EPTI'm sure it wasn't easy for Barrin to take the time to do this. Thank you!
Important Maps of WoL - Page 13
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Akio00
United States98 Posts
I'm sure it wasn't easy for Barrin to take the time to do this. Thank you! | ||
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Tuthur
France985 Posts
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ACrow
Germany6583 Posts
On March 10 2013 06:47 TheKefka wrote: I'm willing to argue that kulas ravine was a far worse map than steppes of war. and no it wasn't fun Oh yes, reapers on that map was tons of fun. At least when you were Terran. Oh the rage...  | ||
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Glueburn
United States496 Posts
 Can't just throw away a map that was highly regarded to be a favorite for a years time. | ||
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HeavenResign
United States702 Posts
On March 10 2013 08:49 CampinSam wrote: Where is xelnaga caverns? Can't just throw away a map that was highly regarded to be a favorite for a years time. It's in the "extreme" list, I believe. | ||
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Glueburn
United States496 Posts
Oh you're right... but there's nothing extreme about it >.< | ||
Qikz
United Kingdom12022 Posts
On March 10 2013 09:31 CampinSam wrote: Oh you're right... but there's nothing extreme about it >.< Compared to the current metagame of super close, super easy to defend maps it's pretty extreme :p | ||
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forsooth
United States3648 Posts
On March 10 2013 09:34 Qikz wrote: Compared to the current metagame of super close, super easy to defend maps it's pretty extreme :p Keeping lings and hellions out of my natural was such a pain in the ass, but in general I had a lot of fun on that map. | ||
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Foudzing
France181 Posts
As a viewer I like the maps where you can actually have early or late game action such as Tal d'Arim, Metalopolis, Entombed Valley and Cloud Kingdom. I think maps should not be more macro than Daybreak (Whirlwind, Metropolis and stuff are really too much macro). Akilon Flats could have a great run, wait and see. I don't know why there is not a specific map pool for each machup, because their is a lot of maps that are awful only in a specific machup (and most of the time only because of a specific strategy). And I don't know why anyone speaks of abyssal city, but it's by far the most beautifull map of sc2. | ||
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k3n705
Canada134 Posts
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BigKahunaBurger
Australia334 Posts
An otherwise droll and tasteless analysis of mapmaking. 6 out of 10 User was warned for this post | ||
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TheGiftedApe
United States1243 Posts
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CatNzHat
United States1599 Posts
I think Cloud Kingdom as rank1 is not so great, it's gameplay turns into a turtle fest a bit too quickly, extra air space behind naturals could fix that though (so you could sneak drops into the main on that side). The distance between the ramp to the third and the ramp to the nat is too small from an attacker's perspective, encourages lots of 3 base turtling. Daybreak definitely has more dynamic gameplay, I don't mind playing a dozen games in a row on that map, whereas I get frustrated playing more than a few in a row on cloud kingdom. Ohana probably deserves a higher spot, it's the best small map out there, by miles, and the lategame allows you to box your opponent in pretty nicely, with enough paths for counter attacks to keep things interesting. As far as worst maps goes, Antiga definitely does not belong on that list, scrap station definitely does. | ||
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courtpanda
866 Posts
I don't know what they were thinking putting out a map as crazy as Kulas Ravine at release. But it was fun! OP is a terran. | ||
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eviltomahawk
United States11135 Posts
On March 10 2013 06:44 Falling wrote: Be funny to have an amateur retro tournament. Desert Oasis and the old reapers. Ugh. IPL did a Ye Old Maps tournament a while back. I think it would be fun to have another tournament in HotS, and later in LotV. It should be interesting to see WoL beta maps being played in the distant future with LotV balance. | ||
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Cybren
United States206 Posts
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REDBLUEGREEN
Germany1903 Posts
On March 10 2013 03:28 Shron wrote: Sometimes I feel like Starcraft II has lost its luster for me, and this thread has led me to believe maps may be the root. As much as it's not a highly regarded opinion, maps like Scrap Station, Xel'naga Caverns, Tal'darim Altar, Kulas Ravine, and Desert Oasis bring interesting variety to the game. Like thezanursic put it: In order to bring life to the game, we can add new unit and abilities, etch out new strategies and lines of thought for each race, or add new maps which add real decisions to be made. It seems like what the community wants is a map which offers no resistance, and makes their choices easy. Oh, there's my third. Here's the way I'm going to attack his natural. My old strategies work on this new map; good. What I'm not saying is that any of the maps I mentioned are better than a map like Cloud Kingdom. Desert Oasis, for example, is a prototype of its genre. It has imbalances (many), but it marks the foundation of a number of maps which could be influenced by it. Cloud Kingdom is an excellently designed map and has its own flavor. But if I can make an analogy to flavors: Cloud Kingdom and other maps like it are vanilla-flavored, and a map like Desert Oasis would be strawberry flavored. Both can be good! I'd even be willing to say I like vanilla more than strawberry! But variety is important. Building and executing new and intricate strategies is the most fun part of Starcraft. I'd like to hear what others think about this! I agree 100% with you. By far the most fun and exciting games I played were on the maps that are listed here in the extreme section, except maybe metropolis which always created super long boring games. I think sc2 players bitch so much about balance that mapmakers are scared to create anything creative. Most new maps play absolutely the same with different looks. Even if you listen to casters the only mapfeatures that ever get mentioned are rushdistance, distance to 3rd, watchtowers and arcs in army engangements due to chokepoints. The early crazy maps felt like rally tracks. A Citroen would always have an advantage on a tarmac track, a Ford on a gravel rally, maybe sometimes you get unlucky and hit a random rock and get a puncture. However a good driver could always overcome those hindrances. Drivers had to struggle with the tracks and with the other drivers. Modern maps feel more like Nascar tracks. They are fairer for the drivers and drivers only have to fight against other drivers not the tracks but they also feel a lot more dull to watch and drive on  | ||
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Inex
Bulgaria443 Posts
The best list is alright, the extreme isn't all that extreme, but the worst is 10/10. I remember when Blizz went full crazy and replaced half the ladder maps with the likes of Nerazim Crypt, Slag Pits, Searing Crater, etc. A very good read, thanks OP. | ||
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Tayar
United States1439 Posts
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Oukka
Finland1683 Posts
As of the lists themselves, they are pretty spot on. Cloud Kingdom is the best map out there by far I think. As a terran I'd maybe see Daybreak gone, despite it being awesome in TvP (I really, really like it, the possibilities for multipronged are so great) and Ohana being higher up in the ranks. Some comments here have mentioned the issue of default free three bases maps that lead into games that go straight into lategame without much of midgame in between. The extreme list had maps that answered this issue well, for various reasons. In general I feel like we should have less "standard maps" in order to shake up the gameplay. Too easily split maps like Daybreak and Metropolis should not be too dominant, we need maps that force variance. Now every single game begins with FE into fast 3rd (TvP maybe not quite so much) and there is little to no action for the first ten minutes. This is incredibly boring both as a viewer and as a player. Maps that enable really easy to hold three bases, especially for Zergs are the reason why there was no midgame in several matchups for the end of 2012. When 3rd base actually becomes something that is not given as default, or it has some strategic and/or positional map specific implications the map makers have succeeded. For me at least it feels like currently mapmakers and playerbase tend to be very conservative, anything that is sligtly off the standards of Daybreak gets shut down before it is even actually tried properly. I would love to see the community (both players and mapmakers, especially players!) be more open and adaptive towards new ideas and concepts. | ||
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