Well basically... I don't want to have to go through all of my (insert category) maps to find a good map or stare at the 20 versions of some rpg trying to remember which one is best and more importantly I don't want to risk giving people an inferior version of something. So I am doing it for myself but also for giving people maps to ensure that I am spreading quality versions. I am also curious when it comes down to it how many unique/good maps I have with the large number of versions out there for many maps.

Edit: Up to 15,500 somethingish--traded maps with a few more people and torrented a pack of them as well.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on May 25 2009, 5:45 am by -BW-Map_God.

An update on everyone's recommended maps...


O)UnholyUrine's Recs:

A Day at School - this is an already featured classic map
Falling Tiles - this is already featured in a MOTD "Mini-Game Party"
Temple Siege - I have tried this but I'm still averse to versus-Humans AoS maps, could you write the MOTD instead?
Firebat Tag - game is too short and featureless
Oozing Blob - game is way too hard
Froggercraft 2000 - Featured
Crash RPG - map is too popular
Penguin Warz - I am averse to madness maps, and the heroes appear prone to underhanded abuse
Worms - Featured
Nuke the Whales (v perfection) - very unfair for the Zergling team, and the timer is too long
Battle.net Experience - Featured
Spellsword RPG - Featured as a Classic
Galactic Gunnerz - way too big; it will take a long time for me to properly remove the sounds
Competition Bound 1 or 2 - too hard for the casual players
Virus Arena v1.3 - too complicated for the average battlenetters

(NH2)2CO's Recs:

Texas Hold'em Poker 1.11 - too complicated for the average battlenetters
Fútbol EUD 1.16.1 - a classic football map was featured instead
ScourgeBall 2.3 - almost same concept as Volleyball
devilesk's Volleyball 1.1 - Featured
ScVz FB ToURnEY FiNaL - a classic football map was featured instead


Excalibur's Recs:

Kerrigan's Fall From Grace - Not Yet Checked
Battle Of Raccoon City 1.3 - Not Yet Checked
RE: Raccoon City 1.44 - did not felt very fun as the player just collect units, sit at the entrance, shoot, and upgrade (also considering the game's length); in a full house, most players left within 15 ninutes; if you could elaborate on the popular appeal of this map (apart from map maker's bias), please do so


Despite the... fastidious rejections, I thank you all again for telling me about all these good maps. Please don't take offense of those I rejected because of complexity or difficulty, it's a sacrifice to appease the masses

Now if everyone else still isn't discouraged by my strict and restrained criteria, please continue to give recommendations and I will play them to see if they'll be appreciated by regular SC players.

As of this post's creation, there are 59 MOTDs, so check them out if you guys want to see the trend of selections. Some maps soon to be featured are Clan (U)'s and Tuxedo-Templar's maps

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jul 10 2009, 10:11 am by Drant.

Half the fun in Galactic Gunnerz is the sound so if you remove the sound, it's really not the same map anymore. But yeah, I suppose this is a dandy idea you have here though. Downloading some of these maps as we speak, they look pretty fun.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jun 15 2009, 8:44 am by Ultimo.

How do I write the MOTD?

and .. Haha, told you it'd be biased XD ... but I noticed u uploaded Froggercraft ... good choice! ..

Also.. Firebat Tag being featureless = :\ compared to Four Squares...
Penguin Warz heroes ARE supposed to be underhanded.. that's what makes it fun
Oozing Blob IS Supposed to be hard (Altho I agree it's TOO hard once you get to the narrow passages)... But it's still a lot of fun
..
..

I also Recommend Blood Pressure Marathon just for the heck of it.... I'd say the best Version is without all that Hero and Powerup buildings, but no crystal and Devourers staying forever.. that'd be "Blood Pressure Marathon 10L/15L" or the ones with "Z" .. the ones that do not have the entire map name colored red, i.e. they are better colored have too much shit put into it .. Just a warning tho, if you're averse to underhanded things.. this map's premise is ENTIRELY of underhanded doings... ... try it

.
Falling Tiles is much better than MA's version as it uses Floor traps instead of crystals... Plus, it has its own atmosphere and "Tile Islands Falling Algorithms"
.
Also, some traditional RPG's should be posted too. They really are the pinnacle of map making.

