Did Map Design Get BETTER With The New Stages? 

I think my biggest gripe with S3 map design is what I can only describe as an obsession with uninkable surfaces. It just feels terrible every time. It feels against the concept of the series

In a game centered around inking terrain, they sure do like not letting you ink terrain.

Brine water is definitely the prettiest S3 map rn

It would be funny if old bad maps get fixed to be[a bit] better, Wahoo, and new goof maps made worse. Ps do this for saltspray - Chara should rework it in a video

i feel that the right spawn route in brine should at least get a sponge, to still make sure that enemy can't reach spawn, while also maintaining the route.

Brinewater is gorgeous but a hot mess imo, the size of the map and how small spawn is, makes it a spawn camper dream in turf war, one of the worst for that mode, but maybe better in other modes.

i still just really wish they'd use more story mode stuff in multiplayer... furlers would be a perfect solution to a lot of problems with certain maps (like inkblot being unable to back up to spawn from the side, though that could use some other fixes on top of that) and man if we could just get ONE stage with a ride rail anywhere at all i'd be so happy

Honestly i think the positive changes override the negative changes on flounder heights, in my opinion it feels way smoother to play in s3 than in s1. its prolly my favorite map in the history of this game

I'm surprised they didn't talk about brinewater without talking about the fact that It's another map where e-liter can literally see the entire map and cannot be contested... Like seriously it's ridiculous, an e-liter can snipe all the way to the enemy's base... From their base

As a casual player, one of the things I'll miss in Splatoon 3's Flounder Heights is all the dropping and climbing that happened in 1. The ability to eacape from a bad situation by just dropping down, the opportunities to take weird routes by climbing that wall where there was no ground beneath, and occasionally just having midair fights. Things got chaotic quickly, especially if there were Beacons.

Brinewater plays REALLY attacker-favored, especially tower/clams. That flank route lets players just zoom back to objective, and there’s like zero cover for defenders so it just feels bad

I would love if they could add the storymode grindrales to more stages or the extender blocks for cover

Seems like Chara won't be needing a full on essay to complain about Flounder's changes

I hope that one day the devs realize that encouraging getting spawn camped with crab tank and pillars of ink explosions isn't fun to be on the receiving end of.

I know this would never happen, but a stage builder in this game would be the coolest thing ever.

I’d like to think the devs absolutely love Clam Blitz that they are making the maps better designed than the rest, so that people can finally be forced to learn how to play Clam Blitz once and for all.

This analysis is really good food-for-thought for my playstyle. I loved Flounder in Splatoon 1 but really struggled with it in Splatoon 3. I think the reason is that in that time I went from skirmish/supports like N-Zap and Splash to more anchor oriented weapons like Ballpoint and Jet Squelcher. I was very frustrated with Flounder Heights because there is no way to oversee the map and just shoot for those types of weapons. I felt too short range to be a sniper and too immobile to be a slayer. What I realized I had to do was think critically about where people were going and get a solid prediction to kill at a safe distance. I admire Flounder for making me think that way, as most maps have a set anchor position that works whether you are a pure backline anchor like E-Liter or a support anchor like Jet or Ballpoint. Brinewater is kind of the opposite. I feel very safe perching and can control most of the map, with the main counterplay being Torpedo harassment and a backline that outranges me.

I don't know if that is what the video you mentioned at the end is going to be, but I think a video explaining in-depth what makes map designs good or bad would be something the community needs at large. I'm the main admin for a small-ish Splatoon discord server that is overall pretty casual, and something I notice is that a lot of people just plain can't *tell* whether a stage is good or not. It's an aspect of this game that seems pretty underdiscussed by competitive players, at least here on youtube.

The main problem is that Nintendo just hate inkable walls.

Imagine if a season came out where the 2 maps were Saltspray and Skipper.

