EPTARKANOID
original post in Korean here (from PGR21.com)
current OSL maps thread here
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Arkanoid for DL here
![[image loading]](http://www.columbia.edu/~kml2013/Arkanoid.jpg)
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#0
As some of you guys already noticed, we OGN Mappers haven't published our analisis for a while. For the simple reason:
"'CAUSE WE GOT FLAMED THE ASS FOR OUR EFFORT"
Originally the analysis were thought as a kind of usere' manual, an after-service, but after noticing people not really caring about it, we started doubting. And since forseeing progamers' play was nearly impossible we changed the analysis to simpler map introductions.
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#1
Creating new maps takes somewhat a lot, and somewhat little efforts. For my case, it takes about 2 hours approx. to have the relief and then the raugh versions cause I have relatively fast hands. Elder mappers take more time, and no idea about the youngers. BUT architecturing and correcting takes a LOT more time.
So I thought: "How can I show the effort I poured in my work? How should people know about it?" And I decided to post a summary of side notes I had done by creating Alkanoid. There are more things to talk about too than the correction 'new Baekdu' and the standard 'Tau Cross'.
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#2 the inspiration
Maybe the idea was from me, or maybe not. Everything starts in feb 2005:
Rose.of.Dream, who was doing all the pro-mapping activities alone back that time, asked me if I wanna join the mapper team he's founding. I said yes, and that was the first time I met [Ragnarok]Valkyrie.
V. had 3 new map concepts at that time. One was the famous 'Ride of Valkyries', the others were 'Hex' and 'BaekDuDeGan'. But the BaekDu was a completely different map than the current one being islands with 3 startings, and wasn't chosen cause islands were out.
So 'Hex'. I don't even remember how many players that map had now, it just had mins(8 mins) wall every entrance, and with 2 workers one could reach to the opponent main. Fortunately V. still had a jpg of it:
![[image loading]](http://www.mapdori.com/bbs/icon/member_image_box/7/Hex.jpg){kind=icon}
We were concentrated on ROV and treated Hex as forgotten, just after creating Alkanoid I realized that it is anouther version of Hex having neutral buildings instead of min walls...
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#3 the start
Anyway, I was conctructing a 2on2 map for the 2006 SKY ProLeague, and used the concept of Arkanoid. This time with the right name. It looked like this:
![[image loading]](http://www.mapdori.com/bbs/icon/member_image_box/7/Arkanoid_Team.jpg){kind=icon}
The concept was to strengthen the T-P combi and air units at the same, and it got nominated with MangWoel(full moon) into the last round of OGN map congress. The pro teams' opinion was that Iron Curton and Arkanoid at the same time was a bit too much strategically focussed, so we decided for MangWoel. Maybe good maybe not-_-;
I felt sorry for the concept of Alkanoid then, so I fixed it to a 1on1 version and made the current one out of it.
And I even have given it two names - Ark blue and yellow - for an eventual 2on2 map next season, but I almost have given up that idea by now.
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#4 the general balance
Conceptual maps are pretty hard for balance tunings. So it's a real adventure every time, resulting into either a big success or a huge flaming. Since one can't exactly calculate the balance out of other maps' statistics, one tries to compare with them and look for the similarities. So the same case by Arkanoid.
We regard every map as islanded when zerg can't get the natural with drone only. On islands zergs normally have limited possibilities. So the first thing I did after modulating the map into 1on1 was enabling the natural. And the two neutrals on each side of main disappeared.
But it would be a problem if everyone only goes for triple resources straight, which seemed likely even in mirror mu's now. Because of that new neutrals were placed directly on the naturals, enabling zergs to get gas at least as a compromiss.
I wasn't sure about the correct HP of neutrals and went for 700 randomly. After pro-testing it was tuned to 250*4=1000.
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#5 T-P balance
"Unfair that T can build CC first and destroy the neutrals meanwhile, and P can't!" You're right. But I tried to foresee further, comparing the case with Dark Sauron II.