The popular appeal of raccoon city is that it's an RPG defense map that's quite challenging with a survival horror theme. The original is imo panzer's best map. "vX" is the one that gets the most support on b.net lately because of all the hidden findable heroes that result in the map being quite beatable but still satisfying. The "time requirement" isn't a con, it's a plus... it's 90 starcraft minutes of entertainment. Anyway, if needed I can provide screenies of any of these maps if I remember to get them next time I'm on.

I also see that you're not really a fan of hero-war maps or battlecraft.

Here's a short list of maps I like:

Aeon of Strife v2007
AI Firebat Defense
Battlecraft Rogue-X
Battlecraft Paradigm Finale
Battlecraft Paradigm 157
Defense F
Dynasty Warrios - New Age
FaLLiNG TiLeS [AZ 4.003]
LotR - RoS RH
LotR - SD CPU Gold RH!
Mini Town D (already featured maybe?)
Impossible Confluence
Impossible Dragoon
Impossible Choice (already featured I think)
Path D Pro
Path_Defense
Phantom BGH Gold
[7]Raccoon City [BETA 1.08]
SC Tournament Prime
SoG RH Absolute OR LotR SoG RH X
Star Wars AotR ChAoS
The Thing
The Thing: Ice
X-Men RPG Insane

I Concur with the following:

Falling Tiles
Mini Town D
Raccoon City
Phantom BGH Gold (even tho I hate phantom)
Path D
The Thing: Ice
annnd maaybe X-Men RPG

Kerrigan's Fall From Grace - Not Yet Checked - Get to it.
Battle Of Raccoon City 1.3 - don't know where to find it - Go to the File Request Thread in Null or the Maplantis.org database.
RE: Raccoon City 1.44 - did not felt very fun as the player just collect units, sit at the entrance, shoot, and upgrade (also considering the game's length); in a full house, most players left within 15 ninutes; if you could elaborate on the popular appeal of this map (apart from map maker's bias), please do so - RE:RC is a legend. I admit 1.44 is easy and over-civ'd but I got tons of complains for 1.3xs being too hard. If I were to limit the civs and make it a bit harder you'd see what the map is about. Try 1.08 or 1.09, they're absolutely classic. Any player that leaves obviously hasn't been on Bnet long. Panzer's name is known and respected.

Lame Defense (so simple and yet I love it; you'd need to find a good version though)
Impossible Crepuscular
Legends of Haean
Deep Six
Fifth Station
Barge Defenders
Nightfall (Not released yet)
Wonder (Hopefully will release)

Edit: How could I forget: Elementa. If both players know what they're doing then it's awesome for its competitive 1v1 gameplay.

Have you played the others?

Nope.. that's why.

EDIT: Include Firebat Defense too .. but i think AI Lurker D is better.

I think they're very different, I see AI Archon D and AI Firebat D as closer, and between the two I prefer AI Firebat D.

Although I understand not having tried several of the maps, I think that ignoring entire genres is a bit weird.

Battlecraft:
Battlecraft Rogue-X
Battlecraft Paradigm Finale
Battlecraft Paradigm 157

Of the three, the most popular is certainly Rogue-X; and if you're looking to try a battlecraft map, it's the one I'd start with. Although "Paradigm 157" is the most recent from that series, I dislike some of the new triggers, so I tend to favor the older (but less well-triggered) Finale. But any of these three are better than Inferno or fastblack or fastwhite or any of the really bad or rigged versions that can really rub some people the wrong way.

Hero RPG:
Aeon of Strife v2007
Star Wars AotR ChAoS
Dynasty Warrios - New Age
Impossible Dragoon

These are somewhat close to the X-men RPG, but Aeon of Strife v2007 is much more difficult than probably any other map on this list. AotR and Aeon of Strife are both similar to DotA (I think they inspired DotA actually) but Aeon of Strife v2007 is way harder. Star Wars AotR is basically DotA. It might seem weird to include Impossible Dragoon in this list, but imo Impossible Dragoon actually has more in common with these maps than with the Impossible Maps I list next.

The appeal here is similar to most rpgs, but with the difference that each also includes a "defense" element, or in AotR's case, pvp.

"Impossible" Maps:
Impossible Confluence
Impossible Choice (already featured I think)

Impossbile Confluence has some similar elements to Impossible Choice, in the sense that 2 of the three "directions" or sub-maps you play have elements of choosing or buying your heroes. The difference is that Impossible Confluence is the only map I've seen that implements "Random Hero Pick" which is just a fascinating concept that lends itself to awesome replay value. Even if you don't like Impossible Maps, I honestly think the triggers for this map should be respected for excellent execution.

Lotrish:
LotR - RoS RH
LotR - SD CPU Gold RH!
SoG RH Absolute OR LotR SoG RH X

Lotrish maps are some of the most fascinating maps out there, with their fusion of hero wars, rpgs, and strategy. The current favorite of the genre is "Sog RH Absolute", but I know from experience that if you haven't played Lotrish or SoG before the whole thing can be quite intimidating. SoG here stands for "Siege of Gondor". The map is 4v2: Gondor, Rohan, The Elves, and the Fellowship face off against Mordor and Harad.

The Alliance (Gondor, Rohan, Elves, Fellowship) win if a) Sauron (goliath) and Barad-dur (greater spire) are killed at the same time. If either is killed alone, it respawns once. OR, if Frodo brings the ring (data disc) to Mt. Doom (Khaydarin Crystal inside Mordor's base).

Mordor wins if Gondor loses all 4 of its special buildings: Osgiliath (Assimilator), Mt. Erech (Crashed BC), Minas Tirith (Protoss Temple) and Dol Amroth (Psi Disruptor).

Each player has special buildings (Except fellowship) which, if they stay alive, spawn units on a timer. These spawns become more powerful when the player completes "castles" (usually an academy, a nexus, a hatchery, or a queen's nest) that take 5-10 minutes to complete.

Each player also has heroes that they can use to kill enemy bases before all the castles are complete.

The appeal here, once you get used to the genre, can be huge: it combines rpg, defense, strategy, and also introduces the gameplay element of "ops" or operations, where you use a hero to destroy an enemy base.

Again, if you need screenshots of one of these let me know.

If anyone's curious as why I don't post here often--it's because I was waiting to catch up
with all the SCMOTD to the current date. I was occupied with other things, and SCMOTDs does
take several hours a day to make in addition to maintaining my own SCM archive. Now since I
have checked enough maps you guys suggested, I want to add some notes for when you suggest
the maps:
+ Please write your suggestions as a list and include the version if you know it
+ Please check my archive index to see most of the maps I have; note that my collection
already includes all maps from SEN and Maplantis, but for other maps I may need you to
provide a download link
+ Please don't suggest incomplete maps. Kaias brought it up and I should have noted prior; I
wish the SCMOTD program to be of same or higher caliber than Blizzard's readily playable "Map
of the Week", so obviously incomplete maps are not for showcasing.
+ Please check the SCMOTD list to see what's already featured.
+ I playtest every map you suggest, so please take some time to consider the maps


Now in reply to your comments and suggestions

>>Ultimo
As I was playing GG, I did realize that the sound was very complementary to the game itself,
so I was rushing to be saying "remove". After checking the WAVs' properties, I knew that
Tuxedo-Templar very much intended it not be battle.net-wise, because he did not
compress the WAVs enough as it could be adequately soundful but small--he wanted the sounds
to be the best, at that cost of size. Though I could do said method, the vast amount of WAVs
will take a long time to recompress, so that's what I meant by "remove".


>>O)UnholyUrine
The instruction to write a MOTD is on the first post of this thread... And from viewing the
many SCMOTDs, you can clearly see their simple scheme to replicate.
FroggerCraft is the one of many maps everyone suggested that I have played, so that's why
it's easier for me to elect it.

Firebat Tag and Four Square are games of very separate genres; when I said featureless, I
imply that it does not have enough feature as it could or should. Four Squares is my personal
favorite and it has all the necessary features. Firebat Tag however could improve its
impotently mundane terrain and its abusable ability to mass lifted CCs.

Regarding underhandedness, I dislike it because newer players must season themselves with the
game and have the "cheapness" skill to keep up with veteran players. This imbalance can
easily draw away the casual players which I expect with the SCMOTD audience.

RECS ~
Blood Pressure Marathon - (Featured, surprisingly, I enjoyed this map after ignoring the tricks
and chanciness from other players and the game. As you said this is a very underhanded game,
but the randomness of it helps a lot in "giving everyone a chance", and add to that is the very
competitive aspect that makes this map very replayable.)

Falling Tiles (Featured, agreed to your points)
traditional RPGs (will be featuring the classic RPGs)
Previous RECS ~
Particles Arena - could be improved with more powerups; gameplay is slow for an arena map
Sunken Defense 2 ways - can you give the exact filename?
Sunken Defense 6 ways - ""
Random Micro Challenge X - ""
Mario Party SC 1 and 2 - Scheduled To Feature
Random Fighterz Chaos - Not Yet Checked
Hydra Arena - Not Yet Checked
Fuel Tactics Arena - Not Yet Checked

>>LokiArexon and Excalibur regarding Raccoon City
Honestly, I didn't feature RE:RC because these aren't "my type" of games; I know that you too
would have the same feeling to some maps. Since I do not have the enthusiasm to play them, I
cannot accurately evaluate its fun. Still, I want to fulfill the commitment of map diversity,
and I know many players savor the survival genre, so I will have to include more survival
maps eventually.

As a long time SC player and map maker, I consider myself more a fan of maps than a fan of
map makers. I do not expect every map from TT or BH (if you can decipher their names) to be
excellent or even any fun, but I do revel the individual gems that ever comes by. So it's my
principle to respect an established work than to be prejudiced by an author's fame.
With that said, I trust your dual acclaim for RC and will note its qualities that I cannot
appreciate

RECS ~
RE: Raccoon City 1.08 (Featured)
Kerrigan's Fall From Grace - unfortunately, this is again "not my type"; maybe I
should consider a helper to play-judge them instead
Battle Of Raccoon City - (Pending re-evaluation), the Undead keeps leaving and I never
got past 20 minutes of playing


>>Kaias
RECS ~
Lame Defense (Featured, but different version)
variations and already featured two of the genre, but Lame Defense is delayed for buffering)
Impossible Crepuscular - rejected for almost same reasons as Confluence
Legacy of Haean - no revive, slow to develop hero, 5MB filesize is huge deterrent to battle.net play
Deep Six - this map may be too complex for casual RPG players, and it's only single player
Fifth Station - same reason as above
Barge Defenders - too difficult even after several retries, getting pulled back to the CC was annoying; not enough dynamics and features that adds to replayability
Nightfall (incomplete!)
Wonder (incomplete!)


>>LokiArexon
Thank you most for an exemplarily detailed post! Though I have played maps of those types,
you've given me better insight for the unfamiliar
If you like taking screenshots, can I have have some good ones from maps in the Warrior
and Conquest categories?

RECS ~
Battlecraft Rogue-X (Featured, thanks for suggesting a BC map,
I've been daunted by the sheer number of version there are)
Battlecraft Paradigm Finale (overridden)
Battlecraft Paradigm 157 (overridden)
Aeon of Strife v2007 (Already Featured but an earlier version)
Star Wars AotR ChAoS (Not Yet Checked)
Dynasty Warriors - New Age (Not Yet Checked)

Impossible Dragoon - I categorize this as a Korean control map in which only
one unit type is used. I had considered featuring it before, but after replaying it I
remember that it us unfair to every players beside the one that gets the first kills--this
player gets more upgrade and gets more kills, gradually leaving his parters in the dust no
kills. Since this is a teamwork game, I see this competitive aspect as detrimental, so
instead I will feature other fairer unit control maps.

Impossible Confluence - though this a well made Impossible map, the missions (only 2?)
are extremely drawn out, and considering all you have till the very end is the units you
start with, these problems aggravates the fact that Impossible maps are already inherently
tedious because the enemy is static. The Impossible maps I like are those that are diversely
short and fun and don't feel like the author is making the game long for the sake of it.
There are other randomly-given-units Impossibles that I still need to recall.

