Map Jam & Challenge #5

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I didn't vote for fatam's because the map itself didn't really seem to stand out, I guess? The non-rampiness doesn't really seem to matter. But absolutely some cool ideas, and it also has nice simple aesthetics. I thought the tower used in conjunction with the alternate entrance to the main was an interesting choice, especially because it watches the path the attacker would take to bounce between the two attack points. I'll say again (I think I said it before) that the reduction to absolute low speed and not % is super super smart and makes the mire mechanic worth really looking in to. It also makes me think about a safer version of the mechanic "enemy repulsion field" where your main slows enemies but not you, and vice versa. If only we could actually put these things in maps and be taken seriously. =\

I like the shape of lore's map but I think it has to be a bit taller and needs another base. I feel it's unreasonable to zerg to have a 4th base that's already far forward and then no good 5th. The natural choke seems small for no reason but that's one of those easy fix whatevers. Space could be used better to create more interesting positions. The flatness is more stylistic than relevant. But this actually ends up being the "best" "standard" map that was presented and has some nice features too.
I think that's a really cool thing to see in a mapjam. I always feel compelled to go nuts because, well, it's the perfect opportunity to do so. But it's also a very interesting question to see what kind of standard map you can make with wonky limitations, and that should teach us some things in the process.

Fish7's map is very unconventional with the way the 3rd works "out in the open" even though it has reasonable chokiness on the entrances actually. I can't get over the strangeness when I look at it although I think this style should be explored a lot more. The "concept" of the map comes across really well, which is rare and awesome. The island divided by a jungle wall with a hole in the middle and two beach routes on either side. I think this map would produce really interesting games.

RFD put together nice proportions and routing to make neat concepts into more than gimmicks. I would love to see what this map turns into without arbitrary limits, and some decoration.

grebliv's map has a cool oldschool approach. I wonder if this would actually work. I just worry about zerg's ground reinforce once they have to fight over bases in the open middle, but I guess nydus rally + hotkey + D occasionally would be fine. Theoretically this map would play out either very strategically or very technically or both, and might be pure awesome. The close lowground 3rd island needs unbuildable plates blocking the CC spot I think (rocks is too much).

Templar's map definitely has some issues due to spacing, including goofy ones like you can blink between the mains. But this is adjustable so the concept is more the point I think. I really like the idea of a tall skinny mirror map. Maybe the close islands should be south of the main, allowing a shorter ground distance on a map that has a huge U shape path. I could see a stable meta on this map involving a timing where you have a lot of static defense at the edge of your main/nat/island and then the compositions transition to a ground war in the north, letting you make super sweet lategame terrain that you probably couldn't do on another more standard map.

I love the clean feel of Unvatank's super jungle sands, and the name lol. I ruled out voting for it because the ground 4th base is also the last base, and too close to the enemy ground 3rd, and I am strict about these things because I think it's unfair to zerg and not great design. However there is certainly room for a map that has these features, and because of the island here it makes it a lot less foregone conclusion. The alternate main entrance/pathway is a nice touch in the same vein. Very likeable map and would be a nice ladder style sweet and simple kind of map to have in a pool. The islands should be far less rock-blocked though.

Ruinsteel put together a fresh version of the metropolis style, which is something worth saying. This map would create some interesting build order situations depending on spawns, and I think we would see interesting deviations from standard versions of things we know. Like skytoss in close positions might get tempest faster for harass, and they would also get a robo faster to take the island 3rd. Super easy to kill rocks with void rays. So while we see skytoss games this would provide new areas to explore, which is cool. The 5 base arc also acts very differently in cross or closeair spawns. Like you put static defense in your main naturally, which means later in the game the 5th bases are more naturally taken across the arc given your main is already defended, and this feels safe in closeair spawns. But in cross spawns taking your 5th so close by air from the opponent's main seems much more dangerous and static defense isn't warranted like it is protecting your main the whole game. So I think you'd see a lot more usage of the islands in cross spawns to maintain a better center of mass. That kind of spawn dependent variety that is encouraged but not mandated is pretty cool, and I like how it plays up the islands. I also like how the "isolated" middle bowl is actually a great position even though it's removed from blocking movement across the direct pathways unless you reposition.

Copper's map is as someone else mentioned like greblivs but very different. I like that the 3rd attaches to the mainland. Not sure I like that there are island areas again after that on either side. The big split path really encourages air even after you move to the mainland phase of the game, which is cool, but makes things feel kind of cheesy too, I guess? Not sure. On second thought the idea of a quick 2nd island 4th off the back of whatever tech got you down the 3rd would be pretty cool, so that appeals to me. I wish the map had more interaction available for ground armies; it sort of forces you to go there at a certain point but the results would be quite swingy. Like you should either stick to air and win or pull off a lategame ground switch and win, but there's not much wiggle there to fight it out.

moskonia wins the keeping-it-real award. :D I recommend using different colours in the future and drawing out the mineral lines and geysers to make the map easier to read, but that's just nitpicking. I don't like how compact the first 4 bases are on this map, I'd really like to see more separation between the bases outside the main choke. I also generally don't like the placement of the corner 5th base, but this could easily change if it was a real map with more terrain drawn in. The 6th base placement is working towards creating the shifting axis dynamic I love, but again not sure without more fleshed out terrain. I do really like the pathable highground placements though. I'd be interested to see what this map turned into if was more than a diagram.

Ahola, lol. Has some really nice ideas and I like the dynamics crossing the map. Probably wouldn't play out very well due to some specific problems though. Floating CC to gold for a 3rd is pretty dicey. Also having the 3rd by ground able to be closed off by rock tower is something I think we should just not use. It's really easy for terran to abuse this, and plenty of other situations as well. Unless the 3rd is extremely easy, this should be avoided. In this case the ground distance is already kinda far and also the route is open, so it's just asking for abuse to take that base at a normal early-ish macro 3rd timing. Which points this map towards 2 base style, so idk. The close island 3rd with the cliff is a neat idea, but it's far too protected by the ground 3rd as a 4th base. If you got the island 3rd up and running, the 4th is nearly automatic with little more required -- in fact it buffers your island cash flow. This would need to be moved around I think. It's one of these maps where I love all the ideas but I don't think they're calibrated well, but in the short timeframe of a mapjam it's understandable, especially when they aren't standard features but very different dynamics than we usually analyze.

I guess I'll analyze my map a bit. Or just talk about it lol. Not super happy with the middle, since it's kind of monolithic and plain. The towers are so dominant too. However it works very well for the map concept, especially with the long debris, and having something dependable (dominant towers, big open ground and chokes at the exterior, a simple outside path) I feel would let players use the island areas with more security and therefore panache and finesse, if that makes sense. Similarly, the middle is simple to let the early game features come to the forefront. I really like how the main/nat turned out, that was the beginning of the map. I knew I wanted a dropable natural that incentivized taking the corner double island as a strategic choice of 3rd that dovetails with defending the natural from drops, and leads you to a nice easy 4th as a reward if you can pull it off. The ground 3rd is close but in conjunction with drop threats elsewhere, not at all easy between the highground harass on the geysers, the harass path and the open front, plus the debris that gives you another front to defend when open. I am going to investigate this kind of arrangement more with a close 3rd but that is not easy due to how much it pulls your defenses apart. The sheer distance across the map helps allow these shenanigans without being too cheesy -- aka blistering sands. @RFD thanks for noticing the "options", I definitely focused on that once my main/nat was set and I was heavily inspired by your ideas in your map.