The final selections for both MSL and OSL maps have been made.
MBC Game
MBC Game will drop Rush Hour III (long use, we've seen everything on that map, slowly crumbling balance) and drop The Eye (iffy balance). For their next season, MSL will use:
1. A modified version of Arcadia (image is old version)
2. Longinus (new map)
This is the image of the new Longinus, take not of the differences, especially the same-level mains.
3. Blitz (new map)
Blitz is a pretty quirky map: the closest rush distance is blocked by a mineral wall, the second closest distance is only accessible by small units (like 815), there are multiple routes, and the air-to-air distance between mains are real close. There's a lot of possibilities for gameplay for this one.
4. The fourth map, the OSL loan map, is New Peaks of Baekdu.
OnGamenet
OGN will drop 815 III (too bad, I liked it) and New Cultivation Period (concept never worked, bad balance). The next OSL will use:
1. New Peaks of Baekdu - heavily modified.
As you can see, the main is now elevated, so there are no cliffs to harrass from (although you can still reach from under). Furthermore, the mineral line has been changed so that lurker/cannon harrass is much less effective. The 3 and 9 expansions are also elevated, and attack routes/cliffs have been changed here and there.
In the end, the New Peaks of Baekdu tries to retain the concept of the previous version while addressing the severe balance issues. We'll see if they work.
2. Tau Cross (new map)
OGN has a history of making radical concept maps; Tau Cross is the exact opposite of that history. It's a very simple, upfront, unfancy 3-player map.
3. Arkanoid (new map)
First of all, I love the fact that they named a map after this. Second, Arkanoid is very much a unusual map; there are neutral buildings everywhere. At first it's an island map, but rush pathways can be created by destroying the neutral buildings. Early feedback seems to be that gameplay is fun. I feel like conventional timing won't mean anything on this map, or players can create their own timing.
What will be very important is the hp of the buildings on that map, especially the hp of the warpgates at each expansion.
[edit]: apparantly, the warpgates at each expansion have 700hp, the stone temples at the narrow chokes have 1500hp, the Xel'Naga temples at the wide chokes have 5000hp, and the terran buildings at the wide chokes have 800hp.
4. The fourth map will be an MSL loanmap. Although there has been no official announcement, it is most likely that the shared map will be the new version of Arcadia.
*** All of these images are first draft images, these maps are likely to change by the time they are playable.
On July 07 2006 23:30 MuShu wrote: I'd like to see how pros approach Arkanoid, it looks very quirky. And I remember playing that game from a long time ago. :D
Yeah all kinds of creative shit like lift buildings and land in the other base (Terran), fast drop, etc etc....
i dont think, ive EVER been this excited about maps before.... i mean, i remember when RoV was first introduced and like i was "O_O WOW OMG COOL" kinda thing.. but this this is just asdfkja'sdklfnasd'klfnasd'kfnasd'fna so damn good... Arcadia; although i havent seen the new version... ive never really been a fan of this... so um, not really oo excited about this... Longinus; after seeing the prematches this looks like its goign to be a good map, possibly toss favoured (just a hunch) Blitz; i love it.. its just.. fast, action packed, interesting and abusable... this map should be REALLY fun to watch New Peaks; omg, this looks nothing like the first version.. this is a MAJOR improvement, and now i actually like this map =D! now there is so much potential for all KINDS of sexy stunts.. i mean, u cud do a nice little rax float now... like from 3 or 9 or 6 or 12... omg... awesome Tau Cross; i took one look at this map and i fell in love with it... omg.. its just, plain, simple and nicely designed... this map has potential Arkaniod; just, wow... so bright looks like cultivation period meets guillotene.. anyway... this map is just asdflasdl;fhal awesome.. this map is going to need new strategies, new gameplay, new timings, omg... who said sc was dead :O:O
All in all, i think OGN is trying to move away from the luna style macro wars that we've created as of late (forte/luna/rush hour/arcadia etc) and get the game alittle more micro and strategy oriented.. on that note i hope they DONT chose arcadia to share, plz pick blitz .. and MBC is varying it up a bit having some micro/strategy maps (peak/blitz) and some macro (arcadia/longinus) which should make map drawings for each group/round important features for players (moreso than in the past imo)
I cant wait for the next OSL/MSL... i hope as many big names as possible make it... and that we get many quality games !!
btw; will ODT use the new maps? or the old ones? and; what maps will next seasons proleague use?
