So now you've got to play some custom maps, what do you think about these maps? Would you like for us to pick any of them up for season 2? Put your vote here!

Like this:

ns2_triad - Yes/No
reason

ns2_nsl_turtle - Yes/No
reason

ns2_icarus - Yes/No
reason

ns2_jambi - Yes/No
reason

ns2_drydosity - Yes/No
reason

ns2_honorguard - Yes/No
reason

I'll go ahead and give my own vote and opinions.

ns2_triad - Yes
Summit-like map, except a little bigger. Bigger size makes the scouting game more fun imo. Resporsitory(or what the name is) siege locations must be fixed.

ns2_nsl_turtle - Yes
Pretty cool smaller map, it feels oldschool without looking too ugly.

ns2_icarus - Yes
Definitely an interesting map, and I think it would compliment the season map pool pretty well.

ns2_jambi - Yes
Impressive map, ns1 spawn system, often updates with improvements. It would fit nicely into the season map pool.

ns2_drydosity - No
Fairly interesting, but very marine friendly due to no cover in forms of props etc. Could become good in the future if some of the long lines of sight are broken up.

ns2_honorguard - No
Even though it played better than it looks, it didn't really make up for the custom theme of the map. Surely a nice map to play on public once in a while, but it doesn't fit as a league map imo.

ns2_triad - Maybe
If some of the rt spots gets some more cover so they cant be shot from to far away.

ns2_nsl_turtle - No
I would love to see turtle in but it needs alot of work first.

ns2_icarus - Maybe
If siege spots are fixed.

ns2_jambi - Yes

ns2_drydosity - No
Just too big and it looks like really bad aswell. Pubmap at best.

ns2_honorguard - No
Trollmap

Well i did not play but ref so this is from a spectators view.

ns2_triad - Yes
Seemed like solid games are possible but yeah a few things can be shot from to far away.

ns2_nsl_turtle - Yes
I loved that one .. maybe cause i watched a epic 50 min battle between Mercury and HBZ on it. i guess it needs a bit fixing with the possible siegepositions but rest seemed very nice

ns2_jambi - Yes
Very nice Map .. a few little things: Armorys should not be 3/4 in the floor on the southern TechPoint .. needs fixing.
Also Map seems to have a few stuckpoints although they are easily enough to avoid .. ISN'T THAT RIGHT FANA XD !

ns2_triad - Yes
Well playable map, but the Central Tech Point is way too OP for marines at the beginning, for the lerks in the mid game and for jetpacks in the late game IMO. Too many space uncovered and it's also too easy to shoot down the rt from the long distance though.

ns2_nsl_turtle - Yes/No
Haven't played that one in the cup

ns2_icarus - Yes
Definetely the best map of this cup. Only things that need to be fixed are siege spots (Excavation and Cargo hives are too easy to siege down) and texture bug in Excavation (permanent stuck at the top of the

ns2_jambi - Yes
Everything's ok excepting Shipping from where you can siege Gravity easily.

ns2_drydosity - No
no any cover for aliens at all

ns2_honorguard - No
Just a shit looking map with no profits from taking center of the map as marines.

no to all!!!!!!!! I think they are all unbalanced... and would need lots of twitching... would be nice if we focused our efforts on getting the old maps back on... I mean we had YEARS of balancing and testing on them... they should be very good if we copy them faithfully no? not to mention would improve the nostalgia feeling of old ns1 players...

ns2_triad - Yes/No
dont remember the map... but then again I didnt like any of the new maps...

ns2_nsl_turtle - Yes/No
you can arc 2 hives from 1 location lol

ns2_icarus - Yes/No
hives very vulnerable to arcing

ns2_jambi - Yes/No
could be... but ide rather have the old ns1 maps back and am having trouble downloading this map on my server... too big keeps timing out

ns2_drydosity - Yes/No
very unbalanced favors a lot alien (just watch the replays on the custom map games)

ns2_honorguard - Yes/No
aliens have too much rt in top 1/2 of the map while marines hav only 3 on the bottom 1/2 of the map and access to them are terrible

All the current maps in the NSL mapcycle is playable and worked out well in season 1. We saw some great tweaks on veil to fix some issues. And as far as I know NSL is working even more on trying to balance these maps by fixed spawns. Mendasp is a hero working on the maps to create NSL-versions etc.

To my point, what are we voting for on these maps? The maps in their current form? If so I'll vote "no" to every single map in this list. The thing with these maps is that they all have problems that need to be fixed before we can play them in tournaments such as NSL.

