Map Reviews

If anyone else wants to do more work on this, it might be useful to have the maps sorted by size.

Normal Maps

2 Valleys

Deci: Mostly an air map, as not even kbots can climb the plateus, mex radius is also too small for the metal layout.

4 skulls

Deci: Simply too much metal, otherwise a solid map. Try lowering the metal income on the hills to around 1.5 or lower.

FizWizz: Interesting map, funny metal but fun to play. However, the metalmap is really bright.

Alaska

AF: Needs stuff on the corner bits, preferrably custom snowy tree like features and other assortments, and a small open space, otherwise looks nice but a bit plain.

Altored Divide

Diesel: One of my all-time favorites. This map is an absolute classic and provides excellent teamplay opportunities thanks to its clever design. Furthermore it is relatively fast-paced while not excessive with the metal. The texture isn't the best but who cares when it just plays so good!

Altored Earth

Sehk: Big, brawny, with some interesting metal placement. Not very pretty, but often fun to play on. A more advanced version with more metal, better texture and better terrain could be an award winning map.

Ancient Arena

Deci: I have heard that this is an excellent FFA map, though I myself do not normally play FFA

Sehk: Very good for FFA and small but numerous team games (5 teams of 2 comes to mind) if completely dependent on the center. Height map issues may arise, and the water in the corners offers another viable few strategies most players shouldn't need to deal with.

Anglo-Saxon Starfish

Deci: Too much metal, otherwise a good combo of land and sea.

Ashap Plateau

--Egarwaen 00:55, 16 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time): Apparently an old favourite for 1v1s and 2v2s. The ground is covered with spires that really muck up most units' pathfinding and firing.

Pintle: Classic map for quick 2v2 or 1v1. Often boils down to a plasma duel or a commander face off over the centre. There is one spot south of the middle where a lab can be built

Ashpen

Gnome: Good, not too big and not too much metal. Wouldn't mind a slightly larger one with more topography, but it's still good.

Atlantic

Deci: A strange map, as amphibious units are near useless due to mountainous shorelines and air and naval power rule the day. This is another map that would benefit from a larger mex radius.

Azure Rampart

Deci: Probably the most played FFA map, not much to say about this one.

Sehk: Not pretty, not very varied, but functional. Good for FFA, but with limited enjoyment and flexibility.

BlackStar

Sehk: A rather fun five person FFA map, based around stars and pentagrams. It is pretty, but as it supports an odd number of players, it may never achieve widespread play. The water is viable, but unnecessary. Sharp mountains make effective static defenses difficult to implement in many areas, actually discouraging porcing until late game.

Blue Planet

Sehk: Water map, with central metal in the water and lesser metal on land. Once you have the center, it becomes far too easy, and the map doesn't have an incredible amount of replay value. Smaller than I would like.

Brazilian Battlefield

AF: Too many trees in one corner makes AI testing on this map unfair. Make a bigger version though, it's somewhat smaller than I would have liked.

--Egarwaen 00:55, 16 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time): Good for quick games.

--Erom The many mountains make this an easy map to porc heavily on. However, it is one of the few small maps, so if you are looking for a quick game, it is a good option.

Caldera

Deci: Basically a larger version of Ashpen

Castles

Deci: the ultimate seige map, I don't play this one much anymore, but it is still fun sometimes when the game doesn't slow down.

--Egarwaen 00:55, 16 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time): Massive porcfest.

2k4: HUGE metal in water

Targ Collective: Excellent siege map, although the 'Lake of Gold' has less tactical value than it could. Placing an even moderate metal distribution over most of the map, including the grassy areas, allows players to expand resource operations over most of the map, where it could play better confined to the castles and lake solely to force confrontations.

Cathralda V10

--Egarwaen 00:10, 25 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time): A fun map. Wind is good but very unpredictable. Medium level of metal, quite spread-out. Easily-accessible geothermals, mostly near the center of the map. Rolling hills with some chokepoints, but too open to porc effectively. Vehicles seem to be able to climb all of the hills. The one problem is that it's a little hard to gauge hill heights in the default TA view.

Cliff Down

Deci: A good FFA map if the players start at the entrances to the canyon, the starts should probably be changed to reflect this

Gnome: Good metal layout, but it's so big that there's too much available. Also very easy to porc out on (secure your two chokepoints, dot the rest of your base with AA). The game I played on this one became a drawn out stalemate that lasted over three hours because it's simply too damn big.

Cliff Run

Deci: too small to really play on.

Gnome: I disagree. It's good for a quick game, the action is quick and it really keeps you on your toes. The hills really add to the map. The trees are somewhat annoying, but area reclaim works.

--Egarwaen 00:55, 16 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time): Great fun for 1v1, though watch the water.

CometCatcher and Green Comet

Deci: one of the much-loved maps, it isn't my personal favorite, but it's a solid map.

Min3mat: Godlike! accept no substitutues!

Forboding Angel: Too damn flat. Heightmap needs to be redone badly.

--Egarwaen 00:55, 16 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time): Great maps, if a little flat. I prefer Green Comet for its left-vs-right setup, but the original's still great.

