StarCraft 2 Melee Map Contest

i have nothing to say that hasn`t been said below me

it`s a good map

Wow, I reviewed some of funcmode's other maps in this contest, but Dunes of Dispair is his best yet!

This map feels right.

Sit back and look at the main bases, the outer ridges, just get the overall impression: the parts of this map blend together and things just make sense. Look at the intersection outside the natural of the secret passageway and the open center; it's an interesting battleground. The backdoor doesn't seem like such a liability as on say Blistering Sands--players can knock down their own backdoor when they are ready to take the third base, nestled snugly up against the main.

The two expansions at the outer ridges also make sense. I can go for the safer, if far, regular expo, or take the gold. What I like is that the gold is sort of in the open, but if I control my own ridge and tower, it will pay off in the defense of the gold expo. Too many maps just leave the gold fluttering in the wind, too exposed.

The visual design is tight and sensible. At a high level we see structure, organic and water areas blending together, creating different "places" on the map. For instance, the center is well-defined and interesting. My only minor complaint here is that the outer ridges are a bit plain.

Honestly, I think this map could be on the ladder. It has no obvious balance flaws, but better yet brings the intangible "this is a cool battlefield" effect to the game.

This is one of the best custom melee maps I've played on to date. Excellent combinations of open spaces and choke points and the overall size fits the map perfectly. Just the right amount of expansions in good locations for both long, macro games and short, straight-up battles.

The watchtower placement is spot on, as they offer key vision of most of the middle, yet it's still possible to attack through the destructible rocks unseen, meaning players who rely on the tower's vision too much will be punished.

The gold expansions are hard to defend but still very much an option to the player, and since they're so open and can also be attacked from the nearby high-ground, I don't think destructible rocks blocking them is a necessity. A player who expands here before having the necessary forces to defend it will most likely lose.

Having played a bunch of games on this map, and the more I look at it - the more apparent it becomes that practically any tactic or strategy is viable, making for some very interesting games. Not to mention the fact that it looks really nice.

Overall, an excellent map. This could show up on the ladder and I think anyone who didn't already know would assume this map was made by Blizzard.

Actually a pretty nice map; I only have a couple concerns about it, but it seems like a pretty standard map. I've also noticed that the shallow-pathable water is becoming popular... :P

Textures are nice but could use more doodads in the non-pathable areas just to make the map look cooler. Or even doodads that don't block pathing anywhere would be good. The towers are placed in such a way that doesn't really make them competitive since both players have their own tower on their side of the map... considering those towers can see any land attack early game, they should be more competitive, such as one tower in the shallow water. Lastly, the high yields, in my opinion, should have destructible rocks at them since they are out of range of the towers, and sometimes people don't have the skills or time to scout them constantly.

Awesome map. Great detail. Couldn't find any issues with it.

Has a bit too many minerals for my tastes, but most do these days.

"Excellent