The shortly revived DS wasn't a success in terms of balance or gameplay, but all I needed were the BO relations: P goes no-gate 2Nexus, and T reacts with no-rax 2CC. And then? P goes 3N straight, and wins out of resources.
I regarded it as the keypoint of the map that T is still the hardest race for expanding. It isn't just the difference of if 300 or 400 mins are spent by exping. It's about how hard it is to defend after exping, and I thought T will have later 2nd exp than toss due to large vulnurablity by 3 resources to harrassments. So gaming-deciding would be the timing when T comes out of base opening the neutrals, or how the air units like shuttles or carriers act before settling tripple resources.
Pro's for P: early 3rd resource, carrier-encouraging landshape
Pro's for T: early 2nd recource, ground-based landshape, hard to defend 3 recources at once
There was only 1 official TP game until now, but it was very meaningful. During the test games trippled T's were especially weak to reavers or carriers, and there was timings for P-grounds to break through too. So it was intended for P to weaken the current T mainstream.
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#6 T-Z balance
TZ on this map strongly depends on BO decisions. It looks like this:
when Z goes safty(entrance hatch/sunken def first): good vs offensive T(3rax rush), bad vs defensive(2CC)
by risky Z play(3 gas first): the opposite case
Of course there were other T BO's like 2SP wraith or fast dropship, and strong and weak Z BO's related to them.
This BO-relationship is not quite a fair one, not in terms of percentage, yet T takes far stronger overhand by correct BO decisions then Z the same case, deciding the game as a rule. But still I treated it as balanced regarding the possibilities of using Ovis terminating BO overhand mostly.
Parallel Lines III was the map compared the most handling this, where T went mostly fast exp and lost a lot vs 2gased mutas. So I expected that T would play grounded, like 3rines 2nd CC, rather then using island BO's.
Pro's for Z:
BO scoutings with ovi, relief encouraging muts, easy 3 gas.
Pro's for T:
fast 2nd CC, easy dropships, good for 2fac grounds
There were 2 official TZ games in total, 1 T win with a mech BO using map advantages, and 1 for Z with low-ecoed mutz vs fast CC. ProTeams were regarding it as T-favoriting, but as the 2SP wraiths BO has been disarmed I expect a air-based Z BO mainstream with key point on mut micro.
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#7 P-Z balance
I was worried about PZ the most, and not the 'strong T overhand'. When the mainstrom would go to ground battles it's clearly favouriting Z, and the opposite by island battles. Quite one-sided each case.
And there weren't any similar maps for this either. So all I could do was to analyse it down to its basics.
First of all, I thought the expansions with neutrals wouldn't favourite any side. P could go exp after 1-2 lots, and Z 9 pool with ovi first.
The 3 entrances smile for Z, but it's still ok with narrow entrances and high HP of neutrals.
And as on 815 it wouldn't be too easy for P being not a completly islanded map, so mains would have 9 mins at least.
Pro's for Z:
3 chokes, easy 3gas, weak neutrals
Pro's for P:
1gate play possible, no-forge 2nex possible by non-aggressive Z, easy 3gas, islands-like reliefs, narrow paths for ground battles.
There wasn't any official ZP game yet, I expect a 1-2lot nex---> ground scenario, or corsair first--->splash P vs macro Z scenario
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#8 prognosis
At first it will depend a lot on BO decisions probably. Since there is a great variety of possible strategies, it will go various BO's vs various, resulting in short games at the beginning.
But when the 'bad cards' get sorted out and the map gets its own mainstreams, it will probably turn out imba in some MUs, and will be corrected then of course. Just it will take longer for progamers to characterise the map this time, due to the strategical variety.
Anyway, I hope you guys will be suprised by the incredible strategies progamers bring this time, and hope that 'this will be a map where players play vs players actually, and not races vs races' as someone told me once.
by Forgotten_ (Sng-Yeon CHO)
) this map on PGT even though it is motw :/
