[M] (4) Xel'Naga's Folly

As this map is intended for the TL Map Contest, I obviously could not attempt one of my "index of features" maps that I have a bunch of innovations and features all crammed together. On the other hand, one could not waste the opportunity to try to bring something new to the table. So I settled on one "no-no" and one "interesting new feature" idea that I've had and put them together in this map, while retaining everything as as Blizzard-like as I could.

But then it happened, as I was shaping my terrain, the aethestic for the map that I was creating leaped out at me, previously undetermined, and I could not help but go with the artistic flow that was compelling me, nay, commanding me to bring it to fruition. One might even go so far as to say, it painted itself. And so, what would have otherwise been a most likely hum-drum, unobtrusive, and perhaps mildly tolerable desert turned into a work of art such that I might want to hang it on my wall if it weren't meant for the gruesomely bloody engagements of war.

As I made the final touches, a story for the terrain began to emerge, and now I present to you the story of this terrain:

Long, long ago, when the Xel'Naga were still young in their knowledge and striving for control over the universe, a particularly experiemental facility was created in this region. Before their techniques became as powerful or refined as they would become in later years, this facility engaged in some strange and very unnatural endeavors to increase their understanding of the universal forces. Unknowingly, they tapped into a particularly virulent primal force, one might say could be likened to an intelligence. When it could no longer bear the burdens being laid upon it, this force railed against these beings and their facility, and the land rose up to swallow it all whole. The remnant towers and small surrounding region, for some reason, were the only things that could not be engulfed by this force... perhaps they contain some secrets still. What has brought you to this region? You are not sure, but you have the sensation that your presence is known.

So there it is, as epic and yet as lame as a paragraph could be -- I hope that helps with map name suggestions.

So, enough drama, time to get informative. The very first thing to note about this map is that it is both rotationally and reflectively symmetrical. Fold it, twist it, flip it, everything should match up.

The "interesting new feature" I mentioned is the "checkerboard" middle or "moguls" if you like skiing. As often happens what I think will not take too much space often takes up more space, so there are only nine (9) "moguls" and they are a bit more spread out than one might see on an actual checker board. If there were corner ramps, this might have worked more like I orginally planned, but then, the inspiration for the aesthetic might not have taken shape before my very eyes. Five (5) are actually mogul-like in that they are little hills, and four (4) are actually inverted moguls, or little valleys. The valleys contain the Xel'Naga watchtowers.

This middle area fairly wide open except for the broken corners of the ramps of the moguls. It is also surrounded by a large ravine. This ravine contains a gold base with rocks on the expansion location (as opposed to on top of the resources) at each of the cardinal direction limits of the map (so 3, 6, 9, 12). This ravine is a continuous loop, has eight (8) line of sight blocker walls separating the gold base regions, and twenty eight (28) ramps out of it, twenty (20) into the middle and eight (8) are into the expansions (naturals).

The main bases are located in the very corners of the map. Each main is approximately thirty (30) CC in area, insofar as the orginal land form I started with actually had thirty (30) CCs smooshed into it, and then I shaped it from there. There is not much to say about the main per-se, it most distinguishable feature is the "no-no" which in a way is sort of a two-in-one "no-no". There are two (2) exits out of the main into two (2) identical naturals. The "more than one main choke" is the first part of the "no-no". The second part of the "no-no" is the fact the ramps are cardinal direction ramps. (Part of?) The reason I understand about why the having more than one enterence to the main is a "no-no" is that it makes the early part of the game too accessible for/vulnerable to certain cheese strategies. (Part of?) The reason I understand about why using cardinal driection ramps is a "no-no" is the fact that normal wall-off configurations cannot be applied. The reason that this two part "no-no" is viable (and dare I say, a "yes-yes") is because it solves both objections in one stroke: it is configured such that it essentially comes to one choke point and that choke point allows for a standard wall-off configuration.

The naturals each have one ramp out into the ravine. Almost directly across from these ramps are ramps into the middle section of the map. An interesting thing to note is that the rush distance from the ramp of a natural to the "close natural" of the next base is nearly the same via the ravine and via the middle. This can allow for some very interesting tactics. There are three parallel, single-width, cardinal-direction ramps from the middle directly in front of the gold base, which allows for some intercept play between two passing armies, as well as a means of sneak attacking the gold base.

Finally, the asthetics: after completing the moguls in the middle, I started to work on what would become the ravine. Essentially, I was trying to find some way to make the otherwise straightfoward single pathway from one "close natural" to the next more interesting, and I didn't feel I should expand on the mogul theme any more than had already been done. As the ravine took shape and was copied from one quadrant to the next I noticed the uncanny resemblance of a face in each of the cardinal directions. A few ramps, and a bunch of textures later, voila, the quartet of interlocking beast/demon heads formed by the earth itself. What makes this ever more cool is the fact that the watchtowers have those little eye icons on the mini-map in game, and when you control two adjecent towers, it looks as though that face it looking out at you.

And that's really all there is two it, I hope this goes way beyond what people expect of 16 base rotational map -- in a good way!!!

(All that and I couldn't think up a name, right?)

Overview
(90 degrees)

+ Show Spoiler [old] +

(Game angle, full map)
+ Show Spoiler [old] +

Analyzer (not significantly changed by the update, approximately 2 less than shown here for all nat-to-nat distances -- not worth re-posting new pictures)
+ Show Spoiler +

Details
+ Show Spoiler ['Beauty' shots] +
+ Show Spoiler [Wall-offs] +
+ Show Spoiler [Creep connections] +
+ Show Spoiler [Siege range] +
+ Show Spoiler [Mini Map] +