Hello and welcome to a follow-up installment to this devblog.
Theory and plans are one side of the coin, however, a map also has to always withstand the scrutiny of actually being played, lots of times, on a full server, by many different players. With 2.5 out for a few weeks now, it is time to make a first analysis of how the map works.
To make it short: I am not completely happy with it. Why is that?
While there are exceptions, most of the rounds on the 64p version on Dukla Pass follow a clear pattern:
1. The Russians take a foothold in the village (usually the schoolhouse).
2. Since the way from the mainbase to the front is very long, all Russian infantry spawns there from now on.
3. A huge meatgrinder in the village ensues.
4. From time to time someone will sneak over to the farmstead and capture it, only for the Germans to get it back immediately with the tanks from their mainbase.
5. If the occasional tank wanders into the valley of death, it has no infantry support and gets destroyed by AT guns or Germans with Panzerfausts ambushing them from the woods.
This makes for a fairly boring experience. On the bright side, the long range tank engagements are very fun and personally I enjoy the long range fighting as infantry as well. However, it seems that for many people, the map plays more like a desert map and especially for less experienced players, it is very hard to judge where you are "safe" and where literally the whole German Wehrmacht can shoot you from one hill over.
In addition to these problems, I had misjudged the tank balance quite considerably. I was always under the impression that the T34/85 was about the equivalent of a Panther (give and take a few numbers). However, this is apparently not the case, even with the upcoming buff to the 85mm main gun.
So I had three objectives:
- Buff the Russian side
- Make life at least a little bit easier for the infantry
- Give alternatives to the village meatgrinder
As a result of this, the following changes will be implemented in an upcoming balance patch (date will be announced later):
Add forward infantry spawns for the Russians, one for valley of death, one for Kruzlova.
Add more hard cover in the forested areas and make the forests significantly thicker (more trees). Cover will be concentrated around spawn areas, in areas from where snipers or mgs might want to shoot and along paths taken by aggressive infantry players: along the river beds and in the forest near the schoolhouse (you know which one).
Significantly increase the number of Russian tanks, especially if they have not yet captured a flag. Likewise, 1 of the Panzer IVs will be turned into a StuG and the second Panther will only spawn if the Germans lose their flags (along with the captured T34).
Together, I hope these changes will make the map a lot more enjoyable.