Brinewater rainmaker is genuinely abysmal. The choke point near the checkpoints is so bad. Not only is it an extremely narrow pathway, but the enemy can just wait around the corner (which you can't see) and camp there. One of the worst rainmaker stages right now. Flounder is very good tho no real complaints there

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a total casual, only occasionally hopping out of Turf Wars and into Anarchy modes, but I'm a legitimately big fan of Brinewater, even with its problems. Its small size makes games super chaotic and super fun in TW.

What if big run will be a in game/lore reason to redesign certain maps like wahoo?

Putting the actual layout of the map aside, we can agree that brine water looks amazing. It may not be the greatest from a gameplay standpoint but the stage itself is absolutely beautiful

Banger content Mr Chara Man keep it up ‼‼

My biggest problem with the new stages is that I suck at the game.

as someone who started with splatoon 2 and have never played splatoon 1, flounder is by far my favourite map ever and makes me wish i got to experience splatoon 1

They should have made the large drop in Brinewater an alternate push option. It would have had so much depth deciding where exactly on the wall to climb up, and whether so swim or use a squid surge. Btw Chara, on Flounder Clams, you don't have to drop completely on the ground to score. Like on Elltail, you can't jump off the roof and score midair, though the angle is a bit more tighter on Flounder

Brinewater really stole flounders sunset 😂

The whole mid being covered by chargers that has taken a step outside their spawn is just not okay imo

POV you’re a dualie main just grinning over the brinewater route

Have you guys ever noticed how cool the thumbnails on chara’s vids are?

i never played splatoon 2, i was playing splatoon 1 until 3 came out so i really enjoy seeing old maps in a newer game, splatoon 1 is my fav game and now i can play a game that IS splatoon 1, but has more things to do!

The Splatoon 1 music was a great addition to this video! This may sound silly, but the first time I played flounder heights in Splatoon 3 I got a little choked up. It just reminded me of such good times and how happy I am to finally be able to play on my favorite Splatoon map again :D

The flounder route changes honestly don't feel too bad since they made all the remaining ones much faster and more accessible to every weapon type BUT I think they should add the drop chara recommended specifically because we could call it the barber shop drop and I think that's funny

find the one way flank in flounder hights a really good change, its mujch safer to do as a flank and its harder for ppl to lock down that option, which is good considering the right flank has been nerfed

At 2:23 there could be a sponge at the wall to change that.

I think the terrible map design of the other Splat3 stages is the result of a decision made late in development. For example, Eeltail Alley looked much wider in the prerelease trailers, and Undertow Spillway's left route into mid (over the glass) feels like there once was a way straight ahead, past mid on the left. Now there's an awkward wall forcing me to turn right into mid.

i never played Flouder but to me in this game it’s like a sort of parkour map with all of areas that you can jump on and swim through and tbh it might be my favorite map

Fast answer to the title : they dont

for some reason i think it's easier to spot a ninja squid user swimming in the inking in Brinewater

Two words: uninkable walls

I feel like mahi mahi was kinda ruined from the ports of the game 🤦

A ROUTE AROUND MID in SPLATOON 3!? I must be dreaming!

I'm glad flounder is still very similar to how it was in splatoon 1 and not just a completely different map like Hammerhead and Mahi Mahi

Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. And, to add some discussion, they *won’t* get any better because they’re hard pressed on the “chaotic” theme and that means small maps in their minds. Brinewater is just half of Hammerhead but side by side. Flounder was miraculously not butchered.

It feels like they are introducing more complicated map designs as the game goes on so new players don't feel overwhelmed/frustrated by more experienced players who know how to take advantage of the map design.

