KTV Maps Volume II

Uvantak

Uruguay1381 Posts

March 31 2013 20:15 GMT

Im really excited, i have finally released the maps in which i have been working on these last ~4ish months, i hope you play on them, analise them and above all enjoy them!

Album with High Res Pictures
http://imgur.com/a/XoJF9#0

Overview

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High Res
http://i.imgur.com/1JtHlB2.jpg

Info

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Size: 146 X 136
Main ramp 2 main ramp distance: 138
Xel'nagas: 2
Full bases per player: 8
Half bases per player: 0

I as a mapmaker im uncapable of making maps that lack a logic behind them so making Plank's Orbit was a challenge i had to face someday, it hurt me to put grass on a rock that's flying across empty space but oh well...

Planck's Orbit, is disegnated to be a standarish map where no huge weird new all ins will it you without know about it, take this map as my Daybreak or my Cloudkingdom without the prettiness of CK or the stability of DB, since i consider myself a mapmaker in the making and not a fully experienced one.
The map itself has alot of positions where tactic deployment will make the players hate me as a mapmaker such as the drop pods or open paths toward the called fast third.

Screenshots and other infos

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http://imgur.com/a/bdyOo#0

Overview

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High Res
http://i.imgur.com/SPTJ5zz.jpg

Info

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Size: 170 x114
Main ramp to main ramp distance: 151
Xel'nagas: 0
Full bases per player: 6
Half bases per player: 0

In the making of Shilak Glaciar i was searching for a map with complex terrain around the edges, and i was stuck thinking of how to make the highground third fit with the rest of the map, until i came with the obvious idea of using bridges to do so, but i didn't wanted these bulky mar sara ones, i wanted the sleek light ones, damn it was hard finding a way to make them work...

Well continuing with my thought of the map, i wanted to create a map with complex terrain around the edges so small packs of units could move easely but bigger armies couldn't, at the same time make the center of the map wide and big enough to allow big battles to be fought over.

This map lacks ramps leading to naturals or much funky bussiness besides the bridges and complex terrain, im expecting this map to behave in a "standard" manner where all ins aren`t THAT strong.

Screenshots and other infos

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http://imgur.com/a/vZ7Bb#0

Overview

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High Res
http://i.imgur.com/cKCrBgZ.jpg

Info

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Size: 146 X 132
Main ramp to main ramp distance: 140
Xel'nagas: 0
Full bases per player: 6
half bases per player: 0

Athena Installation at first looks like a standard map, but then when the natural backdoor ramp gets spoted, the maps takes shape and harass is it's name, the ramp creates a wide variety of timings which can be achieved.
The maps has 3 possible thirds, everyone has a bad side, some can be harassed with ease and others are far too close to the center, so the flow of the game will depend on which of the nine possible ways the players will take their thirds.

Screenshots and other infos

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http://imgur.com/a/Vvqrc#0

Overview

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High Res
http://i.imgur.com/LNvNVb4.jpg

Info

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Size: 136 X 90
Main ramp to main ramp distance: 104
Xel'nagas: 0
Full bases per player: 4
Half bases per player: 1

It's not taboo to say that 5 Astraea is a rush map, big exposed natural, short rush distance, and strangely easy third which awkwardly leads to a considerable amount of macro games for a map of this size.

Screenshots and other infos

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http://imgur.com/a/JtubX#0

Overview

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High Res
http://i.imgur.com/dOo1szp.jpg

Info

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Size: 132 X 130
Main ramp to main ramp distance: 127
Xel'nagas: 0
Full bases per player: 6
Half bases per player: 0

Saalok Dreams is named after to short novel Cold Symmetry writed by Cameron Dayton, and it's ambiented in the Aiur Moon.
There two big routes to take in Saalok Dreams, the first one is to abuse the terrain by going to Air, mutalisks, banshees and oracles are beatifull in this map, the other path to go is mass splash damage using the tight chokes to your advantaje (just like in the small story ♥)

Pressure builds are must, no much choices here, but that doesn't mean that the choices the player make doesn't matter, wherever choice you make you will face big 2 base timings to defend agains't.