Sehk: Popular, but not a group I enjoy much.

Core Pyramid

Deci: A map with actual low metal, these are rare goodies

CorrosivePits

Deci: apparently there is a version 4 out for this map that I haven't played yet.

Crossings_v4

--Egarwaen 20:09, 25 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time): Fun "push the middle" map. Low metal near start locations, lots in the middle. Assaulting up the ramps is a little annoying at the end, but once you push the enemy out of the middle, you're practically guaranteed a win.

Crystal-Harbor

Targ Collective - A fun water map with perhaps just a bit too much metal. Metal spots are used throughout and the centre has a very high metal spot, which in itself accounts for at least half the metal on the map. South has an advantage in land (slight) and Geo spots (two extra), so the choice is a balanced if cramped East vs West, or an unbalanced yet easier teamwise North vs South.

If one team can consistently hold the centre, that team will gain a huge tactical advantage. Therefore, pummelling the centre with artillery if you lose it is advised.

All teams start on land, so the more durable aircraft are available. Specialist seaplanes, esp. torpedo launchers, should see plenty of use.

2k4: you might as well quit if you dont have the center on start

Crystal-World

Deci: Mex radius is far too small, it should be doubled or tripled at least.

Desert Dunes

Deci: too much metal, otherwise good

FizWizz: This map is Ace. The metal is much higher than a typical map, but I still wuvs it =)

Egypt

Sehk: Fairly realistic and fun to play, but rather imbalanced due to the placement of water. Metal is plentiful and gameplay is quick.

Diesel: Although not very fair this is a solid and enjoyable map that deserves more attention. It's all about quick expansion baby.

EuroGreen

Forboding Angel: Honestly, it's ugly and a comm swapfest imo. Small maps are good if the are done correcty. Unfortunately this map does not have enough real chokepoints to be viable.

EvergreenHaven

--Egarwaen 00:55, 16 Apr 2006 (W. Europe Daylight Time): Nice hilly map. Good balance between chokepoints and openness. Similar gameplay to GreenHaven.

Greenhaven

Deci: One of the popular maps of spring, somewhat rough terrain, while still allowing vehicles.

Greenriver

Min3mat: awesome. IMO the best water map out there

Hamburger Hill

Deci: Open-area tank warfare, barely deserves to be called a hill

Hell's Pass

Diesel: An excellent map that unfortunately does not get the attention it deserves. This map offers a good teamplay experience and excellent opportunity to strike behind enemy lines in most games. The importance of the middle is often overrated. Metal placement is fair.

Hill Haven

FizWizz: My favorite map of the River Dale set. It looks absolutely beautiful, it is simple, but it is not a plain map. It is balanced too, which is a little bit harder to say about the other maps in this series.

Hills and Valleys

Deci: a good vehicle and kbot map, I really don't know why this one isn't played more.

Diesel: A most excellent map that has all the elements of a good map and none of a bad one.

Island in the Sun

FizWizz: A good naval map, the only island-hopper besides Gods of War II remake, I wish I could see more maps like this on FU.

Island Alpha

Deci- decent 1v1 map

Lava Highground

Deci: extremely focused on the center, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing for this map

Lava Rivers

Deci: Only one land route is generally bad for gameplay

Martian Desert

Gnome: Decent for 1v1, probably a little too much metal for that a lot of the time though. Probably very good for 2v2. Not too big either.

MoonQ10 & Moon Q20

Sehk: Strong pair of windless maps, these are good for team games, though a little less so for 1v1. The canyons offer interesting defensive and offensive challenges, and the metal distribution feels just right.

Mountain Seige

Deci: a good kbot map, probably the one that would benefit most from lvl2 kbots having good anti-air.

FizWizz: I love this map, it is beautiful and it plays well too, but it really needs to have a couple of the pathways broadened and leveled some so that they can actually accept traffic.

Nightscape

Deci: a personal favorite of mine, this map manages to feel huge even though it isn't.

Oki River

Deci: this map has only one real problem, there is too much metal in the water, on this map, the water would probably still be valuable even if there were no metal in it.

2k4: agreed, half the metal should be plenty

Painted Desert Remake

Deci: no qualms with this one, solid map

Min3mat: Probably the prettiest map out there with good gameplay. Faithful port by NoiZe ^-^

Pathways

Deci: now weighs in at only 15 meg!

Pax Prime

Deci: an interesting map simply because of it's color

PincushionRemake

Kixxe: This map has a great feel towards the different maps. It's low metal makes expanding a must, constantly fighting over more of the map and more resources. A peewee corpse can be a god's blessing. The pins can be used to place LLT's and radars, but they block much of the radar to, meaning you have to build several on different pins to get a full view. This is a wonderful map, but it can be hard to adapt to since it has "no metal".

Plains and Passes

Deci: this map could use a metal reduction, there are so many metal patches that the maxmetal should probably be lowered by a third or so. Also, mex radius is so small that it doesn't even cover the entire metal patch.

Forboding Angel: Nice map, too much metal imo. If I don't have over 300 metal income by the end of the game on this map I've done something wrong.

