Review [Issue 31] Maps That Once Were! II

[Remaine 4,687]

Greetings, readers! As you know, we've a very large number of maps at our disposal - but not all of them have been in there for the long haul. @skitee has already informed us of some of the maps that once were, way back in Issue 9 as you can see here, but this issue, I've decided to continue this series, and make you aware of some of the maps that did exist in the game, some of which you may or may not remember - let's begin:

Deck-9

Deck-9; a small map - one that was only able to fit 4 players. Created by M0ONL1ght, the very person who created Gravity and Canyon, it was a very fun map to play in. Each side had their own advantages, but none were powerful to the extent that you could predict which side was going to win; and that's something a good map has - prior to the map update, you had to be a Brigadier to play it, of which I didn't like, since I recall giving it a go on the test server and loving it; this was before the map update way back in 2012, which saw this increase to Brigadier from Third Lieutenant, which was definitely something that lowered its overall popularity; even before that update, Gefreiters were able to try their hand at this awesome map - at that point, I was far away from Brigadier, however. Knowing I could have played it way earlier is a tad bit irritating, but what can you do? Anyway, it was added to the game on 04/06/2010 (DD/MM/YYYY). It consisted of two tunnels, which once accessed, lead you to a flag, along with an outside part, which was the position of the other flag. It also had two ramps which were used by defenders. It was popular for 4 versus 4 drug wars in 2012. The elder Deck-9 had a small route in the middle which enabled one to swipe the flag sneakily and run. In the more modern Deck-9, a common way of escaping was via going UNDER the ramp (yes, that was possible) - unfortunately, I sometimes found myself getting stuck within the barrels, despite using a light hull. It was removed due to it supposedly being inactive. I didn't, and still fail to see where they got that from. A lot of the times I entered the servers, a few Deck-9 CTFs and TDMs were present. It baffled me that such a great map got removed, whilst maps like Gubakha and Deathtrack are here to this day. I wasn't the only one either - it got to the extent that a petition was made to keep it in, to no effect. Overall, I'm sad to see this map go, especially given the circumstances in which it was removed.

Crash

Crash - a big map; it was added to the game for the purpose of testing new props namely "lll-set propyl" which is a new set of props which are to be used for future maps. Added on the Christmas Eve of 2012, it wasn't really made for any game mode - more a format called Parkour. The plentiful amount of buildings provided a variety of tasks for tankers and their friends. It reminded me of a more modern Dusseldorf - when you first played it, you weren't really able to find your way through with ease. It didn't have any crystal or supply drops - if you wanted to have an advantage in battle, you had to use your own. You needed to be a Sergeant-Major to help out in the testing. So why was it removed? The testing was over! It was nothing more than a demo map - tankers knew that this map was eventually going to be removed - exactly when was never announced but they knew it was going to happen. Perhaps we'll see maps with props such as this in the future (Take the hint.)

Silence II

It looks somewhat like the Silence we see today, no? The discernible difference, of course, being the fence that blocked a great escape route for the red side, which meant that, whilst it was around, it required more bulk as opposed to swiftness when escaping. Not only this, you may have noticed that some of the tunnels are non-existent, the ramp at the left side is a lot more narrow, which meant for more sabotage, hence not so commonly used at the time - the ramp at the center of the map wasn't there either, so it was like a sniper spot for the defenders, although easily exposed. It's somewhat agreed that in the current Silence, the red side will generally win due to the infrastructure of the map - it's not quite the same in this case. Due to the advantages losing their presence here, the blue side had more of a chance of taking the win. Unless you're escaping from the blue base, gameplay pretty much felt the same and the differences here and there didn't have much impact. It's always been a 10-10 although on one occasion, a developer decided to create a Silence II battle that had 20 players - it must've been a pain to capture a flag in such circumstances! What caused its removal? The merge. That's right - the features of both Silence and Silence II were looked at and were put in/removed, to make the one map, which was somewhat closer to the Silence you see today. The response of it was rather controversial.

Abyss

Abyss - a large spacious map with very little cramped quarters. Prior to the map update, you needed to be a First Lieutenant to play it. It was large but easy to navigate through. The pathways were also very narrow which meant that, when on them, turrets with strong impact forces were able to push players off, depending on how they went about shooting. It was quite a trek in regards to capturing each flag - you had to do a lot and get through a lot in order to capture a flag. Another thing people liked a lot about it is the somewhat easily accessible room Abyss had. The following video eventually explains how could get there whilst it was around:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_zAH55KjeY#t=173

So what caused its departure? A brand new, somewhat identical map namely Skyscrapers! It can be found in the game now, although it's fair to say the EN populace prefer Abyss to Skyscrapers, as do I. I appreciate that Skyscrapers is more vibrant than Abyss though. On June 3 of last year, Abyss made its way for Skyscrapers, never to be played again.

