- The freezing mechanic is too disruptive to gameplay, 'not fun' for either player
- The blizzard effect is visually unpleasant. The vision reduction mechanic significantly disrupts game play.
- The deep snow mechanic is overused on blizzard maps, but is considered a good mechanic that adds depth to game play.
I would argue that "mud tech" had the potential to address the 3 above issues while adding significant map variety to the game.
My vision for the mud tech would have been:
- Replace blizzard effect with heavy rain, perhaps with lightning effects. The effect shouldn't be so heavy that it deters from gameplay.
- The rain should only slightly reduce vision, and thus not be completely disruptive to gameplay.
- The rain would cause mud to build up in specific areas of the map, much like heavy snow.
The advantages of this system is the player isn't constantly exposed to deep snow - the mud will only be there for fractions of the game and 'dry up' in a set time after the rain. There is no 'freezing' mechanic, and the vision reduction doesn't completely change game play. Best of all, players don't have to stare at a white screen trying to locate units for a quarter of the match.