DeltaSiegeDry_Deluxe_V3 doesnt have splats, speculars, but it does have detailtexture map giving this sandy look. It uses smd. Its decent quality though.
SapphireShores_V2.1 has splat and speculars, uses smd instead of mapinfo.lua. Not a good candidate. Nice map.
Obsidian_0.1_Beta has splat and speculars, the newest version also have grass and trees but it uses smd(why is @theMooseLoose using smd on every single map of his?) and doesnt have SSMF. Its supposedly still WIP though. Quite eye pleaseing (at least the newest version).
You mentioned Conquest_of_Paradise_v1 in our conversation
Shadowfury333. Well it does have speculars and nothing else. It also uses smd. It is ok map.
OnyxCauldron1.6 has speculars, splat, nicely done water but uses smd and has no grass nor features. However it is a beutiful map asthetics wise but technically wise it doesnt meet all the expectacions but seems decent enough to not need any corrections.
And we get to final mentioned map wich is Ravagedv2. This map is very nicely done and really eye pleasing (more than its orginal version even imo). It has almost everything: detailtexture, speculars, grass, splat, nicely done water, features you name it. The only 2 things that it lacks is normal map (but it wouldnt really benefit from normal map) and mapinfo.lua.
I say that is a model we should be striving for with every map we re/make.
I am also considering to narrow the scope of the project rather majorly due to fact that it looks like almost every single featured map should be upgraded in one way or another. Maby with some exceptions such as Onyx Claudron and Ravaged.
I would narrow it only to maps with very good design such as Red Comet, Comet Catcher, Cooper Hill, Tartarus etc. I would like to hear opinions upon that fact and also proposals wich maps exacly has best designs in your opinion.
Edit: Also isn't it ironic that a Stacraft map is a standart map for our project?
Edit2: Edited the post so that it wont use silly "SSMF" word as it is not really explicit.
