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DESCRIPTION
This map pitted a group of players against the onslaught of a couple dozen Computer-controlled ghosts randomly shooting Nukes. The goal was to run from one end of the arena to the other, beating your peers, while avoiding all the Nukes. You had 1HP so even being at the edge of the blast radius would kill you.
MY EXPERIENCE
On my very first try I made it 80% to the end, before having to avoid a couple nukes in front of me and bank right, before reaching the end. A couple of other tries was much the same, quite easy especially if you hug the side walls.
MY VERDICT
The random-nuking was impressive but the gameplay was not very fun. I consider this map purely as illustrating a concept, perhaps inspiring other map-makers to use this concept in an exciting way. Also, when you reach the end you have to RM, there is no victory condition.
Gameplay: 2/10
If it had a harder difficulty, like Dodge the Rapist, and multiple levels (like Dodge the Rapist), it would be a cool Dodge game. But where it is now it is far too easy, and you have to RM after each round. It very quickly got boring. There is no respawn system either.
Originality 4/10
Nothing original about the dodge aspect, but the random nuking was pretty cool.
Aesthetics 5/10
No default unit names, no obvious grammatical errors, string colours looked good. Terrain was very bland.
Theme: 4/5
Nukes going off everywhere definitely seems 'over the top' to me.
Completion: 2/5
You get a victory message but no victory trigger. Also, for this type of game there should be multiple rounds, or else people have to RM after each one. The randomized nuking has not been balanced to offer a decent challenge.
This map pitted a group of players against the onslaught of a couple dozen Computer-controlled ghosts randomly shooting Nukes. The goal was to run from one end of the arena to the other, beating your peers, while avoiding all the Nukes. You had 1HP so even being at the edge of the blast radius would kill you.
MY EXPERIENCE
On my very first try I made it 80% to the end, before having to avoid a couple nukes in front of me and bank right, before reaching the end. A couple of other tries was much the same, quite easy especially if you hug the side walls.
MY VERDICT
The random-nuking was impressive but the gameplay was not very fun. I consider this map purely as illustrating a concept, perhaps inspiring other map-makers to use this concept in an exciting way. Also, when you reach the end you have to RM, there is no victory condition.
Gameplay: 2/10
If it had a harder difficulty, like Dodge the Rapist, and multiple levels (like Dodge the Rapist), it would be a cool Dodge game. But where it is now it is far too easy, and you have to RM after each round. It very quickly got boring. There is no respawn system either.
Originality 4/10
Nothing original about the dodge aspect, but the random nuking was pretty cool.
Aesthetics 5/10
No default unit names, no obvious grammatical errors, string colours looked good. Terrain was very bland.
Theme: 4/5
Nukes going off everywhere definitely seems 'over the top' to me.
Completion: 2/5
You get a victory message but no victory trigger. Also, for this type of game there should be multiple rounds, or else people have to RM after each one. The randomized nuking has not been balanced to offer a decent challenge.
Deathright by Kusari
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DESCRIPTION
This map charts the journey of two lovers, Alyssia and Jason, as they flee the beach on Motorcycle as Walking Piranhas begin massacring the population. The goal was to drive around on your motorcycle, avoiding car crashes and Walking Piranhas, while talking to various people and traveling from location to location completing objectives.
MY EXPERIENCE
At first I was impressed as the beginning Intro screen was a crisp looking UI. This quickly turned to disappointment however as the dialogue started. For a story map, it had some big problems with story. The story was very shallow and the grammar was very bad. Ignoring this, I began driving around on the Motorcycle, where my spirits quickly picked up.
The Motorcycle sequence (50-70% of the game) was quite enjoyable at first, and also quite unique. You control a Vulture that your screen is constantly centered on, while a bike-engine WAV loops. That has been done before in other maps, such as RUSH. What I thought was cool was the crashing triggers. If you hit other cars you would get a squealing WAV followed by an explosion and a HP loss. Hitting Pedestrians would kill them (running them over). It was neat at first, but since this was practically ALL the game had to offer, I quickly grew tired of it.
