Welcome to my new, revamped map thread!

I didn't take good care of my last map thread, and it ran away and won't let me edit it anymore! But I'll show it who's boss by unveiling my new sleeker and sexier map thread!

05/15/2011 - Hiatus due to moving house, sorry!
03/18/2011 - Project 'Excalibur' updated.
03/17/2011 - Project 'Excalibur' added to works in progress.
03/16/2011 - Project 'Trinity' added to works in progress.
03/16/2011 - New map thread launched!

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(4) Sanctuarium
+ Show Spoiler +

Available on: EU / US

Map Details: + Show Spoiler +

Spawns: 2, 5, 7 & 11
Size: 136x136 (playable)
Bases: 16
Watchtowers: 1 (central)
Rocks: None
LOSB's: 4 strips in the grassy areas around the middle
Tileset: Huge mix of Agria, Aiur, Bel'Shir, Korhal and Xil

Sanctuarium Map Thread

(2) Neonights
+ Show Spoiler +

Available on: EU

Map Details: + Show Spoiler +

Spawns: 2 & 8
Size: 128x96 (playable)
Bases: 10 (including 2 gold)
Watchtowers: 1 (central)
Rocks: 2 large diagonals (block defender's entrance to third expo)
LOSB's: 2 concave's (around the watchtower)
Tileset: Shakuras/Ulaan/Ulnar Mix

Neonights Map Thread

(4) Spaced
+ Show Spoiler +

Available on: EU & US

Map Details: + Show Spoiler +

Spawns: 12, 3, 6 & 9
Size: 160x160 (playable) (largely irrelevant due to 45° rotation)
Bases: 14 (including 2 gold)
Watchtowers: 4 (central)
Rocks: 2 6x6 rocks (block gold expo's)
LOSB's: 4 sets of concave's (around the watchtowers)
Tileset: Braxis Alpha/Zhakul'Das Mix

Spaced Map Thread

(2) Osiris
+ Show Spoiler +

Available on: EU

Map Details: + Show Spoiler +

Spawns: 11 & 5
Size: 156x144 (playable)
Bases: 12 (including 2 gold)
Watchtowers: 3
Rocks: None
LOSB's: 2 large strips north and south of middle, 2 more small strips near each of the two outer watchtowers
Tileset: Aiur/Shakuras/Ulaan/Xil Mix

Osiris Map Thread

project / codename_TRINITY (25%~ complete)
+ Show Spoiler +

project / codename_EXCALIBUR (25%~ complete)
+ Show Spoiler +

Thanks for reading!

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dimfish

United States663 Posts

March 16 2011 15:51 GMT

What a sexy map thread! On Trinity, is that a cliff behind the gold that I can park my overlord on to watch the entrance to my natural, or my opponent's natural?

funcmode

Australia720 Posts

March 16 2011 17:43 GMT

On March 17 2011 00:51 dimfish wrote:
What a sexy map thread! On Trinity, is that a cliff behind the gold that I can park my overlord on to watch the entrance to my natural, or my opponent's natural?

Thanks! And yes it is indeed a high ground cliff, I'll most likely make it unpathable by ground, but I see no reason why an overlord couldn't make a cosy home there

. I'll double check to make sure you can spot about as much of the natural entrance from each cliff - as looking at it now it seems the right cliff might not reach as far as the others.

Not sure what 'theme' I'm going to go with yet either. Right now I'm thinking lava or desert but I can't decide.

adso

718 Posts

March 16 2011 18:23 GMT

<3 your egyptian map
now on to isis

ihasaKAROT

Netherlands4730 Posts

March 16 2011 19:55 GMT

It is a sexy thread indeed

I like the codename stuff

Makes it very secret.

THeres only high quality maps in here, and Im jalous at ur mappingskills. Well that only proves I need to up my skill by alot before Im on this level.

Keep it going funcmode, just not too much

Johanaz

Denmark363 Posts

March 17 2011 17:46 GMT

Cool thread.

What about Dunes of Despair? I remember that as a solid map that even won a map making contest.

lovablemikey

264 Posts

March 17 2011 18:56 GMT

Big deal! So, his map thread looks better than everyone else's. Maybe some of us are a little more modest and a lot less talented.

funcmode

Australia720 Posts

March 17 2011 23:27 GMT

Thanks ihasaKAROT, Johanaz and lovablemikey (I know you mean well! ;D).

