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Daedalus Point: A Lesson in Map Making - Page 4

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
108 CommentsPost a Reply
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Whitewing
Profile Joined October 2010
United States7483 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-15 05:06:57
February 15 2014 04:57 GMT
#61
On February 15 2014 13:38 stuchiu wrote:
Show nested quote +
On February 15 2014 13:34 Whitewing wrote:
On February 15 2014 13:03 stuchiu wrote:
On February 15 2014 10:19 Shellshock wrote:
Is there any intent to analyze the map or any other map for a different matchup? I like that you did this for Daedalus but it's not like ZvP was the only problem matchup on this map. According to TLPD zerg had a 75% win rate (6-2 small sample size but still ~70% win rate for zerg through all tournaments although it includes some foreigner vs korean matches) vs Terran on this map too in the GSL. Would you just attribute it to the same circumstances?


I can just do a quick one right now.

There are a total of 7 reasons why ZvT is in favor of Zerg on this map:

1) Large area in the three base origin. Specifically the distance from the main to the natural, the natural to the wall, the wall to the third in terms of walking distance is longer than Steppes of War. This makes it hard to cover all 3 bases (In comparison to its contemporary maps like say Frost 1 tank can cover main and natural or one force can cover all 3).

2) A wide open space with semi large open air gaps leads to 3 things:
2a) Overlord coverage that cannot be punished along the 4 main avenues of attack.
2b) Easy area to spread creep. Even now when you can spread creep onto ramps, it is still easier for Zerg players to spread it in areas that are large flat surfaces.
2c) Lack of Corridors. Generally speaking, Terran wants to fight Zerg in an area filled with valleys, ramps with a medium sized room so they cannot be completely surrounded but still have room to micro (Like say Heavy Rain). On this map, Its too large for Terran to effectively engage unless it's on the extremes right or let sides of the map.

3) Watchtowers. While not as bad as say TDA, the watchertowers are almost always controlled by Zergs in ZvT. In this case the two side watchtowers help the zerg in zoning for drop ships, an especially important tactic on a map with a head to push central area like ths.

4) Base/map layout -> Look at the map and ask where you can safetly 2 rax where your scv cannot be attacked and not be scouted. Then ask yourself where you would place the bunker. This map is a 2rax and 8/8/8 hell. The closest you can put it without being scouted is either on the far side of the natural (Where you're praying to get lucky) or the closest crack near the zerg which is still farther than Steppes of War. And then there are no good places to put a bunker, especially with the ramp that gives zerg a natural advantage. For 8/8/8, you want it as close to the zerg's main cliff as possible, which is the third, but its a double jump and in the natural scouting path of an overlord. To make matters worse, the first overlord is on a natural path to scouting any scvs that want to proxy in the main (Unlike say Heavy Rain or Yeonsu).

5) Wide open 3rd. While not as prevalent as it is in ZvP, Zergs can still put on massive pressure on Terran thirds that are wide open. Doing a bunker/ mine defense is no use as the area is too large and the tank defense is both clunky and inefficent as they can easily roll into your nat assuming you somehow defended the third against a Hyun style 3 base roach bane allin. This exasperates the 6th point.

6) 4th base positions - This is just inherently bad for Terran. Zerg will always have a natural 4th that expands away from the Terran and is protected by a watchtower and ramp. For Terran they can try to expand towards it, but the distance from the 4th to the third is massive if they expand towards the Zerg 4th, and leaves the 3rd open. If they expand away, it leaves the natural open.

7) Clear Cut Drop Paths. This is related to points 2a, 3 and 6. Basically this is like Antiga without the 4th gold in the center with the ramp. Basically there are two drop paths the Terran can use. Either top right or Bot left. This map isn't big enough for Terran to cut diagonally across like say Whirlwind or TDA and isn't small enough like Antiga for them to get in anyway.


However, the short rush distance would suggest that terran will have extremely powerful 2 base pushes should they choose to commit to that kind of strategy.


There are no good 2 base pushes anymore after the queen change or Sting would be top tier.


Well, not on other maps, but there might be an exception on this one due to the rush distance being so short from natural to natural. Hellbat Marauder with medivacs, for example.
Strategy"You know I fucking hate the way you play, right?" ~SC2John
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland27192 Posts
February 15 2014 05:13 GMT
#62
I think the main issue with maps like these, and you allude to it in one of your replies, is if something is extremely difficult/impossible to expand safely on, you eliminate an option.

With Protoss having the greedy/economical side of their choices taken away, they are immediately more limited to all-innish builds, of which there are a finite amount (easier said than done to scout them though!), or conservative play that sticks them behind.

One of the strengths of a Protoss allin, is that unless you get a full scout of on pretty much anything the architecture for some of their builds will be much the same. There are certain tells of course, but equally some players abused said tells (for example early +1 and an early Robo to do mindgameish expands. The additional 4/5 gates you will be adding on could just as well be a third nexus and it's that flexibility that makes Protoss so potent in PvZ.

