Disclaimer: very long post (Pixel, you have a bad influence ;))
I don’t know for you guys, but for me DB is a great game and I plan on playing it for a long time. I love the guns, the sounds, the feel and the pace, but I cannot enjoy any of the initial maps. The more I play them the more I rage, or wonder why after so many months not much changed. We have all been giving tons of feedback on the maps, and I will do this one more time even though I did this so many times already.
TERMINAL
The first stage is only a bottleneck working as a meat grinder. Why ? Because the three roads you can take are all covered by a single MG. Why are all the three roads meeting just in front of the MG ? Why couldn’t one of them lead to a door behind that MG, another go inside the pump building and the last one take a detour to reach that same building ? Also why give the defenders full control over the pump when their spawn is much closer to it that the attackers ? Bring the pump back to the attackers’ side but put it a bit further.
Then the wall. When you destroy it it’s the same story as described above: whether you take the main road, the stairs or climb from the containers, you reach the same, single exit: bottleneck again. Taking the stairs should lead beyond that exit since it takes more time, not join with the main road. Same with the opening going next to the luggages: it could have a tunnel inside leading next to the evac display.
Finally the last stage clearly needs the passage linking both balconies. Not sure if SD plans on putting it there again, but the concept arts suggest it pretty strongly.
WHITE CHAPEL
Clearly the best map so far. Never the less the first stage often turns into a spawn killing festival. As an attacker I would love to be able to get into the garage from the stairs right after the spawn. Less cover but faster access to the EV.
Then the MGs: twice there are two MGs covering the EV route. Combined with heartbeat sensors this is a death trap you cannot escape. Indeed the sensor can be out of reach because you have to be exposed to the MGs to actually destroy the thing. I’ve seen a full hold at the corner under the bridge. I would remove one of the MGs each time and make the teamwork create that crossfire.
Finally, this is more of a wish: reinstate the Chapel, it felt so, so W:ET in there. Same feeling. I believe side objectives could also be independent from the main objectives. Like gathering docs or hack a computer for data for extra rewards like XP. This could also work nicely with the card system by increasing your chances if you get these side objectives. The Chapel could host one of these easily. But again, it’s just a suggestion
TRAINYARD
I like that the MG room has been opened, but this is still pretty OP. I would provide more covers for the attackers so that the defenders have to split and really cover behind the zone and in front with the MG. Again, I believe the MG is removing the job to create the crossfire since it’s so powerful anyway. The MG covers a section of all three routes to the objective and is definitely OP in that place.
Then the second objective doesn’t work. I won’t say anything on it since it’s probably going to be replaced anyway.
LONDON BRIDGE
The map itself is quite nice, but the first stage is really too difficult for the offence. I don’t say it should be simpler, but it should feature an extra route or a side objective to make it slightly easier by dividing the defending force.
IN GENERAL
Globally there is nothing to say about the art: the work is amazing. But I still struggle to find the strategic way to accomplish the objective as the only real strategy right now is to overwhelm the enemy with more fire power. The simple fact that changing one good player from a team to the other can impact so much the outcome of the match is the proof of it. When I look back at QW for example you almost always had a way to draw the defense away from the objective so they wouldn’t camp there or at the cost of a very strategic asset. Maybe having less players in the teams affects this side of the objectives. I don’t know, but I believe it should still be possible because it was the spicy part of the gameplay.
The idea to put elements in the games themselves that affect for example the card system are the type of synergies I believe could lead to people playing over and over again. Establishing a direct link between your performance & behaviour in-game to your rewards would be a big plus imo. It would also allow to reward people on what they are currently trying to improve or what they are good at, hence create addiction. Nothing better than being rewarded for your efforts.
Again, this is only my opinion. Feel free to criticize this as much as possible, maybe a good idea will come out of this. I’m waiting eagerly on modifications of the original maps, hoping for the best.