Angmarian Mapping Beaurau

netnazgul's mapping and (hopefully) streaming projects

Discussion about the game and its default mods.
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netnazgul
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Angmarian Mapping Beaurau

Post by netnazgul »

Next stream
2018-10-01 17:00 UTC +0

Past VODs
https://www.twitch.tv/netnazgul/videos/all
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 9SaDMuyLL3


Map portfolio

Rubicon
2 players, 96x80
My first take on map creation, main idea is to use repairable bridges as a possible short-distance path between spawns. Also contains campable gem mines just outside mcv build radius.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/x0w7Psv.jpg

Strangle
2 players, 72x84
Experiments on valuable ore patches reachable only through long distance mining. Starting ore patch is open for harassment from the other side, moving MCV there is denied by several debris which can prevent building placement.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/7NfXCmA.png

Waiting For The Worms
2 players, 96x72
Originally planned to have mirror water canals leading to enemy spawn, but the result water was too narrow and small bridges near the map corners were too short to create water passage when destroyed, so they were replaced by fords. I've planned to draw a bigger version of this map with properly realized idea of this map, but the client crashed 4 hours worth of map drawing, so it never made it.

Potholes
2 players, 96x96
An attempt to do a "Big Boy Map" with enough space and resources to require at least 4 mcvs during the midgame. Several iterations were required to balance the resource patch holes (which are double ore-mines growth-locked by gems). The map offers a lot of ways to go around it; map center is lockable by a single MCV if enough effort is spent on destroying the village, but base is then open to attacks from several sides.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/NidUejA.jpg

Equilibrium
2 players, 81x81
Mixture of some Pitfight ideas with an Yin-Yang symbol of balance. Ore patches and center circle cliff openings still require some balancing (right-bottom patch is better reachable from spawn, while center patches are easier accessed from the left), but overall the map got the right feel of a condensed fight over the center ore with several bypasses allowed to do that.
Latest update got its center ore patches removed and replaced with a plain gem piles surrounded by concrete, also nw/se expansions got its cliffs opened for more map movement.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/WsEC6Aq.jpg

Sacrificial Circle
2 players, 90x90
Rich on ore map that splits the action into top and bottom routes with top one easier to take (using forward commands) and bottom one having more money output. Center is a deadzone with no resources, but offers another forward command which can be used as an outpost to have reinforcements equally close to every map side.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/0FmxcTp.jpg

Big Ball
2 players, 71x71
Small map with gem mines at the spawns having equidistant expansions in the far corners and ore patches facing the middle, which are supposed to be main contested map points.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/XST9y1U.png

Tannenbaum
2 players, 81x81
Christmas-theme location with some of starting spawn mines right in the open reachable through the forest. Desirable 3-mine top ore patch is counter-balanced with a gem mine and two patches at the bottom, but is still a primary target.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/8y9vo3o.png

Morton's Fork
2 players, 72x96
Working title "Buridan's ass", current name has a more pleasant sound and gives mostly the same reference. The idea here is to provide player a choice of mcv movement right from the start - taking either left or right ore patch. Opponent player then requires some basic scouting to know where to attack. Also increases map replayability as different matchups occur depending on which side either of the players has selected.
Also includes common early initiative points - 2 oil derricks and a hospital in the middle.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/I729dCP.jpg

The Trench
2 players, 100x100
The name says most of it all - symmetric map with a visible map split. Could probably lead to trench wars (the irony here), map size and mutiple ways across the map should prevent that. Got several improving updates along the Lorry's stream streaks to make it more viable competitively.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/npJbmTD.png

Dragonfly
2 players, 80x80
Diagonal symmetry map with one ore patch close but in bad position and 2-mine rich ore patch just outside spawn mcv radius. The map itself promotes highly non-symmetric play - oil derricks on the top-left side and low eco there (mineral-locked ore mines and one empty gem mine in the corner), natural expansions to the bottom-right side. Got its name because first sketches resembled a giant dragonfly, so I used a dragonfly image as a base.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/rJI6K57.png

Burning Bridges
2 players, 72x72
No-cliffs challenge in a small-ish map. Never got much of a testing.

Gore Lord
2 players, 64x64
Remake of the famous Ore Lord (hence the name) with the intention to fix the imbalance of its unequal spawns and expansion routes. Still, a bit hard to stabilize the topleft/bottomright ore patches due to ref placement.
Visuals are the courtesy of InsertName.