On the point of the introduction of truly insane maps, weren't there quite a few in last year's PL map pool? I remember one being especially wonky, oh god forget its name though.

I do appreciate actually looking into Daedaelus though, rather than jut outright trashing it. I think the main issue was for me, that the natural being extremely wide was terrible for Protoss, but equally there weren't really any other map features that were bad for Zergs. Zergs were essentially playing on a normal map for them, while Protoss were starting from a weird position. The wide natural did introduce a wider area for Zergs to defend vs Hellions vT for example as well, and affect other matchups too ofc.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
k10forgotten
Profile Joined September 2010
Brazil260 Posts
February 15 2014 05:29 GMT
#63
Nony should be a coach for Team Liquid, just like Boxer was on SK Telecom T1...
I fear no enemy, for the Khala is my strength! I fear not death, for our strength is eternal.
moofang
Profile Joined June 2011
508 Posts
February 15 2014 07:01 GMT
#64
Agree with the thrust of the article. I think the moral of the story is that there needs to be some reasonable way to incubate and iterate map designs without ruining careers. Syncing the ladder map pool with the official WCS ones is a nice idea on paper, but it removes the possibility of the old dynamic of being able to push out experimental map design ideas onto the ladder and the major tournaments can just pick out mature maps while leaving the experimental maps to incubate.
Kon-Tiki
Profile Joined February 2011
United States402 Posts
February 15 2014 07:16 GMT
#65
On February 15 2014 14:29 k10forgotten wrote:
Nony should be a coach for Team Liquid, just like Boxer was on SK Telecom T1...


I'm like 90% sure Nazgul is Liquid's coach...
I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.
ChoDing
Profile Joined November 2009
United States740 Posts
February 15 2014 07:25 GMT
#66
this map wont be here for next ladder and/or next WCS so i dont care... really. just not gonna play this map as a protoss. already vetoed in my ladder map preference
관광 since 2008. Master of Cheese. God of Heartbreak Ridge.
tokinho
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States792 Posts
February 15 2014 08:57 GMT
#67
On February 15 2014 16:25 ChoDing wrote:
this map wont be here for next ladder and/or next WCS so i dont care... really. just not gonna play this map as a protoss. already vetoed in my ladder map preference


Haha... good toss map... bad terran map..O.o
Smile
PineapplePizza
Profile Joined June 2010
United States749 Posts
February 15 2014 09:22 GMT
#68
Have there been any pro-creative, anti-protoss maps that have allowed exceptionally good tvt / tvz games to occur?
"There should be no tying a sharp, hard object to your cock like it has a mechanical arm and hitting it with the object or using your cockring to crack the egg. No cyborg penises allowed. 100% flesh only." - semioldguy
Teoita
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Italy12247 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-15 09:25:57
February 15 2014 09:24 GMT
#69
On February 15 2014 10:19 Shellshock wrote:
Is there any intent to analyze the map or any other map for a different matchup? I like that you did this for Daedalus but it's not like ZvP was the only problem matchup on this map. According to TLPD zerg had a 75% win rate (6-2 small sample size but still ~70% win rate for zerg through all tournaments although it includes some foreigner vs korean matches) vs Terran on this map too in the GSL. Would you just attribute it to the same circumstances?


Initially i was going to include ZvT as well, but every Terran (and Zerg) i have talked to in TL Strat didn't feel that the map is/was particularly broken in that matchup, so i ended up focusing on ZvP.

It's a hard map in that matchup for sure, but arguably not to the extent of ZvP (on the old one).
ModeratorProtoss all-ins are like a wok. You can throw whatever you want in there and it will turn out alright.
aeligos
Profile Joined January 2013
United States172 Posts
February 15 2014 09:50 GMT
#70
This map was not an issue imo. Prior to it being released, I had learned to play against all races without the need to wall off any ramp.

If only the pros had learned from me.
libera te tvtemet ex inferis A.'.A.'.
Arachne
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
South Africa426 Posts
February 15 2014 11:20 GMT
#71
I've always wondered.

Why don 't we have race specific maps?

Like these 3 maps are great for PvZ, and then there are 6 other maps that are horrible for PvZ, but add so much more dynamics to PvT, ZvT, ZvZ TvT and PvP

As the article starts - the only real constraint in map designing is "Is it good for PvZ"

So why don't we look as PvZ maps, that ofc can be used by everyone, and maps for everyone else?

