The problem with a game releasing with 5 or 6 ready-made maps is that after a week or so, every player worth a damn has every nook and cranny in every map memorized to the point where they know EXACTLY where to go and have a really solid idea of what strategies work and where the most effective paths are.

This isn't a problem, so much as a reward for playing the game - the more you play, the better your map knowledge, the better you can cover yourself/teammates and know what the opposition plan on doing.

When the maps are always the same, playing them become less like a real battle with tonnes of teamwork and so forth and more like an "E-sport" where players practice shaving seconds off the time it takes to cut off the other team and start getting hypersensitive to minute details, while starting to rely less and less on their teammates in the process.

jdwpom's law - Any in-depth discussion of faults with FPS games will inevitably result in somebody using a Valve game as a counterpoint. In TF2, a sniper with any amount of map knowledge and practice is going to have issues dealing with a spy who uncloaked behind them a few hundred metres back. Scout vs. Soldier almost always goes to the Soldier in 1v1. Medics can't do squat alone. Each class has its hard counter, where it will almost certainly need some form of support.

In a similar vein, in Tribes: Ascend, no amount of pathfinder skill is going to get you past the enemy's flag defense - you need someone to put pressure on the stand and clear your way, you need someone to tell you where defensive items are placed so you can choose your grabbing route accordingly. Practice helps, there's no denying, but you simply cannot make informed decisions about your course of action without knowledge of the field of play.

But I like the idea. I think having randomly-generated levels would suit some games, as long as it was handled carefully. To make it 'guaranteed fair', you would need symmetry - mirror symmetry would be the easiest way to achieve this, though I'm sure making one that handles rotational symmetry wouldn't be impossible, and would make for more 'interesting' maps, where the 'best' path isn't instantly obvious to someone with experience.

It would better suit a slow-paced game, and offer you the ability to see the whole of the 'battlefield' from a distance, in a known safe area. Perhaps starting the game in some sort of heavily-defended watchtower? This would probably result in teams leaving a member behind to keep track of enemy positions and pass them through with VOIP.

I haven't played DOTA, et al. Would this be suitable for that style of game? My understanding of them is that you it's an RTS with people playing the roles of your units - a person commands from above, and the other players fall in and attampt to do them.

Also, this would be incredibly good for something like DayZ - having an 'unknowable' area would keep players on edge, and possibly heighten the experience. Alternatively, it would result in the first person in the server finding an advantageous position and abusing it.

I'm out of ideas. Sorry for babblilng.