(We have zero intention to harass players, promote toxic criticism and exercise offensive behavior towards any mapmakers. Any map is part of Spiral Knights community history and has the right to exist and be published. The only thing we aim to subject to criticism is the decisions made by Grey Havens, and we do so only for the sake of healthy debate and improvement of the Spiral Knights)

As a founder and representative of Coliseum Crucible Workshop (CCW), I am writing this post to raise the concerns voiced within the community about the recently added Lockdown maps and hopefully initiate a polite discussion on ways to address the situation.

If I understand correctly, on January 6th at least two Crucible maps were approved and added to Lockdown rotation — Rustbelt and Starfield 5CP v2.

Rustbelt, although reportedly highly unbalanced, is a map with high-quality artistic design and many novel decisions unseen in any other creation. It adheres to rules of SK level design, and with proper revision and testing it could indeed be considered a level meeting the original Spiral Knights standards.

On the other hand, the map "Starfield 5CP v2" is a baffling sight to see in official Lockdown rotation. I must reiterate that there is no problem with the map being playable within the confines of Test Mode, but having it be officially added without any explanation is extremely concerning on multiple levels:

- Compared to Rustbelt, the standards and quality of Starfield are disparaging and don't paint a clear picture of what is acceptable. The Coliseum Crucible Terms and Conditions specifically state the following:

"Review for your level will take time, so please be patient. If your level is accepted, it might one day make it into the game. Acceptance is not a guarantee that you'll see it in game, only that it meets the current guidelines and standards."

Every single official level within the game, including Lockdown maps, follow strict design rules set by Nick Popovich & Ian McConville: proper skyboxes, presence of edge tiles, smooth ground transitions, pleasant lighting, overall coherent theming. Starfield follows none of these and it is apparent at first sight. The base-to-arena bridge transition is botched; there are no trim tiles around the walls and edges; the "Day" skybox does not fit the dark-lit theme; there are no edge-cliff tiles — the map ends with low walls; the map is completely flat with practically no interactable/dynamic elements whatsoever.

- No explanation was provided to the community as to why these maps were selected. Their addition was not mentioned in the patch notes. The most recent patch notes themselves are broken as well: the 01/06/2026 post within the Announcements links to the November patch notes, while the actual patch notes were... published in an edited 12/11/2025 update post?

- The only reason the community learned about the addition of these maps was because the map creators shared the contents of the letters sent to them. These letters consisted only of a single sentence and no further elaboration. The map creators were not in any way rewarded for their effort. While this part is not mentioned by the Terms and Conditions, it is a concerning development alongside the inadequate patch notes — not even a token reward like Purple Spiral or some kind of a new medal was provided.

We request clarification from Grey Havens on the decision to add these maps to the official rotation and the circumstances around it. With the current atmosphere of silence and incoherence, this development currently causes only concern about the preservation of the original developers' vision of the game, as well as the original standards.