[STORY SPOILERS] The missions were primarily going from place to place on your Motorbike, talking to different people. Eventually you found out the military was going to nuke the place (apparently the desire for surf and turf is greater than the desire to not kill your fellow man) and you had to escape the island. The ending was a particularly appalling cliff-hanger. Still stick on the island, with the nukes about to go off, the couple jump into the water. THE END. FYI Kusari, but jumping in water does not protect you from the effects of a nuclear blast, nor the effects of radiation poisoning.
MY VERDICT
All this map had going for it was the Motorbike mechanic. The storyline was sub-par at best, with bad grammar to boot. The gameplay was simply running from place to place talking to people, while dodging monsters and vehicles. In fact, I got through the entire game without killing a single thing. Weave an intriguing story, infuse your map with multiple gameplay elements, and have an ACTUAL ending, and I think your map would have scored a lot higher up the list.
Gameplay: 4/10
Riding around on a motorbike while running from monsters and talking to people to proceed through the linear quest. Quickly got boring, though it was fun at first. Difficulty-wise, I did die a couple times due to the Hydralisks being quite strong, though I used saves to get all the way through the game. You lose far more health from monsters then you ever did from crashing.
Originality 5/10
The vehicle driving I have seen before, but what I hadn't seen before was the crashing-triggers and the ability to run over pedestrians.
Aesthetics 4/10
A weird blend of the good and bad. Your UIs were very crisp and clean, like the "Skip/Watch Intro" "You Just Crashed!", but then there was the dialogue. The dialogue was riddled with grammar mistakes, and once I saw a colour-error as well. The grammar was so bad that I actually suspected that English may not have been your first language? Couple of default unit names as well. Terrain was alright, a couple of extended buildings here and there, but nothing jaw-dropping.
Theme: 5/5
Piranhas growing legs and invading a beach-town? That's more over the top than that episode of South Park.
Completion: 3/5
You can finish the map right to the end, but the end is such a blatant cliff-hanger it doesn't even feel like an ending.
This map charts the journey of two lovers, Alyssia and Jason, as they flee the beach on Motorcycle as Walking Piranhas begin massacring the population. The goal was to drive around on your motorcycle, avoiding car crashes and Walking Piranhas, while talking to various people and traveling from location to location completing objectives.
MY EXPERIENCE
At first I was impressed as the beginning Intro screen was a crisp looking UI. This quickly turned to disappointment however as the dialogue started. For a story map, it had some big problems with story. The story was very shallow and the grammar was very bad. Ignoring this, I began driving around on the Motorcycle, where my spirits quickly picked up.
The Motorcycle sequence (50-70% of the game) was quite enjoyable at first, and also quite unique. You control a Vulture that your screen is constantly centered on, while a bike-engine WAV loops. That has been done before in other maps, such as RUSH. What I thought was cool was the crashing triggers. If you hit other cars you would get a squealing WAV followed by an explosion and a HP loss. Hitting Pedestrians would kill them (running them over). It was neat at first, but since this was practically ALL the game had to offer, I quickly grew tired of it.
[STORY SPOILERS] The missions were primarily going from place to place on your Motorbike, talking to different people. Eventually you found out the military was going to nuke the place (apparently the desire for surf and turf is greater than the desire to not kill your fellow man) and you had to escape the island. The ending was a particularly appalling cliff-hanger. Still stick on the island, with the nukes about to go off, the couple jump into the water. THE END. FYI Kusari, but jumping in water does not protect you from the effects of a nuclear blast, nor the effects of radiation poisoning.
MY VERDICT
All this map had going for it was the Motorbike mechanic. The storyline was sub-par at best, with bad grammar to boot. The gameplay was simply running from place to place talking to people, while dodging monsters and vehicles. In fact, I got through the entire game without killing a single thing. Weave an intriguing story, infuse your map with multiple gameplay elements, and have an ACTUAL ending, and I think your map would have scored a lot higher up the list.