Impossible Choice (Already Featured)
LotR - RoS RH (Not Yet Checked)
LotR - SD CPU Gold RH! (Not Yet Checked)
SoG RH Absolute OR LotR SoG RH X (Not Yet Checked)

Other RECS ~
AI Firebat Defense (Scheduled to Feature)
Defense F (Featured)
FaLLiNG TiLeS [AZ 4.003] (Featured)
Mini Town D (Already Featured)
Path D Pro (overridden)
Path_Defense (Featured)
Phantom BGH Gold (Featured, but different version)
SC Tournament Prime (Not Yet Checked)
The Thing (overridden)
The Thing: Ice (Featured)
X-Men RPG Insane (Will Recheck)

~~~~

I will check the queued maps, but there are many maps of different categories that need
recommendations. Please recommend some best maps and versions out of these subcategories...



The subcategories I didn't described by colon are those I'm unfamiliar with, so recommending those first is best.
Here is a maps index if you need it

Post has been edited 9 time(s), last time on Jul 31 2009, 9:22 pm by Drant.

Here's some videos of LotRish (Conquest) types, I'll work on some screenies. The other Conquest subgenres I never really got into as much.

Sauron Tirith Op

Mass on Thranduils Halls

Ring Rush

I will try to get some screenshots of Dynasty Warriors and LotR SoG RH X.

Dynasty Warriors 3:







LotR SoG RH:









Post has been edited 6 time(s), last time on Jul 11 2009, 12:32 am by LokiArexon.

Thanks for the shots. Dynasty Warriors' minimap looks like a duplicate of AoS with horizontal stream of units; I wonder if gameplay is any different.

BTW, you should save screenshots as PNGs since StarCraft SSs have 255 colors max, so PNG would compress it much better but with no loss of quality
I'll get to playing them soon.

AoS and DW are *very* similar.

The general principles behind both of them are identical. The mechanics play out differently, however.

In AoS, especially v2007, you really have to focus more on being strong enough to survive and to protect the crystals/pylons/cannons, because the enemy has sooo much static defense (sieged tanks). Your endgame is not just to upgrade, but to buy more units.

In DW, you're more focused on getting strong weapon upgrades as fast as possible, so that you can hope to take down an enemy gate before the harder masses start coming. DW is more a rush game, with the real challenges being not dying like a fool, and killing the enemy cannons before your allies can. Since the units you can buy in DW are both expensive and almost useless, you focus entirely on upgrades. DW is more about looking cool; AoS is more of a survival game. The difficulty curve really makes all the difference.

I save as .jpg because I always know that no matter where I feel like hosting them, they will upload. I don't think photobucket takes png, but I could be mistaken.

I also might work on getting some better shots of LotR sometime this week. That was only a 2v1 match (Gondor/fellow vs. Mordor) and I didn't really get any good action shots; the videos I posted are much better for that. I've just been really busy since I'm in the CampaignCreations.org 4-years contest (also why I can't really suggest a campaign at the moment... because my first choice would obviously be my own lol).

I am lacking in maps of Survival, Assault, and Bound categories. Does anyone know some good zombie, siege (e.g. Helm's Deep), and not-impossible-for-casual-players bound maps? Also, I wonder if there's any SENners who play RP maps and could recommend some.

I think you should reconsider Futbol and Scourgeball because they are very different maps. I understand for ScVz FB Tourney you featured a classic football map instead, but Futbol is completely different from either of those maps. And Scourgeball may use a shuttle like Volleyball, but the objectives and gameplay are very different. Scourgeball is more of a dodgeball map with 4 balls.

However, if that does not change your mind, I also recommend MillenniumArmy's classic dodgeball all-star tourney map http://www.staredit.net/?file=1432. It is based on the original dodgeball map, but has two fields allowing for more people to play at once.

The only bound with "bound" in the title I ever liked was girl bound, I think I just found it funny for some reason, plus it was more doable I thought than many other bounds.

Beyond that, there's Run, Zergling, Run! which, although I have never beaten, is still kinda fun in the teamwork element.

Girl bound should definately be on the list.

If you include "Run Zergling Run!" by ShizTheresABear, then I'd also recommend "Dodge the Light 2" by sdery23.

For zombie maps, there is Resident Evil:Raccoon City(try version 1.09) by Panzer_Kavalier.
Also Resident Evil 3:nemesis by Brad.vickers, remade by Fear_division(name could be slightly wrong). I can host a good version of that if you like.

Resident Evil:One by bioject is pretty good too, although i have heard of an earlier and supposedly better version.

Resident Evil X is very good, although it doesn't follow the RE story. It's more an RPG.
Dawn of the dead maps are BAD. I have yet to see a good map with that name.

Those are the best i can think of right now.