I enjoyed playing the casual modes on Smite 1. I hate the default 4 lane moba setup. Joust (1lane) and Clash (2lane) were very enjoyable for me.
I have not yet played Smite 2 and have no idea how it differs mechanically to Smite 1. If anyone can offer any insight into what gimmick the game has that actually makes it different I'd be grateful.
So the old map was slightly unbalanced with the giant titan dude on the the inside of a curved shape and with the red buff on the outside of the curve. In addition it was quite a bit smaller. There only being one red buff and one major objective zone made fighting happen all the time rather than the slower paced larger new map.
Admittedly it's been about 6 or 7 years since I played it so I might be misremembering but I think that's sort of why I preferred the og