Work In Progress Melee Maps - Page 181

Keep our forum clean! PLEASE post your WIP melee maps in this thread for initial feedback. -Barrin

Fatam

1986 Posts

September 16 2015 07:29 GMT

#3601

Latest brainstorm template, not sure how good it is but it was fun to make. The main choke and nat choke are smaller than usual (barracks and 1 supply depot walls the main entrance, while the nat choke is only 7 squares wide)

@sweden I'd comment on those but I'm too ignorant of starbow. Look interesting though

Xiphias

Norway2223 Posts

September 16 2015 08:51 GMT

#3602

On September 15 2015 23:30 SwedenTheKid wrote:
Having a good time map making, SB map design is pretty cool. I have an update as well as two new SB map layouts.

For Oxide, I removed the mineral only base, made the vertical enclosed 3rd easier to take, and added an experimental corner base blocked by 25 crystal minerals.
[image loading]

Here are the 2 new map concepts

Euclid Wastes
[image loading]

Untitled Map
[image loading]

I like where Oxide is heading

Euclid Wastes (where Euclid threw away is unprooven theorems?) has a tad 3 base sc2 syndrome in that you have too much space around the third to properly defend it easily, but it's also quite close to your natural.

The last one looks really good for Starbow.

SwedenTheKid

567 Posts

September 17 2015 04:37 GMT

#3603

@Fatam

I'd try to give good feedback on your map, but its a bit to complex for me to really understand what's going on. I'm not sure if the back door to the main is overkill, with the rest of the map being so abstract. The map definitely encourages players to move out into the map once they reach 3 or more bases, which could be good. Anyway, definitely feels like one of your maps

UPDATES

Oxide Port-
Fixed proportions slightly, beginning texture work.

+ Show Spoiler +

Euclid Wastes-
Polish, made forward 3rd easier to hold (with the tightening of some paths, the addition of mineral walls)

+ Show Spoiler +

Techno Realm-
Addition of pylon in the center of the map with shared vision to all players. Can be killed normally or kept alive to spot enemies (sneaky sneaky). Made the natural safe from tanks attacking from the 3rd. Texture work.

+ Show Spoiler +

Fatam

1986 Posts

September 20 2015 06:30 GMT

#3604

updated version after I had time to refine some things. You have 2 big points of interest (the entrances to the 3rd, and the XNT which watches a major path, along with watching your backside for drops) on opposite sides of the map. This, among other things, could make things pretty wild. The XNT also makes the 10/4 base more appealing. I think FFE is probably viable.. you have a smaller than usual nat choke so that's 1 less building you have to put there, and the rocks buy you a little time to wall the other nat choke which is about the normal size (10 squares). If that's not enough I can probably shrink the 2nd nat choke a little. Would love thoughts on that or anything else.

EatThePath

United States3943 Posts

September 22 2015 18:08 GMT

#3605

@fatam: in the desert version you have no reason for a funky main/nat anymore; before it was to facilitate the backdoor rock island 3rd with the XNT. Now I don't really see the point of the flat main choke with a mesa overlook. I was going to suggest on the space version if you add another ramp to the mesa from the natural (and put rocks on it), then later in the game you can break the rocks and have good path to your XNT base without having to loop all the way through the main to reach it.

Also the main choke should really be 1ff if possible. I've found the best way to do this on a flat choke (with or without overlook) is to make it diagonally shaped and use doodads/pathing to make sure there's a spot for a ff that completely blocks it. I wouldn't mind seeing a 4square choke here for walling purposes, since there are so many extra vulnerabilities. If you are clever with unbuildable pathing you can make a main choke that is wallable with zealot + gateway but which requires 2pylon + gateway (or depots rax) to wall. That way you don't have the scouting deny degenerate case.

imo you should reintroduce the backdoor path to the XNT base from the mesa, I think this is a strong part of the map. to do this, you should probably reorient the ramps so they are as direct as possible to facilitate defender movement.

but I like the shape of things as in the desert version. also the pathways around the map with/without rocks are really cool, I like the dynamics.

Fatam

1986 Posts

September 22 2015 22:05 GMT

#3606

Great feedback, thanks very much. I was thinking that as well (about there being almost no point to the weird main anymore). I could probably make the main normal and still add back in the backdoor shenanigans.

