Wargrounds of Scape (WoS) - discussion thread

[dok]

Fire Isles - OEAO edition (originally by yagyuninja, modified by OEAO)

It’s not a secret at this point that I’m one of the more nostalgia-driven WoS judges. I was disappointed when Fire Isles didn’t make the transition from BoV to WoS. I felt, and continue to feel, that the style of gameplay that Fire Isles creates is unique and fun and good for the metagame.

That said, I recognize that original Fire Isles had a few issues that did keep cropping up:

• The molten lava strip in the middle, in addition to creating all the lava dunk issues that molten lava can create, also had the potential to create “ring around the lava” endgames where one side plays keep-away. I didn’t see it happen often, but it could happen.
• The “Kaemon perch” on the side of the map, surrounded by water could also create some pretty ugly endgames.
• The annoyance of that one space that looked like it was part of the startzone but wasn’t. I’ve seen lots of figures placed on that spot at the start of games.

The updated version of the map addresses all these issues:

• The molten strip is replaced by water, with a 4 space bypass in the middle to allow for jumping from one lava field height to the other. I’ve enjoyed this tactical change to the map - it’s significant but not so dramatic that it changes the feel of the gameplay.
• The sandbars on the sides are reworked completely, so there is no longer an elevated perch, and the glyphs can be accessed without dropping into water first.
• Likewise, the startzone is reworked and are now clear and intuitive.

The biggest issue I have with this version is that 6 move flyers can reach one glyph and not the other. I have workshopped alternative layouts for the sides of the map that would solve this, but ultimately I didn’t find anything that didn’t have worse drawbacks. And there is at least some compensation in the form of having easier access to height overlooking the more distant glyph.

At any rate, this is certainly my favorite RotV+VW map, and among my favorite lava-using maps overall. The minor quibble I have about glyph distances isn’t enough to turn me away. I was mulling over nominating it myself and was happy to see Sheep put it forward. YES to induct.

[Matthias Maccabeus]

No Aloha by Ulysses. Marvel x 2, BftU, TJ

Ulysses is probably my favorite “newer” map maker. I really enjoy quite a few of his maps.

As mentioned when reviewing Nightfall, I’m definitely not a fan of all the sets it takes to build No Aloha. No Aloha has a hill in the middle with the rock outcrop smack dab in the middle. Dungeon is used for defensive positions along the base of the hill with jungle as well to help melee make the approach. This did help against range.

This map is quite cramped when pushing forward. There’s not much room to maneuver unless you want to go up, which slows you down. The Marvel walls only complicate this without providing much cover. You notice this especially when you go right out of the start zone. There’s a Marvel wall, jungle bush single hex that can be locked down quite easily. Once you get pass the hill the map opens up a bit more and plays a bit more freely.

One can use the wings a bit to try and come through, but those aren’t really any more open than the hill area. Then you can get into a bit of ring around the rosey with the hill in the middle.

The map is OK, but with all the sets used and the middle being cramped for melee I vote NO to induct.