Top 5 Best Built Maps

[Giver]

Hello once again everyone!

As you may know there have been plenty of threads on "Top 5 Maps, Top 5 worst maps, etc..."
But I figured I would make something a little different.. I haven't seen this thread anywhere yet, so forgive me if someone has already created it. But anyway, I wanted to see everyones opinion on the most well built maps they have seen.

So I am proud to announce the Top 5 Best Built Maps Tread!

It could be a map that is already on the servers, one that is in the finished maps section, or one that was on the servers and has been removed. You can also choose a map from any and all game types found on MCGamer, so don't feel like you have to stick with just Survival Games Maps.

There are certain qualities to look for in a map to consider is being called well built.
For Example:

• Detail: Detail is one of the key features for a map to be successful. For instance, a map could have the most spectacular buildings and landscapes you've ever seen, but what can look like a million bucks on the outside, could look like a few pennies on the inside... Interior and exterior both have to balance each other out, without a strong interior, a building won't look good no matter how well the exterior is. Now when is comes too landscapes, let's take a cave for example.. The outside and inside could be terraformed to perfection, but if the inside does not have great detail such as: vines, mossy blocks, rivers, plants, spikes, etc. all the beautiful terraforming virtually goes to waste. So remember to pay special attention to how the builders have detailed their maps while choosing your select few.

• Terraforming: We all know that a map is nothing without terraforming.. Nobody would like a map that has beautiful structures built on a flat world. There's nothing like playing a map that has fantastic mountains, hill, caves, lakes, etc. all these are key features to a successful map. So while you are choosing your selections, remember to take into consideration the terraforming that the map creators took the time to do.

• Theming: No map would look good without a strong theme. For example: anyone could build a town full of houses, but if every house had a different block variety and different themes, it wouldn't look very nice now would it? When choosing your top 5, remember to look for good theming, look for good block variations, great color schemes, and a great mixture between the structures and the biomes found around the map.

• Layout: Sometimes builders will try to stuff as much as they can into a small area in oder to give their maps variety, but as many of you know, quality is much preferred over quantity in many cases.. Especially when building a solid map. For example, on an SG map, it's good to have wide open spaces for a good PvP aspect, but also to have nice detailed spaces full of structures for the hunting for treasure aspect in SG. While picking your favorite maps, be sure to pay attention to this quality. As no map is complete without it a great layout.

• Theming(again): I know we already discussed this, but I feel like there are two types of ways when it comes to theming.. The one I mentioned above and also the one I am about to tell you. Say someone has an idea to create a map based on an Airport. Now obviously you would put airplanes, an airport, possibly some cars, and some stores. But there are other things to take into consideration when it comes to going off a certain theme like that as well... Things such as Landscape, things that could relate to the theme but don't represent it entirely, minor detailing that goes a long way, etc. When choosing your favorites take into consideration how well the maps fit the theme they are going off of.

Everyone has their own opinion, so I encourage all of you to choose based off of your own opinion.
This isn't a popularity contest, for instance, the map could be one that is rarely every played, but if in your eyes it is the most well built map you have seen, by all means put it on your list. I want to know what maps you think the creators took all all the things I stated above into consideration and put into their maps.

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I can't wait to hear all of your Top 5's!
Comment yours down below!

 

[Aidan]

Didnt feel like reading the whole thing. But nice thread.

 

[BenjiBaeb]

1 - Fallen Empire
2 - Lost Ridge
3 - Kharmunrah
4 - Alaskan Village
5 - Lobby Games

(Old maps, but I love em :3 <3)

 

[Aidan]

(Not in Order)

1 - Lobby Games Though I lag a lot and I dont necessarily enjoy playing it, it is still very well built and VERY detailed. The main castle East from spawn is especially detailed and it very very thought out. The routes also seem very thought out, and it looks like it took a very long time to make, and they did a very good job.