Gameplay: 4/10
Riding around on a motorbike while running from monsters and talking to people to proceed through the linear quest. Quickly got boring, though it was fun at first. Difficulty-wise, I did die a couple times due to the Hydralisks being quite strong, though I used saves to get all the way through the game. You lose far more health from monsters then you ever did from crashing.
Originality 5/10
The vehicle driving I have seen before, but what I hadn't seen before was the crashing-triggers and the ability to run over pedestrians.
Aesthetics 4/10
A weird blend of the good and bad. Your UIs were very crisp and clean, like the "Skip/Watch Intro" "You Just Crashed!", but then there was the dialogue. The dialogue was riddled with grammar mistakes, and once I saw a colour-error as well. The grammar was so bad that I actually suspected that English may not have been your first language? Couple of default unit names as well. Terrain was alright, a couple of extended buildings here and there, but nothing jaw-dropping.
Theme: 5/5
Piranhas growing legs and invading a beach-town? That's more over the top than that episode of South Park.
Completion: 3/5
You can finish the map right to the end, but the end is such a blatant cliff-hanger it doesn't even feel like an ending.
Chiarena by chia-tyrant
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DESCRIPTION
This is an arena map where you fight your mates using a directional attack system. There are multiple weapon pick-ups and you can collect armour as well. First to 10 kills wins. The directional system works by facing your zealot where you want to fire, and then selecting a scourge and moving the scourge to commence the attack. Wraith explosions would then fire out in a straight line from your Zealot, with differing explosion types depending on the equipped weapon.
MY EXPERIENCE
I first checked out the map by myself and could tell that it would be fun to play with others. The random-respawns, a healthy weapon diversity, and well thought out terrain/vision layout. I actually wouldn't be surprised if this became a BNET hit.
I played with Sacrieur, Lethal_Illusion, Samsizzle, and Azrael.Wrath. The gameplay was fast and furious, though I was quite frustrated with the aiming system. I'll give a shoutout to Lethal here because he was a natural, and dominated everyone both rounds XD. As for me, I could never quite get the aiming right, and it was quite tinkerous having to line up your zealot, select your scourge, and move it, all while trying to predict where your opponent was moving and dodge any attacks he had going your way. I think the tip here is to attack move toward them, and your zealot will more or less line up naturally.
I also had problems with my Sniper Rifle firing like a Machine Gun, which I quickly surmised to be due to killing someone and then accidentally picking up his weapon (the weapon pick up method is also via moving the scourge).
The Quake WAVs were a nice touch, especially the killstreaks.
MY VERDICT
This was a pretty fun arena map that was well thought out and quite competitive. My only real gripes was the directional attack method, which is a little bit unintuitive. Also having the pick up method the same as the weapon fire method caused me a bit of trouble with accidentally picking up my dead opponents weapons. Hopefully this will catch on with the Bnetters.
Gameplay: 8/10
Fast paced PvP action kept fresh and exciting by numerous randomized weapon pick ups (Rocket launcher love
) and a cramped arena with nice vision dynamics. The deaths happen so quick first to 10 feels a little too short. First to 20 or 30 would be better I reckon. The directional system more or less works quite well, though I personally found out to be frustrating and took away some of the fun for me.
Originality 6/10
I've seen plenty of Arenas before, and quite a few like this. But its such an exceptional and well done job that it stands out from the crowd.
Aesthetics 8/10
Square-block terrain, which is really what most arena-formats tend to do, as it allows a tight manipulation of the vision dynamics. One of the best Arenas I've played had extended non-blocky terrain, so that's no excuse. Unit names, grammar, colouring all looked good. The explosion patterns were different for each weapon pickup, though I would have really liked to see a bit more variety, like different coloured explosions. The Plasma Rifle particularly, it SHOULD have had a blue explosion attack. The Quake WAVs were an excellent addition.
