If free GE gets involvid we would for sure see a huge number of people giving map designing a go. Not to forget some amazing talentet people that we already have in the community.
Maybe the dev server would be a good place to vote for community maps so players can explore, experiance and give feedback on what they think of it.
I’d say to only make bigger ground maps available for the higher ranks where speed is amongst all vehicle. Ground would only need minor changes, long drives would indeed make for dull gameplay. Map size is probably most needed for top tier air, where mach 1 to 2 capable planes with long range missles are currently basicly launching right after take off making some matches only last 5 minutes.
Imo mountain style maps with big tall mountain passes would be great. More balance in gameplay. Higher alt would still allow for missles gameplay, while low alt gameplay around mountain passes or narrow canyons could result in some gun chasing. (Can still be combined with sea, desert and other elements for diversity). I think this might solve a part of the problem since it’d require more skill to fight instead of yeeting a bunch of fire and forget missles into the lower atmosphere.
Now we mostly see mountains around the far edges on a handfull of maps so a test map for this would be great.
In terms of ground i think different map styles and a new mode could improve gameplay. Most current conquest maps have 3 objectives in a line down the middle of the map. Making a slightly bigger map with 4 objectives in a square/diamond instead of a single line could combine a lot different areas allowing more dinamic gameplay models.
In terms of modes chainlink conquest would cool to see. For example a big jungle style map with up to 6 objectives. In order to be able to cap C, your team needs to cap and controll A and B.
So for example if your team has controll of objectives A,B,C and D it’d allow your team to make a move for E. (Meanwhile the opposite team starts at F trying to build their chain from the other side). But if a sneaky enemy player comes around and decaps B breaking the chain, you’ll have to fall back and work together to rebuild your chain. If you capture the enitre chain points get depleted at a high rate. Meaning if you hold the chain without an enemy breaking it, it can win you the match. This mode would require an increased ticket count, but i think it would highly promote teamplay and reduce spawn camping. (Maybe even block spawn camping, making the enemy spawn out of bounds untill your team has captured the entire chain)
The maps would require cover and try to block out a lot of the long range engagements. A lock on CAS could improve the teamplay and experiance even further.
Agreed wide open desert maps for example would just be way to boring. Would result in a lot of camping like we see in some of the reworks now, and would most likely make players quit sooner. Actual good maps design and testing would be neccesary.