Im for updating/expanding old areas.
1) Adding new towns and cities could scatter the small player base.
2) Updating the look of the current areas could draw more players.
3) There are many areas that feel awkward and illogical.
One of the biggest problems in PS are dead spaces. One good example is the area surrounding the Hydlaa arena. While the central structure of the arena, with many entrances leading into it, suggests a central location, the space around it dose not correspond to the shape or the infrastructure of the building at all. This creates an counter-intuitive environment. Its like placing a shopping gallery in the middle of a desert. The interior of the arena is unpopulated, making it feel abandoned. Im talking about both NPCs and items. This is also true for terrain maps. They somewhat remind me of industrial German landscapes. For me the journey is more important than the goal. The empty areas just don't justify the travel time. These areas feel a lot like fillers, that are placed there to make the journey longer in order to make traveling harder. The environment offers no place for spontaneous actions and the sights change very slowly.
Another thing is the linearity of paths that can be taken. Mostly there is just one way to reach a certain goal. This makes the environment feel very restricted. A second option for each destination would give a greater sense of freedom, make the world feel larger and much more open, with less effort. This is especially important for Hydlaa and the Death realm. While there are some hidden paths (like the sewers and dungeon) that give a little freedom of choice, these ways cant be observed from the city itself. For me the charm of medieval towns lies in the complex street structure, that gives "unlimited" possibilities to get from one point... to getting lost in a maze of streets. One of my favorite places in PS is the dungeon. Its easy to get lost at first, but after some time exploring the structure becomes clear, while still offering a certain degree of freedom to choose your path freely. Hydlaa has only straight paths, this has become even more obvious after the changes from MB to CB. This doesn't hold true for Ojaveda, because the general layout feels very controlled, while the houses in Hydlaa are scattered.
There are many other small things, like 1m high steps, unused city space, awkward texture mapping and green space around average residential houses in Hydlaa(feels like suburbs with huge walls).
I just feel that the planning quality has lessened since the release of CB. Most of the new environments are much more generic. The awesome layout of the original maps back from AB and MB is probably why i like Planeshift in the first place.
Quality over quantity.
My reasoning isn't based on role playing, but rather on the general feeling and authenticity of the world.
EDIT: The problem with the city-design contest is that there is too little time for a team of amateur developers to design, model and texture an entire town, while maintaining high quality. 4 months may seem like a lot of time, but for it really not all that much, if you take into account that amateurs work much slower and there is virtually no real life or CG architectural reference.
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