I've got to say I've been blown away by what this map has done for my enjoyment of RO2.
I started off as a Russian MGer, not expecting too much to be honest, and set up in one of the houses overlooking the main road. A road too exposed for the Germans to set up a base of fire from, but one they had to cross to get to their objective. What followed was an unprecedented level of MG domination. I managed to drop 3 men with a single burst at one point. That was until the enemy started laying down smoke across the street, then I was forced to change tactic.
Later, as a German I ended up getting into a running sniper duel with an enemy marksman in the trees around the northern border. Each of us trying to off the other so we could have a prime spot overlooking the southern street to pick off any hapless sod who stays still for too long.
I've actually had some genuine firefights on this map (ones lasting more than one clip and change of position!). A couple of times a semi-auto rifleman has unloaded prematurely with a couple of shots, expecting to get an easy hit but missing due to distance and movement, and ultimately giving away their position, giving me a chance to get down and line up a shot with my trusty bolt.
Now the fences obviously need fixing, the distance fog hampers some of the long range gameplay, the open plains could use a crater or dead horse or two for cover (and maybe a dugout for an MG), and I have concerns about how some of the foliage may give a 1 sided advantage to the enemy, but I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far.
Much of it brings backs some of the core gameplay that made me fall in love with RO1. A game that rewards deliberate and cautious gunplay, as well as tactical freedom and a slower pace, and not throw away run and gun arcade action.
The variance in this map is great. You have room to room close quarter battles to the south, wide open fields (with some tree groves to hide in) to the north, and some decent mid range stuff towards the final caps in the west.
This allows areas for every class to excel, whereas in launch maps, one class in particular seems to be heavily advantaged (e.g. SMGs in Apartments, Rifles in Fallen Fighters).
The map also feels more free form, open and realistic than most of the RO2 launch maps, which by comparison feel rather game like, too narrow and restricted.
When compared to a map like fallen fighters, the difference really is stark. Fallen fighters has very monotonous, slog-a-thon gameplay. Either you sit on the sidelines with a rifle, or you run into the middle with an SMG and keep your head down and hope some team mates come to cap.
In 1 hour of playing Butovo I had more of what I would call "RO moments" than maybe the 2 weeks of playing RO2 before this.
Hopefully the upcoming realism changes and community maps are going to only enhance this, although I have to wonder at why a map like this wasn't included at launch (and it is far from perfect at the moment), but had to be added by a modder months after release.
Overall I'm feeling very positive about the future of RO2, I'm just hoping there'll be a community left by the time things get turned around.
I started off as a Russian MGer, not expecting too much to be honest, and set up in one of the houses overlooking the main road. A road too exposed for the Germans to set up a base of fire from, but one they had to cross to get to their objective. What followed was an unprecedented level of MG domination. I managed to drop 3 men with a single burst at one point. That was until the enemy started laying down smoke across the street, then I was forced to change tactic.
Later, as a German I ended up getting into a running sniper duel with an enemy marksman in the trees around the northern border. Each of us trying to off the other so we could have a prime spot overlooking the southern street to pick off any hapless sod who stays still for too long.
I've actually had some genuine firefights on this map (ones lasting more than one clip and change of position!). A couple of times a semi-auto rifleman has unloaded prematurely with a couple of shots, expecting to get an easy hit but missing due to distance and movement, and ultimately giving away their position, giving me a chance to get down and line up a shot with my trusty bolt.
Now the fences obviously need fixing, the distance fog hampers some of the long range gameplay, the open plains could use a crater or dead horse or two for cover (and maybe a dugout for an MG), and I have concerns about how some of the foliage may give a 1 sided advantage to the enemy, but I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far.
Much of it brings backs some of the core gameplay that made me fall in love with RO1. A game that rewards deliberate and cautious gunplay, as well as tactical freedom and a slower pace, and not throw away run and gun arcade action.
The variance in this map is great. You have room to room close quarter battles to the south, wide open fields (with some tree groves to hide in) to the north, and some decent mid range stuff towards the final caps in the west.
This allows areas for every class to excel, whereas in launch maps, one class in particular seems to be heavily advantaged (e.g. SMGs in Apartments, Rifles in Fallen Fighters).
The map also feels more free form, open and realistic than most of the RO2 launch maps, which by comparison feel rather game like, too narrow and restricted.
When compared to a map like fallen fighters, the difference really is stark. Fallen fighters has very monotonous, slog-a-thon gameplay. Either you sit on the sidelines with a rifle, or you run into the middle with an SMG and keep your head down and hope some team mates come to cap.
In 1 hour of playing Butovo I had more of what I would call "RO moments" than maybe the 2 weeks of playing RO2 before this.
Hopefully the upcoming realism changes and community maps are going to only enhance this, although I have to wonder at why a map like this wasn't included at launch (and it is far from perfect at the moment), but had to be added by a modder months after release.
Overall I'm feeling very positive about the future of RO2, I'm just hoping there'll be a community left by the time things get turned around.
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