How SPLATOON 3 doesn't know FUN MAP DESIGN
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 28 май 2024
- Twitter: / t0y0b3n
Twitch: / toyoben_
Gear/Builds: sendou.ink/u/toyoben
My team's twitter: / zerodeaths_spl
00:00 - Intro
01:02 - Try To Guess The Stage! game
03:16 - Comparing S1 to S3: Squares, rectangles ,more squares!
04:00 - How S1 maps are unique
05:08 - S2 tried at least
06:06 - Not everything needs to be special
06:36 - How uniqueness creates fun
07:20 - Shifty Stations: A different approach to map design
08:25 - Work with your themes Nintendo!
10:21 - Summary & Why S3 maps feel the same
11:25 - Outro
Chara's video on map design: • Why Splatoon 3's Maps ...
Squid School's playlist on map design: • Splatoon 3 Map Design
If you enjoyed this video you might also like:
Stream best of playing the worst weapons: • PRO PLAYER suffers wit...
Triple Strike guide: • How to use TRIPLE INKS...
Pro player dream weapons: • I asked Splatoon PRO P...
Interview of Chara's team: • Splatoon 3's DOUBLE Sp... 
Игры
Arowana and Walleye are the parents of all the splat 3 maps
Even they were fun to play on though, Arowana is still one of my favorites just because of how big it is and how much freedom you have to move around the stage
Inkblot feels like a somewhat better version of some Splatoon 3 stages
Walleye, maybe. Arowana, no.
And again, even if they WERE bad at least they were DIFFERENT. They were the VILLAINS of stage design because they were THE ONLY ONES OF THEIR KIND.
NOW THEY'RE ALL WALLEYE WAREHOUSE.
Arowana actually feels like a mall even though it doesn't really work as a map. That's the thing I miss the most about old maps
I thought they had some identity. Walleye Warehouse had those thin flank routes and a ton of uninkable terrain, while Arowana had a big focus on vertical flanks with a tall wavy center. Nothing genius, but still better than most of 3. I will defend Hagglefish Market for it's uninkable tents.
I honestly dislike a lot of S1 maps
Blackbelly, Arowana, Triggerfish, and Moray are the main culprits for me but Saltspray, Kelp, Mackerel, and Walleye are also mentions
Despite how much I talk about maps I legit got Inkblot and Undertow wrong (trying to guess quickly) the S1 stages were all easy to tell within 2 seconds
Ready for the Guess the Map Gameshow? 👀
Guess that tetris block?
@@Toyoben_ You should make a game show video of some sort at some point, seems like a cool idea
@@turtlefalcon5546 🤫 we are working on it
@@Toyoben_ sounds fun
FINALLY Someone mentions stage identity!!!
People do NOT realize how this is absolutely killing the casual scene just as much as the competitive one (hyperbole).
Man, do you guys remember when we were watching the direct and thought Mahi-mahi had bounce pads? Or when we first saw Undertow and Mincemeat and thought they might have water levels and cranes? Good times...fleeting times...
Yeah I'm a casual player, and every time a new map drops it's more about having new visuals as opposed to new gameplay for me lol, cuz I never feel like anything is new
I played splatoon two after the final splat fest (so i only got to play one), but shifty stations were the most fun i had and i cant imagine that map mode with the new challenges in 3
Nintendo should try out making their themes part of the stage and (missed opportunity Barnacle & Dime).
@@ctpp64 that's so weird for gameplay focus company then again different studio different outcome
“a good character design can be identified by its silhouette”
Exactly what I thought when I had the idea for that section, haha 😁
Honestly the thing that bothers me most isn't just that stages being added lack identity, it's also that the stages being brought back are losing the identity they already had. At this point it's not even just incompotence, it's outright just ruining things that didn't need changed.
Yes that’s really bad !😶
And everything feels so small, I still dont understand the need of making museum smaller. Every map is smaller in Splatoon 3, even some of the maps from 2 that looks mostly the same they made the walls tiny.
The best part of Splatoon its how unique the movement is, its almost like they dont understand what made the first game special
Mahi man, Im not forgiving what they did to Mahi specially, same thing for Hammerhead and Museum tho admittedly not as terrible that one
Still, in the return of the mammalians trailer museum looked just like it did in splatoon 1, which makes me think it wouldve been the same thing with Mahi
Im just mad
The older games’ maps feel like they were designed to feel like you’re actually at a location (blackbelly’s curves and halfpipes to feel like a skatepark, arowana mall having the high up sides to simulate having two floors in a mall, manta having the three masts to feel like a ship, goby’s mid being flat and nearly empty like a real basketball court…) Sure some of them sucked but it was clear what the inspiration could be if you stripped out all the backgrounds and textures
Barnacle and Dime deserved so much better, nothing about the layout suggests you’re at a mall; same goes for brinewater, umami, really any splatoon 3 map except Eeltail alley, because it’s a line much like an alley
It feels like they just design a layout first then slap a background on it which is a big shame
And even then, the layout is just a square, rectangle, or Tetris block
Another example of the older maps matching their theme: MakoMart's narrow flank routes on either side of mid emulate the aisles of a supermarket.
