Small Maps Have Ruined This Game

[Liquid ID]

Why is every mainland map have entry zones 10 feet away from enemies with no options for squad placement or cover? Literally every sector has been an almost instant fight where mercs get lit up because theres not enough cover/distance/angles to do anything remotely cautious.

Maps are so small there is very little tactical variety in encounters. Do they ever get larger?
Will mod tools allow for larger maps or is the size limit hardcoded?

Or do I just accept that 1 or two mercs will lose half their health in one round due do small/bad map design?

[Swayze]

you doing it wrong mate you are supposed to sneak at the beginning what you described has not happened to me in almost 20h of playtime

[Lightning]

wish we could pause and que up multiple snipe shots though would be fun to knock out more than one at a time to halter a combat state like how the Seals do it irl take down 2+ at once

[Rhett]

Some of the maps are pretty big, like Pantagruel, so I'm sure when people get the tools, we'll see some crazy stuff.

I want to see more missions like with the mansion. It was sorta small, but it gave me Silent Storm vibes.

[Multihog]

Go visit the prison and Port Cacao and check back. You won't say the same stuff again. Those are huge.

[Liquid ID]

I must be doing it wrong when the first thing I do is set everyone to stealth, walk 3 feet from the insertion point, see 3 hyenas coming at me, and uh oh there are enemies over there too. I better get my mercs back behind the ONE rock beside where I just came in and...
oh combat started. enemy set up 2 overwatches on my whole squad and here come the dogs.

Yeah must be a skill issue.
The maps are small. It feels like they designed the game for quickplay matches or something.
Use stealth... when there's no active pause, pause on enemy sighted, random stealth mechanics and NO WHERE TO MOVE.

Not all sectors are like this, maybe 1 in 5 have some extremely limited mobility before it goes down. So many of these sectors are just small setpieces to fight in.
Just another bad design decision I have to swallow to try and enjoy a Jagged Alliance game these days.

[Solaius]

I've come across quite a few large maps with ample room to sneak around and cause mischief. And only one time have I deployed in the middle of enemies and that's my fault because I didn't gather info And only had one deployment spot. Still didn't get wounded.

[Liquid ID]

So whats that? 3 sectors mentioned?
Do larger maps become more frequent or only specific ones?

[Multihog]

Originally posted by Liquid ID:

So whats that? 3 sectors mentioned?
Do larger maps become more frequent or only specific ones?

They're quite frequent, imo. I haven't noticed the maps being small for the most part. I mean there's a limit to how big you want them to be. Traversing gets tedious beyond a certain point. It's already tedious as ♥♥♥♥ in combat in the prison with its size.

[Lightning]

I think its mostly the story maps that are the bigger ones the in between sectors are basically smaller

[Liquid ID]

If I could specify the sectors for intel that would be nice. But it determines intel sectors randomly in a 2 tile radius? I guess I'll swallow that gem and use the scouting action 3 times while I waste money/time and the scouts come back wounded so I have to waste more time/money.
I just need to learn to do what the designers intended and not actually play a logical tactical/strategic game.

[Slakjaw]

I'm thinking most of these people commenting in here, saying they are ok with the map sizes, have no idea what it was like to play JA2 back in the day...

I agree with the author of this post, and am actually really annoyed with how tiny and path driven these maps are.

I'm not sure if people can make larger open world type map section for the game, but if they can't, and this is how the rest of the game is, then it's 100% not a legit JA game, as it's missing one of the most important strategic aspects of the game, that was probably 70% of the game for most people in JA2.

So far, this JA3 game is made for the kids that all got the same medals for participating in events in school and sports, where there are no winners at all...

So sad...

[uncle nick]

What is sad, is you making comments but not taking into account that JA2 is top down isometric, and JA3 is full 3d with views into the horizon. This is a world of difference when making level maps.

The level designers all did a fantastic job on the level maps in JA3. They had their design briefs.

When we get the level map editor, you can open a map and reset the player boundary if you want, but then you also have to fill the open space with more objects, and the map can get really bigger and bigger, and take longer time to load. Then only will you understand.

[w.f.schepel]

Some maps are very small indeed, but I wouldn't say it is a general issue. Also, sometimes it kinda makes sense it isn't going to give you all that much room. If you drop into an underground sector, you aren't going to be able to casually stroll around.

Pause at the start and take the time to look around. Also, when combat triggers, you are in a turn based environment. If you can't make that work with all the tools this game has on offer I would suggest a small dose of L2P. (I mean this in the nicest way possible!)

[nicholaslovell]

I note that this is an old thread, perhaps before the pause function was added. But I have found very few maps where I can’t immediately hide all my mercs to sneak into position. Maybe 2 or 3 where that hasn’t been possible. And I’ve been to all sectors. So perhaps use the hide function more at the start of battles?

[omegazeda]

I loved JA:2 Vengeance's maps, freaking detailed and big. Hopefully modders or devs expand all the maps for ja3.