Make use of 3v3/4v4 exlusive maps

[Mezhu]

Seriously.
The amount of maps is extremely limited, even more so considering 3v3 lobbies are rare and 4v4 are one in a million. You've already put a ton of work on non-2v2 maps, why not make better use of them? I've got 2000 games and I haven't yet gotten the Red Sepulcher map exploration achievement. I've got friends with 500+ games who didn't even know Sepulcher existed and have a total of less than 20 games on Raid/Hazard/Firnfeld.
And besides all this, the game is most balanced and optimized for 2v2 games.

Start with Desert Scrap, I can definitely see it working as a 2v2 CK, since it's already not very spacious, the spawning distances are very close to the capture point and we only have a lousy Labyrinth to play CP on atm. Why is it even a 3v3 in the first place? It doesn't feel like 6 ships can fit in this map at all to be honest.
Firnfeld could also work as a 2v2 DM. It's kind of too big and open but come to think of it I'd rather play 2v2 Firnfeld than even more games on Dunes.
Same goes for Hazard. This map is truly a piece of art that we don't get to appreciate. Flying it with 4 ships should be viable even if not optimal.
I'll agree that the rest of the maps would probably offer a too stale and boring gameplay with fewer ships though.

I realize you can't possibly invest any time and money on maps right now, and it makes sense. But what you can and should do is give us the chance to enjoy the content you've already created that's mostly gone unused.

[Dutch Vanya]

Yes, i 100% agree with all of this, and have been meaning to make a post about it myself. We need more map variety and there's no reason to limit it by size. Dunes is still the most common 2v2 map and it's not even that fun to play on.
Water Hazard and Firnfield are by far some of the prettiest maps in the game, and especially water hazard has a lot of terrain that's easy to use, making for more interesting matches. There's also no reason not to have a 2v2 on desert scrap. And as i've been saying for as long as i can remember, there should be a RAID ON THE REFINERY DEATHMATCH for 2v2 and 3v3.
I could not possibly support this any more, thanks for bringing it up, mezhu.

[GeoRmr]

+1

and the same in vice versa, hoping for a 4v4 Duel at Dawn =P

[macmacnick]

...4v4 duel at dawn... with Brawly galleons... .__.
Gunner paradise; Engineer hell.

[Hue C. Sosmitsky]

What's Firnfeld?

Seriously though, I can't even recall how these maps look like, so I second all that was said above. Most achivements locked in my progress log are map achivements, and that's bugging me. I get to play 3v3/4v4 matches once a month if lucky, and when I see one it's half empty.

And I doubt, that matchmaking will bring much difference, if that's what Muse is thinking. Matchmaking may solve one problem with 3v3/4v4s, which is waiting time, but that's not the only thing, that draws players away. Judging from my own expirience, and what I've heard from some other guys, big matches can get laggy as hell, while 2v2s are perfectly fine.

That's why I think, atleast some of big maps should be avaliable as 2v2, even if that means changing their gamemode to DM.

[Wundsalz]

some of the 3 vs 3 and 4 vs 4 maps are too big for 2 vs 2. An approach to address this issue might be to trim the map borders. E.g I could see firnfield working as a 2 vs 2 map if you restrict access to the upper 1/3rd of it. Refinery has got a ton of interesting structure which is barely ever utilized because there's little need for ambushes and sneaky maneuvers in ck-mode. I always wanted to see a 3vs3 DM version of it and if the map was trimmed a little (maybe 1/9th of the western and 2/9th of the eastern map border) it could surely cater an awesome 2 vs 2 DM environment as well.

[Squidslinger Gilder]

You want to get them, then do them. Make lobbies, encourage people to play 3v3 and 4v4. Take time, sit 5-10 mins in a 3v3 lobby. If you aren't willing to do that, then you'll never get anywhere. At peak gameplay hours you'll likely get it filled. That is how I did it and got achievements. Non peak hours, I'd be sitting 30mins some times or 1-2hrs other nights till things would fill. Heck if you do it at the right times you'll get a bunch of us vets playing because some of us like those more than 2v2.

I often times hop on, look for a 3v3. If I see none, I hop off. I really hate 2v2. If people I know are on, I'll stomach it but 2v2 is just boring to me. Bout all I do is level up other classes now till someone insists I pilot.

Most of the time I set up a 3v3, noobs run off. "It takes too long." "3v3 sux." "Oh no a 14!"

Often times 3v3s and up do get populated with more veteran players. Noobs shy away because of bad experiences where the vets rip them to pieces. So naturally they'd be afraid of 3v3+. Nothing that can change this and I don't intend to stop adding to my block list. Running away doesn't get you anywhere in this game. Unfortunately that is all most new players know how to do. Hence my extremely long block list. Try to teach them, they mouth off. Try to work with them, they shoot at clouds or stand in front of you. Can't win.

[Spud Nick]

I'm sure we will see these fill up when match making comes out. A lot of players including myself hate to wait around for a 3v3 or 4v4 to fill up.

[macmacnick]

Meh, I like 3v3s and 4v4s more than 2v2s because of how much more coordination and cooperation they take, along with the differing Aesthetics. (Honestly, if water hazard had rain again, and rain was toggleable, it would add much more atmosphere and beauty... plus, those maps would be more popular, as many steer clear from them due to the FPS lag they incur in many people's machines.)

[Richard LeMoon]

I approve of trimmed borders to make more 2v2 out of 3v3 and 4v4 maps. I, too, would like to see Water Hazard around more.

[Schwerbelastung]

I miss 3v3 and 4v4 matches. Ideally, we'd have more of those, but if there's anything Muse could do to make the 3v3 and 4v4 maps used in smaller lobbies, that'd be great!

[Skrimskraw]

while you are at it, make it possible for me to make a private game and start it without 4 captains so i can practice flying without pissing off an entire lobby when I test flight paths and so on.

[vyew]

Cropping the big maps into smaller ones (maybe several smaller ones) is the best option. Isn't Red Sepulcher a cut version of King of the Flayed Hills? (I'm probably wrong here). And I'm relatively certain Desert Scrap is on the Dunes terrain.

[Richard LeMoon]

They are the same map, which is a resized and re-rocked version of the Canyon Ambush map.

[Deltajugg]

We could use another community event where lots of higher lvls gather and play on bigger maps

while you are at it, make it possible for me to make a private game and start it without 4 captains so i can practice flying without pissing off an entire lobby when I test flight paths and so on.

Also I second that one