Destined to be a prosperous mining outpost, the initial mining operations on the outpost were careless and vigorous, causing excessive stress on the surface. It now lies abandoned as the unstable ground underneath expands, splitting the land and exposing the molten layer underneath planets crust.
Map Information
Players: 2
Bases: 10
Map Size: Large (160 x 168)
Published: SEA
(Hit me up with a PM if you want to host it elsewhere, I cant).
Looks great. My only concern is the rush distance. I'd probably add a tiny path between the nat and the third (like attached image). You should add some Line of Sight blockers too.
Oh and also, you should use the Data > Export Map Image to get a full size overview image.
thanks mate. I'm considering cutting a path from infront of the main across the lava towards the center for both sides. 260 rush distance is pretty large.
Which attachment? Also, I have 4 LOS blockers in their, a bit hard to see in the screenshot! The 2 horizontal strips in the center of the map are LOS blockers, and each main has a section with LOS blockers. here you go: :)
Balancewise, it looks pretty decent to me. It needs work aesthetically, though. In general, it just needs more stuff. Doodads, rocks, man-made shelters, cliff doodads, spires, metallical constructs... Anything at all. I do like your way of using those texture-'paths', which is a technique that doesn't always work well anymore.
thanks for the response mate! I will respectfully disagree on the doodads. I feel it is cluttered enough around some areas already for a melee map. Afterall, I do not want doodads getting in the way of the gameplay. I am not a fan of doodad heavy maps. They are good in small doses, but your map design should be doing all the talking (aesthetics wise). I will be adding a few more doodads, and it will be to pretty up the center and the left/right sand areas which are barren at the moment. This is only my opinion of-course. and in design, there is no right and wrong :) we only need to agree that the map is balanced, the rest is up to the individual! :D
yeah thats what I thought you ment. Just sort of makes the rocks a little bit pointless, I will think it through before i do anything, but I definitely agree that 260 is too long.
thanks for the response mate! I will respectfully disagree on the doodads. I feel it is cluttered enough around some areas already for a melee map. Afterall, I do not want doodads getting in the way of the gameplay. I am not a fan of doodad heavy maps. They are good in small doses, but your map design should be doing all the talking (aesthetics wise). I will be adding a few more doodads, and it will be to pretty up the center and the left/right sand areas which are barren at the moment. This is only my opinion of-course. and in design, there is no right and wrong :) we only need to agree that the map is balanced, the rest is up to the individual! :D
To an extend, sure, but without trying to play the elitist terrainer: good terrain adds something to a map, and there are a few simple (psychological, even) things one can do to improve his map. There is a quite a lot in between 'clutter' and 'no doodads'. I'm not saying you should add doodads for doodad's sake, but it's hard/impossible to make a terrain look good without any doodads at all. You look to have about... 10? You can put over 1000 in a map without it feeling cluttered. If you really want to avoid doodads altogether (for which I don't really see the reason, but eh), then I suggest putting way more textureplay in your map if you want any sort of good looks.
It puts me off to have too many because most maps I see really do have doodads for the sake of having doodads. I've prettied up the center a bit more. also added scorch marks and things like that all around the map. I have added an extra path like in Scorp's mock up, bringing the rush distance to 160, which is more in line with everyone else. First post has been updated with some new pics and the new overview/analyzer data :)
It's already a lot better. Good job! If you look at your overview map now, your map actually looks like an area of land instead of a ball of dirt. Only comment right now would be your low ground area - that still looks like a ball of sand. Granted, this works best with the sand texture if you do have to pick one, but the whole thing could be so much better if you turned it into a proper landscape. If you want to take the lazy way out or still avoid doodads, try adding lava over it instead. If that doesn't work, at least use some fog.
That said; could you toss me a couple of those maps you say have doodads for the sake of having doodads? I think I might've played three of those in my entire SC2 career, and I'm having a hard time catching your point.
The low ground area looks really barren, but i am thinking off keeping it that way. I like the 'cold' feel of the low ground area. Just makes the rest of the planet feel barren. But I do agree that despite aiming for this look, it still looks way too plain. I added the towers because I imagined that they would want to ensure nothing gets too close to the base without them spotting it.. (I imagined the land around the plateau to be completely barren of anything, so the towers would be able to see way out in to every direction). I am considering adding walls and barriers and things like that around the towers, facing outwards. so that the towers look like they are actually prepared to take on whatever may be approaching them from low ground.
Quote:
That said; could you toss me a couple of those maps you say have doodads for the sake of having doodads? I think I might've played three of those in my entire SC2 career, and I'm having a hard time catching your point.
