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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/0tGkDtH.png)
Overview: [always up to date]
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/rhRKxf0.jpg)
Introduction/Inspiration:
I wanted to make a map like this since i have played Crysis 3. The aesthetics of this game just struck me as really cool, but i also knew that it would be difficult to implement it into SC2. I tried a new Jungle Tileset which is much more muddy than Bel'Shir, which i think turned out very well on my last map, but the layout was pretty boring and straight forward. I also felt like it was missing something. Jungle Theme is nice and all, but imo you need something to highlight it a bit. Merged with the idea of an overgrown city like in Crysis 3 it really shines now imo, even though the map overview doesn't look good, zoomed in i like how it turned out.
Gameplaywise it was even harder to create a layout i was comfortable with. One idea i wanted to utilize is no watch towers at all, so you have to work a bit more for map control than usual. I also included some tiny ramps in the middle of the map, since it isn't used at the moment. The last thing is something i consider a flaw in many of my maps: I usually end up with layouts where all bases are tucked against the map border, so this time i wanted to have several bases right into the map. The natural requires an additional building to wall off, so maybe it will allow for some more early aggression. The third is also a bit more difficult to take, but not as difficult as Neo Planet for example, especially PvZ. I already have some feedback from a high master P and a Z GM (EU-Server), but i'm still looking for more feedback on this map to improve it.
Pictures (Aesthetics): [outdated]
+ Show Spoiler +
Infos:
~ 2-player map, spawns at bottom right & top left.
~ created by sCnDiamond (not the one from ESV)
~ published on NA, EU, KR & SEA as "[sCion] Derelict Colony"
Texture Set:
Zerus Dirt Medium
Bel'Shir Grass Dark
Agria Dirt Rough
Mar Sara Blackened Rock
Korhal Platform Panels Small
Korhal City Dirt Dark
Valhalla Large Tiles
Cliff Type:
Mar Sara Organic Cliffs
Braxis Alpha Manmade Cliffs
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I won't pretend to be an expert on balance, but i love the look.
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I'm really loving the aesthetics; that must have taken forever. I love the placement of the expansions too, it probably makes for some very interesting games.
My only criticism would be that it looks a bit too choky for zerg, though I could be wrong.
Very cool map.
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I really like two things you did, as they are acutally both things I have already advocated on this forum:
- putting bases more towards the middle as opposed to the sides of the map
- more interesting middle area (not just a flat battlefield, maybe with a highground).
Also, the look is superb. I became recently quite bored with map aesthetics, this is one that stands out.
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It looks good. It looks race-balanced.
There are chokes and wide open spaces.
Small side where blink and reapers can get up.
No dead space.
Easy third with consequences.
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Russian Federation4295 Posts
Epic design! What about adding some water in some places?
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Very pretty! One of your best for sure. I love the little harass pocket on the lowground below the natural. I think if this map got accepted to ladder/tournaments today, we'd see a very interesting development of how people position and move their armies, like how Cloud Kingdom evolved when people started to understand better how to move around the map and control different areas. Imo this is one of the highest achievements a map can do, so that's great.
Not saying this is perfect but it looks really cool.  I need to play it and think about it some more.
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@Fishriot: Thank you!
@greenroom: It took me around 20 hours to do the doodads, in total maybe 25 hours. I'm glad you like the way i put the expos.
@opisska: Thank you! I'm afraid i even went a bit overboard, so it might hinder gameplay a bit, i'm not 100% sure on that yet, though.
@TXRaunchy: Thank you.
@Existor: Great idea. I always wanted to include water and not only use it on the borders of the map. I'll see if i can include it in a non-intrusive way.
@EatThePath: You give me way too much credit  . I'm really curious how the map will be played after the 3rd. So far i haven't seen a lot of late game on the map, but that's not that unusual since no one is familar with it. I'll enter it to the contest CSL posted today, maybe they'll give it a shot. At the moment i'm not very happy with how the dirt texture is applied to the map, it looks to regular. I will try to improve on it.
