Highland
This was my second official map release. I used a desert/wasteland setting for this map and focused on using the awesome texture palette to it's maximum potential as well as making a very playable and balanced map.
The map is designed for 1v1 competitive multiplayer and as such, I would greatly appreciate different ideas and criticisms regarding balance; and of course any criticisms regarding aesthetic properties of the map are always welcomed.
You'll notice the naturals are fairly wide open and there are numerous attack paths across the map, with one major one through the middle which a watch tower overlooks. My intent was to make the attack paths long enough so early cheese isn't entirely viable, and I made a third "natural" connected to the main through destructable rocks so that one can still play defensively if they so choose; but a hardcore macro-turtle battle probably will be a difficult gameplan because of the wide choke into the naturals and the numerous attack paths across the map.
Anyway, thanks and enjoy!
7/23/2010
v1.5
-Fixed issue where workers were mining gas from the opposite side of the geyser.
-Fixed ramp glitching issues.
-Modified fog properties of the map.
-Map the top main base slightly bigger.
7/21/2010
v1.4
-Updated some terrain, changed the fog properties of the map as well.
-Made the map size smaller, as it had a lot of unneeded extra space.
6/25/2010
v1.3
-Decreased the size of the natural expansion areas, and increased the size of their ramps. Also decreased the size of the main base ramp.
6/24/2010
v1.2
-Increased the size of the main bases.
6/23/2010
v1.1
-Switched the player spawn locations to the top cliff adjacent to the old mains.
-Removed destructible rocks at the gold expos.
-Moved the mineral lines farther out to allow for buildings behind them.
6/22/2010
v1.0 Release
-Reduced the total size of unused area in the map.
-Redid some texture/doodad work.
6/20/2010
0.93
-Fixed AI spawning issue.
0.92
-Deleted a rogue command center.
0.91
-Added detail to surrounding areas.
0.90
-Beta Release
Comments
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_ForgeUser1676288 Owner
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Posted Nov 30, 2010Appreciate the kind words. Perhaps I'll make another map and do some polishing of this one.
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Posted Nov 8, 2010-
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Posted Nov 7, 2010-
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Posted Jul 26, 2010Nice job.
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Posted Jul 23, 2010looks great i uninstalled starcraft 2 beta so i cant try it out but i will when starcraft 2 comes out keep up the good work :)
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Posted Jul 5, 2010Maybe add some foliage to spice it up..the roads look kinda bare. Just a thought though, eye candies are always appreciated..=D
Everything else look real sexy..
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Posted Jun 28, 2010Making it symmetrical was absolutely miserable. I worked for about 2 hours on it and realized I didn't know how to make a diagonal line of symmetry. I had to copy and paste in small areas and then use the grid by counting squares for anything that couldn't be perfectly copy and pasted.
If anyone does know how to make a diagonal line of symmetry, let me know!
Also I'll try to get an updated pic up but my editor is bugged and textures look goofy, particularly on cliffs =/
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Posted Jun 28, 2010Looks really good. What I can see from the images (Im at work and cant downlaod the map yet) the terrain is Blizzard quality.
Did you make this symetric by hand? I fail to see how you can make half the map and copy-paste-flip the second half with this 45 degree angle
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Posted Jun 26, 2010How is the natural too hard to defend? theres a highground and a ramp the size of scrap stations, most naturals dont get a highground.
Maybe you are confused with the pic thats uploaded here, its outdated.
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Posted Jun 25, 2010Naturals still look too hard to defend, we need some chokes and only one main attack path unless the back one is very small (like chupong reyung)
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Posted Jun 25, 2010I appreciate all the good feedback!
I did switch the size of the natural and main base ramps, as their size was just the result of an earlier build of the map and wasn't necessarily intended.
I'm not sure how I feel about tweaking watch towers too much. I don't necessarily think controlling watchtowers should be too powerful. As it stands now you can see the entire middle part of the map (which is blocked on the ground level by LOS blocking trees) as well as any activity is going on at the gold. I always change my mind on this sort of stuff though and your suggestions are viable; I'll give it some thought.
I might also move the third expansions like you said, they used to be the"natural" so their position reflects that. Right now they don't seem to easy to defend because of the large choke into them and the other high ground entrance leading to them. It's hard to determine without being able to test it in multiplayer though.
Anyway, thanks again for your thoughts :p
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Posted Jun 24, 2010Just took a look at your map, and it looks good, although I have a few points to make.
First, the position of the watchtowers. The northern one seems a bit off, I feel like it should be moved up and have vision over the northern pass. This way, an army cant move all the way to your base even while you are controlling the watch towers.
Now, about the southern watchtowers, I feel like they should be moved a little closer to the cliff, because right now you can only see if there are any workers mining at the gold. What you cant see is when hes setting up the expo or what kind of defenses he has. Given the easily defendable expansions near your main, I feel the gold should be more exposed then just being on the lowground.
Which brings me to the expansion down your ramp from your natural (not the one leading down from the destructible debris, the one on the lowground). I think this one is way too easy to defend because it has the minerals facing towards your main. If the minerals were on the other side, you'd be forced to defend the high ground there, which would leave your backdoor more exposed. I think this would a bit more dynamic in which 2nd expansion you could pick (either knocking down your own backdoor or taking the one with the exposed mineral line).
Also, I have mixed feelings about the ramp width you choose for the natural expo and the main. I think it puts a 1 basing player at a huge disadvantage because he has to both deal with a big ramp and a backdoor. Then again, travel time between the front and backdoor is relativly long, so its not like in blistering sands where you can easily bounce back and forth between them, but its still something to keep in mind.
Right now I think this map favors mech in the same way steppes of war favors mech; the 3 expansions are too close together and too easy to defend, which allows them to sit on them comfortably.
Anyway, the terrain looks awesome, and I'd totally play this.
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Posted Jun 24, 2010Pretty nice map, from a competitive gamer's standpoint though I think you need to make the natural a bit easier to defend and have some type of choke. I think that all 3 main attack routes are viable to use and all have their uses. I can't wait to test out this map.
- Whiplash, vT gaming (http://www.vtgaming.net)
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Posted Jun 23, 2010how about making a novice kind?
just add destructible rocks on there choke and just rename it to novice :).
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Posted Jun 23, 2010Significant update.
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Posted Jun 22, 2010I updated the map to lessen the dead space in the map. I plan on also updating the spawn locations to be on the cliff in between the rocks for both players, as I think it would help balance things out, allowing for 2 base play.
Unfortunately my editor is giving me problems so who knows when I'll get it updated again.
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Posted Jun 21, 2010Thanks for the feedback.
I was also worried about the abundance of cliffs, but there are certain blizzard maps that have even more cliffs, such as Kulas Ravine, so I thought I could get away with it. Though I think the pros hate Kulas, heh.
Once I can actually start testing the map we'll be able to see for sure; your point is a valid one.
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Posted Jun 20, 2010Messed around a bit a few minutes ago. Got to say terrain itself is nicely done. The map worries me a bit with the higher terrain wraping around the side of the main base, and in other spots. Sort of encourages reaper cheese and seige tank rushes. Of course without actually accessing bnet to test in multi theres little I can say.
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Posted Jun 20, 2010I was able to fly a unit across somewhere along the bottom, but i suppose there not much one can do if they accomplish a warp drop or etc. anyway.
In regards to the style of the map. I love it. Look forward to seeing more.
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Posted Jun 20, 2010Do you mean on like the bottom level where you normally can't even path too?