Vicious by prodiG[/center]

My third map after un-retiring. Definitely getting back into the swing of things as I had a ton of fun putting this one together (partially because I got to tap into my inner hatred for the Zerg scum that 3 hatch hydra busted me on Heartbreak Ridge & Fighting Spirit 9999x in D+ iCCup). Vicious is loosely based on Antiga Shipyard and is a 4 player rotational symmetry map. The map is named after the song Vicious Circles by Veil of Maya.

EDIT 2: Map is now published on NA as Vicious - prodiG on the account prodiG - Please use this version!!!

Vicious 1.1 by prodiG

Click here for hi-res top-down image

ESV Vicious is being used by Dreamhack in their upcoming Stockholm Open event! Click here for more info

Vicious spawned from the fact that ESV has made no 4p maps in quite some time and I had a few ideas for a natural expansion floating around in my head which I've executed in this map. The natural expansion is very secure and can be walled with 3 3x3 (Gateway/Rax/Evo Chamber/etc) sized buildings leaving a 1 tile wide choke to block with a unit such as a Zealot. Beyond that is a plateau overlooking the two ramps towards a player's base, one of which is partially blocked by destructible debris.

The key features of this map are the third expansions which can be cliff harassed via the expansions above; as well as the Xel'Naga Tower positioning. Controlling the Xel'Naga Towers is key to defending expansions as they provide vision of that quadrant of the map's ground attack path.

The aesthetic concept stemmed from my desire to play with Castanar doodads followed by me tapping into my inner hatred for asshole cheeser noob fraud Zergs who 3 hatch hydra busted me every game on Heartbreak Ridge and Fighting Spirit in D+ iCCup. I hate each and every one of you with a passion and as such the map is littered with Zerg units getting abused! The overall idea here is a Terran facility with experimental tools all over the place as well as a nicely astroturfed middle area~
p.s. Orb recently read this aloud during a Korean Weekly broadcast and it sounded a lot angrier than I thought it did, it's intended to be light-hearted I swear! Keep your pitchforks!

Info

Number of Players: 4
Map Size: 150x150
Tileset: Braxis Alpha, Castanar, Korhal and Bel'Shir (astroturfing!)
Main to Main (ramp) - Close Pos: 42sec ingame
Main to Main (ramp) - Cross Pos: 50sec ingame
Nat to Nat (choke) - Close Pos: 33sec ingame
Nat to Nat (choke) - Cross Pos: 38sec ingame
Number of Expansions: 16 blue (all 8min/2gas)
Number of Xel'Naga Towers: 4
Published as: ESV Vicious 1.1

Changelog

v1.1.1
-Fixed a bug where a generator doodad was interfering with walloffs in the top left position. See here for details
v1.1
Removed rocks leading to high ground expansions.
+ Show Spoiler [Why] +

I'd rather have playtesting tell me these expansions need rocks and give players the freedom to explore rather than constrain them right out of the gate

v1.0
First release!

Aesthetics & Details
Click here for imgur album! (These are awesome, more pics in here)

TheAmazombie

United States3714 Posts

February 10 2012 06:39 GMT

Wow...this map looks fucking awesome. I cannot wait to try it out. I love the expos on the side that can only be accessed by the rocks and overhangs the 3rds. Neat feature.

prodiG

Canada2016 Posts

February 10 2012 06:43 GMT

On February 10 2012 15:39 TheAmazombie wrote:
Wow...this map looks fucking awesome. I cannot wait to try it out. I love the expos on the side that can only be accessed by the rocks and overhangs the 3rds. Neat feature.

Getting it up on all of the servers shortly... I still need to bug test one last time but I wanted to get it out there for MotM!

Ruscour

5233 Posts

February 10 2012 06:44 GMT

So the natural will behave similarly to Tal'darim but with a main ramp, I suppose.

After a solid few minutes of staring at the overview, I quite like the design in general. The third isn't super easy to take but it's in a great position to be able to defend all 3 bases against mutas and such. Holding the ground where the two ramps nicely makes up for how easy you get a blink into the main in PvP because at that position you can really control the front and have the ability to zone out blinks into the main decently.

Looks cool, anyways. Published only on NA for the moment?

prodiG

Canada2016 Posts

February 10 2012 06:46 GMT

On February 10 2012 15:44 Ruscour wrote:
So the natural will behave similarly to Tal'darim but with a main ramp, I suppose.

