[R]What do you like to see in Melee Maps? - Page 2

Mapmaker:
I like open mains, I like hard to take nat and impossible thirds, loads of attack paths (I feel the edges should be used more (a "dropable" main is a good thing), I like aggro maps with concepts applied that make these maps difficult to master, maps requiring sneak expoing and constant scouting (leading the opponent's forces to waste their time on fake expos etc), maps that you think "what ze fuck wins on this map! gotta try this!"...
Not because those favour me, they are damn hard and I mostly get plowed over, those types of map favour PLAY! What is the point of having diversity in the units if the maps nullify them... where is the fun in waiting around until the lag makes your mass of units unbeatable (whatever race) and you win by just 1 Aing around the map, beats me.

To sum up I'd say my wish is for maps that enforce a "universal" build order that provides incentive for developing (what I feel is the game) strategy, this from the get go...(build 2 workers and then stop sinking your resources mainly on economy, just leveling through, you'll still have massing and teching available, only it is simultaneous with the attacking (harass etc) ) why should I spend my time rallying workers when I can do more exiting stuff?

I hate maps that favour 200 food 1 A attack turtling players (if most blizz's map do, it's to get beginners to invest more time in the game and allow for simcity addicts to flourish).
I am sooooo sad that most players think this defines the game. You should attack harass, be doing something, f..k waiting for the 20 minute mark to get to PLAY!!! This game is like sex: the back and forth defines it... if I'm the ony one attacking in a game where there's a defender's advantage I must be "barney"(in trouble)..?!? ... thankfully there are ways to counter turtles...
So with aggro play and gradual macro and teching, you have to mass armies or tech gradually, and it's always more rewarding since the game didn't start with 20 minutes of boredom...

Also I like to see people produce the weirdest maps possible... but this doesn't happen much... every main is choked, every pathway is understood in one play... blablabla... and that's why I don't map that way, not because I think Blizzard's type of balancing via layout is wrong... on the contrary I think no one will surpass their initial pool of map concepts. In any case, they define the melee gameplay ... I like these concepts it's just that there's so many people producing maps on that wavelength that I got fed up with it surprisingly quickly. This coupled with the (map wise very disappointing) laddering experience.. , f..k what is Blizz doing on that front? We should have gotten extra ladder maps by now, even bad ones!


Player:
Laddering play:
I play random, which grants me the delight of killing the scout worker my opponents offer without fail every time... (which sums up the usual first 10 minutes of game, since most people turtle till then) ...since they "have to" in order to get their defenses to be tailored to my race... (when I "announce" I'm playing t z or p, I don't even get the pleasure of that first skirmish...) ... While laddering, I don't mind turtling players so much (still it takes no guts to turtle and tech and gg at once if it doesn't work because someone crashed your surprise party), but boy are they the norm.
I think my favorite ladder maps would not surprise anyone:
Metal, Xelnaga caverns, Shakuras ... but in fact I really like them all, cause they pose an array of challenges to overcome (the random tidbit is again a plus).
There should be no dead end discussions about such, one should always bend over backwards to win on any map (regardless of the map being good or bad ), providing you have marginally the same mileage as your opponent on said map (that's the only imbalance in this game)... there should be discussions on how to create new challenges and other such "evolution".. there should be lots of discussing done, after having played the maps...
Any play:
My personal choice has always been to get any type of units in my build orders (the choice defined by what will counter what you've "scanned" from your opponents, personal pet peeves, layouts timings, flavor of the week and what have you...).
I wish to go even further with mass reintroducing BLACK MASK, remember when you had to scout to view the overall layout on the minimap? Even if you've played through and through already it adds to the game (never take stuff out from a game without long consideration). This (among many other concepts) enriches the game, makes it exiting and insures constant varied plays...

viewer:
great play can be found in any map!

As for graphics (I love eye candy but a map is not encompassed by that, it does SET the mood and that's vital though) anything goes if it works (a map filled with clouds as an oppressing "line of sight blocker feature" would be my personal goal, just haven't figured it out yet...

As for "features" (again with the imprecise) , ums is both accepted and rejected as "other" when referencing melee... if a feature goes beyond blizz's trademark, usually it's frowned upon (read me pontificate, "frowned upon", f..k this is a cool game where people still frown) ... but those are untested waters, for instance, melee mod are not even defined yet, the very tasty last Iccup map is arguably showcasing new features, so some hope is still there...
I love features, all of them providing they are showcased properly and work for the map (the more features the merrier, however a skyscrappershitload of work is needed just for pretesting said features, and mostly their conjunction into one "ready to play" map.. ready to be tested further.. very few "features" will go beyond a few months of play, but they should all be considered...

So in short I like new maps...