Theme: 4/5
This fast paced frenetic arena gameplay was indeed over the top, but that just depends on how full the game is. The Reloading mechanic takes away from some of the action.
Completion: 5/5
Didn't see anything that indicated the map was incomplete. Hell, I didn't even come across any glitches.
This is an arena map where you fight your mates using a directional attack system. There are multiple weapon pick-ups and you can collect armour as well. First to 10 kills wins. The directional system works by facing your zealot where you want to fire, and then selecting a scourge and moving the scourge to commence the attack. Wraith explosions would then fire out in a straight line from your Zealot, with differing explosion types depending on the equipped weapon.
MY EXPERIENCE
I first checked out the map by myself and could tell that it would be fun to play with others. The random-respawns, a healthy weapon diversity, and well thought out terrain/vision layout. I actually wouldn't be surprised if this became a BNET hit.
I played with Sacrieur, Lethal_Illusion, Samsizzle, and Azrael.Wrath. The gameplay was fast and furious, though I was quite frustrated with the aiming system. I'll give a shoutout to Lethal here because he was a natural, and dominated everyone both rounds XD. As for me, I could never quite get the aiming right, and it was quite tinkerous having to line up your zealot, select your scourge, and move it, all while trying to predict where your opponent was moving and dodge any attacks he had going your way. I think the tip here is to attack move toward them, and your zealot will more or less line up naturally.
I also had problems with my Sniper Rifle firing like a Machine Gun, which I quickly surmised to be due to killing someone and then accidentally picking up his weapon (the weapon pick up method is also via moving the scourge).
The Quake WAVs were a nice touch, especially the killstreaks.
MY VERDICT
This was a pretty fun arena map that was well thought out and quite competitive. My only real gripes was the directional attack method, which is a little bit unintuitive. Also having the pick up method the same as the weapon fire method caused me a bit of trouble with accidentally picking up my dead opponents weapons. Hopefully this will catch on with the Bnetters.
Gameplay: 8/10
Fast paced PvP action kept fresh and exciting by numerous randomized weapon pick ups (Rocket launcher love
) and a cramped arena with nice vision dynamics. The deaths happen so quick first to 10 feels a little too short. First to 20 or 30 would be better I reckon. The directional system more or less works quite well, though I personally found out to be frustrating and took away some of the fun for me. Originality 6/10
I've seen plenty of Arenas before, and quite a few like this. But its such an exceptional and well done job that it stands out from the crowd.
Aesthetics 8/10
Square-block terrain, which is really what most arena-formats tend to do, as it allows a tight manipulation of the vision dynamics. One of the best Arenas I've played had extended non-blocky terrain, so that's no excuse. Unit names, grammar, colouring all looked good. The explosion patterns were different for each weapon pickup, though I would have really liked to see a bit more variety, like different coloured explosions. The Plasma Rifle particularly, it SHOULD have had a blue explosion attack. The Quake WAVs were an excellent addition.
Theme: 4/5
This fast paced frenetic arena gameplay was indeed over the top, but that just depends on how full the game is. The Reloading mechanic takes away from some of the action.
Completion: 5/5
Didn't see anything that indicated the map was incomplete. Hell, I didn't even come across any glitches.
Zombie House 13 by K_A
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DESCRIPTION
A Manual-Attack map where you and your friends are pitted against endless waves of zombies. Inspired heavily by the Call of Duty Zombie Mode.
MY EXPERIENCE
I had a peep around by myself firstly, and got quite excited at the thought of playing this with friends. I could tell straight away that it was inspired by the CoD Zombie Mode, what with the weapon pickups, slow moving zombies, and unlockable doors. I was particularly impressed with the method he used to give zombies health, as previously every other Manual-Attack map I've seen only ever had opponents that were one-hit killed.
