SpaceBound
Hello Everyone,
I'd like to introduce a map I've been working on and just recently released - SpaceBound. SpaceBound is rooted in a similar map I created for the original Starcraft, which was based on the map Asteroid Race.
At a Glance
- Seven Players
- Eight Levels (in current version)
- Three Difficulties
- Game length is variable
Details
The objective of this map is to make your way through several obstacle laden courses before your opponents. There are three difficulties to choose from, each offering a unique ship with different abilities. Each level is designed to get more and more difficult as the game goes on.
If you have played any 'bound' style map, the general feel of this game will be familiar - it is a game of skill based upon controlling one unit through an obstacle course at its heart. However, the additional challenge in this map is that you are competing against the other players.
Many of the obstacles can be destroyed when you collide with them, giving your opponents an easier path. However, your collisions create violent explosions which can in turn take out your opponents.
Each difficulty setting has a different respawn time and vastly different ships to pilot through the courses.
Media and Errata
Here is a video of playing through the first level on easy. The levels get much more varied in complexity and gimmick as the game goes on.
This map features one level using the Orbit library, which I am currently in the process of developing. Orbit is a library that allows for N-Body simulations within Starcraft II, allowing units to attract and repel each other using mostly realistic physics. Here's a video of that in isolation:
I appreciate all feedback and questions!
New version! Co-op is now the standard mode, I've made numerous small tweaks mostly aimed at making the game slightly easier, and added a button to hide the leaderboard.
@TheBigBrutal:
Just put in a change that should hopefully fix this (the co-op level advancement deaths). I don't intend on making things invincible, the game is hard enough as is.
REPORTING A BUG!!! In Co-op mode when someone reaches check point we all DIE! So Either fix that or When someone hits checkpoint give another life! And also You should make the units patrolling invincible so that they dont die when ppl crash into them.
Hey
Thanks for looking into the things I was bringing up. I'd like to see a nice space-race map for SC2 for sure. Stick with your gut though, as it's your map. I was rather frustrated at the time after crashing into rocks so much that I never clicked on, so I might have been clouded a bit. I can understand that the dark maze might be a bit simple without the overlords, but instead of having random "oh I'm screwed moments" perhaps something like little circle branches could help alleviate the problem, so that even if someone is suddenly caught off guard by an overlord they can duck into an area and fly around and around to avoid the missile, until the coast is clear. Just a thought though.
@DrBoop
I've made levels 5 and 6 a bit easier. Took out 1/3 of the overlords in level 5 and increased the ease of level 6 slightly.
Well, good to see something came out of that map way back in the day.
Anyways the version I played didn't have the optional overhead camera, so I'll have to try it again with that. That's honestly the most frustrating thing in the world. I might have had more patience in any of the areas if I wasn't so fed up from crashing by hitting rocks where I didn't click. Would have quit the map on stage 2 on account of it (all other players had quit stage 1) had I not wanted to see what the other areas were like. This is *not* a fun "skill" to acquire, trust me. Having to 'manage' your camera is just a pain.
And yes I beat the dark overlord one after a few tries simply because I hit a few overlords. I still don't think it makes it a fun thing to fly into the dark and just hitting something randomly (even trying to avoid a missile without doubling back wasn't an option due to clicking to the side and just running into a rock because of perspective distortion).
And perhaps I was out of patience by the time I reached the grid area to actually pay attention. How many people have caught onto the pattern quickly? And I'm not sure how the safe region moves down and to the right, as I generally noticed the safe region in the bottom left corner.
Anyways, if the clicking distortion is fixed I'll definitely give it another try...
@DrBoop,
If you made Asteroid Race for SC1, this map is indeed inspired from that.
As far as the depth distortion goes - I know this is a tough thing about the units being in the air. I played around with several different ways of handling this and ultimately left it in the game and made it up to the player to position the camera to reduce distortion as much as possible. I think it adds another level of skill to the map and a good player must manage the camera and their unit at all times.
However, I don't know how recently you played, I have added a second camera - an orthographic camera, which has the effect of flattening the depth. It alleviates a lot of the issues you mention and it is freely available through a button on the leaderboard.
The map is not strictly a bound in that there aren't always pure patterns that can be learned and beaten. Many of the levels have a random element to them (level 3, the one with the blimps, levels 7 and 8) or require repeated tries to learn the pattern the enemies make. On level 5 (the dark one) the missiles that chase you can not move faster than your ship - therefor so long as you keep moving an don't double back on your position, they can be dodged. Most people I've seen that make it to this level still manage to beat it within a few tries even given the occasional overlord out of nowhere.
