What makes a BTB map great?

A good mixture of varied vehicle friendly and infantry-only areas, a good amount of cover, a large assortment of vehicles and weapons that balance each other out, enough space to have an area be compatible with short and long range fights, a feeling of security in a base (yet it cannot be TOO secure) and prettiness (personal like )

 

Able to traverse throughout the map on foot (i.e. mancannons, teleporters) so when you end up without a vehicle you aren't completely doomed. Also, having areas where people on foot can go and be remotely safe, as well as an area where vehicles can roam freely and easily, can mix up the battles well between foot and vehicle battles. Like how Rat's Nest had the center area for foot soldiers to move quickly and easily, but had a road bending around the outside for vehicle movement.

 

I'd hardly call Rat's Nest BTB.

If you want a great example to follow then look at 343's recent release of Highlands.
It does what Blood Gulch does in that it leaves an expansive center for vehicles while making the outskirts of the map for infantry.
But don't follow Blood Gulch, that is a horrible example.

Highlands is a phenomenal example of good BTB.
If you want a more communal spin then I'd definitely check out Warhorse, Abridged, Kanava, and maybe Megalodon.

 

The only reason Rat's Nest was bad had to do with the almost complete separation of the infantry battle in the center and the vehicle battle on the outside. Now I know infantry would use the outside ring occasionally, but they were still incredibly vulnerable to warthogs, and being out there without something to take out a vehicle was suicide.

Valhalla is a much better example of a good map for BTB. It's all about putting the flow of vehicles together with the flow of infantry without compromising either, and Valhalla did that really well. I don't have Defiant so I don't know about highlands, but Valhalla is the perfect example of what BTB should be in my eyes. Hemmorage is just too suicidal for infantry on most of the map, which sadly is what's come to be associated with BTB.

Just to clarify something since people don't always seem to think this, if it doesn't have vehicles, it is not a Big Team Battle map. The focus on vehicles defines the game.

 

Indeed, enjoyable vehicle use is what makes them fun to me. Vehicles can't be too dominating if one side loses theirs, and there can't be too many total. You don't want to overload the map with anti-vehicle weapons either, because they aren't any fun to drive if everyone else on the map can kill you.

 

for me, the most important thing is the driving path.
whether you're working with natural terrain, or forged pieces, it is important for the vehicles to be able to SMOOTHLY drive around the map. there's nothing more frustrating than when you're on a good warthog run, only to be randomly flipped over by some cumbersome, out-of-place object. (like all the tiny rocks on Paradiso.)

Once you have that established, you can begin to develop the infantry areas around the driving path, making sure, like posters above me have mentioned, that there are enough areas for people to escape from vehicles to safety, and also to be able to put fire on vehicles from cover.

Its a difficult thing to balance, but can be a thing of beauty when achieved.

That being said, everyone has a different preference as to how they play BTB. Maps that I've made or been involved with have been loved and hated equally by different people. It's hard to find the right balance.

 

Agree with all the pointers above, but there is much, much more to take into account than just the vehicle/infantry balance.

I would add:

There is nothing worse than being punished for moving forward. A bad BTB map ends up with teams hanging in their own back third team DMRing anyone who attempts any aggressive forward movement. A lot of the Montana-Alaska bridge maps are guilty of this. Having bottle necks such as bridges in the middle of the map is usually bad for gameplay. To encourage teams forward (and not just those in vehicles) put usefull incentives such as hard cover, power weapons, teleporter sender nodes in the middle third. Do not under any circumstances only allow one or two exposed paths through the middle third.

Personally I think sniper towers (or any other high vantage point) in teams' back thirds are a mistake. Once again, they encourage base hanging and punish forward movement too much. Puting high objects in the middle of this map to break LOS can limit the impact of this. On the subject of snipers, I like to place them in slightly forward positions, so that upon finishing off the ammo, there is a degree of risk involved in going and grabbing the next one. Also, this tends to stop the same player hogging the sniper the entire game without facing any danger (Hemorhage).

Be very carefull with power vehicles such as banshees and scorpions. Nothing will get people quitting faster than a flipping-bombing banshee above exposed respawn points. If you have a banshee on the map EVERY SINGLE respawn point needs to be covered from arial attack. If you have a scorpion you need at least one or two vehicle buster weapons, as long as restricted LOS and one or two ambush points for boarding them.

Don't place a flag/assault points in a spot where one guy with a shotgun can hold off the entire attacking team solo. It's really hard to get all the way across a fixed spawn BTB map and having to go into a confined bunker with a crouching shotgun guy just around the corner just discourages people from trying. On hemorhage, for example, i'd have placed the flag on the top of the base rather than inside.

Try and have at least one or two spots on the map where close quarters battle can occur (such as the caves on hemorhage or the buildings on Highlands). Having all long LOS can make the game very one dimensional. Having said that, remember not to make the objective points too biased towards CQB.

Finally, I'd say beware the jet pack. Be very, very wary of maps with a lot of vertical features and multi level structures. Any high points should be either accessable to all loadouts OR extreemly exposed. If you are not carefull, players very quickly twig onto the fact that jetpacking to the top of that convenient building renders them immune to all other loadouts and non-flying vehicles. If more than half of players are jet-packing, you've probably got the balance wrong.

(by the way, i loved rats nest)

 

infantry needs a chance
I like paradiso's balance of vehicle and infantry because the mountain works great as a vehicle blocker
hemorrhage is way too big for infantry battles and there is little cover to advance forward on foot, hence people camp their back third with dmrs because nowhere else is safe
I dislike spawns on btb maps because they are fixed and I never spawn anywhere useful

 

I think you've nailed it with this post. I'd like to emphasize the mixing of CQB, mid range, and long range battles. Everyone likes to play differently in BTB, so having all of those varying lines of sight will give each player their little "niche" to play in.