Hello! I'm N8thanH, and welcome back to Across the Map!

For today's post, I wanted to show you guys a PvP (Player versus Player) map I made: Golden Mesa! It is inspired by canyon-type structures that you can see in the United States desert. This is what I have been working on for the past week. I wanted to get a post out on it last week, but I caught a cold, and I just couldn't get it done in time. But, I'm feeling better now, and at least I have something to show. Something indeed!


Anywhere you go for scenery, or if you are looking for something to make a good cinematic shot, lighting can make it a ton more beautiful. That is why I used Glowstone as one of the layers, and why this map looks amazing at night! (Gee, I wonder how awesome this map would look with a Shader? Do you guys know any ones that aren't too intensive? I do all my Minecraft stuff on my laptop, and it usually runs at 45 FPS.)


Do you guys know about my homemade texture pack, FreshCraft? Have I ever told the story of the Glowstone texture? If so, then skip the below paragraph, but if not, here it is now:

I started playing Minecraft during 1.0, the first official version, and there weren't any current tutorials, so I was learning off of PaulSoaresJr's Alpha/Beta tutorials. I remember that when he was doing his first Nether adventure, he looked up at the ceiling, and pointed out the Glowstone. I think the video was at a sorta-low resolution, so my imagination wondered about what the amazing glowstone that hung from the Nether's ceiling.

But then I learned how it really looked, and was kind of disappointed. So, in my texture pack, I made it the magnificent block I imagined it to be! I think it looks amazing in this map. It makes everything seem that much more vibrant.


I don't want to give away my plan for the map yet, since I don't want anyone taking the idea. But, I'll say that this is just one map out of several planned, and I will tell you about the bare-bones goal.

If you haven't noticed these gold blocks, I placed them to indicate "points" that players will have to visit to win. I haven't designed the points yet, so I used these as markers for where I'll put them.


On each map, there is a room players will have to run to every-so-often. This map will be 2-player, so there are rooms for each player. However, I could, and may add support for multiple players to join in.



Okay. I don't have much time, and I'm putting in some extra time to work on the post at night, but I will go over the different areas of the map I designed, so I can share my thoughts with you all! :)

What gives this map its name is the Mesa (a hill with cliffs on all sides) right at the center. To make it, I began with a large mound, and went around the sides with an Air Brush.


From doing that, I made trenches as a byproduct. But, I ended up adding them on purpose on other areas.

There is a  little hoodoo! It was neat to make, and it is a fun place to put a knock-knock joke I came up with. A larger one looms over it in the background.



The second area I made was this patch of tall spikes. I thought it would be fun to try to climb up to the "point" I hid at the very top! But, since players will have punch bows and some arrows, I imagine it will be very rewarding!



Over here, there are some hollow structures. Just for fun, but the hill could make a fun death pit! ;)


On the other edge of the map, there are mostly just tall hills. There isn't a lot too them, but two of them have "points" since they are particularly interesting.


I placed a "point" on this one, since I imagine it would encourage some fun battles for control of the point.


This hill stands out because it has a small waterfall. I assure you, it has a "point," but it's not immediately visible...


You have to shift to the right while facing the waterfall to reveal it. It's in a small crevice!

 Well, that is the map! I hope you like it, and all the players of the map will have lots of fun, but if you have any feedback, I am happy to hear it. Once again, thanks for stopping by my blog! I'll see you all next post. Until then!