One thing I was thinking about a "mesa" style main like this is that it allows you to have a little more blink surface area than you would otherwise because even if stalkers blink in, they get bottlenecked temporarily by the ramp going down. Not a huge deal but it's something. Also it can make defending early all-ins a little easier because even if your main choke is breached you have a little extra dps time on the stuff coming in before they can get up the ramp and engage (assuming they don't just go straight for your mineral line)

Anyway there's a lot of ways I could go here and I'm trying to struggle through the decoration on my other map so it may be a minute before I get this one updated again. If only there was an auto-decorate function

p.s. - good point about it being 4 squares, I was so caught up in how it would be walled I didn't think about it needing to be 1 FF as well. It's 5 atm so not a big change

EatThePath

United States3943 Posts

September 23 2015 15:56 GMT

#3607

yeah I have so many maps that never go anywhere cause textures ~ 1 / free time XD

here is a picture btw of a version of the zealot walloff requiring 2 2x2 and 1 3x3:
+ Show Spoiler [zealot block] +

+ Show Spoiler [walloff] +

SwedenTheKid

567 Posts

September 27 2015 05:43 GMT

#3608

Was bored so I made a Blood Bath remake. Starbow 1v1/2v2/FFA no close spawns (spawning in your opponents natural).

sTYleZerG-eX

Mexico473 Posts

September 27 2015 19:00 GMT

#3609

On September 27 2015 14:43 SwedenTheKid wrote:
Was bored so I made a Blood Bath remake. Starbow 1v1/2v2/FFA no close spawns (spawning in your opponents natural).

This is nice, and some of ur other ideas are also cool, u should invest time in them and get them finished (make them nice and good looking), I recommend u dont just let them become a WIP 4 ever.

SwedenTheKid

567 Posts

September 27 2015 21:38 GMT

#3610

On September 28 2015 04:00 sTYleZerG-eX wrote:

Show nested quote +

This is nice, and some of ur other ideas are also cool, u should invest time in them and get them finished (make them nice and good looking), I recommend u dont just let them become a WIP 4 ever.

Thanks. When it comes to putting time into finishing WIPs, I usually wait until I get some sort of feedback. If I don't, I usually assume that no one thought the map was worth commenting on. Its pretty hard to advance the state of a WIP without some negative feedback, since the chance of me making the new awesome ladder map first try is pretty low. As for aesthetics, I don't see it being worth it if I'm most likely going to alter the map significantly in the future, and I'm not the best with doodad work either (my maps are usually pretty bare and desolate). Glad to know that my other WIPs have some potential though.

sTYleZerG-eX

Mexico473 Posts

September 27 2015 23:54 GMT

#3611

Im putting the ones that I think are interesting, and very interesting, the ideas are great, but need work on aesthetics and execution.

What I recommend for fixing those types of problems is look at what the good map makers are doing (and have donde) and what is considered to be good, grab that learn from it, kinda copy it, give it a twist of your own, work hard, fail a couple of times, and ul eventually get it, i c a lot of potential in your maps.

+ Show Spoiler +

On September 12 2015 12:53 SwedenTheKid wrote:
Ok, been a while. Think I've improved the layout a good deal. Made it bigger to make cheese harder as well as increase the nat to nat time. bounds are 160x160(playable)

Edit-
This map is made with consideration for LotV.

Farthest Outpost

+ Show Spoiler +

On August 16 2015 02:05 SwedenTheKid wrote:
My most recent WIP, still very young in development.

On June 15 2015 13:25 SwedenTheKid wrote:
hey guys, here are two of my current WIP. One a 5 spawn and the other a 3 spawn.

World Beyond Sight/Lunar Sanctuary/Sailor's Moon
168x168 bounds

Incidence (Freakling port)
172x172

All highgrounds are unpathable

SwedenTheKid

567 Posts

September 28 2015 04:58 GMT

#3612

On September 28 2015 08:54 sTYleZerG-eX wrote:
Im putting the ones that I think are interesting, and very interesting, the ideas are great, but need work on aesthetics and execution.

What I recommend for fixing those types of problems is look at what the good map makers are doing (and have donde) and what is considered to be good, grab that learn from it, kinda copy it, give it a twist of your own, work hard, fail a couple of times, and ul eventually get it, i c a lot of potential in your maps.

+ Show Spoiler +

+ Show Spoiler +

On August 16 2015 02:05 SwedenTheKid wrote:
My most recent WIP, still very young in development.

On June 15 2015 13:25 SwedenTheKid wrote:
hey guys, here are two of my current WIP. One a 5 spawn and the other a 3 spawn.

World Beyond Sight/Lunar Sanctuary/Sailor's Moon
168x168 bounds

Incidence (Freakling port)
172x172

All highgrounds are unpathable

Thank you. I'm definitely revisiting a lot of the older WIPs, I'm glad you think it's worth the time.

Here's an update to my latest map. It's now intended for team play (2v2) as well as 1v1, and is no longer a Starbow map (I've been working a lot with starbow and thought I'd give it a break for now).