If we can guarantee that appropriate changes will be made to deny stupid siege-spots, tweak RT-counts/placements where suitable - I'll be more than happy to vote yes to atleast 1-2 of these maps.

Until then, my vote is as follows:

ns2_triad - No
ns2_nsl_turtle - No
ns2_icarus - No
ns2_jambi - No
ns2_drydosity - No
ns2_honorguard - No

If I would vote if the maps are ready in their current form I would so no. But many of them could become good with some adjustments

ns2_triad - Yes
Even with the long travel times I think this map has good potential. Not played it enough for good feedback but I think its a nice change of phase in the gameplay.

ns2_nsl_turtle - Yes
Turtle does need some changes but its another map I would like to see in the future. The faster phase is defentily refreshing.

ns2_icarus - Yes
This map has huge potential, again there are some issues (siege spots etc) but with some tweaks it will become pretty good.

ns2_jambi - Yes
Probably closest to be ready for competitive. Not played enough for good feedback though.

ns2_drydosity - no
This map needs some major changes to be viable. Not only a huge map but to many unnsessary corridors. The basic layout is not optimal for good gameplay either.

ns2_honorguard - Yes
This map supriced me. It does not some work but I think this map has good potential to be a competitive map. The games I have seen on it have been pretty fun and the layout allows for fun play. But again it needs some work.

No to everything, none of them was a good map or fun to play, ggs.

Hope to see at least some of these maps i the next season, we desperately need more variety.

ns2_triad - Maybe.
It's alright, but would prefer to see some changes to the leftmost hive and to make resource points closer to tech point locations more alien friendly.

ns2_nsl_turtle - No.
I don't even know why this is being considered. It's been broken since the early beta. The poor design of the alien starting hive makes it unplayable.

ns2_icarus - Maybe.
Great map, but it has two very nasty siege spots that need to be worked out as well as several stuck spots that even the /stuck command don't fix.

ns2_jambi - Yes.

ns2_drydosity - No.

ns2_honorguard - No.
(wtf grissi, are you high?)

ns2_triad - No
Needs a lot of working on it. Same reasons as Skugg, rts are too easy to kill as marine from far. Repository is quite cheated since u can easy siege from there. And this ventilation going straight into marine base...

ns2_nsl_turtle - No
Hives ending and engine too close ? too many containers.

ns2_icarus - No
Too many huge corridors, North Hive can get locked with 2 marines at each corridors quite easily...

ns2_jambi - Definitely YES
The only map i liked playing on. It still needs some changes, like the south-east side quite useless and not used at all on some rounds. It gives 20 minutes-like rounds whch is the best way to get great show for spectators. Either Oxy or organ are too close from each other, either Pipeline hive should be moved a lil bit on the east. Beijing should be more on south (wait, Bay Wing!)
Anyway, its kind of a map i like, even if it got 11 resource spots, which is maybe too much, it gives really good lategames as in SC2 with macro-games.

ns2_drydosity - Definitely No and never again
Do you like getting lost everytime ? All looks like the same. Big corridors, weird pointless ventilantions/path underground. No real good engagements and fight on it...

ns2_honorguard - Definitely No and never never never again.
Fun map, not competitive one. Useless camping spots. You can die at like 10 different spots from lava. BIG fps issues on it aswell.

And I agree that we need new maps but these maps have no place in competitive scene; we already forced tram to be a comp map and no-one still likes it. New maps must come but they need to be good too so people actually enjoy playing them.

ns2_triad - No
hive's can't be to easily gunned down from long range, center hive can be shot out of render

ns2_nsl_turtle - No
to easy too take hives out from easily defended positions

ns2_icarus - Yes
no major problems when playing the map

ns2_jambi - Yes
Just needs some minor changes for competitive play

ns2_drydosity - No
just no not a good competitive map

ns2_honorguard - No
still too unrefined for competitive play, very basic map

ns2_triad - No, but has potential
Most res nodes can be sniped by marines. Ventilation is very vulnerable to siege from Repository, which is very hard for aliens to hit since the only reasonable path is through that fence which marines can shoot through (it is OK for marines to see you through it, but it is NOT OK if they can kill you with you being unable to shoot back). The map also has several hiding spots for aliens to regen health (the most egregious example being the corridors that connect Maint, Pipes, Repository and Central Communication).