Moon silence

Another variation of Silence? How fun! On the Cosmonauts Day of 2013, Moon Silence was added to the game. What made it different from the current Silence at the time? NOTHING, when you exclude the lack of gravity, the space-like sounds and a different skybox. The feel of weightlessness was made more abundant in this map, and that's what everyone liked. The thing is, the map's temporary permanence wasn't always meant to be. The developers had a 'let's-see-how-it-goes' attitude when releasing this map. Depending on its popularity, the map would either be removed after a short period, or it would stay. As expected, the players welcomed the map with open arms, which lead to it permanently staying. Not only this, it was available for every rank! (although the current Silence at the time WAS NOT - take that at your own discernment). So what caused its removal in the end? HACKERS. That's right - fly hackers as low as Recruit went in Moon Silence games to ruin them. Anyone who got caught received a beautiful BLOCK, but that clearly wasn't too much of a deterrent, and it did ruin gameplay, although I laughed at the nubs that abundantly did not know how to operate the hack. At least it went out in style, though - for 7 days, 3000 gold boxes dropped and the person who caught the most in that period won an I-Pad. This has all the details.

Platform

Platform - not here for very long; a map that slightly ascended in player amount the time it was here. It went from being a 6-6 to a 8-8. It was added on July 19 of '13, as a result of the creator being a winner of the "Looking for a new level designer" contest. He didn't win the grand prize, but placed well. He is a Generalissimo named . According to him, the plan was for it to be called "Unreal" before being changed to Platform - a change for the better, if anything. The gameplay was particularly great in DMs and CTFs, and much less so for TDM. It got removed on August 19 of '13 - it was only around for a month! It was generally liked by the players - not inactive or anything. All bugs in it were fixable; nothing was wrong in that respect. On that note, what's the reason? The creator requested it! I can never really say for sure, but it appears that the creator didn't like the fact the developers changed the name of the map without his consent.

Canyon

Another good map by M0ONL1ght gone? The horror! Added on the very same day as Deck-9, Canyon was somewhat well known for the great ramp it had - when hit by a few Railguns in the correct direction, the amount of flips you became capable of doing was impressive. As for its gameplay, you could either ascend through cramped tunnels, or via spacious desert pathways - the latter option being quicker, as expected, although the cramped tunnels made for better means of escapade. Given that it's rather small, it catered to all kinds of turrets, and I guess that's one of the reasons why people were a fan of it. It was one of the maps where it wasn't too difficult to utilise any combo effectively, no matter how unorthodox. I recall playing a lot of Canyon matches, due to hosting them practically all the time, whilst it was present. The hole was very annoying for me, to be honest. If you wanted a Canyon game, it didn't take too long to find one - unfortunately, the developers didn't see it that way and deemed it as inactive. I was a fan of the map, but I in no way cared as much about its departure than Deck-9; it was the best small map in the game. Both of the maps were removed at the same time - needless to say, that was quite the bad day for some.

Gallery

Gallery - another map that was there for the purpose of testing out the new props, except it wasn't played so much for parkour - more for TDMs and CTFs. With good balance, you were capable of reaching new heights, given it was possible to move on some of the arches on the map. This map, in particular, also looked very nice in appearance - fair to say it was the more played of the two, given that it's easier to navigate around the map; gameplay could actually flow. If you haven't figured it out by now, what caused the removal? The testing was done and the map was terminated. Some people wanted it back and made their sentiments heard, whilst others weren't even aware of its removal.

 

Magadan

It's certainly underrated - but if you asked a set of players if they've heard of the map before, many a time would you hear the answer "No" - yes, the developers removed this map along with Deck-9 and Canyon due to the inactivity of the map, and this is the one that makes sense. Our older players will miss this map dearly, however.

Which map do you want to see return? What's your favourite map of all time? Feel free to comment below!

Edited July 30, 2017 by Hexed

[MA3CTPO_HA_XAHTEP 832]

Nice article!

 

I miss each of these maps, especially old Silence and Deck-9!

[Remaine 4,687]

Much appreciated - I was a real fan of Deck-9.

