"Random trivia about the map name goes here!"
Released on: BETA

HotS map making spree contiunes! Storby is a new 2player map, whereby I have experiemented with the idea of having an easy inbase expansion, trickier late game expansions.

Map details:

Hell is a 144x136 playable map.
Map contain 12 expansions, 2 island & 2 half bases. (Mains incl.)
Half bases contains 1 high yeild vespene geyser.
One Xel'naga Watchtowers can be found in the middle of the map.
Line of Sight blockers are located on various locations.
Distance between Main ramps is about 47-49 ingame seconds.
Windy

Update log:

~0.10
Natural layout has changed, making defending it easier, thus.
Inbase expansion has become blocked again by debriss. (Greedy players can still catch the rich vespene geyser)
Middle lowground area has recieved some tweaks, making it less chokey at some places.
Xel'naga Watchtowers has shrunked down to one, now found the very middle of the map.
Minor terrain/doodad fixes.
~0.7
4 LoS areas has been removed.
Minor Terrain/doodad fixes
Added closeby high cliffs to the natural
Fixed various LoS block locations, and hopefully made it more obvious if there's a lowground or not behind them.
~0.5
Minor Terrain fixes
Main ramp has been shrunked down from 2x to 1x.
Removed debriss blocking inbase expansion.
Replaced inbase expansions vespene out with high yeild vespene.
~0.4
Map Release.

Screenshots
+ Show Spoiler [Screenshots & Overview] +

Overview:

Leftside Bases

Fun times ahead! ~

moskonia

Israel1448 Posts

February 16 2013 00:30 GMT

Hmm, why are there rocks in the in-base expo, that removes the purpose of an in-base expo and only gives you an easy 3rd that can be taken behind a single choke - bad design. No reason for a large ramp with an in-base expo even if it does not have rocks on it, since its a half expo. The only need for a 2 width ramp is if you got a full expo, like on Korhal city. I don't like 2 width ramps because even though the msc is supposed to kill 4gate, really the nexus cannon only has the damage of a cannon, thus making 4gate still very strong when there is no possibility of constantly blocking a ramp with force fields.

In order to make a 2 width work imo you need to have the nexus very close to the ramp, so you will be able to at least damage the units while they are trying to go up the ramp, so that with double force fields you are able to kill part of the force at a time. This also makes it possible to block the ramp for ZvZ since you got creep where you can build a wall.

On this map this solution for a 2 width ramp does not look possible, so I think the best way would be to make the main ramp a 1 width ramp and remove the backdoor while making that base a standard base, maybe adding a couple of entrances on the sides. After this normalization of the map I think it would be really decent, the 3rd seems very possible for taking and the flow of the map looks like it would create interesting games, but that is only after you change it like I said.

SiskosGoatee

Albania1482 Posts

February 16 2013 01:48 GMT

I agree with Mosko. Give it a 1 width ramp, a full base with the rocks and a droppable high ground like Delta and it's actually a pretty good idea.

Apart from the issues Mosko raised. I feel obliged to be the last bastion of ZvZ once again. The 2 width ramp makes a queen block in ZvZ very hard leading to ling/bane all in wars. Also, it looks like you cannot position an overlord to spy on the natural mineral line which makes it hard to scout ZvZ all ins. The minerals need to be closer to the cliff so that queen's can't deny overlord spotting with their 7 range weapon opposed to the overlord's 11 range vision.

The natural is also a bit awkwardly formed and an army coming down from that ramp will face the townhall creating an interesting choke that gives the attacker a nice concave.

These things are pretty easily fixed though, apart from that I don't see a lot wrong with it prima facie.

Edit: Also, it might be cool to say make the inbase expo face the lowground so it can be harassed from the lowground with say fungal, tanks, storms etc. Say it's out of range of 6 range unit + spotters but 9 range attacks can hit it.

Sumadin

Denmark588 Posts

February 16 2013 02:35 GMT

Actually Storby translates simply to City. Metropolis is a word in a the danish language aswell spelled Metropol.

Alright enough with commenting on the unimagenative naming.on to the map.

Yea in-house expansion being both reduced and with rocks is douple dipping and shouldn't be like that. Pick one of that. In general i am not a huge fan of in.house expansions but that is just me.

Asside from that it seems like a pretty average map through.

eTcetRa

Australia822 Posts

February 16 2013 06:37 GMT

I would remove the rocks at the in-base natural.

And are those islands and in-base natural normal guysers or high-yield? If not then it may be worth considering turning atleast the island's into high-yield guysers, though not neccesary.

Ferisii

Denmark199 Posts

February 16 2013 21:30 GMT

Thanks for all the feedback! Sorry for the late response, been busy being distracted by various youtube videos & whatnot.

Map has jumped from version 0.4 to 0.6, patch notes located in the main post.

Edit: Jumps once again! 0.7 is out.

Ferisii

Denmark199 Posts

February 18 2013 20:16 GMT

Map version jumps to 0.10!
Would love to hear some feedback on the recent changes I've made to the map, specially the Nat & inbase expansions situation.
So far I've made it easier to defend the natural, and thus of that I decided to block the inbase off again, to hinder easy early mass expanding. Also been thinking about just simply blocking the rich vespene instead, making the other resources available at the getgo. Not sure what the best solution would be as of yet.
Another change I've done to the map, is making the middle lower ground less chokier, and also removal of one watchtower. There's now one single watchtower covering the middle area.

EatThePath

United States3943 Posts

February 18 2013 21:41 GMT

I feel like you're only punishing zerg by putting rocks on the free base. I think rocks on the gas is a good compromise.

Since the front is so easy to defend (not open, nice chokepoint, good concave area on in the inside) and it has a straight-line path back to the free base in case of drops there, I can only assume this will play out with 2.75 bases almost automatically every game. Therefore the map only really starts to "happen" at the 4th base, which is quite easy considering its proximity and closed-off-ness, with no possibility of threatening the natural or the 4th and putting the defender out of position. The only way to cause problems is with drops. If that's the goal, that's fine. It just seems rather one-dimensional.

I'd much prefer if there was vast open areas around the map because you totally bypass the usual midgame, opting instead purely for defending harass, not maneuvering around the map. For example, I would turn the two pits in the middle into narrow ditches that still divide the whole area along a NW <--> SE axis, but now have much more open territory on either side for max supply positioning.

Last, I don't like how the island is a full base protected on both flanks by other bases that you'll be defending anyway, and in the lategame will likely have mass static defense besides. This makes the corner island nearly a free base. On top of that, it has very little area to drop into, so any static defense there will be amplified in effect. There's almost no room to drop that isn't in range of a PF. I'm not sure what you can do about this base other then make it 3/4. I'd love to hear why I'm wrong about my thinking here, but it just seems yucky to me at the moment.

Overall I don't dislike the map in theory, I just question the why and how of it because I don't see any clear answers, but I am open to enlightenment. ^^

llIH

Norway2142 Posts

February 18 2013 22:25 GMT

What can I say. I definitely like it!

moskonia

Israel1448 Posts

February 18 2013 22:51 GMT

#10

Good adjustments, but until the in-base expansion I don't think this map will be any fun to watch or play since like eatthepath said the game starts with 2.75 bases while punishing Zerg that has to make units to break the rocks. With the in-base expo gone I like the overall flow of the map, but with it in the map I think it will be a snooze fest.