Screenshots and other infos

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http://imgur.com/a/JuIOh#0

Overview

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High Res
http://i.imgur.com/vndtv9k.jpg

Info

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Size: 166 x 114
Main ramp to main ramp distance: 145
Xel'nagas: 0
Full bases per player: 6
Half bases per player: 0

Monlyth Heights will be the ass pain for many Toss and Terran players, since the natural is so open, the players will have to choose if they are going to pressure expand or take their chances and do FE, scouting is PRIMORDIAL, you will have to place marines/widow mines, overlords/burrowed lings, or obs across the map if you hope to win, this creates reckless harass mechanic where you can trick your oponent into making him believe that you're attacking in one area, wihile you are aiming for another or expanding.

In many test games i saw lower league players struggle with the too open main base in mid-to-late game, that's why i made a LE version of the map which has a tower of destructible rocks, so they can block the faraway entrance to their natural.

Screenshots and other infos

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http://imgur.com/a/UK93f#0

Overview

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High Res
http://i.imgur.com/g49nbdy.jpg

Info

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Size: 140 x 138
Main ramp to main ramp distance: 130
Xel'nagas: 2
Full bases per player: 6
Half bases per player: 0

Aiur pre-fall themed map fuck yeah!, all the time i was working on this map i was scared as shit that some of you guys would release a map with this theme before me and do it in a better fashion, but it calms me that that didn't happened :b

Past glories is expected to behave in a similar way as Planck's orbit, but with all ins being slightly stronger because of the ramp leading towards the natural, im not expecting this ramp to be used by harass different as in Athena Installation, since the ramp is too near of the place where the army would stand, instead as i said im expecting more all ins being used in the map, and more pressure expands coz of the ramp.

In lategame the ramp shall be used as evacuation route for workers mining the third base, that way when one player losses the expansion it doesn't necesarelly lose the workers allowing for more comebacks to be made.

It is recomended to play the map at least on medium settings, since some textures don't work 100% under low settings

Screenshots and other infos

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http://imgur.com/a/Q9hHx#0

Poll: Favorite map?

Past Glories (7)

37%

Planck's Orbit (4)

21%

Shilak Glaciar (4)

21%

Athena Installation (3)

16%

[Old]Cloud Atlas (1)

5%

5 Astraea (0)

0%

Saalok Dreams (0)

0%

Monlyth Heights (0)

0%

[Old]Fotra Kepuka (0)

0%

[Old]Highgrounds (0)

0%

19 total votes

Your vote: Favorite map?

(Vote): Planck's Orbit
(Vote): Shilak Glaciar
(Vote): Athena Installation
(Vote): 5 Astraea
(Vote): Saalok Dreams
(Vote): Monlyth Heights
(Vote): Past Glories
(Vote): [Old]Cloud Atlas
(Vote): [Old]Fotra Kepuka
(Vote): [Old]Highgrounds

I hope you guys enjoy the maps, they are published in AM, and EU atm, i will pusblish them in Kr later (Sea guys, it is too much to ask to play them in the AM server?? :3?)

If any tournament guy want to use them for his tournament, go ahead! but PM the date of the tournament so i can see it too! and if you find any kind of bug from FPS drops in some areas of the map to an ant walking around, give me a heads up and i will fix it asap.

Timetwister22

United States538 Posts

March 31 2013 21:58 GMT

All these maps look pretty dang good aesthetically. Also, the proportions on just about all these maps are solid.

However, all of these maps share the flaw that they are nothing conceptual. They all just seem like a random assortment of bases that try and follow the "standard" rules that maps require. These rules include a 1x ramp at main, chokey natural, a close third, at least 5 bases per player, etc. Yet, we already have hundreds of maps like that. If you want your maps to gain even the smallest amount of recognition, you need to do something conceptual.