Its not like this wasn't done before. I read on the TL forums that P was more likely to win in Fall because the BW maps favoured toss in that season, giving extra weight to "The Legend of the Fall" (iirc)

If I were a rich man, I wouldn't be here
Zibit
Profile Joined February 2014
United States9 Posts
February 15 2014 11:36 GMT
#72
Great analysis! It's so easy to just feel something is frustrated and broken when what one knows just doesn't work.
Also, I <3 Nony! I think he has some of the best insights into very dynamic situations... ones that haven't always been "figured out" yet. Sometimes I feel he's a well loved, but under-utilized asset to this whole community.
Quateras
Profile Joined August 2012
Germany867 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-15 11:44:42
February 15 2014 11:42 GMT
#73
I am slightly confused about the way new maps have to be nowadays?
What happened to the old forge+gate+nexus walls that people used to do on Metalopolis for example?
Why is it suddenly a *must have* to have a close and small ramp leading from the Nat to the open field ?


I used the old Nexus wall with gate and forge on ladder it felt pretty standard to me and not that much more different than old maps that didnt have a highround coming onto the nat?
(we didnt even have Nexus Cannon back then and it worked)
"If you don't know where you are going, you can never get lost."
Teoita
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Italy12247 Posts
Last Edited: 2014-02-15 11:51:45
February 15 2014 11:47 GMT
#74
On February 15 2014 20:20 Arachne wrote:
I've always wondered.

Why don 't we have race specific maps?

Like these 3 maps are great for PvZ, and then there are 6 other maps that are horrible for PvZ, but add so much more dynamics to PvT, ZvT, ZvZ TvT and PvP

As the article starts - the only real constraint in map designing is "Is it good for PvZ"

So why don't we look as PvZ maps, that ofc can be used by everyone, and maps for everyone else?

Its not like this wasn't done before. I read on the TL forums that P was more likely to win in Fall because the BW maps favoured toss in that season, giving extra weight to "The Legend of the Fall" (iirc)



It isn't the only constraint. You need reasonable air space for mutas/drops to be able to do damage, but not be op; you still need a defensible third that's not too wide open for ZvT as well; the natural has to be reasonably defensible for ZvZ and ZvT too, you need a one-ff ramp for PvP, you need reasonable space to make blink builds defensible in PvP and PvT (and the reason Yeonsu is pretty broken in PvT is this very reason), etc. It just so happens that the most relevant constraints for this specific map happen to affect PvZ more than other matchups.

The Legend of the Fall isn't just "protoss winning in autumn because of maps"; for instance, every protoss that won a title in the fall beat an SKT1 Terran (the best bw terrans with few exceptions) in the finals too.

@poster above me: a) you can't do that wall either on Daedalus because one cannon needs to cover both every building in the wall as well as the entire mineral line, which is not possible on Daedalus. Also, you need to be able to fully wall to hold various slowling or speedling allins (which didn't exist back then) and runbys. You don't need a ramp going to the natural, you need a wallable choke. High ground is just a neat bonus.
ModeratorProtoss all-ins are like a wok. You can throw whatever you want in there and it will turn out alright.
lessQQmorePEWPEW
Profile Joined November 2011
Jamaica921 Posts
February 15 2014 13:35 GMT
#75
glad i stopped sc2 completely. several years on things are still lopsided in terms of balance and map balance.
Why drink and drive when you can smoke and fly - Bob Marley
azurespace
Profile Joined March 2011
Korea (South)39 Posts
February 15 2014 14:36 GMT
#76
I'm totallly agree that this map is the only reason for protoss not to dorminate GSL.
Sepplo
Profile Joined March 2012
Germany1 Post
February 15 2014 14:42 GMT
#77
this is incredible. Protoss wins eveything at the moment, (even Mana beat JD, wtf?) and still some dudes complain about a map, where protoss players do not dominate the other races as heavily as on other maps. what is wrong :D
Vandrad
Profile Joined November 2011
Germany951 Posts
February 15 2014 14:51 GMT
#78
On February 15 2014 23:42 Sepplo wrote:
this is incredible. Protoss wins eveything at the moment, (even Mana beat JD, wtf?) and still some dudes complain about a map, where protoss players do not dominate the other races as heavily as on other maps. what is wrong :D


Exactly my thoughts
And who are you, the proud lord said, that I must bow so low?
Foudzing
Profile Joined December 2011
France181 Posts
February 15 2014 16:09 GMT
#79
A map that helps against protoss. Very shocking indeed. :O
Bomber and MKP Forever <3 | Dayshi | Maru | Feast | Symbol | ForGG | Bly | Dream Millenium Fighting!
Yello
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Germany7411 Posts
February 15 2014 17:35 GMT
#80
hm, I though there would be something said about the rest of the map as well.

I think this map is terrible now. The middle is just a wide-open space, no ramps, no choke, no watch towers. All bases are at the edges of the map out of the way. There's almost no positional play possible on this map at all (except for TvT but that's due to the nature of that matchup). I think it's one of the most boring and lamest maps ever now after the only interesting and different feature of this map was removed.
Just ahead of time, know your addiction's not a crime. It's just a smaller part of who you want to become in the end.
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