Idealy the initial spawns would be static and consistent, but what color team you are designated would be random. Just like MM. This way you could mentaly prepare, all the while eliminating the dilema of choosing teams. But that's not an option available to us unfortunety. :/ i King of prefer random spawns personaly, but also appreciate being able to prepare before the game starts
I think predictable spawning actually removes a layer of skill. The player who can predict the spawning of the other player can easily understand how to best position himself for the next combat, and is therefore free of having to make decisions (or at least their decision-making process is greatly reduced). When a player does not know where the other will spawn, he must try to figure out how to better position himself for a variety of different spawn possibilities, which is a more complicated decision-making process. I'm also not a fan of giving further advantage to the already more-advantaged player. This is like killstreaks in Call of Duty. I think unpredictable spawning gives the underdog a path to begin his or her comeback.
Unpredictable spawns remove a layer of skill through not encouraging positioning and map awareness when not engaging, not predictable ones. There's more thought in positioning for
there's an element of skill that is removed either way. the question is thne which is most important? On my octagon, I wanted to avoid the idea that a player could spawn in and be immediately shot at. At least in that situation, I wanted to give the surviving player a reason to look around first and then take aim and shoot. More skill i nthat situation. But I can also see the point that map awareness and undstanding the spawn system is a "skill". It does sort of border on an "exploit", albeit a valid one.
I think you have to strike a balance. For example a player may after a kill go to a certain position to force the player to spawn at one of 2 or 3 locations. In this way the spawning is still kinda predictable but not entirely as there is still variations to where the player spawns. Also the spawning player may still get as slight advantage as he may be able to judge where the other player is from where he spawns but the other player only has a rough idea. Of course, something like this would be very difficult to pull off.
I think movement is the most important aspect to 1v1. Having the ability to out maneuver your opponent to have the upper edge. Also being able to predict your opponents movement should they not understand the environment.
Their are rules and their are bad idea's. The only important thing is do the rules of your map work and are they unique to that map.
When we say predictable spawns, we mean that there are only so many places that the player can spawn. There is still an element of randomness. However, keeping that number of spawns in the single digits means that players can somewhat predict spawns (a skill) but still have to prepare for the enemy to spawn in multiple areas as there is no way to tell exactly where the enemy spawns, unless you could predict with perfect accuracy, in which case I would say that your spawns are too predictable. Really it's not even worth talking about because no matter how many spawns you place, we can still predict to a degree considering that the spawning system is static and can always be taken advantage of. The better question is, how easy/hard should you attempt to make predicting spawns in your map? To that I would say... who the hell knows. Do what you think fits your map the best.
Is this really a discussion lol of course predictability is important. If possible there should be no randomness at all. Somewhat controllable spawns are always a goal.
Adding some of my own input to this discussion... I generally let the size, shape, layout, and flow determine where respawns will be, AND how many there will be. I try to avoid giving general advice because following it can very often lead to bad results, but in general the smaller a map is the more respawn points there should be and the larger it is the fewer there should be. The reasoning behind this is that on a smaller map it's going to be easier to predict the specific area where a player will spawn. Placing more respawn points in each area means that the person who's still alive won't know EXACTLY where someone will spawn. It gives the spawning player an extra millisecond to orient themselves and locate their opponent, so they aren't automatically going to be at a 1 shot disadvantage. This isn't really important in larger maps. The flow and layout can also be deciding factors for me in deciding the quantity and locations of respawn points, but there are so many things at play that I don't really care to lay out a series of scenarios. Use your brain. Think about where the areas where a surviving player is likely to be, and how them being in different locations may influence where their opponent might respawn. Think through a bunch of possible situations. Let this determine where respawns go initially, and then adjust accordingly after playtesting. To be honest, placing spawn points doesn't need to be rocket science. I've even been known to just spam respawn points everywhere on a map, and then refine them after testing. That's actually a really effective way to find respawn locations that don't work.
I have a video from my excellent, game-changing, 117% guaranteed to win map that proves this utility There's nothing like a triple kill in a 1v1 match
I haven't played many 1v1s, but based on my experience trying it on my maps, I tend to really enjoy 1v1s where fights happen all over the map and engagements don't always end in kills. I like those moments where you fight someone, then you both back down to cycle around the map to go get another angle or a pickup item that is going to give you an advantage the next encounter. So you get that mental game where you have to read the other player's moves. I think it's important that you know where a player can go from where they are though because too much swiss cheese will just lead to chaos, especially in this game. But I also think maps should have considerable depth so that you have a lot of geometry to play around with. I don't like when you spawn and you're just getting pooped on by the other player over and over, and I don't like when you can't make a move because the player can see all of your angles of approach. And since a lot of people play like pussies in Halo 5 and just soundwhore while hiding in a corner, I think maps should be designed to favor the aggressive player. Sitting in a "power position" should similarly be discouraged, because then the map will just revolve around getting people out of that power position and I don't think that's very entertaining.
beginning to realize that my map 'Anchor' would be a great 1v1 map with some frame fixing and a different weapon set why can't I submit remakes? it isn't like the thing was popular enough to even be called a remake but I guess I will sobbbb to myself and just make something like it with a revamped aesthetic
So what prevents people from running away after a sizable point lead? Do I have to make it so that you can't run in a circle? Perhaps I need a strong enough weapon to kill you faster than they can run? I need some expert advice here.
I feel that forcing some encounters are good but overall a mix of breathing room and and pressure is good. If they run away too much maybe limit where they can go so that the other player can predict and punish. Force some of the encounters.