Flight Path
Bounds 150x150 approx.
8 spawns (max of 4 teams of two players each)
[forgot to add vespene guysers on a few of the mains]

Namrufus

United States396 Posts

September 28 2015 19:18 GMT

#3613

These maps any good?

Beach Map
+ Show Spoiler [map image] +

size: 120x144
nat2nat: 47s
4 watchtowers in the center of the map.

Shrunk Alterzim
+ Show Spoiler [map image] +

size: 160x160
nat2nat: 50s close, 58s cross
Based directly on Alterzim (I actually just edited the map file). Probably not that great, pushes might be too strong around the edges of the map and 4ths might be too hard, esp for zerg in close positions.

Jungle Map
+ Show Spoiler [map image] +

size: 144x128
nat2nat: 45s
Really standard. Shortest distance nat to nat is through the narrow central ridge.

Brown Map
+ Show Spoiler [map image] +

size: 144x120
nat2nat: 45s
A weird one. The highground pods in the top right/bottom left are not pathable.

TheFish7

United States2824 Posts

September 30 2015 02:56 GMT

#3614

Hey Namrufus, Beach map is pretty cool. I like the mid paths a lot but don't think you need 4 towers, maybe 2 instead. The choke between 2nd and 3rd can be cut off with 1 FF? Might be a little cramped but what if you put a 6th base in the top left/bottom right? I really like the idea behind the 3rd on Brown map. Maybe if it were a little less open. You have a clear dynamic of having to take some map control in order to defend it.

SwedenTheKid

567 Posts

September 30 2015 03:55 GMT

#3615

@Namrufus
Jungle map is nice but probably to small for HotS and LotV. Not a fan of the center bases very much, as they are very difficult to take in certain match-ups.

Brown map has some potential with the basic layout idea. Needs to be bigger though, i think. Mind if I play with the layout idea?

Namrufus

United States396 Posts

October 01 2015 04:06 GMT

#3616

Hey thanks for the feedback!

@Fish

Yeah the 4 towers are a little gimmicky. 1 or 2 towers are probably nice to have because of how "split path" the center of the map is. I added the additional ones for the "cool" factor (also, symmetry). Also the outermost towers reveal the pathway between the two high-ground bases, and I thought that that would provide an incentive to fight over the ridges. idk.

Yes the pathway from the main to the nat is 1 ff wide. Probably too abusable, I'll widen that.

I don't know about putting bases in the corners you indicated. There is plenty of space and I do agree that the map might need more bases (especially with lotv coming soon) (maybe? idk). However for a base in the corner, I fear that once the 'front' base is taken, it would be too easy to move a little bit forward to block all of the ground entrances to the 'back' base - not a great base progression I think. Maybe I could squeeze a half-base somewhere in the center of the map (maybe in front of that pod between the main and the third?). 6m1hyg is 'allowed' now right

? (where did David Kim say that? I haven't been able to find it.)

...or maybe put bases in the corners, but make them 6m1hyg?

Reducing the size of the entrances into the third on the brown map is definitely a thing I can do.

@Sweden

Yeah those center bases are supposed to be 'stretch' bases, taken only in rare situations. I suppose that would be a great place for half-bases. Though I'm probably going to not do anything with the map anyway because I just realized today that it is basically a Daybreak clone - and making the center bases half-bases won't reduce the similarity!

Yeah, sure, I have no problem with you (or anyone) playing around with that third idea from the brown base.

Also I really like the looks of your 5 player lunar map for FFA.

Also, for making unpathable areas, I would suggest using the doodads called "Agria Debis" and "Agria Debris Large" - they are pretty obvious and are building blockers by default - they also are distinguishable from the destructible building-blockers.

Edit: whoops, ETP was talking to Fatam (not you, SwedenTheKid) above, about main chokes+unbuildable terrain.

Yonnua

United Kingdom2331 Posts

October 02 2015 23:35 GMT

#3617

+ Show Spoiler [Tilted Overview] +

Rough concept of a map. The premise is lots of bases which are easy to harass and attack, promoting aggressive expanding and harassment and reactive attacking (i.e. if the other player takes base A, use attack path X).

Thoughts?

SwedenTheKid

567 Posts

October 03 2015 17:48 GMT

#3618

SB - Geometry

bounds- 160x160
4 spawns
all spawns enabled
14 bases

So, another BW port. My main issue is making the natural wall-able while also giving it the same number and size of ramps to match with the rest of the map. In order to help with this issue I gave the main 10 minerals and the natural 6, making one base play more viable. I added rocks to the main ramp but its still takes 6-7 Pylons to wall both ramps. Vertical spawns are kind of close but I think that just adds to the replayability of the map.