In terms of visual style I like the hourglass maps a lot. Being able to see an actual skybox, with distant towers partly obscured by sand storms/smog/clouds does way more to communicate the epic Hive City scale than the “internal”/lower-level maps do.
Even maps like Enclavum Baross with it’s beautiful architecture I feel like suffer from the strange enclosed architecture skybox. I know there are hive cities that have “levels” on top of each other, but I really think there should be more places that have a view to a more open sky. Perhaps it would make sense to have openings between large spires in the background (and in the ceiling), where some sun-beams/godrays shine into the map in some locations, and where you can get a hint of the more distant surrounding landscape, and upper levels.
Clandestium Gloriana is beautiful because it communicates the scale better than most other maps. This is at least partly because the cold fog gives the appearance of being an open sky, and there is very distant spires and structures visible in the fog.
I was disappointed in the visuals of the new train map. Again that weird enclosed skybox, and this time it somehow is even worse at communicating scale. It’s not even clear what part of the hive city this train would be traveling in. If this is somehow deep underground, why isn’t it simply a round tunnel, like a metro tunnel or subway?
It’s raining on the train map for crying out loud (yes I know the lore around condensation creating rain internally in hive cities, but it looked better and made more sense in the Torrent maps).
Why isn’t there thunder clouds above us? The map could easily have taken place on the outskirts of the hive city, under an open sky, with the hive city towering up in the background but partly obscured by rain and clouds. It would have looked way more awesome, and would also better have communicated this idea that the train is moving towards the hive city and that this is what we must prevent it from reaching.
What do I want more maps in? Probably Clandestium and Tancred bastion I’d like to see more of. Particularly the prison ship we’ve not seen enough of.
From a gameplay perspective I’ve always loved the metalfab maps the most. For some reason I just like the flow of the game on both Power Matrix, Smelter Complex, and Consignment Yard HL-17-36. The end visuals of Consignment Yard are also pretty cool, though again a missed opportunity to show an open skybox with distant voidships, blurry spires reaching into the upper atmosphere etc.
Oh and Magistrati Oubliette is my absolute favorite gameplay wise. The last room in the Enforcer Station before we take the elevator up to the last bossfight has this amazing atmospheric feel about it. I just like the whole enforcer station appearance-wise. Those architectural details on the columns, the torch-illumination, the slight fog in the air (and IIRC there’s a broken window in the ceiling).