Yeah the maps just feel like they’re floating in the middle of nowhere and the skybox is supposed to be the theme.
I also really really really miss inkable walls. It's crazy that they almost don't put them anymore. They were a crucial part on the fun and uniqueness of Splatoon gameplay for me, and it just feels so weird playing a Splatoon map and having like 90% of walls uninkable...
Also, why did they even put Squid Surge in the game if they're not gonna put them lol
I really don't understand this game's decisions.
what i hate about splatoon maps is that the their themes are only really in the background. like imagine in barnacle & dime you could play through some of the stores and use the elevator in the mall, not just some weird tetris blocked shaped terrain surrounded by water that’s in the middle of a mall for some reason
A theory I heard for why the splat 3 maps suck is that they have been trying to force player engagement in turf war and there solution is to have a small mid that forces you to fight if you want to win.
The problem is they also want map layouts to remain similar between all modes so the more complex ranked modes get dragged down by this arbitrary condition
They also have new map developers who completely suck at their job
I mean, sometimes turf war was fun for me because I would not be running into enemies all the time. The point is turfing and not splatting, I would love a splatting mode, but turf in a lot of maps feels pointless, if you splat the other time in the last 40 seconds you will win
Weirdest goddamn thing is that Salmon Run has gotten consistently unique and well made-stages old and new, so they clearly still have it in them... All we can do is hope, I suppose.
I'd argue the new SR stages are definitely good but there's not really any unique gimmicks in them compared to 2. No inkrails, propeller platforms etc. which were what made those maps interesting. Imagine how crazy it could be if we got the speed boost ramps from story mode but Chums and Cohocks could ride them too? :o
@@ArtzyZero That's true, but they still have some significant defining quality; Sockeye's spiral tower, Junction is split down the middle, Hydroplant... Yeah okay, that one could be way more interesting I'll admit. Those boost pads though??? I'd be SO DOWN for that in the future.
@@ComaToastHK Oh I completely agree, the new maps for me are way more fun to play on compared to the old returning maps. I guess I just think they could be even better through using stage gimmicks that compliment the gameplay. :D
@@ArtzyZero great news about the SR map with the platforms! (i forgot the name already)
Agree completely, with the one exception of lost outpost which I hope we never see again. That map is horrible but for reasons that are unique to that one map. I can't even imagine how bad that would be with the greater amount of stingers spawning and big shots to contend with. You could be getting destroyed from a different area code. And even if you stay in the middle you are completely blind to anything outside of the main box. Hate that map!! Fortunately I don't think you could make a king salmonid work with that map so we're probably safe for now
This is making me so depressed -.- Even if some of the old stages weren't great, at least they were memorable. I have so many great memories hanging out on Saltspray Rig that I didn't know people didn't like it competitively until recently and it still doesn't really change my fondness for it.
With stages that have been in both 1 & 2 apparently excluded from S3, I'm starting to feel like 2 will end up being my favorite of the series!
I remember loving New Albacore Hotel for like no reason. I also loved the big drops you’d have to make while rushing to the middle of Moray Towers. Yeah it kinda sucks from a competitive standpoint, but its more memorable than whatever Splatoon 3 has to offer.
When I saw the Mall setting for the map, my first thought was "They COULD make a really fun two-story map out of this, but they won't."
As soon as that thought finished, I saw the naïve little squid-kids and octolings dancing on the new tetris block, knowing not what wasted potential their "gods" had squandered.
another thing: splatoon 1’s maps were HUGE. They were so fun to travel on and it was a lot to paint. The old Flounder Heights was easily my favorite map for the verticality and space, but Splatoon 3 changed it to be more compact and smaller, i know its changed that way for faster gameplay, but it definitely lost its charm.
But it didn't need to be small, it feels claustrophobic now, hate it
because apparently hallways and block shaped maps are “chaotic” enough. just imagine the crazy maps we would have had if they put in more effort in the map identities and stuck with the chaotic theme of the game
I despise Walleye Warehouse with a burning passion. But I would rather play on that stage than half of the original Splatoon 3 stages. S3 Hammerhead Bridge can go die in a fire.
The beta versions of scorch gorge and eel tail alley looked so cool and much better than the final versions we got.
Museum too
I heard someone who said that it feels like instead of thinking of a theme/environment and then making it a original gimmick for a map like they probably did in S1 and S2, S3’s devs just think of a map first and then put a theme on it, which is a theory that could explain why the maps are so identical and not original at all
The map issues hurt even more now that Splatoon one has gone offline.
I bought Splatoon 2 again..
