New Worlds Map Contest 2: All Submissions (VOTE) - Page 7

for my votes, i tended to favor non-standard maps unless i really liked the standard map, because we already have many good standard maps. non-standard maps have a chance to change our ideas about what is and isn't standard, and give a chance for us to play some really weird games. i know a lot of people hated playing on plasma, but personally i really enjoyed it back in the day, and i was sad i only caught the tail end of it being around when i started playing again.

for any context of my comments/votes: i'm an E rank random player. i only started playing a lot again in the past 2 months. i played a lot back in the 2000s. i havent read the other comments about the maps in this thread. i made some maps for many other games and i have used scmdraft/staredit some over the years, so i know what type of work goes into this stuff.

i want to say i really appreciate how much hard work i can tell went into each and every one of these maps

access control - i dont find the narrow ramp stuff very exciting but maybe it will be better in practice than looking at it. it's easier for players to get excited about things that give you new weird options, and less easy to get excited about stuff that feels like they take away options. not sure how to simcity third base in any matchup

anthropocene - i like this one a lot. i am really excited to see how this map works out. if i have any complaint, the bengalaas walked over to block the top right expansion during my test game, i dont like that

baroque - i feel like the expansions are too exposed and there's just a lot of open space. natural choke looks difficult in zerg vs terran against vultures

biosphere - not sure how to pvz wall natural. it would be cool if the neutral zerglings in the center were hero zerglings for mind controlling. feels like a nightmare for terrans to defend against drops/muta/carriers

blackshot - i cant figure out how to wall the natural for pvz. i feel like the expansion layout is missing some variety. i also feel like the middle of the map doesnt use its space that well, im not sure how to put this into words.

blindness - i like the decoration, but something is missing for me just looking at it. something about the layout of the battlefield of maps i like makes me think a lot about how to move around it, and this map doesn't make me feel that way.

blood of the scribe - ok this map clearly does not care about cultural expectations of what a map should be like, and i love that. i noticed there was an error when i opened it, it complained about eggs not spawning. i think the choke to the main is probably?? too big? but it's hard for me to tell because this map is so damn weird. and a bunch of the other chokes are very small. air units are absurd on this map probably, and so are siege tanks? i do not know what to make of this.

butter - entrance from main <-> natural is too big imo idk what else to say

callisto - kind of standard and no obvious problems, it doesnt get me excited, but it seems good. i think i like the layout overall

coral shallows - kind of confused about what is and isnt pathable top right/bottom left on this map. also what's up with the bottom right main using the hallucinated minerals buildable terrain trick on the gas geyser but not the top left. the mineral only in the middle of the map makes me sad to think about taking. this map is very competent but it doesnt get me excited

dimensionshed - this map is interesting, the curves are difficult to keep in my head and reason about. i think? i like the expansion layout. i'm not sure how i feel about this maximalist aesthetic that this and coral shallows have

disco pang pang - this is really interesting. i'm worried this map will be really hard for zerg in zvp, idk how zerg is supposed to attack. zerg can get a 3rd really safely but the 3rd seems even stronger for protoss

europa - hmm i notice a positional imbalance, idk how much it matters, but it's easier to defend the 24 mineral at the choke with a zealot on the bottom spawn. the mineral only bases make me sad. the pine tree doodads in the middle of the map are a nice touch. this looks fine but i am not excited about it

frostmourne - i am not into the layout idk

galactic empire - the natural is really hard for zerg to defend in all matchups. im not sure why, but this makes me think of old school maps from the 00s and i kind of like that. the layout is simple enough for me to understand but complex enough for me to think a lot about how it might work.

gale - nothing about this map really sticks out to me as super notable. i noticed that the 2'o'clock and 8'o'clock bases are hard to pylon wall for pvt

gambit - this is really interesting and i like it a lot

kick flip / double decker - im not super excited about this but it's competent. could use some better visual clarity on which lowground parts are buildable and which arent. i dont think i like the expansion layout, it doesnt feel like i have a lot of choices on how to play

laputa - idk what to make of an island map tbh, might be cool

lightning whirlwind - all the spinning doodads are distracting. i like the shape of the natural. feels hard to take a 3rd base in zvp. i like all the paths around the map

molecule - this map seems interesting. i am a little worried about how many proxy locations there are? thank you for making the protoss natural wall locations really obvious.

