Thanks for the great tournament this weekend. I really enjoyed watching the stream and the new maps made for a much needed change. That guy from ImbaTV with the Goggles (McDuff i think?) made it even more unique :D.
On June 02 2011 08:07 WniO wrote: which map take the cake? btw is there any official motm rules for next month or will it just be the past top 5 finalists.
Btw, are there any plans to make a month for 2v2 maps? With the growing importance of 2v2 maps in team leagues and Prodigy's team league+ new 2v2 maps, I guess that would be interesting
I just watched the VOD from the Finals in MotM #5 Tourney. All the 5 maps looked incredibly good. My favourite was Ithaca, but i have to say, that Curfew and especially Void Rift blowed my mind. It was just a plessure to watch games on that map. They got a really good design and besides that Void Rift got a new and fresh look/style. For me Void Rift is my MotM #5. Well done.
This month, we had five epic maps. Five maps that I would want to see played in GSL. Personally, I think that all of them are absolutely great. The judges each retreated to their respective fortresses of solitude to make their decision, and with 4 judges reporting in we're were at a deadlock decision. Finally, the fifth judge made a tie breaking vote, and so I am please to announce this month's MotM winner:
Hysteria! Congratulations to Antares777. Hysteria is unlike any map we've ever seen, and delivered some amazing games, particularly Game 1 of the Finals!
We're looking forward to seeing all the MotM winners next month, in a grand Super Tournament! (details still to come).
Also, be sure to download the MotM #5 Replay Pack to watch some amazing games on the MotM maps.
As you may already know, Map of the Month #6 (June) will pit against each other the last five month’s winners---The Crucible, Marshlands, Sanctuarium, The Eighteenth and Hysteria---in a super Grand Tournament (details still to come).
But that doesn’t mean there isn't an opportunity for mappers to show their skills! For MotM #6, in addition to the Super Tournament, we also present:
Map of the Month #6 Aesthetics Challenge A great map has balance and looks amazing.
The purpose of this challenge is to submit a map with a solid visual look or theme. In order to take the map layout out of the equation, every submission should be a redress of this ugly duckling of a map:
It is your job to turn this duckling into an amazing-looking man-eating ninja swan.
What constitutes an amazing looking map? Should there be 10,000 lights? Should you use every doodad in the catalog? Should the map be a beautiful menagerie of critters with some minerals in there somewhere?
No!
An amazing-looking Starcraft 2 melee map should:
Always put the game first. Can you see the important pathways, cliffs and choke points at a glance? If not, players will constantly be spending valuable game time deciphering your map’s layout and they won’t play it next time. That means map death.
Never go overboard--if it takes 1 hour to load your map just to play at 5 fps, welcome back to MAP DEATH.
Finally, a good-looking map has a scheme, or unity or a theme. If your map looks like a pretty, well-crafted pile of misha-mush, well it’ll be forgotten quickly. Lots of simple schemes (like a two-tone scheme, just two dominant colors) or complex themes (The Eighteenth) will stick in the minds of players and the audience. They’ll meet the good looks of your map first, then fall in love with the layout second.
Don’t change the map layout in terms of big terrain changes or adding destructible rocks, etc. It’s ok to change cliff contours to achieve a specific look, or add doodads into the pathable areas, as long as the passageways still function essentially the same.
Do change the cliff types, textures, background, maybe the lighting (this is REALLY HARD to find better settings than the Blizzard pre-sets, be careful). If you have never tried to do this stuff in the editor, now is a perfect chance to learn!
More map resources A bunch of links to helpful mapping threads compiled by Barrin.
Putting out a call to the veterans Here is a chance to help out your fellow veterans and newcomers alike! We invite everyone to collaborate in this thread on the challenge--help each other find resources, techniques, tutorials. Everyone can kick their mapping game up a notch.
iGrok will at some point this month be streaming a live Lighting tutorial, so make sure to tune in for that!
One final point: for the Aesthetics Challenge, the winning map will be chosen entirely by you, loyal, beautiful and handsome TeamLiquid community members! So fire up the editor and start your submission, or keep an eye on this thread and start making a list of your favorites as they roll in.
Hey all, FTR guilt-tripped me into posting D: (j/k <3) Sorry about the MotM/LP stuff... I haven't kept up and have just been lurking for the past couple months Busy IRL and just playing other things. I think I can figure out the brackets for #5, I can update it in a couple weeks (i'm about to have free time in the not-so-good way :/)
Just give me some time and I'll take care of it, or show someone how to do it if you guys want it done sooner.