The HPs for the neutrals in Arkanoid are, I think, as follows
Apparantly, the warpgates at each expansion have 700hp, the stone temples at the narrow chokes have 1500hp, the Xel'Naga temples at the wide chokes have 5000hp, and the terran buildings at the wide chokes have 800hp.
On July 07 2006 23:46 airdave519 wrote: there a download site for these yet?
I wanna know too:D
Im almost never happy with maps but I gotta say... As a fairly balanced lineup of maps(In the strategic sense, not as in balanced racially) these are AWESOME. Both lineups are good but im leaning towards the OGN lineup cuz I think Longinus and Blitz are probably the weakest of the 6, I could be wrong with Blitz though... I cant really imagine how games will break down on it.
On July 08 2006 00:15 Plexa wrote: btw; will ODT use the new maps? or the old ones?
Well the current ODT uses the old ones, right? So I would imagine the next ODT will use some of the new ones, they seem to like to mix up the maps a bit between the OSL and ODT... I would imagine for variety and to ensure a difference in people qualifying(Like using Luna/RoV at one point in the ODT made a lot of Z's qualify, I think).
Also I disagree about Arcadia:D I hope OGN uses it because then it will be 2 straight forward macro maps(Real good ones though) and 2 crazy style maps.
Tau Cross looks extremely fun. I'm soo gonna play this til it bleeds when I get my hands on it. I wonder how macro oriented it'll be. It look rather close so I hope it will be different from Luna, R-point ect. I also like the cliffable nats.
oh my gosh! these maps i all really, really like. looks like both a lot of fun to play on and to watch! =) as always, i'm waiting to see what the pros do with it, especially (yeah yeah i'm going to say it) what boxer and Nal_rA come up with =)
Come on ppl :ooo This version of Tau Cross is terribly bad. It looks like a map made by total amateur. If they don't fix it, it will be very imbalanced.
I like other maps, but Longinus needs many changes
Six o'clock on Tau Cross needs to be fixed. The six-mineral expansion is in an inferior position when compared to the other two mains.
Added: PvZ on Blitz: expect at least one Protoss player to proxy gate on the platforms below the natural expansion of either base. I imagine we'll also see a quick reaver build--because the Z can hardly rush--with an expansion to the dual-gas "island" at 12. Beyond that, fast expansion will probably be popular. Most passageways are actually pretty darn narrow, so we might see Ps trying to keep the fight on the ground after their initial expansion, as opposed to corsair/reaver play.
PvT on Blitz will be an enormous, macro-ridden snore. Terrans can get three geysers with incredible ease by choking off the ramp below their natural and the little ramp below the middle expansions. Reaver openings, fast expansions, and early carriers will be popular here. Ps will want to end the game early; Ts will want to end it late.
Arcadia is a great map, so hopefully the changes are very minor. Without an updated picture of Longinus, I can't comment upon it. New Peaks and Arkanoid are too odd to comment upon without playing 19028312 games on them.
Wow these maps looks great. It will make very interesting games. Especially arkanoid. I like these new maps with narrow cliffs, neutral buildings, large bridge etc.... OGN brings very interesting new concepts.
Tau Cross: -_- Great, they turned paranoid android into a 3 player map!!!! (if I'm wrong it could be fun I suppose :o). Hm, finally a map where you can CLIFF again tho, that's kind of cool :O!!
Arkanoid: Drool.
Blitz: Drool.
Longinus: I'll reserve judgement on this one :O Seems better now that I know the main is no longer on sunken ground.
The new PoB looks waaaaaay better than the old one. Elevated mains and less effective lurker/cannon use will be BIG for gameplay and particularly PvZ. 2 ramps will still be tough, but not like it was before, that's for sure.