@@lucaspagnozzi6401 I have to go to someone else's house to play splatoon 2 because our own internet doesn't work.
another thing I miss from older maps is fun areas you can be in. I loved sitting in the chairs on piranha pit and trying to do impractical parkour with the turf lobby
Splatoon 1 mahi is my favourite map in the series, I was excited to see it return in 3 and was really disappointed by the result
No way its Yuki
Yoo
People on teams I'm in always find my comments
Lmao
For a game that centers itself arounf chaos I think the map design resembled order a lot more (the same could be said for the balance patches)
I feel the primary issue is that they’re shifting the game and map design from “a casual shooter with a competitive side” to “a competitive shooter with a casual side”. Sure, the more identical maps means that there’s more map variety in competitive due to a lack of bullcrap hazards, but it also means that casual players will find the maps much less interesting or memorable, and it’s not like the competitive community doesn’t complain about the cookie cutter map shapes as well. I just wish there were more maps where they just said “fuck it, this sounds funny” and just put in stuff.
I, for one, want a map that’s themed on an ice skating rink. It’d have an icy (but still inkable, unlike Alterna’s ice) center that would lower traction (ideally this would be where the zone would be for maximum chaos), and inkrails along the sides to be able to have a cool flank that the player has to commit to, since you can’t reverse the direction of an inkrail. Add the obligatory platforms, walls, pillows, blocks, changes in altitude, things like that, and make it a more circular shape rather than a rectangular shape. Maybe the Clam Blitz baskets could be where a hockey goal would go, or the map could release cleaning Squee-Gs at the last minute of a match (or once the objective reached ~40 in ranked) based on those ice rink cleaning machines that would clean up ink in the center area. I don’t know, it’d probably be terrible for competitive, but as I said, I’m looking for some fun and unique for casual gameplay, and I’d have fun skating on icy terrain and running from the Squee-Gs.
Inkable ice would be absolutely horrible for readability. Once it's covered in ink you would have no idea where the ice starts or ends.
boring and bad is not the same as competitive focused map design. Nintendo doesn't care about how competitive the game feels imo. Also there are balanced amd fun maps (Mako, Manta, Bluefin, Blackbelly, Museum, ...) and the new maps are mostly less balanced and suited for competitive than the old returning maps.
I think the issue is more simplifying maps for new players. It's really frustrating as a new player when it feels like the enemy team has an advantage just for knowing the map better than you, so splat devs "fix" that by just making them extremely simple. In their defense I can kinda see where they're coming from; I remember in splatoon 1 getting really bad anxiety about carbon rollers just sharking somewhere because I didn't understand the map geometry nor map control as a concept and the open design didn't make that intuitive. I'd argue that while the linear design is far from better, it at least makes the concept of map control and safe areas more intuitive, and makes it harder to abuse new players with better knowledge of the map (bc of all of the choke points), which is probably what they were intending for in the first place.
Something that to this day still kills me is Scorch and Eel tail. Scorch used to have three big piles of scrap and generally was better without its huge choke point. Eel tail, although does fit its theme to an extent, used to be much wider with actual roof tops and different routs. Still cry when watching past trailors seeing what we could have had ;-;
Nintendo still got the mapmaking in them, I personally had a lot of fun during the last splatfest with the triforce stage... true, it is just a triangle with a pyramid in the middle, but it was fun to play on both the attacker side and defender side. Also the newest map they created (tetris block 2) has a more dynamic mid then the other stages.
Yeah, I don't dislike the mew map but I don't think it's anything special really :/
One of the biggest things that made that fun was it didn't take forever to get from spawn to mid from any side. I feel they could cut half the spawn length from each map and it wouldn't change how the map feels at all.
We got the new spawn system thinking we could use it but to compensate they made the maps even longer so launching from spawn doesn't feel any better than just walking out of it.
@@harmless9336 so true... if anything I think the new spawnsystem is just a gimmic but it is completley useless they could have made it so much better or inovative but they didnt :c
If one of the most memorable maps in splatoon 3 is a triangle with a pyramid in the middle that says something about how stagnant map design is nowadays
Nintendo trying not to be making splatoon
3 maps look like tetris blocks
Challenge level: Impossible
the way the 3 new maps added since the launch of the game are SO SIMILAR with the slightest differences is insane. they really just focus on the setting now and put none on the actual stage 😭
I REALLY hope that they bring The Reef back. along with Enperry's w/ Burst and Inkjet. that would instantly mean the single best season for me personally. I seriously hope Eeltail Alley isn't a "replacement" for The Reef
Sorry to burst your bubble but it probably is. Both S1 and S2 have had their own game-exclusive stage (Urchin and Reef) which most likely means that Eeltail/Scorch is S3’s
@Seymour747 @Anubonek
wasn’t the Reef leaked some time ago????
@@ein-moriaston2427 No, it had some data in the game but that's not proof that it'll be added.
At this point I'm actually wishing they each season, instead of adding more maps, just remove bad maps until rotations are actually fun.
