[M] (2) Hysteria

On May 02 2011 00:10 FlopTurnReaver wrote:
I see the 5th base as a problem. Naturally you will take the one that's in the same direction as you're already expanding (for 12 o'clock spawn that would be the 5 o'clock base), also noone will late you take your expo next to their 4th that is right next to it on low ground. However if you now take the 5 o'clock base you'll have to defend 3 chokes that are veeeeery far apart. Without any towers your enemy can just freely move up and down in the middle and attack you at the weakest choke and you won't be ready for it.

On May 02 2011 08:16 monitor wrote:
Wow that middle is really cool. I love the creativity. Probably you're coolest map yet.

Right now I think the main issue is lack of open space. A lot of the expansions here, particularly the 3rd and 4th, are really choked off. Battles are really awkward without some open ground, and its easy to exploit choke points. The middle is pretty open, but there isn't a reason to put your army there since its low ground and choked on the sides.

The middle gold expansions seem really hard to hold, since the opponent is right next to yours. I think you could probably switch the side that they are on, and maybe open them up a bit. [edit] Before you change this, try to decide how each player will expand. Then make sure its possible without being too close to the opponent.

As a solution to the open space, I think the sides should be remade. You could probably increase the map bounds, and try to give more open space. I think the 3rd should stay lowground, but the wide ramp should be closer to the natural. Then I would rework the 4th and 5th side expos to allow more open space, but keep the nice flow you have here.

On May 02 2011 09:54 Archivian wrote:
I love the look of this map.
I also like the layout,
Though I would remove the rox from the middle, It seperates the map too much for the early game, and they probably wont be there in the late game. The XWT's cover so much ground anyway so limiting movement with the rox I think would ruin the flow/freedom of movement.

I'm also a little worried about FF's from P being OP in the narrow areas, coz it looks like there is alot of narrow areas. Maybe get it play tested in some Protoss matches, and see how much it gets abused.

On May 02 2011 10:15 Whiplash wrote:
Looks like a great map. Honestly I can't think of any balance suggestions to improve the map, it seems very solid. I hope it can get used in some kind of iccup event!

On May 02 2011 13:36 monitor wrote:
I put this on the MotM thread, but I figure I'd put it here too:

1) make main ramp normal, 1x wide (instead of the 2x it looks like now). Its just a kick in the balls to terran and protoss, because of the 6 pool. It doesn't really prevent turtling either, just is easy to baneling bust.

2) Open up the path from the 4th to 5th, and probably add another ramp down (to make it harder to turtle) That path is really small, and pretty easy to abuse. Making it wider would balance ZvP/ZvT, and adding a ramp would reduce turtling on the sides.

3) Move the XelNaga towers so they don't favor turtling (maybe no towers?). Right now taking it makes it easier to hold the 4th, which will increase turtling. I suggest either removing the towers, and making it a tower-less map, or you could put one in the center. That would allow more aggression, but it could mess up the flow too.

4) Add a ton of doodads. Everywhere. Try some ground decals, put some doodads against cliffs, and find some trees/foliage that fit. The textures are really nice right now, but its lacking the small details I think. The middle textures are actually a bit bland, you should add some different textures there.