Arkanoid looks so cool! It seems like it'll be a battle of minds, seeing who can protect themselves properly and take advantage of the extra macro opportunities without getting caught with their pants down by a gradually growing ground threat. Very cool.
Tau Cross seems to have some Positional Imbalances by the looks of it. At first glance, it seems that it will be difficult for a toss at 6 to beat a Terran at 9.
they will fix all of that i am sure. Can one of u koreans go on to mapdori and find a way for us to download the maps They really reeeeaaaalllyyy want boxer to win. now about every single map is micro style. I predict another season of oov sucking. That boring 3 player one looks like it was made by a 3 year old. Longinus is like a 3 player azalea with some high ground in the middle. Clearly they want the tosses out so its easy for boxer with only TvZ and TvT
The only map I am sad to see go is 815 III, it was the only 4 player map that was simply fun to play on.
On July 08 2006 22:01 jG]BeefcakeS wrote: they will fix all of that i am sure. Can one of u koreans go on to mapdori and find a way for us to download the maps They really reeeeaaaalllyyy want boxer to win. now about every single map is micro style. I predict another season of oov sucking. That boring 3 player one looks like it was made by a 3 year old. Longinus is like a 3 player azalea with some high ground in the middle. Clearly they want the tosses out so its easy for boxer with only TvZ and TvT
The only map I am sad to see go is 815 III, it was the only 4 player map that was simply fun to play on.
another fan boy... yay
how about this, they are moving away from macro games because its simply boring? and btw; afaik the maps arent on mapdori, and ive look everywhere humanly possible... just have to wait untill they are ready i suppose
On July 08 2006 22:01 jG]BeefcakeS wrote: they will fix all of that i am sure. Can one of u koreans go on to mapdori and find a way for us to download the maps They really reeeeaaaalllyyy want boxer to win. now about every single map is micro style. I predict another season of oov sucking. That boring 3 player one looks like it was made by a 3 year old. Longinus is like a 3 player azalea with some high ground in the middle. Clearly they want the tosses out so its easy for boxer with only TvZ and TvT
The only map I am sad to see go is 815 III, it was the only 4 player map that was simply fun to play on.
another fan boy... yay
how about this, they are moving away from macro games because its simply boring? and btw; afaik the maps arent on mapdori, and ive look everywhere humanly possible... just have to wait untill they are ready i suppose
if I was a fanboy this is what I would have said something like "The emporer will rule for a thousand more years" stuff just ties together for getting boxer too win. Making osl bigger when he lost in the ODT.
Its not that I dont like micro or macro maps. I know micro maps are more interesting. This will really piss off some of the good macro players. And its not just coincidence that they decided to have super gay chokes for longinus. Its really going to blow for protoss in the next OSL. The MSL however, will probably be good.
i think that the bottom spot on Longinus looks vaslty superior
and
i think that Tau Cross looks like total shit. Why the fuck they're producing such boring maps i don't know. I could understand it with Luna where they just wanted obscene macro wars for the fans, but the different spots Tau Cross are hugely different from each other... starting in top right >>>> starting in bottom if you're playing TvP or PvZ , there are no drop issues there like the other bases etc. It looks basic, but still totally inconsistent.
Remember the differences between the naturals on maps like Gaema (bottom right sucked ass for TvP and PvZ) and Requiem (the 3:00 natural was retarded), they both went through alteration for OBVIOUS positional imbalances after the complaints came it, but any retard could hace seen them coming.
I bet you can tank the 6:00 nexus from above that wall too...
Arkanoid was like the first computer game I ever palyed. That was the game I started PCs with. Very fitting for a map like that since you have to shoot blocks in it as well
EPT
![[image loading]](http://www.columbia.edu/~kml2013/Arcadia.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.columbia.edu/~kml2013/Longinus2.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.columbia.edu/~kml2013/Blitz.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.columbia.edu/~kml2013/New_Peaks.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.columbia.edu/~kml2013/Tau_Cross.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://www.columbia.edu/~kml2013/Arkanoid.jpg)