Uvantak

Uruguay1381 Posts

March 31 2013 22:23 GMT

I don't know what you mean by conceptual, the maps do have a theme, the maps do have an idea behind them, the maps do have a flow of expansions, the maps do have a different feeling between them. I'm just puzzled by what you mean by concept, maybe you mean something like DMZ? or Icarus? or Hard Reset?

AdrianHealey

Belgium480 Posts

March 31 2013 22:29 GMT

Some of your innovative ideas I really like. Keep up the good work.

Timetwister22

United States538 Posts

March 31 2013 22:35 GMT

A map concept is kinda hard to explain, but it generally is the intentional play style of a map. Though, it is quite a bit more than that. An example would be one of my maps Sandstone, which uses the concept of forward positioning at the third, of which just about every other map doesn't have.

Though, I've been meaning to write a thread on the definition of a map concept for a while that kind of explains the details. Might have it up today, or within the next few days.

Meltage

Germany613 Posts

March 31 2013 22:42 GMT

Maps looks good. I think there is a mentality in the foreign map maker scene right now that require a little more from maps - where Arkanoid innovative/conceptual is too much - and even Icarus might be (because of the gold minerals - something Blizzard wouldn't use for ladder), but at least like Red City. Something new and at the same time solid. F.e. I like the ideas on Saalok Dreams but it has a tight and chokey map split line (draw a line between the opponents bases when all bases are taken - this is the area you need to defend) and the last bases are pretty clumped up, while the last bases are very close to the opponent.

KingCorwin

United States134 Posts

March 31 2013 23:09 GMT

So I misvoted glacier, when I wanted to vote for Athena Instillation. Athena Instillation is by far my favorite. Your maps are very well made and pleasing to see in this forum. You're the kind of mapper I would love to work with in the future.

Uvantak

Uruguay1381 Posts

April 01 2013 02:38 GMT

Oh i understand now, you guys are taking the route to create maps that are balanced toward the 3 races but at the same time they have non conventional layouts, that way the players have to create new work arounds in their strategy and mindset, to make it short, make the map count. Well i will see what i can come up with, while still trying to keep my mapmaking swag.

I the case of Saalok Dreams... What??? the last bases are pretty clumped up and the last bases are close to you opponent, i just not compute.

@Mrcorwin these damn pools, i wanted to allow the voters (?) to be able to vote for two maps, but there was no variable to change u.u Damn you r1ch!

Semmo

Korea (South)627 Posts

April 01 2013 04:22 GMT

I really like the look of Past Glories. Mind if I make something similar aesthetically later? (Won't be the same, but similar aspects I guess)

Meltage

Germany613 Posts

April 01 2013 11:45 GMT

#10

On April 01 2013 11:38 Uvantak wrote:
I the case of Saalok Dreams... What??? the last bases are pretty clumped up and the last bases are close to you opponent, i just not compute.

the 3rd, 4th, 5th are very close to one another. The 6th bases are kinda netural, contested, which I supose works, but I like it more when they're possible to protect.

Sandstone is a good expample too, of maps that go a bit farther. I think of my last map as somethgin that does that as well, TPW Nibiru

Uvantak

Uruguay1381 Posts

April 01 2013 14:17 GMT

#11

On April 01 2013 13:22 Semmo wrote:
I really like the look of Past Glories. Mind if I make something similar aesthetically later? (Won't be the same, but similar aspects I guess)

Go ahead!, i recomend you to use a mix of the wireframe of these new xel'naga cliffs and the texture of the daelam protoss ones, that way you can have a more "city" look to it, instead of my "kind of floating park" theme.

@Meltage oh! now i understanded what you mean, i thought you where meaning that the 3,4 & 5 bases close to the oponent at the same time that clumped up, i was just really confused, but yeah, now that you say about it i think i could have done a better job than that, since as you can see in my other maps im not a fan of clumped bases like that.

btw Niburu is GORGEOUS map with these new updated aesthetics

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KTV Maps Volume II

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