[M] (2) Forborne Fortune

I have never created a map I consider a finished product--not by a long shot. Often, a simple idea, or a puzzle over how to execute a map feature, will consume me for a day or two. Once the editor is open, I try to lay it out as a draft, but inevitably I get bogged down in minute details. By a process of self-compromise, many hours later I will have created a full layout. If you give a mouse a cookie... he'll do some basic texturing and perfunctory doodad placement. But being a perfectionist and visionaryTM that also ends up being a project. Once ample swaths of time have been drained from my life, I have a creation worthy of playtesting. Or abandoning, once I see that it never did really come out right. But the process for me is most important; creative foment, churning analysis and imagination.

The inception for this map was the idea of having a natural with two entrances separated on the outside by DRocks. The fitting next step was to put a base on the outlying side. This ended up taking over as the focus, because Forborne Fortune hinges on the decision between a close, vulnerable third base or a medium distance third base more typically situated.

I've found that I naturally tend to create lots of cliffs and ramps, which unavoidably decreases the openness. In this map I knew I wanted multiple levels because it was integral to the design of the natural and the close third, so I was very deliberate about using wide pathways. Instead of zoning "open areas", I relied on wide routes and wide ramps to naturally create broad areas at their intersections. (This is exactly what happens outside the natural on XelNaga Caverns.) The result is that no one spot feels "open", but across much of the map you're just a corner away from breathing room.

Another proclivity of mine is that I see possibility in every inch of terrain, and it takes all my discipline not to design an infernal canyon network or an island made of destructible rocks whenever I concentrate on one spot for more than thirty seconds. Even placing a doodad can take me down a whole new path to enhance the tactical aspect of my terrain. This is what happened with the cliffs above the close third, where eventually I settled on using trees to make it a semi-island allowing small and medium units to walk in but requiring large (imba) guys to drop. This is used a couple other places less drastically. I am pleased with how the tactical features turned out. Overall the layout is somewhat unconventional but the main areas are standard enough. Around the map are plenty of places for tricks where they won't get in the way of standard procedure.