2k4: increase mex radius, decrease metalspots by 75%

Rainbow Land

Deci: as far as I can tell, this is a joke map

Redhaven

Deci: rarely played because Greenhaven is easier on the eyes.

River Dale

Deci: excellent 3v3 map, though the host needs to be careful where the start boxes are to keep it fair.

2k4: GREAT map

Road to War

Deci: my map, so I don't think I can comment

Sehk: One of a very few larger maps that feels better in 1v1 than in a team game, due to the symmetric and rather stolid metal placement. Enjoyable, if not brilliant, still a great map for the occasional game.

Shore to Shore

FizWizz: I have never played an enjoyable game on this map, it just does not conduce itself to anything other than porcing, aircraft spamming, or massing battleships, that I have seen.

Sparewood

Gnome: Excellent for 3FFAs, small and in your face like sherwood, only minus the severely annoying trees at the start points. Not bad for 1v1 either. Perhaps a little too much metal, but it plays very fairly and well.

Splintered 4x4

Deci: Absolute annihilation units cannot cross the fords, and therefore it doesn't get played by a very large chunk of spring's players. The speed boost on the ford is also a bit rediculous.

2k4: too high tidal

Splintered Tropics

Sehk: A fun map that is far too shallow for serious team games. Best for FFAs; most land units can ford in E&E, many in AA, some in XTA. A good concept that would be interesting in larger maps with deeper water.

Sunken Outpost

Deci: an often-played ffa or team map, would be a bit linear if it weren't for the water

Swamp Island

Deci: mohos cannot easily be placed on the metal, making this map a bit of a pain to play

Tendril Mountain

Deci: another of my maps, it has way too much metal and I plan on fixing it eventually

The Hunters

Forboding Angel: All in all it's a solid map. A little low on metal for my tastes but still quite solid. It has large lake type bodies of water running through it. Lakes are large enough to put ships in if you so desire :D

I havn't played this map myself. Only spectated, but I like the layout quite a bit and the atmospheric colors are beautiful. It is rather flat which IMO kinda sucks but regardless it's a rather fun map.

Sehk: The gameplay here is varied, though the terrain is rather feeble. If you want to run a game with every type of unit, this is the place... hovers, tanks, ships, amphibious vehicles, k-bots and planes are all viable, though you would have a hard time with submarines.

The Abyss

Deci: Giant filesize makes this one a pain to download

FizWizz: Absolutely destitute of metal, until you reach the crater in the middle. However, I had one of my most fun games of Spring in memory on this map.

The Cold Place

Deci: works for teams or FFA

Gnome: Good, faithful port of the original.

2k4: solid map

The Pass

Diesel: A decent choke-point map that would have been better had the passage been wider, to allow for more than just AK/peewee assaults. Usually ends up the porcfest with each side building stuff on the mountain. Metal is on the low end but nevertheless acceptable.

Volcano Island

Deci: subs have some difficulty getting though certain areas, should be changed

XantheTerra

Jackalope: A relatively flat map with a beautiful texture and even but fairly random metal distribution. There are slight hills in various areas which can slow down your units when attacking, kbots will do better.

Sehk: This is a rather useful map, particularly for mods that happen to use vehicles and mechs/k-bots, such as AA, XTA and E&E. It seems small, but can easily support a 5v5.

Metal Maps

Core Prime Industrial Area

FizWizz: The metal concentration on the North/South Pyramids is ridiculous. Being both a metal map and a classic OTA map, it ought to have even metal distribution throughout, but as it is now, the strategic importance of the four walled forts is greatly diminished.

Min3mat: Awful metal map which would be better with even displacement of metal

Metal Isles

FizWizz: Being both a metal map and a classic OTA map, it ought to have even metal distribution, but there is zero metal in the water. Not a crimp on gameplay, but something which should have been remedied.

SpeedMetal

Sehk: A map of great contention, this map suffers from useless water and a very restrictive field of play. It can be fun to try out new things, but all in all it isn't a very good map. Has the metal down, but not really the map part.

Unreviewed Maps

If you've played one of these maps, please contribute your opinion and move it into the appropriate category above!

4B Facility

Acid Bridge

AcidQuadratic

Appleville Two

BallerBurg

Battle Lines

Clear a Ditch

Caustic Realm

County Crossing

Crust

Death Valley

Dueling Bases

Dueling Forts

Duggans Metal Map

Duggans Metal Map Two

Fizzy Lakes

Foothill Basin

Foothills

Gods of War two remake

Grassy Paradox

Grad

Green River

IceArena

Icebergs

Island Hopping

King of the Castle

Marshlands

MetalHeck

MicroMetalAlpha

Monolith NaAr

Mountain Range

Omega

PCB

Proving Grounds

Rockies

Rolling Hills

Rush Hour

Rusted Divide

Scrap Metal

Snowscape

Speedymetal2

Spring-Islands

Stone Bridges

The Highlands

Tidal War

Tri-Vega

Valles Marineris

Valley of Death

Water-Ways

WideOpenCombat

Windswept Desert

XantheTerra