Call of Duty fans have been happy to see old maps brought back, but OpTic Chicago’s Scump seems to be tired of it — calling for developers to bring some fresh, quality content to the franchise and the CDL.
By Stage 3 of the CDL’s 2021 season, two classic maps have already been added to the league’s map pool: Raid and Express. Following the Black Ops Cold War Season 3 update, vintage map Standoff is also expected to reach competitive play.
Raid, Express, and Standoff all hail from 2012’s Black Ops II and are beloved maps in the competitive CoD community. It’s no surprise that they’re favorites among fans and competitive players, but superstar Seth ‘Scump’ Abner appears to think nostalgia is no excuse to curb envelope-pushing new content.
In a recent episode of the OpTic podcast, Scump and content creator Davis ‘Hitch’ Edwards dove into the map discussion. In that conversation, the veteran SMG called for devs to stop relying on older content and instead set new standards for map design.
(For mobile users, segment begins at 8:24)
Asked about the reintroduction of Standoff, Scump groaned and was encouraged to let his feelings be known. The veteran star was happy to oblige, noting that it may be time for some freshness in competitive CoD:
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“Dude, can we get some new, original, good maps?” he implored. “These were eight years old. I’ve played the f**k out of these, man. As good as it is to have good maps, guaranteed good maps, we’re basically just playing Black Ops 2…with slide-canceling.”
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Hitch, presenting a more casual perspective, points out the overwhelming difficulty in trying to create a ‘guaranteed good map,’ touching on the franchise’s recent history: “I can’t remember the last time a legendary map was made in CoD. There have been good maps but there hasn’t been a Raid or a Slums.”
Scump seems to agree with Hitch that new maps haven’t been horrible, but none are on a truly memorable level: “There are good maps, they’re just not on that prestigious level.”
While teammate Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper is excited to play on Standoff, noting that the game’s mechanics should make it play differently, the OpTic group’s consensus remains the same.
As of yet, no developers have responded to Scump’s appeal. Interestingly, the CDL’s commissioner, Johanna Faries, was announced as the CoD franchise’s general manager as well — so one has to wonder if future map design will more closely suit competitive needs.
