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#1

BoomStevo Regular Shmoe

Join date: 24 Aug 2010

Posts: 13

Last login: 08 Jan 2011

on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:57:06

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Orbital Decay

Map Info:

Version: 1.0
Players: 4
Size (Playable): 156x156
Spawn Positions: 2, 4, 8 & 10

Features:

Close main and natural
Narrow natural choke
Main back door protected by rocks
Center can be opened up by destroying rocks.

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Analyzer:

Notes:

This is my first 1v1 map and my first time posting a map. It could be described as a 4 player blistering sands, because the main/natural are set up similarly, though I didn't intend this initially. It just happened. I like the Main and Natural mostly, but I've been debating changing the layout of the Gold, Third, Back door and Center in my head. I'd like some input on the layout, terraining, doodads, or whatever you'd like to comment on.

#2

Pimpmunkeh Regular Shmoe

Join date: 10 May 2010

Posts: 46

Last login: 24 Nov 2011

58 minutes later (on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:55:14)

@BoomStevo: Go

that maps looks pretty neat, i'd like to try it out later on. The only thing so far I see first hand is possibly moving the outer Watch Towers to West and East instead of North and South; so that they can spy the Gold Expos.

The map middle looks crazy open, especially after those rocks are destroyed.

Maybe replace Rocks with actual Cliff levels? and some LoS blockers aligned nicely in the middle ground some where would be Real good, since it is so open looking.

#3

BoomStevo Regular Shmoe

Join date: 24 Aug 2010

Posts: 13

Last login: 08 Jan 2011

2 hours later (on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:58:52)

@Pimpmunkeh: Go

First of all, thank you for the reply. I'd like to explain my reasoning behind the points you mentioned.

I placed the Watch Towers in an attempt to make them strategically important for tracking enemy movement. The north and south towers should be very important when spawning close positions (10 & 2 or 4 & 8). Where as the center tower would be more important in any other positions. I didn't think the gold expansions needed very much spotting because they can be spotted from the naturals and movement through the center may spot them. I also didn't want the entire map to be covered with watch towers to give people a chance to proxy if they wanted.

The center of the map has been changed and reworked a lot since I first began the map. At first it had some high ground but it made it much less open. I debated leaving it completely open but I thought that made it uninteresting. I decided to go with the destructible rocks because it's something I haven't seen before and it, essentially, leaves the decision of openness up to the players. I have debated placing some high ground in the center and even removing the tower. For now, I'd like to see how the rocks play out. I think your idea of adding more LoS blockers is good and I may do that.

#4

Samro225am Author

Join date: 19 Aug 2010

Posts: 41
Maps: 2

Last login: 10 Jan 2011

3 hours later (on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:24:31)

hi BoomStevo:

i like the layout! my first thought was hat someone made blistering sands a 4 player map, an idea i have tinkered with before ;) there could be some nicer texturing (pathes stone/sand) but layout looks nice and it is not too boxy. i can see you put a lot of thoughts into the layout. nice first map!

some questions and critic:

I like he fact that in a 2vs2 or FFA players would have to choose between 3rd or gold. I understand that this map is meant for 1vs1 play. Still the option to go for gold instead of 3rd is nice. - what is the travel distance from main to gold and from main to 3rd? gld looks even closer? - can you control the gold from the nat? (I think so...try a siege tank in siege mode and spam the gold expansion)

plattforms or cliffs look very open > thee will be a lot of harass
the two ramps at he gold expo invites terran to go in with helion for drive by shooting. at 3rd this is not as bad as at gold, because there is less space to shoot before moving out.
two towers should be enough. probably shift the north and south tower a bit to the middle of the map
you could put the destructable stones into the gold instead of the middle where they narrow down everything and help terrans. could be abused from tanks blocking and help thors keep opponents in range.also nice for protoss (forcefield everything) and amount of stones(4x 2x4!) hurt zerglings, because there is no surround possible.

achievement building worlds

225am.de

#5

BoomStevo Regular Shmoe

Join date: 24 Aug 2010

Posts: 13

Last login: 08 Jan 2011

13 hours later (on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:52:33)

@Samro225am: Go

I had a hard time texturing the ground on the natural cliffs because the texture set I chose only has 2 natural textures: dirt and rock. The rest is all metal. And seeing as a large majority of the map is dirt and rock, it stands out. I'll try to incorporate the metal more in those areas to make it nicer.

I believe the gold expansion should be a little more difficult to defend seeing as there is an income advantage when taking it. Therefore, the player will be taking a risk when expanding there. I think that the only time a player would consider it would be if the opponent spawned either close or cross positions. The gold may be closer to the main than the third but if the backdoor rocks are destroyed, this may not be the case anymore.

I tend to enjoy playing in an offensive style with harassment so it may show in my design. Ample room behind mineral lines for maneuvering or defensive structures, backdoor rocks, room around the edges of the map for flying units, etc. If this lends itself to one race or the other, feel free to let me know.