I played with Lethal_Illusion, Sacrieur, Azrael.Wrath, and Vrael. The difficulty was balanced to perfection I thought, and it was fun microing and shooting and knifing, while goading the others as they succumbed to the zombie hoard. I am proud to say I did not die ONCE, and was basically the Cleric of the team, constantly having to revive everyone, particularly Sacrieur, who must have lathered himself up with brains before joining the lobby.
I purchased a .22 and continued the zombie carnage with that, pushing through wave after wave as we began unlocking doors. There was a point where the zombie AI appeared confused and they all bunched up on the other side of the door, allowing us to farm some easy kills. Then we got to a Submachine Gun which I couldn't buy because I had spent all my money reviving my teammates (RAAAAAGE). After that, my SC froze, -.- and I missed out on the rest of the game (though I heard about the mystery box, nice, nice).
MY VERDICT
Overall this was a great zombie Manual-Attack shooter that I can't wait to play again with my friends. The array of weapons, including the knife, plus the bonuses such as Double Tap and Ludicrous speed, gave a lot of diversity to what would otherwise be monotonous zombie purging.
I really felt like there were a couple of missed opportunities. You could have played up the horror element by getting some ambient music in and blinding all the players (perhaps even removing ally vision). This would have amped up what was already a very suspenseful map and forced players to communicate like the SWAT team they should be. I also was disappointed that there was only ever one monster type. I kept waiting for the new monsters to appear, but they never did. Fast moving, low HP zerglings, lumbering, high HP infesteds. Different monster types with different strategies for taking them out would take the excitement and strategy of this map to a whole new level. Lastly, I know you were going with the CoD Zombies theme, but this format you've got going on could easily be turned into a great RPG. NPCs giving mission objectives, as opposed to just killing waves and waves, would really be a cool dynamic. I really hope you continue to work on this map and perhaps put some of these suggestions into place!
Gameplay: 9/10
This was a lot of fun, working together with your teammates against hordes of zombie opponents, all while upgrading your weapons and unlocking new areas. The difficulty ramped up very nicely, it was deliciously challenging and the longevity was greatly helped by the insertion of a resurrection mechanic. I liked how (whether unwittingly or not) the shooting of the zombies made them freeze for a bit, exactly how the zombies stumble in CoD when you shoot them.
Originality 7/10
I have played a couple of Manual-Attack type maps but yours has got me impressed the most, especially with the way you gave the zombies actual health, as opposed to one hit kills. I don't think I've ever seen anyone attempt a CoD Zombies on Starcraft either.
Aesthetics 9/10
Very nice extended terrain, didn't see any blockyness or bad blends. The unit names and other strings all were of proper quality also. The custom gunshot WAVs really gave it a good atmosphere. I would have liked to hear some moaning zombie WAVs. I did feel the atmosphere would have been better with restricted vision.
Theme: 2/5
If it was a Zombie theme I'd be giving you 5, but this is an "Over the Top" theme. As the zombies began to increase in number and the gameplay began to get hectic, it did feel a little 'over the top', but this is a strenuous connection.
Completion: 3/5
My companions informed me that they reached a zombie that would not die, and they simply farmed it forever with knife attacks. You have also said yourself the map is not complete. However, the gameplay length is larger than some of the other entries combined, so I feel this makes up for it.
A Manual-Attack map where you and your friends are pitted against endless waves of zombies. Inspired heavily by the Call of Duty Zombie Mode.
MY EXPERIENCE
I had a peep around by myself firstly, and got quite excited at the thought of playing this with friends. I could tell straight away that it was inspired by the CoD Zombie Mode, what with the weapon pickups, slow moving zombies, and unlockable doors. I was particularly impressed with the method he used to give zombies health, as previously every other Manual-Attack map I've seen only ever had opponents that were one-hit killed.
I played with Lethal_Illusion, Sacrieur, Azrael.Wrath, and Vrael. The difficulty was balanced to perfection I thought, and it was fun microing and shooting and knifing, while goading the others as they succumbed to the zombie hoard. I am proud to say I did not die ONCE, and was basically the Cleric of the team, constantly having to revive everyone, particularly Sacrieur, who must have lathered himself up with brains before joining the lobby.
I purchased a .22 and continued the zombie carnage with that, pushing through wave after wave as we began unlocking doors. There was a point where the zombie AI appeared confused and they all bunched up on the other side of the door, allowing us to farm some easy kills. Then we got to a Submachine Gun which I couldn't buy because I had spent all my money reviving my teammates (RAAAAAGE). After that, my SC froze, -.- and I missed out on the rest of the game (though I heard about the mystery box, nice, nice).
MY VERDICT
Overall this was a great zombie Manual-Attack shooter that I can't wait to play again with my friends. The array of weapons, including the knife, plus the bonuses such as Double Tap and Ludicrous speed, gave a lot of diversity to what would otherwise be monotonous zombie purging.
I really felt like there were a couple of missed opportunities. You could have played up the horror element by getting some ambient music in and blinding all the players (perhaps even removing ally vision). This would have amped up what was already a very suspenseful map and forced players to communicate like the SWAT team they should be. I also was disappointed that there was only ever one monster type. I kept waiting for the new monsters to appear, but they never did. Fast moving, low HP zerglings, lumbering, high HP infesteds. Different monster types with different strategies for taking them out would take the excitement and strategy of this map to a whole new level. Lastly, I know you were going with the CoD Zombies theme, but this format you've got going on could easily be turned into a great RPG. NPCs giving mission objectives, as opposed to just killing waves and waves, would really be a cool dynamic. I really hope you continue to work on this map and perhaps put some of these suggestions into place!
Gameplay: 9/10
This was a lot of fun, working together with your teammates against hordes of zombie opponents, all while upgrading your weapons and unlocking new areas. The difficulty ramped up very nicely, it was deliciously challenging and the longevity was greatly helped by the insertion of a resurrection mechanic. I liked how (whether unwittingly or not) the shooting of the zombies made them freeze for a bit, exactly how the zombies stumble in CoD when you shoot them.
Originality 7/10
I have played a couple of Manual-Attack type maps but yours has got me impressed the most, especially with the way you gave the zombies actual health, as opposed to one hit kills. I don't think I've ever seen anyone attempt a CoD Zombies on Starcraft either.
Aesthetics 9/10
Very nice extended terrain, didn't see any blockyness or bad blends. The unit names and other strings all were of proper quality also. The custom gunshot WAVs really gave it a good atmosphere. I would have liked to hear some moaning zombie WAVs. I did feel the atmosphere would have been better with restricted vision.
Theme: 2/5
If it was a Zombie theme I'd be giving you 5, but this is an "Over the Top" theme. As the zombies began to increase in number and the gameplay began to get hectic, it did feel a little 'over the top', but this is a strenuous connection.
Completion: 3/5
My companions informed me that they reached a zombie that would not die, and they simply farmed it forever with knife attacks. You have also said yourself the map is not complete. However, the gameplay length is larger than some of the other entries combined, so I feel this makes up for it.
TOTALS
Chiarena by chia-tyrant 31
Zombie House 13 by K_A 30
Deathright by Kusari 21
Nukes! by Vrael 17
SACRIEUR + OH_MAN SCORES
Zombie House 13 by K_A 56
Chiarena by chia-tyrant 55
Deathright by Kusari 43
Nukes! by Vrael 35
Personally I preferred Zombie House over Chiarena, however ZH lost too many points due to Completion and Theme that allowed Chiarena to jump ahead by 1. Now it is up to Tikels to determine the fate of our contestants mineral amounts!
Thanks to everyone for competing and I hope to see more maps from you in the future!
Honourable mention should go to Leeroy who got disqualified because of resubmitting a previous map with only slight alterations. The map was a cool concept and quite challenging, I recommend to others that you download and give it a try!
Post has been edited 3 time(s), last time on Aug 15 2011, 8:22 am by Oh_Man.
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