I am just doing a comparison in my head between custom maps and the melee maps used on the ladder. I am in an interactive entertainment course at uni, I play starcraft, and so i jumped right in to mapping. I don't a lot of exposure to custom maps, so i wont be able to provide you with links. The ladder maps are very clean and uncluttered, and some user maps seem to have detail here and there just because a cool doodad exists and they want to use it. (They'll have inaccessible cliffs just for the sake of putting down Colonist huts and fancy Wind Turbines). Now ok, aesthetically, this is fine. They 'work' with the map. but it doesn't add anything to it. thats what I mean by 'having it there for the sake of having it there'. Now the difference may also be that they didn't take the time to organize their doodads nicely, and it just looks messy. or maybe teats the style they are going for. I dont know. Regardless, this stuff is aesthetics so to each their own. I've spent hours organizing my doodads, so its not lazyness. I literally just prefer to have the maps this way. Personally, it appeals to me more. =]
I am just doing a comparison in my head between custom maps and the melee maps used on the ladder. I am in an interactive entertainment course at uni, I play starcraft, and so i jumped right in to mapping. I don't a lot of exposure to custom maps, so i wont be able to provide you with links. The ladder maps are very clean and uncluttered, and some user maps seem to have detail here and there just because a cool doodad exists and they want to use it. (They'll have inaccessible cliffs just for the sake of putting down Colonist huts and fancy Wind Turbines). Now ok, aesthetically, this is fine. They 'work' with the map. but it doesn't add anything to it. thats what I mean by 'having it there for the sake of having it there'.
Reference to my map? :D To my defense, I didn't place doodads because I liked the models, I placed them to fill out empty space. That doesn't look good either.
Lunar remnants? haha nah, the one I was thinking of was actually using a grassy tileset, and frankly I dont know whos map it is that I was referencing! I google searched a lot into custom maps before i started, and i've been jumping around all over the net so I wont be able to say 'oh yeah, its X map that i saw at Y site!' lol. I just open a bunch of tabs and scroll through threads! Well, I did anyway, until I decided to settle here and start working.
I am looking at http://www.sc2mapster.com/media/attachments/26/146/Lunar_Remnants.png as I type this and it fits the bill lol. the two cliffs in the main area with doodads on it make me cringe a little bit. but, forexample, that island u have top / right with the crane looks great. and I love how there is the conveyor belt moving towards it from the main land. it looks functional, it has a 'story' to tell behind it. The other ones I dont understand so much. (example: Why are their cars on a platform that doesn't even have enough room for them to turn around, lol).
Argh I'm really hating having these discussions right now, because i feel like it can boil over at any moment. I am just going to say again that there is no right or wrong with these aesthetics, it's whatever appeals to you.
(example: Why are their cars on a platform that doesn't even have enough room for them to turn around, lol).
Haha, I have been wondering that too :D They are probably put there because they are awaiting pickup from one of the space ships. :)
Back on topic, I do like the map's design much better now that the additional paths have been made. However, visually, I think it still has some lacks. The lowground around the actual map seems very empty. While that may be the look you're going for, I still think you should add some rocks, plants, cliffs, heigh variation and textureplay. That would add a lot to the visuals. I would suggest you to do the same for the actual map (not the cliffs though). Foliage looks great in a barren terrain, as long as you don't over-do it.
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First post here. Here we go.
Split Hope
Description
Destined to be a prosperous mining outpost, the initial mining operations on the outpost were careless and vigorous, causing excessive stress on the surface. It now lies abandoned as the unstable ground underneath expands, splitting the land and exposing the molten layer underneath planets crust.
Map Information
Images
Looks great. My only concern is the rush distance. I'd probably add a tiny path between the nat and the third (like attached image). You should add some Line of Sight blockers too.
Oh and also, you should use the Data > Export Map Image to get a full size overview image.
thanks mate. I'm considering cutting a path from infront of the main across the lava towards the center for both sides. 260 rush distance is pretty large.
Which attachment? Also, I have 4 LOS blockers in their, a bit hard to see in the screenshot! The 2 horizontal strips in the center of the map are LOS blockers, and each main has a section with LOS blockers. here you go: :)
Balancewise, it looks pretty decent to me. It needs work aesthetically, though. In general, it just needs more stuff. Doodads, rocks, man-made shelters, cliff doodads, spires, metallical constructs... Anything at all. I do like your way of using those texture-'paths', which is a technique that doesn't always work well anymore.
thanks for the response mate! I will respectfully disagree on the doodads. I feel it is cluttered enough around some areas already for a melee map. Afterall, I do not want doodads getting in the way of the gameplay. I am not a fan of doodad heavy maps. They are good in small doses, but your map design should be doing all the talking (aesthetics wise). I will be adding a few more doodads, and it will be to pretty up the center and the left/right sand areas which are barren at the moment. This is only my opinion of-course. and in design, there is no right and wrong :) we only need to agree that the map is balanced, the rest is up to the individual! :D
Forgot to attach the image lol. Here you go:
@ScorpSCII: Go
yeah thats what I thought you ment. Just sort of makes the rocks a little bit pointless, I will think it through before i do anything, but I definitely agree that 260 is too long.
