What is the best Thing map? Right now i'm playing black ver but i wanted to see what you think.

I used to be a thing map fan, because I believe that with the right players, it's amazingly fun. I was so determined that I made my own thing map, called The Thing: Deadly Trust. The final version will not be released - I cancelled the project because I thought it went in the wrong direction. I'm not saying that it's 'the best' thing map - they all have their pros and cons - it's just an alternative if you feel like playing a thing map with items, energy and vehicles.

One thing I hate about the black version is how you can determine who is thing by approaching them and looking for the spidermine to appear in the bottom right corner.

Other versions suck either because of the terrain or the gameplay design (like the ice version).

I think the 'best' thing map should be on installation tileset with narrow passages to give the feel of being trapped, have a dynamic, simple and diverse gameplay The version I made attempted that, but ended up being slightly too complex, IMO. The ice version also attempted that, but ended up having awful controls and HUGE balance issues.

I hope one project I am part of will create something I will call the 'best' thing map, but until then, such a map does not exist.

You put a lot of thought to it.
IMO, the current 'best' The Thing map is JaFFs.

Agreed it has items and concept but I think it's a bit too easy to tell who's infected or not unless they use an health pack, but other than that it's quite flawless and has much concept, for er...a thing map

It's not 'flawless' trigger-wise - there are a few bugs. You just never encountered them.

The newest version was supposed to fix the broodling problem you speak of with a total HP/Damage rehaul and a HP randomisation without losing any 'fairness', but the newest version will probably never be released, since it will not fix the main problems (the way I see them, atleast) of the map: terrain and enviromental interaction.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Mar 15 2009, 6:55 pm by JaFF.

I like The Thing: Ice a bit better than JaFFs, it's much more original and is extremely well-made, it's a bit less of a mind-game and a bit more of a strategic game.

The thing is owned by mines all the time. Is there a way around it for the thing?

I beat "The Thing - Ice" several times.

Uh, yeah, don't let them know who you are, that way they don't unally you and make their mines actually do anything.

The problem with that is that it's too easy to figure out who the thing is; the game always has situations where you can logically deduce who was where. Besides, I believe that giving away that you're it should not equal defeat in a thing map - you must always have the option of going in an open fight with the survivors. Atleast that's the way I see it; this offers the game more diversity by making it not only a matter of figuring out who the thing is, but also killing him.

The one with tons of observers that you can access if you're the thing

Weird, i alway had the impression the ice version was way too easy for the thing, since the map is extremely confusing for most players. They mostly run around randomly and the thing can just pick them out one by one. It can regenerates, too. What situations are you referring to? I think i'm going to make my own thing map, after all. SC2 will probably be out only in months.

If someone is attacked (and he is smart enough), he just runs around and gets everyone's attention. Since each player has his unique colour, you can use simple elimination.

Yeah, but even if The Thing dies, he just stays dead for like 3 minutes, and then comes back, usually he wins..

The Thing - Ice is awesome...
I have yet to win in it :C

but it feels totally different from all the other thing maps....

Yeah, that's true, if you're going for a classic The Thing style map, it's not really an option, but I'd say it's more fun than the others.

I feel this "Where's Waldo" mechanic is severely under used and had huge potential. For the longest time I believed the same thing about AoS and wanted to make a map that really shows how much fun you could have with it and where you could take it... then Temple Siege came along...

But I seriously feel the same way about this type of game. If you can get it right, I think you can have Temple Siege's level of success and popularity. I have a dream of a design in mind, but I know it is too ambitious for me to do myself. I would pretty much have to contract someone to do the map for me while I could only chip in on the string writing(dialogue/story) and game play concept.

Believe it or not, absolutely all games I've played on ice ended in the thing being defeated except one, where we couldn't find some item. Respawning is no use when the complex and its surroudings/entrances are filled with mines.

Whatever.

You know the original 'Thing' was in an ice area right?

Wrong. The original was called 'The Unknown' and was on Space... unless you mean the movie 'The Thing', which was not the 'original' of this whole concept, by the way.

...but that doesen't matter. We're talking about maps and what works best in our current situation. My opinions are not (and should not) be based on any previous material.

I believe installation provides the best feeling of being trapped with its dark floor/roof and has a modern feel to it which for some reason is connected with this whole idea of 'the thing', as opposed to the 'ancient' style which seems to be totally irrelevant.