This is true, it was a beautiful fevre dream that doesn't deliver enough value for the technical cost. . Speaking as an fps player I prefer to learn my maps, and have those maps designed so there is not a single "win" strategy than have to adapt to randomization.

Would it be possible to have a mixture of both philosophies? Have specific set pieces of the map be static but 1 - 3 randomized sockets each map?

Oh no :( I love the randomization of maps. Are you sure this is the problem?

Randomized maps would be one thing if the map design was actually remembered and assigned to the District that it was purported to be.

Randomly generate Ardar 3-1, store it and never waste resources regenerating this map since it is static and unchanging unless the NPC faction holding it decides to do some landscaping or construction project (in which case, CCP just changes the things it is decided need changed)

Randomly generate them all, store them as single static meshes to save on resources.

This might even allow us to include installation deployment by players. Add minor sockets to the static meshes, these minor sockets would be where different installations could be slotted. This is of course assuming that the minor sockets would be small enough that even 6-12 of them would still be less real estate than a single normal small socket .



(Is the amount of real estate each socket represents the problem or is it just the fact that there are X number of variables due to the existence alone of the socket)

Ever since the beginning, I was under the impression that it would be as detailed in the beginning of my post. Map gets randomly generated and stored, whenever that District is occupied, it uses the same map unless CCP decides to change something, owning players decide to change something (for massive CP/ISK of course) or if we ever get real physics and destructible environments (where owning players would still need to expend CP/ISK on repairs).

Why maps get "randomly generated" before every match IDK, TBH, I find that surprising if it is actually true since I very rarely see any variation in a map from match to match.

Are you sure you are barking up the right tree?


Neither Ashlands nor Line Harvest have megainfrastructures known as large sockets.
I firmly believe THEY are too complicated and the cause.
This can be verified by visiting the socket and playing a game without visiting them.

On a side note, it doesn't help that ALL of our battlefields are actually just ONE big map, I think if there were individual maps that were slightly smaller, that it would vastly improve performance



To me it seems like the game wants to fill all the sockets including the ones in the redline

I once stuck a fork in a socket.

Really? I'd like to see the source for that for further details.
BTW, haven't heard about it before and also find that to be an unlikely cause.