[Shaloo7 1,216]

Good job, informative.

I really loved Abyss, Moon Silence and my favourite was Platform when I was a Segent-Major. I still remember how I sniped with Shaft and Mammoth in Platform :D

Edited January 30, 2015 by Shaloo7

[Athena369 265]

Didn't really expect someone else would be able continue the series the series in same way it was written by skitee. Looking forward to future continuations of this great article! Keep it up <3

[snipe3000 678]

bring back crash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jazz20 1,181]

RIP Silence 2

RIP Moon Silence

 

After the battle lists update, Silence has really gone down in popularity. It's more Polygon and Noise :unsure:

[Miss.DI 371]

i want gallary to return my fav map is polygon

[Lankbouv 6,347]

Thought you'd gone and stole skit's idea, but you gave credit to him-fair play.  Also, the article itself is good too.  

 

Good Job.

 

3 maps that should NEVER have been removed:

 

Canyon

Deck-9

Magadan

[Lord-of-the-Snipers 1,620]

Good job!

 

 

Surely don 't miss Moon-Silence. What the .... was so silence about it?

Can still here those awful space-sounds in my mind! :P

Wasn 't too fond on the actual gameplay either, just fun for a few times.

 

Do have some early Tanker memories on Gallery.

I remember I was quite excited to "climb" these high arcs.

A similar kind of feeling when a Tanker for the first time enters Madness...

[DarthvaderjonGTR 615]

Unfortunately, I'm a relatively new player and haven't seen any of these maps :( I saw crash in a Tanki FB post loooong time ago, thought it was seriously cool. I heard a lot about moon silence. Wish I had found out about Tanki earlier :(

 

Great article PCOJ! Allows me to imagine how it would have been roaming around those awesome maps :)

[Nurburgring 22]

Oh Abyss, what a great map you were.  It's nice to see that I'm not the only person who thinks Abyss is much better than Skyscrapers.

 

As a matter of fact, I started a topic in "Ideas and Suggestions" a while ago, asking if people would support bringing Abyss back to Tanki.  Here's the link to the topic:

 

Bring Back Abyss - Ideas and Suggestions - Tanki Online Forum

 

Feel free to comment there.  Who knows, we might even get this old gem of a map back!

 

Nurburgring

Edited January 31, 2015 by Nurburgring

[Truthteller 4,204]

DECK-9

Did not play it

 

Crash

Played it once or twice, was not a bad map I remember you could go inside the building and it had stairs right?

 

Silence II

Was too low rank at the time to play it

 

Abyss 

Played it like 2 times, was ok

 

Moon silence

Oh how I miss this map but its gone now :(, have a lot of memories here.

 

Platform

Played hide-n-seek with my friends in this I always used to go in the nuclear tower hole..

 

Canyon

Thats a old pic of it.. but anyways I used to do 26 flag games with kingofdeath and the others in it golds always fell in them.

 

Gallery

​Played it a few time don't know allot about it.

 

Magadan

Was a beautiful map used to play in it as a low rank

 

( I did all these stuff on my other acc )

[Papaya14 481]

Moon Silence was incredibly fun ^_^ I hope for Cosmonaut's Day this year, they add a low-gravity effect to other maps too. How about a Moon Polygon, or a Moon 2042?!

 

Also, removing Deck-9 was just incredibly dumb on their part. Some of my earliest Tanki memories are from that map.

 

Magadan was completely underrated. It's a shame you didn't have much to say for it. It was incredibly fun for CTF and for rank-up parties.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Papaya14

[Xenophobia 457]

I really miss moon silence and deck-9  :(

[genak138 950]

I have not played any of these, but I REALLY want to play ALL of them.

[lukey0 27,543]

Nice article, I will always miss Canyon, Deck-9 and Gallery.

[Usurper 147]

Really nice article you did a great job. 

This maps where awesome i used to play a lot all of dem i really want em back :'(.

GL!

Edited January 31, 2015 by Usurper

[hatealien 138]

I would like Silence II and Deck-9 to be returned :(

[NewbieCake 3,067]

All these maps look so cool, I wish I was around to play them. I hope they bring some of them back :(

[Superlative 500]

I think Deck-9 is back. Except for platform,I played all.

[Gold_box_drop_never 7]

I really miss Moon Silence :(

[eeru 5]

I want moon silence bk i loved it very much!!!!!!

[Remaine 4,687]

I think Deck-9 is back.

*facepalm*

[ArcticCow 454]

Moon Silence of course.