Regarding Dunes of Despair, yeah it's an OK map, and I was thinking about including it in this thread, however it has a few key issues that I'm really not happy with. I may go back and make an updated version that fixes these problems, I may not, will have to see

(the same thing applies to a few more of my earlier maps).

In the mean time though, I have added a new work in progress (codename_EXCALIBUR) to the OP. I'll quote both current WIP's here to try and garner some more attention and feedback on them both:

project / codename_TRINITY (25%~ complete)
+ Show Spoiler +

project / codename_EXCALIBUR (25%~ complete)
+ Show Spoiler +

If you have any ideas or opinions regarding the maps, please don't hesitate to speak up, I'd really appreciate it

dezi

Germany1536 Posts

March 18 2011 12:49 GMT

Excalibur reminds me so much of a idea a had long time ago but i never finished (see here). I never finished this one (and also none of the reworked versions) because i never was satisfied about the gameplay. Your map has even bigger problems - when a opponent starts counter-clockwise you'll have a hard job taking a 3rd. The closest one is blocked, the open one is siegeable from your opponents nat and the HY also also very vulnerable to harass.

Your opponent on the other side can take the 3rd with the blocked entrance allowing him to easily secure it - he only needs to camp at his nats choke (and needs to scout for drops/tanks to the 3rd). He also has an easier job taking and holding the HY. So i don't think that this layout gonna work.

funcmode

Australia720 Posts

March 18 2011 20:07 GMT

#10

On March 18 2011 21:49 dezi wrote:
Excalibur reminds me so much of a idea a had long time ago but i never finished (see here). I never finished this one (and also none of the reworked versions) because i never was satisfied about the gameplay. Your map has even bigger problems - when a opponent starts counter-clockwise you'll have a hard job taking a 3rd. The closest one is blocked, the open one is siegeable from your opponents nat and the HY also also very vulnerable to harass.

Your opponent on the other side can take the 3rd with the blocked entrance allowing him to easily secure it - he only needs to camp at his nats choke (and needs to scout for drops/tanks to the 3rd). He also has an easier job taking and holding the HY. So i don't think that this layout gonna work.

I think you're exaggerating the problems though, does the fact that the closest (and safest) third is blocked by some rocks really make it so difficult to take? (Irrelevant anyway if you continue reading)

In close positions, players should obviously opt to expand away from their opponent (clockwise spawn expands clockwise, counter-clockwise expands counter-clockwise) and in that respect the available thirds are quite balanced in terms of their position, the only difference is obviously the rocks. The rocks themselves were put there initially to stop the counter-clockwise player from having an additional, shorter route into the opponent's natural. However obviously this creates a slight positional imbalance for both expanding and attacking (although both players gain both advantages and disadvantages).

Regardless, both problems can be solved by removing the rocks and rotating the ramp so that it's outside of the natural's choke instead of inside.

As for the high-yield, I wouldn't agree it's 'very' vulnerable to harass. Yeah a couple of tanks could hit a few patches and this would probably benefit the anti-clockwise player a little, but no more than it being easier for the clockwise player to harass the other player's natural - these sorts of imbalances will always exist to some extent in maps using rotational symmetry. It's all about whether the reward outweighs the risk, and if you don't think it does, expand somewhere else, there are plenty of options available. The clockwise player can just take the next nearest gold expo, which while it is a bit further away, would force a terran with siege tanks to cross the entire open middle in order to attack it, which would by no means be easy for them. All in all I'm not massively concerned about the gold expo's, as to actually take out the expo players will need to launch a proper attack and neither positions truly have an advantage in that situation.

Anyway, here's a new version with the changed ramp into the third base, a bit more space between the third and the natural, and a bit more space between the third and the gold - which should help alleviate most of the problems you mentioned:

dezi

Germany1536 Posts

March 18 2011 23:09 GMT

#11

And now u ended up with a map that is even more similar to my old idea but as i said: i never was really happy with it (due to positional imbalance and dull gameplay). Don't be afraid to drop ideas - this happens :p