I can’t agree with flounder being good on clam blitz. You can absolutely get clams into the basket from near the top of the ramp and this does make it really hard to contest pushes as the defending team as you need to be able to hold the top of the ramp.

hi, i know this kinda doesnt make sense with the video but i want to bring in my opinion on this rq, bcs it isnt heard much. the kraken special. it was a splatoon 1 feature, and i honestly think it would help with better fast paced fighting, because it upgrades all of the feautres, even supporting some armor so ink armor enthusiasts are happy. its just a great idea, and i know it hasnt been in for 2 games but i seriously could see this working in splatoon 3

For me Flounder was my favorite map in Splatoon 1, I was BEYOND EXTATIC when I found out it was coming back, and the changes are amazing! It’ll obviously never truly feel the same and obviously there can be adjustments to make it better, it’s already an incredible map and I will always love it!

Honestly stopped playing because I really don't like the S3 maps. I already felt the S2 maps were rather lackluster and was hoping they'd make the maps more gimmicky and unique in S3 but these maps feel even more sterile.

they did change undertow in turfwar so hopefully they fix some more things in ranked modes

I think the way they did maps in Splat 3 is alright and almost completely redeemable. All maps are such that I think some redesigns, even just small ones for the most part, would make all maps at least good, even Mahi. Well, all except for Bridge. Bridge is hopeless imo

Splatoon 1 had alot of very extreme map designs, maps like hammerhead where it was majority grates, or ones like flounder with extreme highgrounds. I feel like Nintendo is overly scared to have these sorts of designs again, so they remove gimmicks or make them less extreme, but all that leads to is smaller, flatter maps, that are less dynamic and less fun to play. Brinewater and flounder are definitely steps in the right direction, but they NEED to make sure they do not repeat what happened with flounder and mahi, and more importantly FIX THEM

I don't know why it makes me ticked off, but I really wish that they'd add the inkrails from the other modes into Turf War, heck I personally wish that we could have Turf War on the other modes maps just so we get more variety in casual play! I mean imagine if every couple of games of Turf war the regular map is replaced with the layout from another mode?

I think flounder heights is basically what wahoo world wanted to be but didn't happen in the right way. I think all the map changes for flounder heights are beneficial. Flounder wasn't really a map that was good for chargers. Now it's much more serviceable. Especially with that uninkable areas which makes it more of a commitment for the enemy to attack and easier for the defenders to push back and reclaim.

On flounder you can throw the clamp from jumping on the top and can still get it in

While perhaps it does have its issues, I do rather like how Brinewater Springs lets you jump off the ramp and down to mid at basically any point along the way, while attackers pushing to your spawn still have to go around the long way. It makes the whole map feel a lot less linear than some others, and can help keep it from feeling like as much of a meatgrinder as some maps. Maybe it will need some adjustments, but I think it has potential as one of the better maps - even if it won't ever be one of the absolute best.

Video 47 of commenting on Chara videos till brella gets fixed

Brinewater just feels like One Giant Choke Point in any mode but clams, and there it still feels like a cramped spawncamp-fest. Feels awful tbh.

I didn’t even know there was a right route from spawn in brine water till now

They're.... they're getting there. By season 4 we should be out of this era of bad maps (exept flounder my baby i love you)

You guys flounder heights is so good and so much fun I'm cryingggg

Flounder Hights? More like Flounder HIGH s

before 10 mins tickets claim here

Flounder feels so good like it did in splatoon 1, whenever any mode has flounder in its rotation I play it no matter what the mode is I literally do not want to play on any other stage

Prochara back then had too much hope

8:08 I hate you, goldenspace6016

I think brinewater is very fun because I play tri stringer and can reach from my own base into the enemy base wich is stupid

First time I ever played Brinewater was on Rainmaker. Safe to say I never played it again

2:14 I didn't even know that existed

They didn’t want to get one-upped by the community making better maps in Roblox

I don’t think the changes are really better. More like different to be better to competitive. Splatoon one stages has these crazy tall stupid fun gimmicks. And now they don’t in newer stages. Even hammerheads gimmick was taken away.

i think its funny that i have the same mains like you chara!(mostly) (I play splatoon since the first game) I play Dynamo, Range Blaster(im still upset with its hard nerfs),Splatana Wiper and Octobrush

Honestly I think brinewater springs is garbage. Like straight up unfixable. By reworking heavily it can be decent but not good. I think they should scrap the map entirely, as much as I love the vibe.

