[M] Aiur Caverns [1v1]

cacho56

8 Posts

January 26 2013 03:41 GMT

As I was anticipating in this thread, I've finished my first melee map: "Aiur Caverns", inspired in "The dark templar saga".

* It's a large map (160x144), and it has 4 expansions for each player.
* It's symmetrical with respect to the diagonal top-left to bottom-right axis.
* It has 3 main attack roads, all interconected by 2 bridges in the center of the map. The center road is larger (more than 16 blocks wide). The other 2 are chokepoints if the player doesn't take the highground next to them.
* Its particularity is that the main base is connected to both the first and the second expansion. One of the ramps is protected by rocks, and the road from one expansion to the other is very large if the army doesn't cross the main before.
* All the movement in the center of the map can be controlled if both Xel'Naga Towers are taken, and we have air units in the left and right side.
* I believe that the expansions will be hard to defend, because there is a huge distance between them. I think that that will make map control and scouting more important than in general.

Some images:

+ Show Spoiler +

Overview;

Main base:

Third expansion:

Center (forth expansion can be seen behind):

Alternative road:

The map is uploaded in US with the name [Melee] Aiur Caverns [1v1]. If you can test it and criticize it, I'd be glad.

Qwyn

United States2779 Posts

January 26 2013 04:13 GMT

Hey man, I'd just like to say that there's just too much going on here. You might have solid ideas about what map you want to make, but efficient use of space is EVERYTHING in mapmaking. I bet you could make a much stronger map that is roughly 70% of this one's current size.

This is a common problem I see with newer map-makers is that they do not focus on the most important fundamental of all, and that is having an efficient, sensible layout that optimizes space as much as possible. This map has so much going on, and in being so cluttered it loses much of its appeal.

You're also ignoring much of the current design paradigm. While some things are, as of now, hotly debated, you cannot go wrong by designing a standard main/nat.

One example of how things are too cluttered with the current layout: the center. You have so much unpathable terrain. With a more efficient use of chokes and pathways you could tighten up the middle by around 50%!

Now I'll leave the rest of the advice to the people who know what they're talking about

. Just wanted to offer my thoughts right off the bat.

cacho56

8 Posts

January 26 2013 20:19 GMT

First of all, thanks for the advice, it's really helpful to a beginner.
I reviewed the desing and realized that placing 2 bridges to connect the 3 roads was a little redundant. Conecting them only once let me save 16 blocks of space. I've also reduced the map width in the center, and moved the highground to the middle; in order to make the choke points you've suggested.
I've added two XNT, to control the side paths; and move closer the center ones, and increased the direct distance between the 2nd and the 3rd.
About the main/nat, i don't catch the problem. The FFE is viable walling with the nexus.

The new overview:

[image loading]

(Detailed: )
+ Show Spoiler +

Is now better than before?

algue

France1436 Posts

January 26 2013 22:56 GMT

Imo : You should widen EVERYTHING, you should ctrl+c/ctrl+v some minerals/gaz layout on some blizzard official maps to have the official layout, you should remove some lame features like the two open ramps for 1 main, you should remove the weird ramps like the vertical one on whqt looks like th 4th, remove 2 xel naga towers.

when you make a map at least think about the obvious things that a terran/toss/zerg would abuse. Elevator strat, building block, force fields, narrow paths etc.

Atm I really don't see where a zerg would be happy to fight against a terran/ a protoss in the early game, where a terran could be happy to fight against a protoss, where a protoss would be happy to fight against a Zerg in the late game.

I think that your first version of the map was actually better eventhough a lot of things had to be changed

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