Your idea to remove the center tower and shift down the towers is appealing to me. I've considered removing the center tower but hadn't thought about shifting the north and south towers. This may be a good compromise.

I'd really love to see some higher level play concerning the center of the map. Right now it is all theory, but I assume if a Zerg player thinks the destructible rocks will be to their disadvantage, then they can be destroyed. And once destroyed the center becomes very open. Of course, having the time and controlling the center to do so may be difficult.

#6

BoomStevo Regular Shmoe

Join date: 24 Aug 2010

Posts: 13

Last login: 08 Jan 2011

10 hours later (on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:01:23)

I have now published the map as it currently is so that people can try it out. Just search for "Orbital Decay" on the US servers. And I am going to start working on revisions now.

#7

b0ne123 Author

Name: bone

Code: 804

Region: EU

Join date: 27 Apr 2010

Posts: 957
Assets: 4
Maps: 1

Online now!

14 minutes later (on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:16:16)

[Melee Map] Orbital Decay 1v1

Players: 4

:D what kind of map is it?

A programmer started to cuss
Because getting to sleep was a fuss
As he lay in his bed
Looping 'round in his head
Was: while (!asleep()) sheep++;

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#8

s3rius Moderator

Name: serius

Code: 707

Region: EU

Join date: 24 Apr 2010

Posts: 2,303
Maps: 1

Last login: 05 Feb 2012

4 hours later (on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:32:44)

Quote from b0ne123: Go
[Melee Map] Orbital Decay 1v1

Players: 4

:D what kind of map is it?

It's a 4-player maps meant to be played as 1v1.. just like Metalopolis.

Well, I see something worth pointing out:

The main bases are very very large which makes scouting extremely hard. The initial scouting overlord would get sniped 100% (at least vs terra) if you get him close enough to see anything (and he'd arrive pretty late anyway) and terran scan can only cover so little area that you could easily hide all your tech somewhere in your main.
In addition to that the choke point is a small ramp, isn't it? So it can be blocked quickly (especially by Terran). And due to the long distance between the starting points and the fact that it has 4 main bases it's probable that your enemy won't get any scouting information unless you send a very very early scout.
The huge main also makes reapers even more dangerous (you can't watch the entire cliff for them, granted the long attack distance balances this out I guess) and makes back-door attacks a pain in the backdoor (I made a joke!). The distance between choke and rocks is just so large. It'll also make strategies like Fast Expansion with marines and bunkers or Forge Fast Expand pretty useless as the enemy can so conveniently attack you from behind.
That makes it pretty awkward since many players would like to play macro-orientated on such a large map. Early ground attacks could easily be stopped since the long attack paths allow the defender to pump more lings/bunkers/etc as soon as he sees the other player moving towards him.
So basically you can't really attack with a standard push. We'd see a lot of cheese probably (banshee rush, warp-in pylons, floating factory into main base, even placing a hatchery in the enemy's main)

Actually it might be a nice idea to remove the 3rd bases from the game. That'd force the players to play more aggressively if they want to get another base. They'd either have to take the gold or another main (which is hard to defend from harrass and drops just because it's so far away from where you'd place your troops).

It's hard to judge the range of the watchtowers just by seeing the minimap, but if they reach far enough to reveal the way from the middle to each players' natural then I like them.
Likewise, does the middle watchcover cover both entrances to the gold? If not then I think it might be nice to remove the watchtower in the middle and instead place two watchtowers where Pimpmunkeh suggested them. The middle one would not be that useful if you got one of the other two, but having two in the east/west would not only allow you to spot the gold but also to watch the attack paths over the gold.
Hm on the other hand I can see a lot of air being played on this map. There's so much space near the map borders and so long attack paths that ground units are only half as useful. Placing the watchtowers to cover all ground paths would only encurage drops and air even more.

Last edited on 31 Aug 2010 by s3rius

#9

BoomStevo Regular Shmoe

Join date: 24 Aug 2010

Posts: 13

Last login: 08 Jan 2011

11 hours later (on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:36:09)

@s3rius: Go

Those are some good points. I hadn't thought too much about scouting. Originally the resources were closer to the center and the main was actually much bigger.

Here's a rough image of some of the changes I'm thinking about implementing: Changes

Red lines: Removing. Green Lines: Relocating.

#10

Samro225am Author

Join date: 19 Aug 2010

Posts: 41
Maps: 2

Last login: 10 Jan 2011

7 hours later (on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:30:19)

concerning the scouting:

rotate main's mineral line 90°(counterclockwise at 8) and move towards backdoor.
remove the red marked parts

overlords then can move in via the 3rd from the centre. scouts moving by foot come in from ramp towards buildings.

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[Melee Map] Orbital Decay 1v1

Orbital Decay

Map Info:

Features:

More Images:

Analyzer:

Notes: