• 🏆 Texturing Contest #33 is OPEN! Contestants must re-texture a SD unit model found in-game (Warcraft 3 Classic), recreating the unit into a peaceful NPC version. 🔗Click here to enter!
  • It's time for the first HD Modeling Contest of 2024. Join the theme discussion for Hive's HD Modeling Contest #6! Click here to post your idea!

Sunken Courts

  • Like
Reactions: deepstrasz
The dead skulk the ruins above, the beasts wander the jungles below, and in what little remains of the temple; lurk the things truly monstrous.

Map Size: 129x96
Players: 1v1

Wanted to get back into the habit of mapping, and decided to make a melee map.
- Its a fairly non-standard map, very urban (and hence not spacious)
- Creeps camps are more numerous, slightly tougher and more rewarding than usual
- Clearing the large red camp at the map center allows much easier map traversal.

Changelog
1.1
- Added more trees to all base areas
- Changed the layout of the expansion Gold Mines
- Removed the Orange Camp in the flooded area; the Green Turtle Camp has been moved to that location.
- The creep camps in the northern corner pits are now Red from Green
- Swapped Merchant and Merc locations
- Marketplace removed, Tavern is now the northmost neutral building
- Widened walkable areas in the north ruins area
- The central Red camp is now Golem themed and much stronger, it is now gated off on all sides

1.2
- Various changes to the treeline
- Made the map more open
- Retooled some item and creep drops
- Most creep camps have at least 1 non-undead member
Previews
Contents

Sunken Courts (Map)

Reviews
Nudl9
Looks interesting visually. I think some areas could be more open. Maybe add a low hp door into center path, otherwise scouts are gonna run into the camp. I have a feeling that the creep triangle is also.. too potent for xp? Marketplace is kind of...
mafe
Well, this map looks great. Really. But I see this is the first melee map you uploaded, and well few people make a perfect melee map on their first attempt. So there's some highly questionable stuff: -Itemdrops: -lvl 1 charged items do not exists...
mafe
Checking version 1.2.: -Itemdrops are improved by a lot. At the merc camps, I'd consider upgrade the lvl 2 item to lvl 3 and having it dropped by the strongest creep; maybe the same at the expansions. Other than that it looks ok. -Shops are still...
Level 24
Joined
Nov 9, 2006
Messages
2,558
Looks interesting visually.
I think some areas could be more open.
Maybe add a low hp door into center path, otherwise scouts are gonna run into the camp.
I have a feeling that the creep triangle is also.. too potent for xp?
Marketplace is kind of broken for 1v1 when you have item level 5+ drops on the map.
Bases need more trees for sure.
Goldmine creeps need normal aggro to prevent base building on the premises.
Players will most likely creep shop, expand and greed middle camp with towers, then proceed to camp marketplace for op items.
I don't see players using the rest of the map.
 
Level 24
Joined
Nov 9, 2006
Messages
2,558
Saw update, a few notes:
-Shop area is very nice. I would put out shops 1x1 so units can run behind it.
-Level 30 center creeps is not feasible unless you have a stalling mechanic like fountain or lots of expansion. Maybe if game goes on for 25+ min, but too hard as it will be contested.
-Lots of holes in trees, stack trees so there isn't any room to place 16 collision sized units between.
-Trees in front of base makes for too strong chokepoint
-Great use of ruins doodads really. Some creative use too which i like.
-I would rotate the expansion towards the player, so you have a sort of creep triangle, generally this area needs to be more open. Orcs struggle with chokepoints and night elves loooove chokepoints.
-Ruins merc camp is well protected from the opponent which is good. This merc building has problems with a unit being able to summon creeps. So that can escalate quickly. Undead will suffer from the lack of dispel against those summons.
 

Attachments

  • stuff.png
    stuff.png
    3.5 MB · Views: 139

mafe

Map Reviewer
Level 24
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
869
Well, this map looks great. Really.
But I see this is the first melee map you uploaded, and well few people make a perfect melee map on their first attempt.

So there's some highly questionable stuff:
-Itemdrops:
-lvl 1 charged items do not exists, yet you want them to drop.
-A lvl 10/8/3 creepcamp that only drops two lvl 2 powerups? One of them should at least be a lvl 4 item.
-At the shops, the items should be dropeed by the strongest creeps of the camp, not the weakest (also the items are too weak for the strength of the creeps too).​
-Shops should normally not be accessible for heroes during the day without aggroing the creeps.
-Many creep camps who dont leave corpses, meaning undeads cannot use rod of necromancy. Consider adding critters nearby.
-Also many undead creeps which cannot be stolen by undeads with coils like they normally would like to.
-Forest have countless of small gaps between trees. Check here for explanation: Raging River

And a few things I personally dont like, but maybe are acceptable:
-Many creep camps in the north of the map, but very few in the south.
-Full magic immune creepcamp in the center, which will be almost impossible to take down for some army compositions (destroyer heavy undead, mass dotts for ne).
-Several very narrow choke points.

So please change at least some of the stuff I marked as questionable. Until then, map set to Awaiting update.
 

mafe

Map Reviewer
Level 24
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
869
Checking version 1.2.:
-Itemdrops are improved by a lot. At the merc camps, I'd consider upgrade the lvl 2 item to lvl 3 and having it dropped by the strongest creep; maybe the same at the expansions. Other than that it looks ok.
-Shops are still accessible suring the day without killling the creeps.
-Much better creeps now in general.
-Forest still have a few gaps.
-Distribution of creeps around the map now seems ok.
-Chokepoints have been widened.

It seems to me that mayb some creeps are positioned in such a way that player units might actually walk past them and get attacked, but given the paths, it doesnt look too likely.
Also the expansions look very hard to defend against harass.

If you want to improve the map, you should work on the trees and the expansions. As it stands, it could be a fun map against friends, even though it is still a way off from ladder level. Still, considering the major updates lack of "easy" ways to further improve the map, I think the map is good enough to be approved.
 
Top