Map-making Contest by Daskew and Guro

TDM

Another shifting of the ranks.



FULL MAP IMAGES (of the newly submitted TDM maps)

Bastille - 8.15 by Skinney

This is a lovely little one and deserved a great score. The eye-candy is sound. The distances between platforms are spot-on. I think for what Skinney was trying to do he did it brilliantly.
For such a simple small map the score can't reach much higher. That is the only tiddle to be had with this professional-looking, finely tuned map.
At 8.15, it stands well over a point away from the next best map. Now that's some nice breathing room.

Close Quarters - 5.5 by Shadowor

Unfortunately this map didn't beat shadowors previous TDM submission. When I look at it as a PNG the patterns are lovely. It's just it's almost entirely dirt and stone. The eye-candy factor can't soar up above without more flavours dropped in.
Also, the structure seems too cramped and scrambly for me. I think this can be a good thing to add to a level, but making all of it that way just doesn't seem like cricket.

Rawr Map - 5.05 by Vamist

Highly original... much like Vamists CTF map. Interesting patterns and use of blocks abound. I was all ready to score this on my half as a 6.7... BUT THEN I found out if you're a Knight you may aswell plonk your sword into the ground and wait for an archer to shoot you up - They can't realistically get accross to the other side of the map without bomb jumping, or drowning!
I feel like a similar style of mistake has been made here as was made for vamists CTF "Meh". What I'm talking about is just simply an "easy to avoid" mistake, and if he does this for any possible future ones I think he could make it to the top 3. He's got talent.

 

Way to go skinny!

 

DAMNIT @Skinney

 

time to step up my TDM mapmaking game

 

Map making competition... ANNOUNCEMENT!



Heya guys. New leader-boards will be put up soon (probably tomorrow).

There are now just 6 days left in this competition for mappers to submit their stuff (meaning leader-boards coming up next may not be the last).

The "New Category" I mentioned a little while ago is for various reasons unfortunately not going to be added.

I've found it a great honour for me to work with Guro on this and I have enjoyed hosting it quite a bit

Good luck everyone!

Update to post: This contest may possibly keep going for another month. Decision will be announced soon.

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 7, 2014, Original Post Date: Nov 6, 2014 ---

New Leader-boards!

CTF leaderboard #7



FULL MAP IMAGES (for new CTFs)

/Maps by @Joiken

Flat 1 - 6.2

This kind of map was in no way expected from Joiken. It's totally different to the usual style we see from him. The gold and stone placement looks very nice and the tunnels are quite charming. There is an abundance of vegetation in the middle third of the map, which is I'm sure to help a very flat surface look a bit more interesting. Then you take a look under the flat middle and see that as the dirt from above is worn away, there's a plot of stone, gold and dirt-backround underneath to replace it.
I've seen hardcore flat maps like this before. I think they are good to play on occassionally, but I would get bored as they are in essence all about the same. However, I will say this; this is the best hardcore flat-map I have ever seen! No joke. ^^

Why do all my maps end up like fucking faces? - 7.15

Highly unique. Epic. I am most-curious about playing this one. The room in the middle is as cool as a cucumber, and looks a bit like one from the PNG perspective. We scored this one pretty highly with a 7.15. The reason being, actually very similar to 8x's Fest_Pass map - it is a wild-card that has been pulled-off very well. I'm not going to say much more about it because I'm sure nobody is reading this review properly due to laughing at the map title. Very weldone Joiken though.

/Maps by @Vamist

Dead - 6.45

What I am most impressed about here is the imagination. The two 'pyramid' structures ensure that the experience of playing this map will be fresh and dynamic, and I like how most of the trees are bundled up on the top islands. If you haven't noticed, there isn't actually a 'big-drop' in the middle; Vamist has placed water blocks in line with the bottom of the tunnels, that means... BIG LAKE.
On the darker side of this review though; the pyramids are quite original, but I'm not sure people would want to replay this map that many times. I say this because almost all the fighting would be done on stone and folks aren't used to that. Also in a long game the middle would be broken down to just the lake with some building scraps ontop. This might even be an awesome idea in a different context... perhaps we should have made a category for maps that test the edges of the game like this.

Derpy - 5.95

This is a large one - 350 wide. The surface eye-candy is done decently. If you notice most of the stone you have to dig just a little bit for, which I like because stone shouldn't be organised in basically the same way for every map, we want variety :-). Good work Vamist. Complementing the stone placement I think is the shear abundance of gold. A great amount indeed making it not so precious and valueable. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as it can breed different types of game, e.g. plenty of travel tunnels!
I'm not so sure about the middle of the map however. The room above looks good but I just feel the bottom would turn into quite a mess.