neptune - the expansions all feel really exposed. i feel like zerg will struggle in zvp, and protoss will struggle in pvt. i am very curious if tassadar/zerutals will be mind controlled on this map, they have so much health and damage.

pella - i find the concept very interesting. i dont know how zerg will stop vulture runby on this map, seems like it will be a problem

plan b - very interesting concept. i think those 4 bases in the center of the map will be very very difficult to hold. i feel like whoever is winning will have those bases. the mineral only bases seem worthless to me. i would like to see less empty space on this map

ragefire chasm - this map is difficult for me to evaluate. the natural reminds me of revolver. revolver was deceptive, when i first saw it, i thought "it will be hard to defend", but then it turned out to be very hard to attack on revolver. i don't know if this will be similar. but right now i look at it, and i think it looks very difficult for terran to defend the natural in pvt. as zerg, i dont know where i would put my sunkens in any matchup. i also dont know where i should be taking my third as zerg, there doesn't seem to be a good third for z also, the walkable lava terrain behind the natural is really hard to see.

red eagle - i like this map a lot actually. i like the starting location sprite. i am not certain but it seems like top left's natural choke is bigger than the bottom right?

reflections - i really like this, i'm lacking in anything to say about it beyond that

sandslash - i actually like this map a lot. entrance from main -> natural seems kind of big. the mid right / mid left expos feel kind of weak, very exposed and also surrounded by high ground so you cant see air units coming. maybe want some parts of the main that aren't surrounded by high ground

scarabee - im not very excited about this. it seems like all the potential 3rd bases for zerg in zvp are very weak

sea breeze - i like the middle of this map. this third gas base seems really good for terran and very poor for zerg, especially zvp. im not sure where im supposed to put my 1st overlord in zvt. would be nice if the town hall in the main was moved a little bit farther back into the main imo, more space for buildings. the mineral onlys make me sad.

silent storm / dragon's lair - yo i wasnt too excited about the old version but i like this new update a lot! this layout is very interesting. minor thing: some of the rocky ground tiles are buildable when i expected them to not be

steel dominion - theres something very weird about this map that i cant wrap my brain around. i feel like the 4 center bases will be really hard to use.

super nova - i like this a lot. this seems really neat with the fast 3 bases. i find it interesting that this map was labeled standard when it seems a bit different with the narrow natural choke and the backdoor mineral only. i worry about long stalemate tvt games here, hopefully the center base helps with that. i wonder if it would be an improvement to remove some of the cliffs at the north/south side of the main to better see drops/recall coming.

typhon - this map is weird and i like it. i dont know how much use the neutral creep will be. i dont understand what the 0 mineral stack at the 3rd does since the worker can just slide through like on Plasma.

winter solstice - idk how to wall the top natural pvz. bottom natural has a bunch of unbuildable tiles where i cant put cannons? also whats up with having 6 mineral only bases

Защитная Технология - the center path is an interesting concept and i like it. kind of reminds me of hitchhiker but less extreme. some of the tile editing on this is like too much. im not so sure about this whole miss chance zone thing

cataclysm - crashes for me so i didnt get to try it but it looks really interesting in the picture

dark vengeance - i like this. the bottom natural seems a lot easier to wall for every matchup. hmmm mind controlling yggdrasil is really interesting. i'm not sure how this will play. i do wonder if Z could use some tricks for this map to make up for the yggdrasil

elquiness - i cant notice anything bad about it but it doesnt make me excited to play it for whatever reason. i wonder if protoss air will be too strong here

lambda - this asymmetry in the middle is neat. im not really sure about the statis cell + mineral only setup. my scouting worker got caught on them which is annoying

ringing stream - i'm not really sure what to think about this map. small thing: you can place buildings on the ramp to the top main? which is very strange?

sand gate - really interesting, overall i like this map. idk how much the difference in minerals in the backdoor mineral patches will matter but one spawn has 128 and another has 352, seems like an issue since zerg will be able to place a 300 mienral hatchery mainly for just production and get that 352.

sky bridge / kamar taj - i like this a lot!! i wish it was easier to see that the grass in the middle is unbuildable

stratholme - this is really interesting. i do not know what to make of the balance of this map and i am very curious to see how it will work out

treachery - i like this layout a lot. i wish it was easier to see which parts of the highground purple ground are buildable

turbine - i remember seeing an earlier version of this and watching some games on it. i like the changes from the version i remember. but i will say that i dont like these center mineral-onlys, they dont seem fun or interesting to me