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Do you have a spare slot for another dirt/rock texture? To overlay on the uniform dirt and diversify it.
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On August 01 2013 09:23 EatThePath wrote:
Do you have a spare slot for another dirt/rock texture? To overlay on the uniform dirt and diversify it.
Yes, but i have no idea what texture i can add. At the moment i'm using the agria rough dirt to give it some variety, but it's more the shape i'm concerned with... it just looks to clean in my opinion. I'll try to give the textures a better transition into each other.
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On August 01 2013 09:28 sCnDiamond wrote:Show nested quote +On August 01 2013 09:23 EatThePath wrote:
Do you have a spare slot for another dirt/rock texture? To overlay on the uniform dirt and diversify it. Yes, but i have no idea what texture i can add. At the moment i'm using the agria rough dirt to give it some variety, but it's more the shape i'm concerned with... it just looks to clean in my opinion. I'll try to give the textures a better transition into each other.
Char marsh dirt cracked looks kind of interesting/contrasty but not eyepopping on top of zerus dirt medium. (Combined with grass and agria dirt rough to give it texture and blend it.)
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:-)
And I don't normally say that about a map.
Thought bubble:
The natural-to-third rush distance for both bases appears to be too short for Zerg in WoL PvZ, but I think the meta has changed in a way that this should now be viable.
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@EatThePath wrote:
I tried to use the Char marsh dirt Char marsh dirt cracked, but it made the texture grey-ish, which didn't look as i hoped. I played around with the Agria dirt rough a bit, and i think it looks a lot less clean now. I also added the lines to to 1 and 7 o'clock, so they look like the main bases and are bit more interesting to look at. Another thing i changed were the destructible rock towers. Before, they didn't really matter a lot, since they shut down an attack path were you have an alternative route right next to it. So in test games most players didn't ever bother to destroy them. Now they matter a lot more: If you destroy them, you rob your opponent of an attack path, but also block your way to your 5th expansion. If you pull your army all the way to destroy the rocks, you leave your 3rd exposed. So it's a tradeoff. You can also leave them intact, but that allows your opponent to cut off the shortest path to your 5th and 6th. Let me know what you think about the changes!
Comparison
+ Show Spoiler +Before: ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/HTuqhnQ.jpg) now:
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The map itself looks great. Aesthetics are similiar to some other maps and yet have their own flavour. My only concerns:
- There might be a bit too much blinkspace in the main
- The two main attack paths are very far from each other, so "accidental" base races might occur more often than normal
- You can put siege tanks next to that little harass cliff between nat and third
Other than that, this looks golden.
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wow awesome design. I can see reapers having their way on this map though. 3rd is semi open which is pretty cool. everything else is completely vanilla.
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Vatican City State733 Posts
On August 03 2013 08:26 reps)squishy wrote:
wow awesome design. I can see reapers having their way on this map though. 3rd is semi open which is pretty cool. everything else is completely vanilla.
Vanilla---like someone else I know :p
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On August 03 2013 08:54 RDaneelOlivaw wrote:Show nested quote +On August 03 2013 08:26 reps)squishy wrote:
wow awesome design. I can see reapers having their way on this map though. 3rd is semi open which is pretty cool. everything else is completely vanilla. Vanilla---like someone else I know :p
Bahahaha. Mafia jokes. This is just a basic 1v1 map nothing special about it at all.
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The main and natural (or maybe just the natural) remind me of Backwater Gulch just because of the relatively narrow-looking paths and the angle to the third base (for protoss anyway, I think; that one closer to the main).
I really like the appearance and, having not played the Crysis games, it instead reminds me of something that could be in a Jurassic Park movie and probably even more of the Training Centre in Final Fantasy VIII.
Can flying units fly behind the fourth/third (in a line with main and nat), the natural and the main?
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Just gorgeous. This is actually not that many doodads, but they're used perfectly, and the aesthetics aren't distracting at all. I wish more maps would look like this.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/o5Kln60.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/kG9VNK4.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/6dclQaE.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/N9eUK3C.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/aKTHjKr.png)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/DoQouAe.png)
