Maplantis.org

12-23-06 Interview of Tau, from Maplantis.org by Entropy


Why is it called map Maplantis?
We consider map making to be dying skill, it is essentially lost, in the way that many do not share their knowledge, in part due to map protection, so the skill and many map making techniques are lost every time one of our better map makers leaves the scene. We are trying to rescue all this knowledge in one site by providing the tools, the content space and the database.

Why the project? And why at this stage in the game?
There's a lot of map making forums and sites and SC is a rather old game. However, even so far after SC's release, it's STILL fun, and we're STILL finding new things to play around with. As long as people are having fun and thinking up new things, mapping will never die. We believe, that the ability for people to learn and modify will no longer alienate and separate mappers who maybe don't have that much time, or can't learn from the tutorials that can already be found online. It's also something thats never been attempted before, and if the concept is proven successful, may encourage other mapping communities not just for StaCcraft, but of any game to give Open Mapping a try.

What advantages will you guys offer over site like SEN and SC.org?
I think one of the most impressive feature we have at the moment is our maps database. It takes maps that people upload, generates a minimap picture and different statistics to store in a database (such as tileset, map size, number of players/computers/neutral on a map, trigger count, unit count, and so on) which will be completely searchable later. All of this is taken without any user or administrator interaction, giving us a very detailed database. Eventually we may get into things like Melee Map analysis, taking uploaded melee maps and automatically determining mineral counts, expos, and so on for players to find and download. We have our map making wiki partially running, a few other sites were starting to get the idea when we were developing it, but we've went all out and completely integrated it with the site. We're also working on some other things like Mapping Frameworks (maps pre-designed as templates for making other maps), and constant improvements to the features we already have in place. We call it a "project" because we know that it's a job that will never finish, as the community evolves, the website must evolve with it.

What is Open Mapping making? Is maplantis against against map protection?
Open Map Making is a phrase that we coined to define what we are doing. When people hear the word "Unprotection" it sparks a negative reaction. Open Map Making is more of a movement, that involves crediting previous authors and editors to a map, but at the same time releasing maps openly, by keeping comments, location names, and applying no protection to a map. This idea is founded upon "trust others and the StarCraft community to insure I am credited for my work". Our objective is not to rob people of the work they create, but to expand it to something better. Human beings are naturally imperfect. You may make the perfect map, but to others it may not be that way. If you've made a great melee map and release it, someone else may see the genius in your concept but realizes that there's not enough minerals in a few expos, or a terrain advantage of some kind. To put it bluntly, the most popular maps out there, such as lost temple, have many many variations of it, some which people prefer the original, or other variations of it. It depends on personal preference, which is what we want to encourage. What if blizzard decided that you were forced to use ONLY the original copy of lost temple and nobody had the means to create a variation without starting from scratch?

Meaning will they accept protected map uploads?
We think the community has benefited greatly from Open Mapping as it is. It is part of Maplantis' mission to encourage people that leaving maps open is a good idea, but even with that we don't force people to upload protected maps or to conform necessarily releasing their maps as open - however we will be providing the means for other people to open these maps if they wish to edit it or see how it works.

Any known map maker has joined the band wagon yet?
A few community veterans joined in, like Tuxedo Templar, Heinermann (aka, Deathknight), and a few other great mappers who have joined and are already active. The site is ideal as it runs upon custom software tailored for a map making site.

Have you contacted Broowarmaps.net yet? They have a similar uploading/database system, not as nice but full of great melee maps. Have you check it?* *http://www.panschk.de/map...pt/viewnews.php
Not yet in depth, I've seen it though. We have done something similar, but with a bit more automation and stores more data on a large scale basis though.


How much space you have available? Bandwidth?
100 gigs/month b/w, 4 gigs space for maps and we will increase it if needed.

Wow, nice going. Could you fill us in on who is behind this project? A little about you and your partners. You obviously must have a history in the map making community.
Mindarchon and LegacyWeapon are both wonderful programmers who originally sparked the debates by creating and releasing the controversial program - OSmap (Open Source Map). It is a program which removes protection with the click of a button and allows people to open a map in a normal editor. Regardless of the furious debates and predictions of the end of the world, nothing bad actually came of OSmap. Anyways, the 3 of us got together and collaborated to create Maplantis. We named it based upon Atlantis which is the "lost city" and we feel that it suits our theme because a lot of innovation and teamwork has been lost to a few individuals that use protection improperly to hide mapping techniques and prevent other people from learning or editing.

Apart form OSmap have they created any other program, site, or MOD?
LegacyWeapon has also created Uberation, ironically a protection program before he made OSmap. He was threw away and undid all his previous work because he felt he was doing something he believed in. He used to on clan ( u )'s website write Wiki articles for map making purposes, which he is carrying over to Maplantis as we're pushing it for the new front of map making innovation and learning. Mindarchon has created several websites in the past, and many smaller programs. His ability to create websites is remarkable and does a big part in the new features maplantis provides.

Ahh the Wikki, the content, will it be about anything StarCraft related? Or specifically Map making?
We're likely going to keep it map making and modding only. Mostly we want to focus upon that one area so it is as good as it can possibly be. Ever hear the phrase "Jack of all trades, Master of none"? Its something the site will live by. We know our boundaries and would rather team up with sites that already do a great job at what we lack then making a cheap copy of it.


Well in the golden era of map making, the early years, there was no map protection tool. Blizzard even allows modding and they never protected their own maps. I think you guys are on the right tract. I tried uploading a few maps and it is easy, I mean really easy. I can only see success ahead. Any last words shout outs?
All we want people to do is to have an open mind. Give a chance and see what happens in the end before predicting doom. With the right tools, management and people, this can work.