I'd say anything that moves the map closer to DotA takes away from it's originality, sooo.. :)
I like the way it is currently entirely freeform. Chassis should give a passive bonus to it's intended role (improved drones/turrets for Carriers, for instance), and perhaps have one unique ability, but otherwise they should be freely selectable, in my opinion.
I don't mind removing the vehicle shop - you should be allowed to change your starter vehicle free of charge before the match begins, though, because people might forget to change to their desired chassis in the lobby.
I think you should keep chassis the way they are - very basic frames for the creation of your own personalized vehicle. Giving them their own abilities would simply turn them into fancy-named Aeon of Strife heroes, and there's enough AoS maps with pre-defined characters out there. Keep it fresh!
You may be underestimating the Carrier type. While I agree that drones and mines do not have quite the desired effect, a Carrier using Turrets excels at area denial, pushing back enemy waves and even ambushing enemy vehicles and cutting off their escape path with a turret field. Additionally, shield upgrades, energy regeneration, shield-leeching weaponry and the Repair abilities turn your carrier-type into a fearsome tank that never runs out of shield unless it's being focused down by two ARES. Add mobility-enhancing abilities like the scanner Probe (for Recalling to it) and Micro Warp Drive, and you have my dream vehicle!
However I noticed that Mechs are usually the preferred chassis for healing-type builds, which I believe shouldn't be the case. Shouldn't Carriers be more fit for the job? The carriers' role in healing is limited by their amount of weapon slots.. perhaps you could introduce healer drones?
Also, speaking of Micro Warp Drive: Eiviyn, would it be possible to change the mechanic to the Stalker's Blink ability instead of using the current range indicator? With Blink you can click anywhere on the map and have your Stalkers blink toward it, but with Micro Warp Drive your mouse pointer needs to stay within the ability range, which is annoying.
Yeah, there should be some sort of upgrade system for the AI. It performs quite well, but it remains on the starter vehicle forever and doesn't seem to buy additional equipment, either.
Also, a bug I found: If you upgrade your turrets while you have some placed already, you can exceed the limit. In my case, I had 4 standard turrets planted, then upgraded 2 of them, and was able to plant 6 total. Not sure if that's intended!
Buuut yeah. I love your usage of decals and standard "shape" objects to mark spawnpoints and control point ownership, not to mention the crossed-wrenches icon on the repairing station... Also I just noticed how there's a little crater under the Planetary Fortress when you blow it up. It looked fairly 3D, so I don't think it's a decal generated by the building explosion... therefore, wow! So much attention to detail! Your work is most lovely! Raising all thumbs I have.
I played this map a couple of times now, and I must say it's a-ma-zing. I'm crazy about polished user-made content, and with Catalyst you've shown your ability to create intriguing mechanics, tidy, creatively decorated environments and wrap everything in a highly functional, streamlined interface. Not to mention fully customizing your play style is extremely fun! This is my current Holy Grail of SC2 user maps.
Will there be any specific times where you can catch the developer(s) and play Catalyst with/against them? Some organized matches would be lovely, since pub players quit midgame frequently... plus, that way my healing builds won't be wasted on the team!
EDIT #23:
Also, I'd rather not have stats saving other than kills and other visual stuff. It's more interesting to progress to higher tech every game, in my opinion.
I'd say anything that moves the map closer to DotA takes away from it's originality, sooo.. :) I like the way it is currently entirely freeform. Chassis should give a passive bonus to it's intended role (improved drones/turrets for Carriers, for instance), and perhaps have one unique ability, but otherwise they should be freely selectable, in my opinion.
I don't mind removing the vehicle shop - you should be allowed to change your starter vehicle free of charge before the match begins, though, because people might forget to change to their desired chassis in the lobby.
I think you should keep chassis the way they are - very basic frames for the creation of your own personalized vehicle. Giving them their own abilities would simply turn them into fancy-named Aeon of Strife heroes, and there's enough AoS maps with pre-defined characters out there. Keep it fresh!
You may be underestimating the Carrier type. While I agree that drones and mines do not have quite the desired effect, a Carrier using Turrets excels at area denial, pushing back enemy waves and even ambushing enemy vehicles and cutting off their escape path with a turret field. Additionally, shield upgrades, energy regeneration, shield-leeching weaponry and the Repair abilities turn your carrier-type into a fearsome tank that never runs out of shield unless it's being focused down by two ARES. Add mobility-enhancing abilities like the scanner Probe (for Recalling to it) and Micro Warp Drive, and you have my dream vehicle!
However I noticed that Mechs are usually the preferred chassis for healing-type builds, which I believe shouldn't be the case. Shouldn't Carriers be more fit for the job? The carriers' role in healing is limited by their amount of weapon slots.. perhaps you could introduce healer drones?
Also, speaking of Micro Warp Drive: Eiviyn, would it be possible to change the mechanic to the Stalker's Blink ability instead of using the current range indicator? With Blink you can click anywhere on the map and have your Stalkers blink toward it, but with Micro Warp Drive your mouse pointer needs to stay within the ability range, which is annoying.
Yeah, there should be some sort of upgrade system for the AI. It performs quite well, but it remains on the starter vehicle forever and doesn't seem to buy additional equipment, either.
Also, a bug I found: If you upgrade your turrets while you have some placed already, you can exceed the limit. In my case, I had 4 standard turrets planted, then upgraded 2 of them, and was able to plant 6 total. Not sure if that's intended!
Buuut yeah. I love your usage of decals and standard "shape" objects to mark spawnpoints and control point ownership, not to mention the crossed-wrenches icon on the repairing station... Also I just noticed how there's a little crater under the Planetary Fortress when you blow it up. It looked fairly 3D, so I don't think it's a decal generated by the building explosion... therefore, wow! So much attention to detail! Your work is most lovely! Raising all thumbs I have.
I played this map a couple of times now, and I must say it's a-ma-zing. I'm crazy about polished user-made content, and with Catalyst you've shown your ability to create intriguing mechanics, tidy, creatively decorated environments and wrap everything in a highly functional, streamlined interface. Not to mention fully customizing your play style is extremely fun! This is my current Holy Grail of SC2 user maps.
Will there be any specific times where you can catch the developer(s) and play Catalyst with/against them? Some organized matches would be lovely, since pub players quit midgame frequently... plus, that way my healing builds won't be wasted on the team!
EDIT #23: Also, I'd rather not have stats saving other than kills and other visual stuff. It's more interesting to progress to higher tech every game, in my opinion.