Hopefully they will improve the maps a little bit over time
emphasis on the ‘a little bit’ 💀
@@_ghostfly one pole each season 💀
When you start with fun as a priority, THEN balance things (like in map reworks), you get maps that are iconic and universally loved by casual and serious players. It seems like they took themselves a little too seriously here and got it backwards; these stages could be perfected in design, but they will always be missing something that had to be baked in from the start. It honestly makes me worried for the future of the series
i think my personal insane theory as to why the maps look like that is that tableturf battle has maps in similar shapes, either being “tetraminos” or “hallways” and i guess they wanted to keep tableturf as accurate to real turf war so they had the maps squeezed down to look like tableturf maps
But why??
You're right this is insane
Some of the tableturf maps look more interesting than the actual stages
This logic falls out the window when you look at tableturf maps like Double Gemini, Lakefront Property, and X Marks the Garden. This logic also falls out the window if you have anything resembling game design sense. Nobody is so deranged as to be that insistent on parity unless they're being artsy fartsy.
More ink rails, sponges, bounce pads, moving platforms, grapple hooks, conveyor belts, etc would be so much fun! It would be great to have another way to interact with the map, it would add a lot to the gameplay and the stage identity
"Arowana Mall and Walleye Warehouse are just still shit"💀
This is like the DLC stages in smash bros. They weren't fair enough for competitive players, but also not gimmicky enough for casual players.
You gotta know how bad it is when i can easily guess splatoon one maps despite never actually playing the game.
I think the thing that game did best was to give every stage a unique design and feel.
Seriously, basically, every map has a completely different Layout.
Makes me feel like i missed out by not getting to play it in its prime.
We are nine months into this game’s life cycle, and the devs have not done SHIT to fix the maps.
They hate us and this game, there’s no other explanation.
Wdym, they added the Wahoo Pole. That fixed absolutely everything wrong with the game ever!
@@legoboy7107 Don’t forget that they removed the main path back to spawn in Eeltail! Such a great fix!
@@platy4700 wait what did they remove? I don't remember there being another path in eeltail
@@eeeeggnog._. They removed a ramp back to spawn in all modes except rainmaker
Have they improved it since?
I'm hoping that this hallway + boring problem being mentioned to nintendo in an interview actually made them realise that we aren't enjoying what they're doing with these maps.
But like cmon this is nintendo, they hate us.
Something I've started to realize with 3's maps is just how much I sorta miss playing 2's. Sure, the ending of splatoon 2's life and patches were uh, not great to put it lightly, but even then I mostly played turf and salmon run towards the end and always had good fun. Now with 3 though, I was so happy to finally get to play this game but here we are, 9 months in, and almost all soul of the maps are just, gone. Of course pretty much every other aspect of 3 I adore, (the lockers, table turf, salmon run actually getting content, the story, pretty much everything else.), but when I attempt to play ranked or turf, it just feels off compared to even 2. I had experience with 1 as well but I was fairly young then, but even so I could tell just how unique each stage felt and how much fun they were, (I loved saltspray even though its by far one of the worst for competitive and ranked lol). Hopefully something with devs clicks and they realize no one really likes the approach they've been taking with these maps, but only time will tell of course.
Great video! It's a sad day when most fans are more excited for returning stages from Splatoon 1/2 than actual new stages with the new design philosophy, especially when it's preferred that they don't touch certain returning stages much if at all before they ruin them like Mahi Mahi for example. At this point we can only hope that Nintendo will give at least some Splatoon 3 stages a significant rework like adding proper flanks on the sides even if they will still lack a unique gimmick. Publicly that would look like admitting their maps sucked though so it's looking pretty unlikely...
I think a unique stage is a fun stage. And i’m coming from the perspective of a casual player.
Messing with size, height, textures, shapes, elements like water, moving platforms, fans, etc. Is what makes a stage fun.
So, i like stages like Moray Towers, Albacore Hotel, Blackbelly Skatepark, and…. Like every other gimmicky stage. And splatoon 1 stages have a special place in my heart for having so much variety.
I really want story mode elements to come in. I feel like those things shouldn’t be restricted to exclusive stages. Imagine a level with ice physics, or pipes to travel through. Those things could make a simple stage so much more interesting.
This video is coming from my perspective as a top5 EU team player and I really think implementing those gimmics wouldn't hurt the game's balancing or be unhealthy for competitive play but really just make the maps more enjoyable for both casuals and competitive play :)
Shifty stations were some of the most fun. I would love them to bring them back. I’d love a tanked turf war too. My dream patch would be introducing ranked turf; but it used (and adds new) the entire pool of shifty stations for the maps, randomly between all of them for each match. Map variety feels good , I dunno.
This video summarizes why I dislike the new stages so much, especially the final point. I really disliked Umami Ruins because of this, as the first trailer it appeared in made it seem like it would some cool stage where fights would take place in a cool temple/archeological site. Meanwhile, what we got was a stage with generic sand colored flooring floating in the middle of an archeological site in the background. Stages no longer feel like you’re playing IN the settings they portray, but rather just fighting on some random arena built in front of them. The sterile and Uncreative shapes have made the maps no longer feel unique, and it’s difficult to get immersed in the environments of each one when they all feel so artificial as they incorporate nothing special about the locations they’re set in.