4:47 slightly off topic, but this is why i love Rainmaker on mako mart. so many pathways to go!

I definitely have my share of fun at Brinewater Springs

New Chill Season coming soon looks better than this. And also Brinewater😂

Brine Water is way too small and the fact that there are basically no inkable walls on the stage is completely stupid. It instantly became my least favorite stage to play on additionally with it's small size eliter can snipe from their spawn into the enemy spawn which is hella obnoxious

They need to make most the walls inkable and add the rail to all versions of the map for Brinewater.

I think If they made an extension to the spawn area in brinewater that goes down closer to that flank area it could be better, they also need to add a ramp or a sponge or something so you can leave that route without jumping to spawn or into danger.

chara you put the 2nd channel in the description twice in the same section

It’s funny because I can just tell that I have so much more fun on Flounder Heights than on a lot of other stages… the stage design is so unique compared to a lot of the maps we already had, especially when so many have issues with balance for certain weapons. Any weapon can win on this stage, all depending on the player’s skill with it, and that’s what good game design is all about!

Yes, yes it did. Also, META stands for "Most Effective Tools At your disposal", right? What would be the most effective tools at my disposal for Big Run? Designing For or someone like him should make a video on Splatoon.

In Big Runs, wahoo world at low tide, it is bad because the basket is in the middle and hard to get to I lost so many games cause we didn't have enough eggs!

Undertow turf war had a slight rework and all Nintendo did was... remove a flank route, making the map even more of a hallway than it already is. This was only on turf war btw.

On Brinewater rainmaker you can go around the first ramp after the checkpoint by climbing on the podium and jumping on the wall to the right, then jumping around the lamp onto the small plat.

There are only 4 inkable walls in brine water springs and those are in center

It’s a shame Brinewater Springs for have a great rainmaker stage because that mode is my favorite in the game.

Brinewater is the now mooray towers

I think on brinewater the wall on the right side is there to prevent longer range weapons to just completely shut down most of mid or even the map itself.

Flounder heights just confuses me so much as a newer player, I have no idea how to go about playing it. Everything I try has mixed success, flanks and things never seem to pay off or get me killed etc so I get stuck for ideas and can't contribute as much

Flounder Hights and Brinewater is good. I waiting for Bluefin, The Reef, Urchin, and Saltspray to return. I’ve been sick to death hating on these maps on Splatoon 3, I don’t get it. Flounder is a Goat of this franshise.

Oh god I forgot about s1 looooooong tower

"I dont think this route is perfect, the drop takes so long that unless youre a dualie..." Me, who uses all 6 chaos dualies exclusively" 😏 That might also have something to do with why I actually like this map a lot. Its very easy to get bolted into your base, sure. but i still enjoy the map a lot otherwise

Brine water looks more like mahi than mahi

I love Flounder but it's a little annoying atm because I get some teammates who've never played a map like it before and always push from the same direction like with the other maps. The flanks are so valueable and even as a charger main, I'm literally on edge which I love because an enemy can now get behind me without really getting in my sights.

If you had to pick one would you rather have the pipes from the section of wall in Flounder Heights removed or would you rather the uninkable wall next to that spot with the grate above it be inkable?

I wonder if we'll ever have custom maps for any Splatoon games. Obviously it would be a huge fan endeavour to recreate the server systems and exploits to be able to use them which I wouldn't know the first thing about, but it would be so fascinating to see how the kinds of changes you suggest would actually play, and to be able to compare directly to the base game.

Splatoon 3 maps are a mixed bag. Ones like Undertow Spillway are great because they provide cover in the form of the little hills at mid. Whereas then there Inkblot Art Academy which has no cover in mid, especially on Rainmaker. Which makes it a 4K E-Liter camp fest.