River of Gold
2 players, 80x96
An attempt to improvise on the "no trench wars" idea by making the expansions a single distributed ore blob, back paths are open enough to lead a large army through them to the start spawns. Gem mines in the backyard add the required money dynamic to midgame dispositions.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/84B4FGN.jpg

Sacrificial Circle II
2 players, 90x90
Reiteration of Sacrificial Circle. Addressing the problems of the first version: top/bottom expansions were basically "I was here first" type.
Now it's switched to counter-point symmetry with ore mines spread in a non-even manner along the center "negative attraction"â„¢ open space. kazu style forest gem mines in corners serve the same purpose as River of Gold's ones.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/tKPyUTG.jpg

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Maelstrom
4 players, 110x110
First take on the 4 players maps here. Has roughly 185K ore total (46k per player), one of the double mines in each 2nd ring ore patch is a gem one to spur some action. Also each player has 2 oil derricks with several explosives beside them to make them more snipable (supposedly with air units)
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/sKqdWgn.jpg

Mark of Chaos
4 players, 128x128
Intended to play 2v2 because of non-symmetric corners and map size. The core idea behind the map design is the symbol of chaos from Warhammer: 40K.
Preview: https://i.imgur.com/X2YEaP4.jpg
Last edited by netnazgul on Sat Sep 29, 2018 8:55 pm, edited 14 times in total.

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netnazgul
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Post by netnazgul »

Next saturday 2017-12-02 (16:00 UTC+0 time is highly likely a start time) I plan to run a stream highlighting some of the maps I find interesting that are lacking attention on Resource Center (my maps will of course be there too).

Stream will include Red Alert 1v1 "competitive" maps for now; I already gathered a list of maps which could be interesting, but am open to any suggestions and new works that you desire to be highlighted. Especially if you don't mind them being highlighted on a 1.5 viewers stream :P

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netnazgul
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Post by netnazgul »

Added Morton's Fork to the list.

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netnazgul
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Post by netnazgul »

Added Maelstrom, new 4 player map.

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WhoCares
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Post by WhoCares »

looks really appealing, I have no idea how will be the first games. I will test that asap.

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netnazgul
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Post by netnazgul »

New stream is planned to be run next saturday 2017-12-16 16:00 UTC+0.
The stream agenda is the same - highlighting interesting RA 1v1 maps. I still have a lot undisplayed from when I first made a map collection, and there should be new 1v1s around already, will add them too.

Hopefully Resource center is unPLUCKed by pchote now so we'll have less problems with the stream format.

*upd: might switch to streaming RAGL playoff games if any present on saturday; but stream is happening anyway

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netnazgul
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Post by netnazgul »

Several people have suggested me to give people some map-creating challenge to then feature result maps on a stream; now I think I have something to puzzle people with.

You probably noticed I like making quite symmetric maps, well they look awesome at both the main screen and the minimap and usually stay balanced game-wise if general ore placement guidelines are taken into account.

So the basic concept for you to work on is "simple": symbolism meets beauty meets symmetry, take some interesting logo/symbol/icon/glyph (symmetric image of something works here too I assume) and try to make a map around it!

Good examples of what I have in mind are Equilibrium and Baphomet
https://resource.openra.net/maps/24191/
https://resource.openra.net/maps/22857/
I'd say Nuclear Winter is somewhere there too
https://resource.openra.net/maps/23293/

I do not impose a limit on player count, but 1v1 maps are of course preferred - RAGL would benefit from beautifully made maps. Also they are better featured on stream than huge maps of course - and I'd love to make a stream with something like that.

No time limit too, although should probably not be so long everyone actually forgets about this :P

PS: swastikas are probably not appreciated ;)

kazu.
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Post by kazu. »

Made two maps for the stream. I hope you like them. Feedback very much appreciated.
(Sent you screenshots and mapnames in discord)

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netnazgul
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Post by netnazgul »

Added Mark of Chaos and The Trench.

eskimo
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Post by eskimo »

Gonna have to try out these team maps. My map depositary really needs a clean with all these test maps flooding out :lol:

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Post by netnazgul »

Added Dragonfly.
Looks like I need to stop drawing maps for some time or else I'm going to get dry of ideas for them :P

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Post by netnazgul »

This year's first showcast stream is scheduled for 2018-01-06 16:00 UTC+0, this time backed by new maps by eskimo, kazu and Blackened, all running on new playtest.

eskimo
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Post by eskimo »

If you could gather some feedback on my map Containment that would be nice.

https://resource.openra.net/maps/24663/

:)

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Post by netnazgul »

It's on the list. Although so far the feedback was mostly good/no-good :)

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Post by netnazgul »

Start time moved one hour forward to 17:00UTC tomorrow, because I fear there will be problems getting enough people so early.

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