2 - Valleyside University A lot of people will probably say this for some obvious reasons but here is why it seems good. It has several choke points that were probably very thought out with breaks and such, also the routes seem very lopsided and Audi, Football, and Parking seem OP, the map is very balanced. Going Huahwi, Lever, and Gym will get you very stacked, and going A will also get you pretty stacked. Another thing to mention is the traps, and lava jumps and things like that which are obviously very thought out xD

3 - Survival Games 4 Another very thought out map, and very popular map that deserves some recognition on this thread. The balance on SG4 is so crazy :3 I could name like 5 choke points and 10 separate OP routes. This map is great for teams and for battles, and must have taken a VERY long time to build and then fix when the devs broke it xD

4 - Fallen Empire V2.0 Though this map is very unpopular with most competitive players, it is very well built. For example the layering from spawn being levels higher than the main map, and the actual spawn being a huge detailed arena which I personally think is very cool :3

5 - Zone 85 / Zone 85 Revamped Both of these maps have immense details and balance, with routes and buildings. The cave I personally think is awesome it is the only map I know that has a huge cave like that besides Alaskan :3

 

[Freshly]

Wyverns Wake
Lobby Games
Teweran SG 2
Valleyside University
SG Highway

 

[Nikola]

WYVERNS WAKE OMG IL THAT MAP <3

 

[Almighty]

SG2
The Lobby Games
Fortress Pyke
TSG1
Highway

 

[Seekr99]

1. Vallyside University
2. SG4
3. Par 72
4. Alaskan Village
5. Zone 85/Revamped

 

[MahoganyCrafter]

Begin list of long explanations and stuff!
5: The Survival Games 5:
The Survival Games 5 is the final Vareide map on the MCGamer Network. This map is based on "The Day after Tomorrow" with New York City buried in snow. This map is very unique in the sense that Snow/Arctic maps aren't very common. The builds are very detailed with even a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

4: Icarus Fallen:
Icarus Fallen is a sequel to the map Moonbase 9. Unlike other maps, this map has a story to it. It is a very balanced map with a very straightforward theme.

3: Teweran Survival Games - Howling Mountains:
Teweran Survival Games is more or less themed on Skyrim, with the Dragon in the sky, the icy river, tall mountains, etc. This map is very balanced and very detailed with many redstone puzzles and secrets.

2: Mockingjay:
Mockingjay is a relatively new map based on the movie "The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 1". This map is very detailed with builds such as the Justice Building, Victors' Village, Textile factories, etc. Although there isn't much Terraforming, it still is very unique.

1: The Survival Games:
I dread to think that many people believe this to be a lackluster, under detailed, or a flat out bad map. This was the first Survival Games map ever, and spawned the MCGamer Network as we know it today. Many modern players absolutely hate this map, but for many Veterans to Survival Games, it is full of nostalgia.

These are just my personal opinions of favorite maps, no hate plz ty

 

[Giver]

Begin list of long explanations and stuff!
5: The Survival Games 5:
The Survival Games 5 is the final Vareide map on the MCGamer Network. This map is based on "The Day after Tomorrow" with New York City buried in snow. This map is very unique in the sense that Snow/Arctic maps aren't very common. The builds are very detailed with even a replica of the Statue of Liberty.

4: Icarus Fallen:
Icarus Fallen is a sequel to the map Moonbase 9. Unlike other maps, this map has a story to it. It is a very balanced map with a very straightforward theme.

3: Teweran Survival Games - Howling Mountains:
Teweran Survival Games is more or less themed on Skyrim, with the Dragon in the sky, the icy river, tall mountains, etc. This map is very balanced and very detailed with many redstone puzzles and secrets.

2: Mockingjay:
Mockingjay is a relatively new map based on the movie "The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 1". This map is very detailed with builds such as the Justice Building, Victors' Village, Textile factories, etc. Although there isn't much Terraforming, it still is very unique.

1: The Survival Games:
I dread to think that many people believe this to be a lackluster, under detailed, or a flat out bad map. This was the first Survival Games map ever, and spawned the MCGamer Network as we know it today. Many modern players absolutely hate this map, but for many Veterans to Survival Games, it is full of nostalgia.

These are just my personal opinions of favorite maps, no hate plz ty

Great reply! I love how you explained how each map is special, thank you!

 

[SuperxAndrew]

Zone 85 cuz best... xD

I'll answer for real leaving out my maps to avoid bias:

1. Teweran Survival Games 2:
I still like to maintain the mindset that Teweran was the best thing that ever happened to MCSG/MCG. Teweran 2 was released during the time period where MCSG was exploding in popularity. TSG2 IS one of the best built maps considering overall building and pvp qualities. It has the best of both worlds, and I have a hard time thinking of a map that compares to it.

2. The Survival Games 2:
In the eyes of modern builders, this map may not seem all that impressive. Sure, the buildings are humongous, but it lacks detail and design considered the norm by today's builds. However, one must consider when it was built. This was built before people knew how to make things look good in Minecraft; this was built before people were able to make builds in scales as large as it is; this was built before world edit and voxel sniper were updated and easy to use as they are today; this was built before.... this list could go on. However, I think you guys will get my point. SG2 was unprecedented and WAAAAY ahead of its time. It brings nostalgia to those lucky enough to have experienced it in its prime, good gameplay, and overall builds that have not been matched by todays inflated standards.

3. Teweran SG1:
This map was ahead of its time. Nothing on the map really stands out or is all that impressive by today's standards, but overall, this map is very solid and has very few, if any, building flaws. It brought unique gameplay when it came out (it was the first map to involve ice), and also was very aesthetically pleasing.

4. The Survival Games 5:
I often feel like no one ever gave this map a chance. The snow and unusual cornucopia seemed to have driven people away before the map could really be appreciated for what it was: a masterpiece. Sure it may have had some flaws here and there, but the scale and detail put into the map shows an elite level of building.

5. Survival Kingdom:
I was lucky enough to know the creator of this from way back and get a personal tour of the map. The amount of detail, thought, and overall effort put into the map is definitely more than meets the eye. There are so many puzzles, secret rooms, and areas of the map that I didn't even know existed, nor have I ever seen anyone else in these rooms. The map truly has depth and detail beyond 99% of the other maps. Not to mention the builds themselves are very nice (maybe a bit outdated, but good for 2012 when the map was released).

Honorable Mentions:
SG Highway:
This map is the only pvp based map that I think can qualify for "best built". While the map focuses mainly on pvp aspects, Static Nightmare did a fantastic job with all the builds and design, which allowed it to land on my list.

Overgrown Arena:
Most of you probably don't even know what this map is, and those of you who do know will have to think way back to MCSG Beta and MCSG v1. I can't say enough about this map, because like SG2, it was ahead of its time. The builds were jaw-dropping and the overall design of the map was fantastic. It got a bad rep because it was so big and lacked chests. However, if you have never heard of it, the map trailer is definitely worth looking up on YouTube.

Like I said, I left out my own maps to avoid bias, but they wouldn't have made this list anyway. Most of these maps are "oldies but goodies". There are plenty of good newer maps, but most are based more on the pvp side of things rather than the building side of things, and this thread is "top 5 best built maps". Also, most newer maps don't even compare with these given the time period some of these were built in. Proportionally to the time period, most newer maps don't hold up.

I left out fan-favorites such as SG4 and Valleyside, because while both of these maps are absolutely fantastic for pvp, neither of them possess good enough builds to be involved in a top-5 best built maps list.
I also left out maps that are well built, but neglected the pvp side of things such as Teweran SG3. Even the prettiest maps have to be playable to a certain extent.

Please don't kill me, these are just my opinions.

 

[iTheManWithNoName]

Valleyside University: Lots of tier 2's
Par 72: Lots of tier 2's
Zone 85: Lots of tier 2's
SG Highway: Lots of tier 2's
SG Adrenalin: Lots of tier 2's