ns2_nsl_turtle - No, but has potential
Cargo and Loading are too close and can be sieged simultaneously. Cysting is really hard on this map; aliens have a hard time reaching some res nodes. Quarters power node can be easily biled from two relatively safe spots, especially if there is a crag farm in Hub. The Tech room is too easily defended by marines and a good spot for ARCs to hit Loading.

ns2_icarus - No
Very marine biased. Long corridors and almost no vents make it hard for aliens to hit marine bases or even defend their own bases. Aliens pretty much cannot flank marines due to that, unless they happen to be already positioned. Also has a couple of easily defended siege spots.

ns2_jambi - Yes, if a few small issues are fixed.
Looks pretty good. Shipping needs a bit of work -- it is a very good spot for sieging Gravity, and very easy for marines to defend from afar.

ns2_drydosity - No
Lots of long corridors with no cover, yet somehow aliens won most games in this map. Maybe it's because it's incredibly hard for marines to navigate? Or because of the way several of those corridors are interconnected? Anyway, it needs a lot of work. Some paths are completely useless (for marines at least). Some rooms have openings pretty much everywhere, so aliens can easily run away then return from another spot. Also, no vents.

ns2_honorguard - No
I hate maps with stupid instant kill traps. And it just so happens that I lost a Fade to lava because I tried to dodge marines and ran out of energy. Besides, the map is really bad. Huge rooms with little cover, long walk distances for marines, the damned lava traps, and so on.

I don't believe any of these maps are ready for Season 2 in their current form. Jambi is the closest of the custom maps, but still needs a bit of work. Luckily, Descent should be out before the season starts.

Changes I would make:

ns2_triad - Almost every hallway has large areas that have no power. Central hive can be shot from Dome outside of visual clip distance. Ventilation is open to sniping by marines and too easily sieged from repository. Many of the pits have visible floors with death triggers and there's some that have black floors with death triggers only near the ladders.

ns2_turtle - Bridge tech point needs to be removed. Its very difficult to cyst to the center nodes (Bilge and Tech?). A lot of the doorways are very narrow and the map as a whole feels claustrophobic.

ns2_icarus - At the very least, vents need to be added from the side tech points to the interior of the map. The whole map is fairly streamlined top to bottom and doesn't allow for flanks. The long corridors need to be widened with cover added. Communications needs to be changed so it can't be shot from the upper platform (believe this is the case currently).

ns2_jambi - Closest to being ready for competitive play. Bay Wing res node needs to be further from Waste hive, likely best to move it south towards Trash? There are 4 paths to the north end of the map, three of which are very close to each other, two of them connected by vents. One of these choke points (Organ Donation, Security, X, and Bay Wing) needs to be moved further south. Maybe open up the entrance to Organ and make a choke point in Skylights or whatever that hallway is called between Skylights and Pub.

ns2_drydosity aka ns2_rocketskulk - This map is very bland and boring. Its very, very open and too easy for skulks to keep wallhopping speed. It would take a lot of work to make this map playable.

ns2_honorguard - I don't believe this map is anywhere near ready for competitive play. It is too easy for the aliens to shut down access to the north of the map and hold 6-8 res nodes. Not to mention all the lava, some of which kills you and some doesn't.

In conclusion, none of these maps are ready to be added to the rotation as they currently are.

@ zups
dont talk bullshit about tram. if u dont like it its fine, but dont speak for everyone here.

ns2_triad - no (YES - if the biggest issues get fixed)
needs to get fixed like everyone alreaedy said

ns2_icarus - Yes
same here. needs arc spots to get fixed aswell as the locations to get stuck on.

ns2_jambi - Yes
best new map so far, some minor issues but the mappers are doing an awesome job fixing the stuff rly quickly. So this is the map which should and hopefully will make it into s2.

ns2_drydosity - No
everyone knows why this map isnt playable

ns2_honorguard - No
its fun to play, but to many issues for competitive play.
maybe in season 3 when 75% of the rooms got redsigned.

Rather not see any of those maps in season2. Either completely broken or summit/tram layout copy. Amazing.

Looks like exertus had a bad weekend.

Hey author of Icarus here just signed up to post :)

I tried looking through the feedback and it seems there's a couple nasty siege spots. I can take a few guesses where, but if you guys could elaborate a bit I can try and have them fixed before March 1st. I'll also add in more vents as I realize east<->west is kind of tricky for aliens right now.

Feel free to pm/msg me on Steam or post here or in my map thread here: http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/109962

Thanks!

