- Joined
- Jun 15, 2012
- Messages
- 498
This is my entry
Hopefully everything works ok.
EDIT: aaaand already had to patch to 1.1
Edit 2 : I suggest also using the Object Manager to check out the maps, especially for items. Helps getting through things faster and cleaner.
While I'm at it I thought I'd share some thoughts regarding my map, in case someone had nothing better to do.
Map process and thoughts:
Themewise, I wanted to use Lordaeron Winters blue-ish terrain palette without the snow, but having only dirt and grass to work with I had to start using shallow water, and since there was yet not enough terrain diversity, I decided to experiment mixing in Dlaran Ruins tiles. That's where the theme and name of the map come from, Northmarsh Ruin.
Onto the real process - Having had little time to prepare like I usually do, I decided to go for a simple Timbermaw Hold style map with all players of each team cramped in a "common" starting area, without having to think too much about mirrored distances from creeps and objectives.
With this starting positions layout, I went for a top left to bottom right symmetry, but a top right to bottom left asymmetry.
This allowed me to have in the map some of the things I absolutely wanted in it: single impactful merc camps (lord Fall has bloodlust, northrend has some really interesting units aswell) and a single goblin lab, along with a "personal" fountain for each team, and I'd say most defining strong item drops.
Due to the hard to break bases and fountains I decided to go for low expo goldmines (8500 - 9500 - 10500), given the lower "defense cost" (easier to defend main bases and natural expos being close to them, fountain lowering healing and retraining costs).
This also brings the problem of lower personal initiative/impact with the safe bases making harras less effective, and skirmishes nullified by founts.
Uninteractive gameplay could also be incentivized by the worth of item drops in the map, with mayor camps being in the "outskirts".
At least the number of impactful drops can lower the value of the Marketplace a little bit.
The map has 6 red camps, 3 in each top right/bottom left corner. Given this decentralization of important camps, I had to put in some "dummy" ones. There are 4 poison camps that only drop lv2 active and lv2 charged, and 2 camp with a rune of healing (250) and lv2 active (the latter 2 being in the bottom left area of the map can at least help woth creeping the red camps around).
Also to avoid having too many items drop, I decided to have 2 of the red camps (top right) drop a rine of rebirth, that will give the player a lv6 siege golem.
Hopefully these will not be Too problematic, especially with some kind of dreadlord rush, or perhaps a t2 all in abusing some kind of merc camp timing.
To lower the chances of a team getting both the runes of rebirth, this area of the map (top right) is liked to the middle by a gateway.
This is also needed to make the map feel less "wide", to give better acess to the northrend merc camp and marketplace, and to give more weight to the middle of the map.
This area would otherwise have little weight objective wise, being good only as a start and the 2 shops.
To summarise, my main concern regarding the map is it only playing either as a timing push, or mass creep and go for a lategame allin.
Hopefully everything works ok.
EDIT: aaaand already had to patch to 1.1
Edit 2 : I suggest also using the Object Manager to check out the maps, especially for items. Helps getting through things faster and cleaner.
While I'm at it I thought I'd share some thoughts regarding my map, in case someone had nothing better to do.
Map process and thoughts:
Themewise, I wanted to use Lordaeron Winters blue-ish terrain palette without the snow, but having only dirt and grass to work with I had to start using shallow water, and since there was yet not enough terrain diversity, I decided to experiment mixing in Dlaran Ruins tiles. That's where the theme and name of the map come from, Northmarsh Ruin.
Onto the real process - Having had little time to prepare like I usually do, I decided to go for a simple Timbermaw Hold style map with all players of each team cramped in a "common" starting area, without having to think too much about mirrored distances from creeps and objectives.
With this starting positions layout, I went for a top left to bottom right symmetry, but a top right to bottom left asymmetry.
This allowed me to have in the map some of the things I absolutely wanted in it: single impactful merc camps (lord Fall has bloodlust, northrend has some really interesting units aswell) and a single goblin lab, along with a "personal" fountain for each team, and I'd say most defining strong item drops.
Due to the hard to break bases and fountains I decided to go for low expo goldmines (8500 - 9500 - 10500), given the lower "defense cost" (easier to defend main bases and natural expos being close to them, fountain lowering healing and retraining costs).
This also brings the problem of lower personal initiative/impact with the safe bases making harras less effective, and skirmishes nullified by founts.
Uninteractive gameplay could also be incentivized by the worth of item drops in the map, with mayor camps being in the "outskirts".
At least the number of impactful drops can lower the value of the Marketplace a little bit.
The map has 6 red camps, 3 in each top right/bottom left corner. Given this decentralization of important camps, I had to put in some "dummy" ones. There are 4 poison camps that only drop lv2 active and lv2 charged, and 2 camp with a rune of healing (250) and lv2 active (the latter 2 being in the bottom left area of the map can at least help woth creeping the red camps around).
Also to avoid having too many items drop, I decided to have 2 of the red camps (top right) drop a rine of rebirth, that will give the player a lv6 siege golem.
Hopefully these will not be Too problematic, especially with some kind of dreadlord rush, or perhaps a t2 all in abusing some kind of merc camp timing.
To lower the chances of a team getting both the runes of rebirth, this area of the map (top right) is liked to the middle by a gateway.
This is also needed to make the map feel less "wide", to give better acess to the northrend merc camp and marketplace, and to give more weight to the middle of the map.
This area would otherwise have little weight objective wise, being good only as a start and the 2 shops.
To summarise, my main concern regarding the map is it only playing either as a timing push, or mass creep and go for a lategame allin.
Last edited: