https://scmscx.com/search/volcano%20escape
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=starcraft+volcano+run
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHL1Ha6gJ9Q&ab_channel=Izanagi
First of all I need to know if a good Volcano Escape type map already exists just like The Thing has numerous Mafia maps better than the actual The Thing.
Second of all I'd like to know if the person who made the Among Us map is in here with us right now and how long it took him to make that map.
Long time no see.
So this will be a new one for this forum. Before I even begin to create the map, I need the game design document first. I am looking to discuss and get advice on map design for Volcano Escape. Evac sequences have always been my favourite but it's a niche for the zombie escape crowd that only enjoy the escape part.
This is an untapped potential genre with only a few maps created which aren't very good, so the potential to make a Volcano Escape map better than its predecessors is much easier than others.
Escape The Fish, Volcano Run, Infested Run, Escape the Lava. For the longest time I thought Escape The Fish happened on a Twilight tileset and was called Escape the Ice.
I saw someone here trying to make a cooler looking volcano and make it on the ashlands tileset, but gameplay wise it had the same flawed design philosophy as most Volcano Escape maps.
Lava unit; So first of all the "lava" unit that's utilized, I'm thinking of changing it to reavers, reason being that they're slow and ranged yet the scarabs still have to pass through the buildings. Only downside is that scarabs have an AoE larger than a siege tank. The reason I want a replacement for the lava unit is that zerglings tend to run off and ignore the blockades and can often chase your probe through the cracks. As such even Ultralisks would be a better unit, but I prefer ranged enemy units so my probe and my buildings don't get body blocked.
Map layout; the terrain actually needs to be blocky or made in such a way to maximize building pylons.
Jumping; None. I do not believe in jumping in a RTS game. I do believe in something else instead.
Lava swimming; Worker units have the natural property of going through units if you click on a mineral chunk or gas. As such I can create sections where you're forced to swim through lava.
HP/Shield reg; Triggers can easily restore your HP or shields in certain areas, allowing lava swimming to be possible without requiring shield upgrades.
Upgrades; Enemy damage upgrades or Prottoss shields upgrade can be utilized to set the difficulty and allow for solo play.
Unit orders; Lava can be ordered and turn players to ally or given to a neutral CPU in order to try to simulate lava flow redirection and cooled off lava.
Micro-management; Building a huge amount of pylons can be relatively micro intensive. If I modify this I have to keep in mind the balance, since I can potentially allow
Teleportation; A player will be able to teleport to any player without requiring permission to do so. Without any cooldown. Environmental teleportation can also be used to stop jumping over buildings.
Income; Income in this game is earned the old fashioned mining way, but Escape The Fish gives you free minerals for advancing. I could reward the player minerals or gas for building. Some maps even had messages appear if you built pylons really fast, but it was badly implemented by giving no bonuses and having the required time under 1 game second/12 deaths.
Tele blockades I could ignore the type of unit used for the lava and the layout and blockades used and simply teleport the player by having him solve some puzzles or complete some prerequisites such as placing units & buildings in the correct locations.
Timestop or infinite infinite reg blockade I could have it so after you finish clearing blockades instead of ignoring them you could get granted extra time by ordering the AI to stop or providing an infinite reg build while you build and also reward you for building in the areas where you previously destroyed the blockades or mined with the probe. If it's mineral chunk blockades I could have some removed after some time to let the lava pass through. I could also allow the lava to use teleportation such when terraining a bridge for the lava to go under.
Resources; Pylons are free, but anything else costs money and requires pylons and is harder to place due to its size.
Blockades; Pylons & Probes make it so you are unable to get stuck in your own buildings which makes this map concept possible to begin with, but pylons are often squishy in this map and consume only 4 tiles, making it hard to fill up a region unless it's a narrow canyon which can also have problems of accidentally blocking yourself. In most maps the blockades are far too squishy.
Strategy; The strategy and main gameplay of the map is to know when to build, where to build, both blockades and units.
Balance; Balance is a serious issue where either the map is too hard or too easy with no inbetween and as such the ability to upgrade either the blockades or enemy damage is extremely useful. And as such narrow canyons become extremely useful in the player's advantage. I could go as far as only utilizing 1 or 5 units to run away from as opposed to an army. I think Reavers might be useful, but scarabs are painful to upgrade accordingly without EUDs.
I could reduce the micro-intensive gameplay of spamming B+P orders by introducing 2 strategies; Most terrain cannot be built on and instead you have to build specific buildings on specific locations and do specific combinations of buildings in certain areas to have their HP increased. You can build all your blockades for free, but if you either do not have enough gas or minerals AND do not build them on specific locations then they automatically get set to 1% HP or blow up in your face. The player will know this via tutorials, messages on locations and terrain and sprite cues. Either burrowed passable units or cloaked aerial units could be used to save on locations.
Obviously EUDs will help the map make it more seamless such as being able to pass through your own buildings instead of doing something weird with a shuttle/dropship and a location centered on it utilizing the 6 altitudes to stop the shuttles from exiting certain areas.
Nexuses could be preplaced or simply remove the mineral chunks and Nexuses from the equation to save on space. I could instead just utilize a simple spawner.
Flaws of previous maps;
-People wouldn't build blockades and often get a game over after wasting a good amount of time.
-The map would force you to master jumping which invalidates the building blockades aspect.
-Being forced to destroy blockades with offensive units such as zealots & dragoons makes it counterintuitive since you cannot patch back the walls.
-You cannot teleport to other players often leaving the builder behind. So people would also be extra careful about building blockades ahead to not block the previous builder.
-Blockade builders wouldn't get rewarded accordingly for their efforts and get left behind.
-Lava AI would refuse to navigate narrow tunnels, attack buildings and get stuck into each other making it almost part of the map's strategy which isn't very reliable and balanced.
-Often there'd be enemy units at the end which force you to attack with your own units or luck out dodging them.
-The map's longevity like most arcade maps & zombie maps is highly reliant on your lack of knowledge. You cannot pre-test to see how good a wall is and the intensive teamwork requirement makes it painful to solo the map unless it's that special version where all you do is jump.
Philosophy;
An escape sequence is something any zombie map has, it comes naturally. Volcano Escape takes this concept and refines it and adds a building aspect to it. Cat n Mouse Ore Wars has it.
Because it's a niche it only appeals to certain people, as such it requires to pander to congruent people such as builders & runners that come from tower defense games and zombie survival games. As such you can imagine why jumping through buildings and having to build blockades contradicts each other just like that 1 map that tried to combine Defense & Bounds in 1 map. As opposed to Poker Defense that naturally hybridized together without its elements working against each other. Tower Defense players aren't known for micro-management/dexterity/quick reactions.
The map should come with different names and be open to edit complete with pre 256x256 working space and messages because this is a map I'd like to spread around.
Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 28 2025, 10:57 pm by FlameViper.
None.