One of the mappers from Jambi Here,

A new version has just been uploaded, here are some notable changes.

-EC no longer a starting point for aliens.
-Gravity can no longer be arced from Shipping
-Can now run behind Gravity RT
-Can no longer shoot oxy rt from Room x
-Room X Vent moved
-Added some cover to Docking
-Fixed a ton of stuck spots!

More changes to come, specifically to the bay wing RT. Don't really know what to do with that one yet.

Having problems publishing, will let you know when the new build is live.

Sound like a good set of changes, look forward to playing it.

Seems like both jambi, icarus and triad might be season 2 maps, as they all have more Yes than No votes cosidering the following:
Both jambi and icarus mappers already posted in this thread that the maps are getting needed fixes. And I got contact to the triad mapper and he is working on changes to have it ready for season play as well.

But the vote is open until 1st of March. So it could still change.

After these fixes I suggest these maps be played vigorously in the gather, and in matches to help minimize bugs, stuck spots and even more balance fixes.

My personal opinion is that these maps, even with bugfixes, arent that good. And I hope that there will be more good maps for season 3, and if such, these may be excluded if not significantly improved.

That said, I'm very excited that I have some new maps to play.

Also, please announce if these maps will be played in season 2 within a week or so as most of the clans could probably use a lot of practice on them.

Yes, communication with the mappers will be a priority, we've already worked very closely with Mendasp with the nsl maps and edited spawns on maps. I believe and hope we can do the same with the mappers of these maps, it's all about getting the mappers the information they need to make the maps better, all 3 of them have great potential.

I'd suggest you start off by playing the maps now. Both in gathers and in pcws. I will edit the current newspost to reflect whats going on in this thread.

ns2_descent will come with the patch, very likely before season start and we will put up a poll to take it into season 2 or not when the patch hits. So this will mean 6-7 maps for season 2.
My hope for the future is that we will have these maps improved to be greater maps and more new maps to play. Specificly ns2_eclipse, ns2_metal, ns2_origin, ns2_plant, ns2_tanith, ns2_nancy and ns2_biodome by UWE and the new ns2_turtle version evilbob is working on. Those seem like good candidates for season 3 or later. Thanks to community mappers we will hopefully be able to get the variation we all desire!

ns2_jambi yes
The only playable map which is actually pretty competitive.

ns2_turtle yes
no comments needed, its a solid map.

ns2_icarus no
Good looking map but a real messy design, skulks op..

ns2_honorguard maybe
two of the hivespots needs to be relocated to center of the map (or only one and remove the another one), and some useless rooms to be removed. aliens op unless close spawns.

ns2_jambi is best bet to next season and ns2_icarus with fixes could be just fine. Others just NO for competitive maps. Its miracle but I have to agree with zups and about the tram map :D

I think ns2_jambi is definetly the one to consider being in the next season.

Also ns2_icarus has potential, but the actual "map" is horrible. Can't tell how many times I tried to navigate through it and end up facing huge doors that doesn't show up in the map, screenshot here: http://imgur.com/GMxGIff - these are the small little things that drive people insane, atleast I'm getting the shakes already. Needs more vents.

ns2_triad.. where do I start. The corridors are narrow, too narrow in my opinion. Ceiling is very low in allmost everywhere in the map, I don't like the map at all. Actually, now that I think about it, I hate it with all my heart. I'm getting claustrobhopic seizures even writing this post thinking about that map.

This map should be abandoned by humanity and spend the time not working on it to find a way to setup a community in mars for example.

Rest of the maps are poo.

ns2_jambi yes
Very competitive and equal map, kinda like a mix of ns_nothing and ns_metal style.

The only bad thing is that there are some machines that stuck both marines and aliens advance:

Pipeline gates and the robomachine sited at the east entrance.
Some ramps on skylights.
Waste rt spot should be on left-down side of the room (like server room in ns2_tram).

Salutes

My tally of votes in this thread (prior to any map changes) are as follows:

Triad:
YES - 4 NO - 11 MAYBE - 2

Icarus:
YES - 6 NO - 8 MAYBE - 3

Jambi:
YES - 14 NO - 5 MAYBE - 0

I don't think maps should be added on the basis of a glance through this thread. As you can see, the consensus of this thread is that Jambi is the only competitive ready map. As such, I believe it should be the only one added to Season 2.

I think the only way that maps should be added to ENSL are if the majority of TEAMS (no front page vote) agree they are playable.