;)

Orbital Artillery is being re-designed entirely (as we speak, I am on it)

i think its awsome how the maps are really coming together now and every bit of new content inncoperates a new gaming experience with it :) iv noticed that on several of the maps you can see OTHER maps outside of the "red zone"

is this a glimpse into the future vision of DUST 32v32 MAPS with 9 objectives over an espansive map of 3 objective clusters!!

i.e............ ................................. A "super" NULL CANNON
............................................... B C

player spawn* ............................................................................................. player spawn *



................. D "super" NULL CANNON ................................... G "super" NULL CANNON
.............. E F ...................................................................... .... H I


have you guys considered this... is this on the road map? (way down the line)

i really see the potential but the performance issues of the ps3 may be a drama..

ps. sorry my example is really bad :/

^Conquest on the Craters map would be awesome if say you start out on Border Gulch, head over to Fractured Road, then everyone takes a mad dash down the crater side into Impact Ridge.

"By contrast, players are completely defenseless while hacking objectives. Because there is such a high chance of being killed while hacking, those positions must be well protected. There should not be a direct line of sight from any point on the map which could allow for a sniper to make continual headshots."

Is a bit of bull on the small 3 opbjective map where Objective A is in a little rocky out croping, i get sniped from the enemy red line in the first 30sec of the match almost every time. probialy need to go back to the drawing board with that one.

We MIGHT have WATER in the future but we currently don't have mechanics to support this feature. So relax~~

Yes, you have

This CCP.
+1