Y’all remember when they advertised they were hiring map designers on Twitter? :/
One thing I think people don't say enough about maps is that we have new moves squid roll / surge it would of been nice to have places to use them effectively like their is one or 2 spots in some maps but I want them to be slightly more apparent and more open fun areas
I think that the devs think about the layout first then the theme after in s3 in s1 they thought about the theme first then did the layout based off the theme they did for the maps I feel now and days they don’t think about the map as much anymore they also literally said in the interview when they design a map they don’t think about the shape of the map they basically said they just slap things on to a map and call it a day it was the most vague answer they gave though so they could not be telling us the real reason for their current map design that’s why when a update comes out I honestly get more excited about a returning map then a new one now.
My favorite stage in Splatoon 3 is Undertow Spillway, for it’s dynamic offense vs. defense near each base. That, and the theming is incredible. But I agree with you 100% about adding gushers, it would make the map perfect. Especially if they put them next to the giant walls that cover the snipe platforms.
Personally I don’t care if the maps are bad I just want unique ones
I fought for Team Chaos during Final Fest, I wanted CRAZY maps that had as much thematic and gameplay identity as Splat 1’s maps and 2’s Shifty Stations… not this endless plague of orderly building blocks! It’s funny, the new Salmon Run maps are incredible and yet you have these Tetris prisons devoid of inkable walls for VS stuff.
This is an issue that undermines all of the work the devs have invested into the weapon designs, the balance (RIP Ink Vac), the numerous gorgeous assets, and even the work of the OG Splatoon Team at some points. It feels like they’re pandering to some competitive “all maps are Final Destination” crowd, rather than respecting the niche Splatoon’s genius gameplay carves for itself.
It’s sad bc many stage developers have stopped working for the games, so you can see the difference between something like saltspray, and um..brinewater tetris map
I think the idea of balance vs enjoyability is a bit of why Splatoon 3's maps have been so dry and devoid. Splatoon 1 & 2 had a lot of maps that would be difficult to play on for some classes, provide unfair advantages in certain situations or would have large issues with some modes. While it was a good idea to try and correct this, I think they massively overcompensated and tried so hard to make every map work for everyone that it became too sanitized and plain. Inbalance can be frustrating in its extremes but in my experience inbalances can still coexist with fun factor and not every interaction has to be perfectly even, especially if making it so comes at the cost of the map design.
Can be related to that, yh but we a lot of gimmicy maps are balanced too. Triggerfish, Museum, Sturgeon, Flounder heights... it often feels like the hallway maps are worse balanced than the old gimmicy ones.
Dash pads and bounce pads would be so cool in multiplayer maps it would make the maps so much fun to play
they were really fun in the shifty stations!
I like you. You casually curse like it's nothing, and i like that cause we dont get a lot of splatubers like you
Map design is weirdly something I am extremely passionate about abd love doing. Maybe I should see if I can get the Splatoon devs to hire me lol
i'd be interested to see your map concepts, would you ever make videos on them?
You'd have to be Japanese to get that job.
You know the map designs are bad when even the table turf map silhouettes have more unique shapes than the maps themselves 💀💀💀
I hope they just give us a map editor or something because DAMN THEY CAN’T MAKE ANYTHING BUT SQUARES NOW. (If they can add world builders in SMM2, they can add stage building in Splat3. Unrealistic but I’m hopeful.)
Intro:
- Yeah, I'm cool Splatoon, and have been for a long time even though I've been playing the game for less than 2 years.
- I started playing Splatoon 2 from the beginning of 2022, but then Splatoon 3 came and... well,
now it's rather Splatoon 3 that is played more, but I remember Splatoon 2 well :D
- Splatoon is Unique... well honestly it's like you can see how many games have tried to copy the idea of Splatoon,
whether it's Crayola Scoot trying to combine ink scooters or the new Foamstars which looks interesting and could
be a real competitor to Splatoon, but still... so far no copy has been as popular as Splatoon itself.
Try guess the Stage! Games:
Okay, interesting fun:
1. I haven't played Splatoon 1 but I know the shape, Saltspray Rig.
2. Kelp dome, the first one I had was a puzzle which map was such a square,
which actually surprised me because I thought it was rather an octagon o.o
3. New Albacore Hotel, my love, right after Skipper and Wahoo world, a map from Splatoon 2.
4. Ink Blot Academy, an interesting map in Splatoon 2 but weak in Splatoon 3.
5. Piranha pit, a beloved map, although I remember that I didn't like it a bit because it was faster to die there than to win xD
6. Mincemeat Metalworks, quite an average map to recognize, although I think people exaggerate a bit with the fact that
it is the worst map, although it lacks like almost all the maps from Splatoon 3 Flanks.