As far as the exploding grid area, if you played recently this has been made slightly easier. The pattern for this level is different along the X and Y axes of the checkerboard. However, the general pattern that guides the entire grid is that the safe regions move downward and to the right.
To go into detail of the pattern, it is this: Explosions move in a line either horizontally or vertically. In the North/South direction, the explosions will move North to South twice, and then South to North once before repeating. The columns that do not have explosions steadily move from West to East before repeating.
The same is true for the East/West direction - the explosions move East to West twice, and then West to East once before repeating. The rows which are safe move steadily from North to South before repeating.
Hey,
I played a version online earlier, not too sure how recent it was or whatnot, but the map was so incredibly frustrating that I had to come discuss it. It wasn't any coop mode or lives system or anything, so it was just a race to the end until you made it.
And mind you it's not frustrating because of the whole race idea. In fact I made this exact map back in Starcraft 1, and I actually wondered if you got the idea from my map so long ago (asteroids were cacoons though, and I think someone stole the map in the end, but that's beside the point) so I do enjoy the whole dodging racing concept.
I'll start off with the worst offender that is probably going to annoy almost everyone: Leaving the units flying high above the ground is the worst idea ever due to perspective distortion. This is a game about being accurate on the click and being able to line up movements to fit through tight areas or to avoid incoming obstacles. This completely breaks down when where you click is relative to your camera. It is extremely unintuitive to click right beside something near the centre of my camera to move to that exact spot, but if i click right beside a rock near the edge of my screen, my ship will likely run right into the rock because tracing downwards I actually clicked under or behind the rock due to depth distortion. When that kind of accuracy determines whether you crash or not, it's extremely frustrating knowing you clicked nowhere near the rock and still hit it.
Aside from that I had nothing against the first few levels.
The dark level with the missile turrets IMO breaks a key notion about 'bounds' or dodging maps, and that's the ability to watch the pattern of the moving objects to form timing. It's rather frustrating when you have to fly through a maze blind with missiles chasing you only to run into a moving object because you couldn't see it coming, had no idea where it even patrolled, and are unable to stop to compensate because the seeker will hit you. Bad design IMO, unless you just want people to fly in and hope for the best, which isn't very exciting.
I stopped on the exploding grid area. I watched it for a few minutes, and I could tell there was a repeating pattern of about 6 or 7 waves? I forget now. But anyways, they didn't seem to follow any logical or mathematical pattern aside from semi random waves, which wasn't fun trying to watch each block over a series of 20 seconds to determine when it was clear and when it wasn't. Not all of us have your patterns memorized before starting the map. If it was a clear logical pattern, or if the entire series didn't last like 20 seconds, I'd be more inclined to stay around and find a way through, but overall IMO it's not a good way to design a patterened exploding area.
@PVTensign
I think I have this fixed in a recent version, I haven't actually tested it myself though. There was a bug related to being dead during co-op levels advancing that this affected as well.
@lunix42
Originally I planned to post the map as a freely available file but due to the fickle nature of Battle.net and popularity, as well as recent people stealing others work, I won't release it until it rides out its popularity wave a bit more.
I don't know if you can do anything about this bug but I find when you get the ship onto the beacon and die at the same time it counts that you advance but you respawns in the level you died.
Other then that its a fun map.
I cant download it ):
New version is out:
-Bug fixes -Balance improvements
Three game modes: Solo, Co-Op, and Hardcore.
Solo is unlimited lives and everyone is on their own. Co-op is 8 lives per level, everyone advances together Hardcore is like solo with 15 lives for the entire map.
Coming soon: high scores
Plays pretty well. Only problems I had was the little rocks are hard to see sometimes and it leads to WTF deaths, and the lack of music or anything really going on makes it boring after the 100th death. Also maybe have some stuff respawn on the first 2 levels. If someone just goes through blowing everything up before you get there it's not very tough to get through.
I got to level 4 though and it was pretty challenging.
I've released what I consider to be the final version of this map onto Battle.net. The unlocked version will be posted pretty soon.
The final version adds one level using the Orbit library. A large "star" is in the center of the level with many obstacles rotating around it in a counter clockwise fashion.
In addition, the end point for the level is using another Orbit simulation using negative masses.
The net result: A chaotic spiral of obstacles with a level end that is pushed away by your ship, making it tricky to reach the exit!
The bound looks nice, but I think you could make it look a little better aesthetically (this is just a minor complaint). I liked the way the pheonix debris fell when it exploded =). The gravity simulator was also very cool to watch. Good work overall