To an extend, sure, but without trying to play the elitist terrainer: good terrain adds something to a map, and there are a few simple (psychological, even) things one can do to improve his map. There is a quite a lot in between 'clutter' and 'no doodads'. I'm not saying you should add doodads for doodad's sake, but it's hard/impossible to make a terrain look good without any doodads at all. You look to have about... 10? You can put over 1000 in a map without it feeling cluttered. If you really want to avoid doodads altogether (for which I don't really see the reason, but eh), then I suggest putting way more textureplay in your map if you want any sort of good looks.
It puts me off to have too many because most maps I see really do have doodads for the sake of having doodads. I've prettied up the center a bit more. also added scorch marks and things like that all around the map. I have added an extra path like in Scorp's mock up, bringing the rush distance to 160, which is more in line with everyone else. First post has been updated with some new pics and the new overview/analyzer data :)
Looks like a great map :) IF you need a publisher to NA just hit me up :)
It's already a lot better. Good job! If you look at your overview map now, your map actually looks like an area of land instead of a ball of dirt. Only comment right now would be your low ground area - that still looks like a ball of sand. Granted, this works best with the sand texture if you do have to pick one, but the whole thing could be so much better if you turned it into a proper landscape. If you want to take the lazy way out or still avoid doodads, try adding lava over it instead. If that doesn't work, at least use some fog.
That said; could you toss me a couple of those maps you say have doodads for the sake of having doodads? I think I might've played three of those in my entire SC2 career, and I'm having a hard time catching your point.
The low ground area looks really barren, but i am thinking off keeping it that way. I like the 'cold' feel of the low ground area. Just makes the rest of the planet feel barren. But I do agree that despite aiming for this look, it still looks way too plain. I added the towers because I imagined that they would want to ensure nothing gets too close to the base without them spotting it.. (I imagined the land around the plateau to be completely barren of anything, so the towers would be able to see way out in to every direction). I am considering adding walls and barriers and things like that around the towers, facing outwards. so that the towers look like they are actually prepared to take on whatever may be approaching them from low ground.
I am just doing a comparison in my head between custom maps and the melee maps used on the ladder. I am in an interactive entertainment course at uni, I play starcraft, and so i jumped right in to mapping. I don't a lot of exposure to custom maps, so i wont be able to provide you with links. The ladder maps are very clean and uncluttered, and some user maps seem to have detail here and there just because a cool doodad exists and they want to use it. (They'll have inaccessible cliffs just for the sake of putting down Colonist huts and fancy Wind Turbines). Now ok, aesthetically, this is fine. They 'work' with the map. but it doesn't add anything to it. thats what I mean by 'having it there for the sake of having it there'. Now the difference may also be that they didn't take the time to organize their doodads nicely, and it just looks messy. or maybe teats the style they are going for. I dont know. Regardless, this stuff is aesthetics so to each their own. I've spent hours organizing my doodads, so its not lazyness. I literally just prefer to have the maps this way. Personally, it appeals to me more. =]
Reference to my map? :D To my defense, I didn't place doodads because I liked the models, I placed them to fill out empty space. That doesn't look good either.
Lunar remnants? haha nah, the one I was thinking of was actually using a grassy tileset, and frankly I dont know whos map it is that I was referencing! I google searched a lot into custom maps before i started, and i've been jumping around all over the net so I wont be able to say 'oh yeah, its X map that i saw at Y site!' lol. I just open a bunch of tabs and scroll through threads! Well, I did anyway, until I decided to settle here and start working.
I am looking at http://www.sc2mapster.com/media/attachments/26/146/Lunar_Remnants.png as I type this and it fits the bill lol. the two cliffs in the main area with doodads on it make me cringe a little bit. but, forexample, that island u have top / right with the crane looks great. and I love how there is the conveyor belt moving towards it from the main land. it looks functional, it has a 'story' to tell behind it. The other ones I dont understand so much. (example: Why are their cars on a platform that doesn't even have enough room for them to turn around, lol).
Argh I'm really hating having these discussions right now, because i feel like it can boil over at any moment. I am just going to say again that there is no right or wrong with these aesthetics, it's whatever appeals to you.
Haha, I have been wondering that too :D They are probably put there because they are awaiting pickup from one of the space ships. :)
Back on topic, I do like the map's design much better now that the additional paths have been made. However, visually, I think it still has some lacks. The lowground around the actual map seems very empty. While that may be the look you're going for, I still think you should add some rocks, plants, cliffs, heigh variation and textureplay. That would add a lot to the visuals. I would suggest you to do the same for the actual map (not the cliffs though). Foliage looks great in a barren terrain, as long as you don't over-do it.