[Ballz] clan runs Chocolate Salty [Ballz] and, on friday & saturday nights, [Ballz] Fun Night. On fun night, we try out new maps, play around, become less than serious. All are welcome: 207.44.196.88:27962 Games generally start up around 8:00 Central on Friday, and continue throughout Saturday. Server information, map rotation available at http://www.chocolatesalty.com
Feedback from new maps played 9/12 & 9/13/03 on [Ballz] Fun Night server. Some have been played in previous weeks. Observations are those of Superfreak[Ballz], with some additional input by clanmates and regulars to the [Ballz] servers. The maps that are best-liked will tend to be loaded on our pub server to add some spice. The number of **s at the end is my personal rating on 1-5
nightcrawlers - Frequently requested when it first became available, this is a fairly well-liked map. One potential issue is the speed with which allies can construct the platform & access basement for quick win. Other than that, I like the map - lots of camping potential, with close-quarters fragfests in the basement. This one is a candidate for placement on our pub server. ****
ds_bunkers_b2 - An odd map. I enjoy it a great deal - tons of fragging from short to medium range. Flaws: Spawns need to be selectable when center flag is taken. Many losses on this map due to a team taking the center flag & being unable to go back and defend in time. Also, mortars don’t work - they disappear into sky. Mortars would be a nice addition to bust up a determined defense. This one will likely be played quite a bit on Fun Night, but doesn’t fit with campaign settings for use on our pub server. ***
fligerhorst - In many ways, the pick of the litter. Visually beautiful, some recent changes have helped balance a great deal - the hill now accessible by Axis, barbed wire now satchelable. Many paths in & out of both sides, with great fights around the tank/airfield and in the village. This will almost certainly be on our pub server for next rotation, the only drawback being the file size (I kinda wish this and Rhine Bridge had been kept separate…I heard a lot of bitching about the 30 MB download) Nonetheless, I have to give Drakir my thanks for this one - a fantastic map. *****
rhine_bridge - Until most recent release, this was horribly slanted to the axis. The changes in tunnels and paving of the area around the obj has helped a lot. We’ll be testing this one out for possible inclusion on the pub server. Previous releases were almost unwinnable for allies, which has soured some players on this map. I did hear several comments about how NICE this map looks in it’s latest release, though. ***
ammodepot_beta - Thoroughly enjoyable map with a few flaws (beta, I know). In initial positions, Axis cannot exert much pressure on the allies on the beach. Which is probably just as well due to SEVERE framerate issues on the beach I was continually reassuring players that framerate would improve once inside - this desperately needs fixed. In a 20 player (10 per side) game the other night, I saw 15 fps on the beach with a Geforce4 4200. Would like to see the first sewer grate set to dyno only (allies can get back there VERY quickly). Need a means for people to climb from water onto docks (or dump the docks & just do sloping sand to water). With those said, there are some GREAT firefights here - in the first courtyard, but especially the battle for the gates. With about 10 per side, we had a 5 minute fragfest with engineers from both sides struggling to get the gates the way they wanted 'em. Airstrikes, arty, panzers, every weapon got used…Saw field ops down to pistol from continuous firing, Medics using pistol half the time…on BOTH sides…crazy stuff, very fun. With fixed framerate, this will almost certainly go into rotation on our pub server. ****
cherbourg_beta2 - I like this map. A few spots on the map become bloodbaths. Some framerate issues, however. And the CTF theme doesn’t fit well for use on our pub server. Some complaints about how dark the map is - I liked it being a bit different. ***
maiden1 - Rescue The Maiden…a very divisive map - some like it for something different, others seem to be offended that it’s not very realistic 
Fun gameplay at times, pretty spammy for those who don’t approve of spam though. I like it fairly well, but it doesn’t fit in with a campaign. Recent changes (Tunnel change, forward spawn) have improved gameplay quite a bit, made it a bit more even for the allies. **
mcassino - WOW. A lot of praise for this map from my players, and I rather like it myself. We’ll need to test it a bit more - I see potential for stalemate and/or pushing the allies back into their spawn, but we’ll see how it plays out. Visually a great map, the mirror in the basement distracted many people from the objective. I jumped about 3 feet in the air & ripped a dozen rounds into it on first sight (he fired at me first!) Lots of fun things for engies to do, some decent covert potential, seems fairly well balanced so far. A bit more testing, this will probably make it onto the pub server. Some night I would LOVE to see this map with 60 people on it. ****
password2 - Lukewarm response for the most part. We’ve run this several times on Fun Night, and I’ve never seen a lot of praise for it. I think it has decent gameplay, a few good spots for fragfests, but an awful lot of wasted space. Won’t fit in with a campaign really, and won’t make it onto the pub. ***
reriver - We didn’t play this one that much - seemed like it was always won in ~3 minutes. Once people get more used to it, we’ll see how it plays on fun night. **
sniperange_et - Just for giggles late at night. Same category as TowerandSlider ctf - just a fun map to play around on, change physics settings, etc. Potentially useful for sniper training, I suppose.
temple - This map has some great visuals here & there. Sniper-Spam-a-riffic at the start, once past the bridge I really enjoy the running battle with the tank. If possible, this map grinds up engineers faster than Seawall Battery. Some reported framerate issues, I’ll keep more an eye on that next time. The traps in the temple were a great hit with everyone, which probably hurt the defense A long map, but it may make it onto the pub - not sure yet. ***?
UrbanTerritory - A nice concept, Framerate issues kill a lot of people on this map. Gameplay somewhat slanted due to proximity of axis spawn to the objective, and the easy camping of the allied spawn. Wouldn’t fit in, has framerate issues, won’t make it to the pub. Has the ever-popular “Tower of bodies” spawn that frequently results in aerial photo ops and dead players on spawn. **
Maps from previous weeks:
Flakcannon - I like this level a LOT…but many others don’t agree. Some framerate problems, and a lot of players seem to be allergic to maps involving grass. We’ll see how this plays out, but I think it has good gameplay and some tight battles in the center. The axis spawn needs fixed though. ****
apennines research - Not sure on this one - allied spawn is a VERY fat target to start. Will be running again next beta & see what comes of it. ***
Beach - early version of this map completely soured everyone on playing it. Will retry when a final version comes out. *
mml_church - Well liked. Is in pub rotation, and will probably stay there for a while. ****
Normandy - Reaction was very much “meh” - likely won’t be on pub. **
RTCC - Carnage canyon. I like the map fairly well, but it doesn’t play well at all with less than 6 or 8 per side. Rather lukewarm reaction on server. I wasn’t aware the axis ever held jamaica. **
Atlantic Wall - beta wasn’t horrible, will be trying it out again. **
The beach remake, the Base remake - Beach remake in particular was pretty good - not sure where it’ll go. Base was liked by some, but I have seen enough base to last 43 lifetimes…