TDM leader-board #5



FULL MAP IMAGES (for new TDMs)

/Both by @kodysch (Oodle)

Which Way? - 7

This is the current 2nd place map in the TDM category. I think it's just lovely. The 'nooks and crannies' in this are delicious. Take a look at the shark tank, the suspended stone-blocks, the corridors, islands, vegetation, waterfall. It's loaded with stuff, and all of it good and well-balanced!
This is one of the best TDM maps I have seen since I started KAG, no joke, and to be honest my favourite TDM. If I were to criticise this it would be neurotic nit-picking, because it's that damn good.
Currently it is scored a 7. However after looking at it again today I feel very compelled to re-score it for the next TDM leader-board. I simply haven't scored it right this time round. I will soon. Watch this space.

Flat Dual - 5.4

This is another from Oodle!
It looks like a pretty simple map, and it is. I can't see anything that looks bad in this.. it's clear that Oodle knows his eye-candy.
If you look carefully he has made the pit an "equal opportunity" pit for both classes - the spikes at the sides will prevent most archers from re-surfacing.
The one-way blocks add a bit of nice tactical play. I think this map is good enough to be a default map. I scored it higher than the average score for it, but you do definately need more than one opinion in a judging contest like this.

• All new CTFs are being hosted in Map Maker's Corner!

And news just in: This contest will be hosted for another month! A new category might be appearing shortly.

 

Arigatou daskew-kun! :3
Edit:

I really want to read your review man!

Reedit: @8x rekt

 

pls Vamist gib rebirth pls

 

I don't see any faces, but a rathian

Spoiler

I wonder why my map don't show up in the leader-board. I don't want to praise myself, but I managed to solve stalemate problems and at the same time prevent rushing with my unique map-architecture.

 

Another month, another pack of map then. It is time for my wild cards.
Im glad for the time extinsion, the contest becomes more popular so we can see all these good maps, GG contest!

 

***Announcement time again!

New leader-boards CTF #8 and TDM #6 will soon be arriving...

(The new category is still in development)



Note: Thanks to all you crazy mappers "Map-maker's corner" is doing very well and getting comments such as: "Another map a new adventure lol"

 

I love the maps you make @8x I wish mine could be as good.

 

Return of the Leader-boards!

Yay.

CTF #8


FULL MAP IMAGES (of new CTFs)

Maps by @Shadowor

Arch tower - 5.4

It's interesting. I want to play on it. But the amazing big dirt-fort in the middle is maybe just too extreme. Once you've taken it, unless half your team leaves, you've won.
I would like to point out though this is by no means a bad map. It will fit very nicely into Map-maker's Corner... the place to see nice and kinda crazy creations.

Drums Of War - 6.65

This is a good solid map. The flags for me are a little too close to the spawn, but appart from that great job.
There are 3 natural levels to fight on here, mixing things up pleasingly.
The terrain is placed rather well - some nice spacious rooms and little islands. Offensive builders will be a must whilst playing this one. And I also like a lot the stone-blocks inside the caves; that will look pretty nice. All the gold is in the middle section, making it an even more competitive place to war.
There's something about the bottom tunnel I'm not liking too much. Maybe just because it's not as engaging as the other two levels, it's a bit flat without too much going on and I'm not sure how valueable it would be.
One last criticism I want to add to this actually pretty decent map is that it maybe lacks some bedrock to re-inforce the structural integrity of the tunnels. I'm not asking for much, but it's good to have a little there to maintain the character of the map as a whole.

Zephyr Lake - 7.05

When I first saw the PNG for this my eyes lit-up. It looks ultra-dynamic and like great fun to play. The big-picture aethetics are top-end in my opinion.
I'm so impressed with Shadowor now, I believe there have been marvellous improvements made to his mapping techniques.
The use of the 3 lakes at the bottom will add a some gritty-play in the middle. There's even some bedrock pasted down there to control the water-ways from getting out of hand. You might think the very bottom cave is unlikely to be used, but I would say it's a delightful 'nook and crannie' added that doesn't harm anything and could even create some compelling tunnellor moments.
The islands will have archers peeing their pants with enjoyment, but also because they are so easy to build to, knights are likely to gain plenty of access too.
The criticisms to end on here are that I feel the eye-candy of the islands and dirt-background looks a bit prosaic.
But the Score is well-deserved.

Map by @Gurin

Double Sided - 7.25

It's very professional-looking. I really like the way the tunnels have been done with the strips of wooden-background and wood-blocks.
The bedrock placement is great, balanced and should hold this baby up well during a match.
This is a 3-flagger. I like this sometimes because the furthest out flag can really help to kick-start a game as sometimes it's quite far-out and easy to grab.
It doesn't seem like there's much stone on this map. It might run out too quick. Though not all maps have to have mountains of resources. I think this could work-well for this one because it will cause the tunnels to open up quickly due to mining. Due to this these tunnels may be a viable attack route, and not terribly closed off.
I feel similar to this one as I did for the tiny CTF "Stone Throw". The eye-candy and terrain-balance are implemented perfectly, albeit without any particularly striking gimmick present. On the whole, it's a superb map.