7. it was hard to recognize, but it is Blackbelly Skatepark, a map that... I admit, I liked it a bit because the opponent had
a fairly easy spawn camping, besides the map itself was terribly uneven.
8. Undertow Spillway, a map that... I like because it's fun to play but the really small passage is downright annoying,
not to mention the camping spawn which is downright easy.
Comparing S1 to S3: Squares, Rectangles, more squares:
- Well, it's true that the map design is starting to feel more like copying the same thing just changing the style,
which I admit is weak because I had more fun with those Flanks in Splatoon 2.
S1 is unique:
- Whether it is, for sure, or is it the only one, I don't think so, in Splatoon 2 we had maps that were as good as those in Splatoon 1.
S2 tried at least:
- Shellendorf Institute - I wouldn't say it was a bad map, it was just quite closed because
the lower passage was chaos and the upper passage was slow and easy to die.
- Musselforge Fitness - in Story mode it was a nice map, in Multi ... average, mainly because sometimes
there was no way behind the opponent's back, which I loved so much, for example, on Makomart.
- Starfish Mainstage Well, here too I would classify this map as Hallway, which made it really hard to play on its own,
but at least the mesh walkways around the pillars added a nice action to the game because you could kill all the enemies just by surprise!
- Humpback Pump Track - In Splatoon 2 it was one of my favorite maps, in Splatoon 3 it still holds the title!
- Sturgeon Shipyard - Well... I don't like this map, be it Splatoon 2 or Splatoon 3.
- Skipper Pavilion - second favorite map, I loved playing it!
- The Reef - It was a really nice map, it was fun to play on it :D
- Snapper Canal 0 I really liked this map but... it was problematic though.
- New Albacore Hotel - Beloved map, also sometimes was problematic, especially because of the large area,
so Turf war when you died can practically turn 180 degrees because the enemy painted over the entire middle xD
- Wahoo World - I still don't understand the hate on this map! in Splatoon 2 it was a really awesome map and
until Splatoon 3 it kept this title with me, I still think it's the best map.
- Goby Arena - It wasn't a bad map, ok it was a bit too open in the middle but since you saw basketball with some blocks xD
Other than that it was really fun to play on this map.
- Walleye Warehouse - I admit, this map was really bad, but not the worst.
- Arowana Mall - I don't understand which side of this map was such a shit? I honestly remember having fun with it.
- Inkblot Art Academy - As I said before, an interesting map in Splatoon 2 but weak in Splatoon 3.
- Makomart - Honestly, she was fun in Splatoon 2, but in Splatoon 3... she's rather just okay.
How uniqueness created fun:
Well, honestly... I agree, in Splatoon 2 I had more or less fun on every map, but in Splatoon 3 I only enjoy Splatoon 2 maps,
and maybe a few Splatoon 3 and Splatoon 1 Remake maps.
Shifty Stations: A different approach to map design: I honestly only played these maps with my friends on Private Battle and they were fun,
although for me they only work for Splatfests, in normal games they would be either unplayable or too hard e.g. Cannon Fire Pearl or The Bouncey Twins.
Work With Your Themes Nintendo:
- Undertow Spillway - It's nice that the map is based on something factual, but by itself without any Flanks it's just Middle Chaos! Gusher...
in my opinion, they could help, but it depends on how we would set them up.
- Brinewater Springs - I think the map itself is ok, it's just pretty... closed, and no flanks. Gushers on her would only cause more chaos for me.
- Mincemeat Metalworks - I'll repeat myself, the map is too hated for me because it's really cool. As for moving platforms by cranes or excavators...
I think that would be interesting!
- Hagglefish market - I guess the map is cool and even funny, it even has some flanks, at least on Anarchy. Grapplinks... I don't know if they would fit,
just wish they would mess up this map.
- Hammerhead bridge - The map is weak at the beginning, now I even like it.
- Mahi-Mahi Resort - the second worst map in Splatoon 3, right before Barnacle & Dime, although... well,
I think it's even starting to be fun once you get the hang of this map. Bounce Pad... I think it would even be a nice addition to this map :D
Summary & Why S3 Maps feel the same:
- All in all, in Splatoon 1 the maps were unique, in Splatoon 2 they kept it for me, in Splatoon 3 it's already a tragedy, but why do you feel they are the same? Because they work the same way, in Splatoon 1 & 2 you had Flanks, i.e. various passages thanks to which you could go, for example, to the enemy base, to the middle, or simply to another section of the map, which gave many possibilities for attacking from behind or defending etc. In Splatoon 3, however, the only thing that the map is either straight lines or 2 rectangles connected to each other, the maps are just huge Corridors. While some maps have something aka Flanks, not only are they Anarchy-only, they usually don't offer the same advantage as actual Flanks from previous games.
- Besides, I would like to rate the maps from best to worst, and yes, in Splatoon 3 the best for me is still Wahoo world, and the Worst is the latest Barnacle & Dime, but in Splatoon 2 still the best is Wahoo world, and the worst ... I guess Sturgeon Shipyard and Inkblot Art Academy.
