BangBangOw<CP*SF> wrote:October 1st, 2021, 10:45 amTurning map vote off.. with the small list.. so every map is a “good” one.
We currently have nineteen maps treated as "the good ones":
Nas CTF, El Al CTF, Coastal CTF, Docks CTF, Berlin CTF, Village CTF, Bocage CTF, Wake CQ, El Al Day 2 CQ (Helos), Gazala CTF, Basrah's Edge CTF, Eastings CTF, Kursk CTF, Urban CTF, Inshallah CTF, Bridge CTF, Philippines CTF, Caen CTF, and Britain CTF.
Every morning when the server wakes up, it randomizes the order among this group of "good" maps such that they will always appear "near the start of the map list for easy voting", but "not in the same order you saw them in yesterday."
In addition, the randomization process inserts a "unique map" (one that is not in "the good list", and one we don't see every day) between every four of the "good maps" that were inserted into the list.
In reality, you don't see "purely the described pattern", because there are additional logic conditions to the "randomization" process. Such as "don't let more than three maps of the same mode (CTF or CQ) appear in a row, without inserting a map with a different mode." And "don't let two different modes of the same map appear closer than 10 maps to each other."
But in basic terms, if you just let the rotation play (not withstanding that this is rarely what actually happens), you'll encounter four "good maps" followed by "something you don't normally see", followed by more "good maps". Knowing that we'll vote Al Nas every day regardless of where we put it in the rotation; and wanting to give a chance for "something else" to come up after Al Nas each day. (Substitute "Lost Village" or "Gazala" for "Al Nas" in that statement, as needed.)
Because a static rotation worked, for as long as it worked. Until it didn't work. Back then (maybe 2015 or 2016) what was "obvious" was that we needed to mix things up more, because players said seeing the same "short list" every day is what bored them. After doing that for a while, what was "obvious" was that any map list we come up with is "wrong" for some players some of the time, so please let us vote.
And so voting was introduced, on top of the mixing up the map rotation. Such that if no voting happens, what you'll get is "the good maps" in addition to a little variety. But if we simply want to get to "some other good map" regardless of where we were at in the map list, voting lets us go there, too.
Which maybe brings us to the real point: If there actually was some "right map" which simply isn't being played, we would be playing it. Because if it was as obvious as you're suggesting it is, and everyone playing agreed with you that it's that obvious, we would vote and a majority would agree and we would be playing it.
But that's not what happens, is it. Because "right map" actually is not obvious among the players at any given time. If a vote for map X wasn't sufficient to make us get there, an admin simply forcing map "X" at that moment isn't going to make the map any more appreciated by the same people who were present for the vote.
So let's hear some ideas about what we think would improve the process. Because no, "Duh, we just need to set a map rotation that is good" is not the panacea you're proposing that it would be. But maybe there is something else that can be done. We have been actively trying to make something which pleases "most of the people most of the time" over the years, as you can see in the evolution just described.