Map by @8x

ManBats Dance - 6.7

The third map from 8x.
If you haven't noticed it's full of dark tunnels that are partially lit-up ^^. As an adventure-novelty map I would give it an 8 out of 10 as it breeds a very interesting style of play.
After seeing this map I really think that there should be a server dedicated to what I might refer to as "Adventure-novelty" CTFs. There are tons of great ideas like this map that don't fit into the normal narrative of how a CTF should be. After hosting "Map-maker's Corner" it's clear that large amounts of Kaggers actually relish crazy CTFs.
Back to the map though...
I love it. It's evident that a lot of thought has been put into it's construction.
There will be a lot of "Shadowy" stealth tactics used here, which is not often used in games of KAG but has been brought out beautifully here.
I have just one beef. I believe more gold should be added to increase the use of sneaky travel-tunnels.
Asside from that, the cave systems look great and are lit up "just right". I also like the use of bedrock. It ramps up the strategic element of the map, as you can't dig through some parts, but others you can - and the deligation of such is sublime. Did I mention the eye-candy is without problems too?
Thanks 8x for bending our minds again :P

Map by @kodysch (aka Oodle)

Stone Throw - 6.8

This is a lovely little map. It's 120 wide, making it super-super-small.
Looking at it you can see a very well-toned style, it's beautiful.
The balance is perfect, and the Eye-candy is... well, perfect. The Gold, stone and trees are all very appropriately placed and amounts gauged.
If I was to say give me a typical, really nicely done CTF KAG map and fit it all into just 120 wide, I'd hope to get this.
I'm not going to mention the size as a disadvantage here; infact I believe Small CTF could be turned into a new thing.
I would mention though that there are no real gimmicks to the map, if not for the size. The islands, rooms and caves are all pretty standard (though done perfectly). However I'm almost certain this was Oodle's intention.

Lil bonus!

I loaded it onto Map-maker's Corner and thought, hmmm the whole map can be seen zoomed out so I recorded a public match, sped it up and made a video.




TDM #6


FULL MAP IMAGES (of new TDMs)

Maps by @Shadowor

A Bridge Too Far - 5.95

This map looks a bit basic on the block diversity, but I wouldn't mind playing on it.
It would be cool to see what would happen when a couple of enemy knights fall down onto the lower level!
I also think the stone blocks have been placed very well.

Ancient Ruins - 6.55

This one looks like a bit of fun.
I like how it's all on a sort-of dirt pillar, but not a big floating island. I find that rather noteworthy.
I think it might be a little bit too compressed with many passages being only 2 blocks wide. But other than that it does look like a very decent creation, and I think the eye-candy is strong here aswell.

Seasons - 5

This is a cute little map that has it's own little charm.
Each of the 4 sections are meant to be seasons and given the tiletset KAG has it's done admirably.
It's a good novelty map in my opinion. But getting kind of trapped in each of the sections with almost nowhere to run and little space to battle it out might not be something people keep coming back to.
There's a lot of positivity though about making fresh stuff and seeing what works and why.

Map by @kodysch

Which Way? edited - 7.65

Oodle came back to us with an edited version of said map.
I said in the map review of the first version that I judge it again as I felt it deserved a better score.
Guro scored both versions the same. I however thought that the first one was a little better than this. However this is pretty gleaming too.
I see more colour added and corridors mildy altered etc.
I think it's been slightly overcomplicated. The first one was done just right, and don't get me wrong... this is still a brilliant map. I just happen to prefer the old one - the one that's now scored a 7.95 on the leader-board.

~All new CTFs have been added to the server Map-maker's Corner!

 

Yay I was waiting for this. Stone Throw is a very cute map, looking forward to play on it (sounds like mice having a war) :3 good job everyone

 

i think it could be added to the official map pool for some intense battles yeah @8x

 

A Third Category

It had to be TTH... how predictable



~The prizes are exactly the same for this category.

TTH I feel is a greatly under-played gamemode. Give her a few more maps and I'm sure she'll blossom into a big-buxom beauty



So the question is... Who's man-enough to to dominate this board?

(Some basic advice: Typically make the maps a bit bigger than CTF. Also try to allow different routes to the halls. Gorilla-warfare is what TTH is all about. Ultimately though, make what you think will be good, as I'm not sure anyone knows what the best ways are to make maps for this game-mode)


~Map-maker's Corner TTH! will be launched soon after the first submissions...

 

I just made one for TTH, I think it's really good.