Outro: You're welcome, I like videos like this because I can express my own opinion :D
Maps used to have unique gimmicks to make them stand out from one another. Arowana and Walleye were hallways but Arowana had Verticality and Walley did not. You could've made them even more unique if they kept the original beta designs of Walleye which had moving platforms. None of the Splatoon 3 stages have a unique gimmick. And I mean the Splatoon 3 stages not the returning Splatoon 1 stages. As Musuem and Mahi still have their unique gimmick but toned down. Not only that the stage silhouettes are almost all the exact same which isn't good in any form of design. This doesn't just go for maps but characters, logos, weapons etc. It's what help keeps it separate from others. When it all looks the same it becomes bland in confusing.
By the way the only Splat 3 Map I guess right was Mincemeat.
Really great video! The "Guess the stage" game is a really cool idea to show how the splatoon 3 maps are not unique anymore :)
I only knew undertow from S3. Every other stage I knew instantly.
Just for reference I had 2,000 hrs in S1 & 2 and currently 600 in 3. Looking at just the outline I didn’t recognize mincemeat at all honestly forgot it was on the game even though my first ever battle was on Mincemeat in 3.
I didn’t even know meanmeant was a scrapyard, and now everything makes much more sense
I made an aircraft carrier stage that uses cannons! It has a flank similar to hagglefish markets though
Honestly the main issue is the lack of flanking options, everyone gets railroaded into mid with barely any variables allowing for lockouts, nearly every stage could be improved by just adding more and expanded side routes, make the small largely pointless side bits in Scorch Gorge bigger, make Eeltail Alley wider, add a second way to get out of the side bits in Inkblot, add a side path around the edges of mid in Barnacle & Dime, add a path from the spawn area down the right side all the way to right mid in Hammerhead Bridge and add more inkable walls, the most irritating part about Splatoon 3's stages is that the flaws and by extension the fixes are all pretty obvious
"Hammerhead Bridge doesn't feel like a bridge, it feels like a long narrow lane."
Have you *never* seen a bridge before? That's what a Bridge is.
"Arowana and Walleye are just shit"
Me, someone who liked both stages:
It's just a phase ❤️
I like both too. Don't back down from what you like
They acknowledged the hallway designs and still make them, and dont even get me startted on the Wahoo Pole 🙄 i really don't want the causal scene to die, and i mainly play competitively, but even that is losing the spark 1 and 2 had.
I want shifty stations
I think Splatoon 2 also struggled with this problem despite what you try to suggest. The gimmicks you mentioned outside of the returning stages for Splatoon 1 aren’t really gimmicks or anything to write home about. I think people are overestimating some of these maps from the past just because what we have now isn’t great.
The Shifty Stations alone is what I liked way better than 3 Splatfest. The massive disappointment the first one was no different than playing 3 regular.
The tricilor map (Zelda was interesting) is okay, but it got nothing with the cool gimmicks each SS offered for the weekend.
Yeah there's still plenty of time, but it's the same song and dance with so many other online games.
I'd love if we got a bunch of horribly designed maps that were just insanely different. We wouldn't play them in competitive but it would add a lot more enjoyability to the casual side of things. With the recent challenges mode, I realized that something that is so different is perfect for casual, and competitive players can also enjoy it.
Great video Toyoben, and congrats on 3k!!
Thanks a lot Splat Droid!
As Gem said: "When did splatoon become a game with so few uninkable walls?"
Did this emm effer casually drop in Cavi Cape as part of the video's bgm?
Fantastique
This video gave me a motivation to remake all the maps and give them unique and port them into s1
100% agree! I have been playing since Splatty 1 and I am sooo upset that the new maps are so lame.
But that’s the point you aren’t supposed to have fun
So much for Splatoon 3 being chaos themed, all the maps are almost the same. I wanted weird maps with cool things, even if they weren't competitively viable, and we got something waaaayy too organized, as if order won the s2 finalfest, so I really agree with you
This echoes my thoughts exactly. Thanks for the video!
I could imagine a stage design literally be based on a school gymnasium. It would be a huge rectangle and would have things a gymnasium would have. Basketball hoops so you can throw your subs, high ceilings, and bleachers. Though Nintendo would most likely not design a stage based on a gymnasium. But I would be happy to have it. Better yet, a literal football field with a track surrounding the field.
Next thing is that they make The Reef into a tetris block
My fav map is pirana pit because of the atmosphere and conveyer belts
I now realize how much I remember Splatoon 2 stages and how little I remember Splatoon 3 stages.
If Nintendo just make Challenges 24h/7 I can see hope, but no.... 3 waves of 2h....
5:05 brooo 😂 this made me laugh. It’s the way you sound so pleased about it - and these ones are shit 😃👉.
Or as if “being shit” is a proper trait comparable to having conveyers or a changing water level. Like that’s what Nintendo was going for :’))
When ever you would show a spatoon 3 map I would be like “mincemeat, no wait undertow” 😂
Great video! I’m a huge roller player, and the endless stream of rectangle maps has made that a very painstaking experience.