After a solid few minutes of staring at the overview, I quite like the design in general. The third isn't super easy to take but it's in a great position to be able to defend all 3 bases against mutas and such. Holding the ground where the two ramps nicely makes up for how easy you get a blink into the main in PvP because at that position you can really control the front and have the ability to zone out blinks into the main decently.

Looks cool, anyways. Published only on NA for the moment?

That's correct, I'll get it up on EU and KOR tomorrow

EDIT: I've gotten some mixed responses so far, how do you guys feel about the rocks on the semi-island? They are there to delay them from being used as a place to harass the expo below but many people are raising concern with Zerg being able to reliably take the expansion, which combined with positional balance and the lowground third nearby being potentially more vulnerable could be a problem. I personally like keeping the expo as a semi-island as I think semi islands are baller and as a feature makes the game more interesting then just generic "expand away from your opponent however you want"

wrl

United States209 Posts

February 10 2012 06:53 GMT

As always some cool ideas here. I just feel the rotational imbalance is too prominant. There is only one choice for the third no matter where you spawn, but if you are clockwise close positions you are extremely vulnerable to a drop on the highground overlooking the third meaning you essentially HAVE to take down those debris before your opponent can start dropping or you lose any mining there.

prodiG

Canada2016 Posts

February 10 2012 07:02 GMT

On February 10 2012 15:53 wrl wrote:
As always some cool ideas here. I just feel the rotational imbalance is too prominant. There is only one choice for the third no matter where you spawn, but if you are clockwise close positions you are extremely vulnerable to a drop on the highground overlooking the third meaning you essentially HAVE to take down those debris before your opponent can start dropping or you lose any mining there.

The more I think about it the more I am tempted to delete the rocks entirely. It was part of the original concept but now that the map has fully manifested I think it will be better without, and I'd rather have playtesting tell me it needs rocks there rather than they need to go.

v1.1 incoming!

prodiG

Canada2016 Posts

February 10 2012 07:07 GMT

v1.1 up... I wouldn't double post but I accidentally hit quote instead of edit on my OP, my bad~

Dukat

United States235 Posts

February 10 2012 08:14 GMT

You have a map, in space, with no Space Shark? HOW COULD YOU?!

Mcleod21

Jamaica29 Posts

February 10 2012 08:16 GMT

#10

gotta say i like the look of the map, lots of bases, many areas that are easy to forcefield off, i dont ever have to engage in a wide open area, and its a 4 player map so PvP cheese isnt very viable

Well done on the map sir

Blazinghand

United States25561 Posts

February 10 2012 08:23 GMT

#11

I'd rather have playtesting tell me these expansions need rocks and give players the freedom to explore rather than constrain them right out of the gate

I actually really like this change. I think the cliff will still be somewhat usable for harassing the third base anyways

Wintex

Norway16848 Posts

February 10 2012 08:27 GMT

#12

say you spawn close to each other. Can siegetanks harass the natural from the fourth? (if this doesn't make any sense, do tell! :D)

MountainGoat

United States508 Posts

February 10 2012 08:47 GMT

#13

Is there any reason that there isn't a watchtower in the center?

EDIT: Nevermind I'm silly. I didn't see the watchtowers on the sides.

VoirDire

Sweden1923 Posts

February 10 2012 08:53 GMT

#14

Looks like a miniature golf course :D

Xiphiasar

United States78 Posts

February 10 2012 09:01 GMT

#15

That's a great looking map, should make for interesting games. I like the astroturfed antiga shipyard feel.

prodiG

Canada2016 Posts

February 10 2012 09:08 GMT

#16

On February 10 2012 17:14 Dukat wrote:
You have a map, in space, with no Space Shark? HOW COULD YOU?!

There's a space shark! Look at the pic of the middle

On February 10 2012 17:27 Wintex wrote:
say you spawn close to each other. Can siegetanks harass the natural from the fourth? (if this doesn't make any sense, do tell! :D)

Of course not! This isn't amateur hour

-ZiG-

United States84 Posts

February 10 2012 09:18 GMT

#17

damn this map is cool as fuck!

Archvil3

Denmark989 Posts

February 10 2012 09:19 GMT

#18

The ever returning question of positional balance on rotational symetry 4 spawn maps. Expanding in one direction you get a closer third that is easier to horrass, the other direction is further away but on highground so it may balance itself out. I guess this would require some playtesting.

Click here for hi-res top-down image

Links to low res angled overview