I was never a fan of Mako Mart, it fell always somehow flat (well I love to play Charger and they want high grounds). And those flatness is mostly part of the Splatoon 3 map design. The settings are mostly cool and I like Hammerhead Bridge is finished, but you feel the different, if you play on a Splatoon 3 map vs. a non-Splatoon 3 map. Sometime just soulless.
The maps in Splatoon 3 don't feel or look soulless plus the game is getting better with sizzle season
@@maplemiles3381 Let me phrase it differently. The new map designs in S3 feel to me in comparison to S1 and S2 map designs soulless. Not the style and setting, I love the spring map from last season and like the shopping center map this season, but the design (possible routes, block placement, slope and high differences) is often boring. It feel like we play on flat maps and again in comparison to S1 & S2 maps. I even sometime miss "Moray Towers" and I don't like to play on this map, but it is still more fun and interesting to play on as on "Eeltail Alley", "Mincemeat Metalworks" or "Undertow Spillway" and Undertow has a great setting and looks cool.
This boring design is what I mean as soulless.
It can not be that we get every season a soulless map (new for the series) and a non-soulles map (a old map). The new map "Barnacle & Dime" get it almost right for me, it must only make some blocks higher or get a small sideway.
Again I am a Charger player (but play many other weapons too) and place me often on high ground, good high ground, something we not get on the new maps. Also short range weapons like high blocks too, for cover and hiding. The low ground left and right in the center of the map "Barnacle & Dime" are good, but you have not a route to get unseen there. It has potential and if every next new map get it right (at least for the fun factor, for competitive it could be still a miss) until the end of Splatoon 3, the map discussion could be decline.
“Arrowana Mall and Walleye Warehouse are just shit” best line ever
Splatoon 3 learned fun map design now :DDDD
Yeah, the new maps feel awesome! 😃
I think it would cool that Nintendo tried to test those assets on Turf War, since is not a competitive mode, it’d be the best option to figure out how well it’d work.
Despite how most of splatoon maps are bad, at LEAST some of them are fun to play in, like Moray towers, Flounder heights Piranha pit, the reef.
Yeah I've been ranting about this since they gave us brine. Worse than being bad the stages they're giving us are boring and homogenous.
Translated by Google:
What annoys me the most about the Splatoon 3 maps is that they took away the freedom and open spaces that characterized Splatoon 1 and 2 with closed and limited spaces. And my biggest problem that I have, is that both public and competitive matches are slowly ruining and killing the game due to the map design that Splatoon 3 has that matches quickly become Team Deathmatches. Nintendo has to redesign the maps more to make them more open and less closed.
I never realized this was an issue until I watched this and thought it did not mean anything. But as I played the game this was in the back of my mind and after playing game with at least one sniper I can see the issue
I somehow didn't recognize Inkblot despite it being one of my favorite maps. I'll always love Moray Towers. I don't care if it's literally the worst design. It's FUN to use rollers on and it's fun to super jump around on because you go so far into the sky.
I actually got Mincemeat instantly lol (doesn't mean I like the map, though).
I will agree though, I struggled to recognize the other ones. I thought Undertow was Sturgeon when I saw it! And yeah, I think there's definitely a lot that can be done to make the map layouts more fun.
Still no Kelp Dome :(
Splatoon fro the WiiU is about a decade old and still the best of the franchise.
8:47 the pronunciation you're looking for is guy-zer
Also, I'm of the firm suspicion that all of S3's maps are designed the way they are for Big Run. They are sacrificing interesting and engaging player-stage interacion for the mere POSSIBILITY of a Big Run occurring on it at some point.
A bit unrealistic imo but if true then very very stupid. Sacrificing the enjoyablility of a map just so I can serve a limited time mode for 48 hours sounds like an awful idea to me.
One of the dreams I would be happy for is a flat circular arena similar to the story mode boss arenas but the size can vary with a few obstacles and structures. Or it can be an empty stage so all weapons and players can have equal footing. Basically, a coliseum from Toon Sandwich or Artspear Entertainment.
You do not want to play against an E liter in a huge empty open circle my guy💀💀💀💀
The problem with design of these maps is the devs clearly have focus on visual design and preventing spawn camping, not gameplay design and uniqueness in that regard
The devs: make spawn camping a feature of the game
Kinda hard to prevent spawncamping when there’s no sides and the only way to go is forward lol
Hey what’s that outro theme? That song sounds so familiar but I can’t put my finger on it
It's the Wii party main menu theme :)
@@Toyoben_ ahhhh gotcha, I was thinking Wii Party U but couldn’t find it. Thank you very much!
I think the one excuse they have, not that it's a good one, is trying to have maps that can work in Tricolor and not need to be changed too drastically.
Well then that’s definitely not the case, considering how drastic mincemeat tricolor is from the original