Tournament Map Contest 2012: Round 1, Group 4

[Rÿchean]

Tournament Map Contest 2012
Voters - please vote for which maps you think are the most well designed for tournament play. The criteria for what is tournament worthy is entirely up to you. You may vote more than once.

This is the voting thread for Group 4. Please vote in the other threads as well:
http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ad.php?t=41294
http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ad.php?t=41295
http://www.heroscapers.com/community...ad.php?t=41296


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1. Hot Potato by Zettian Juggernaut

Originally Posted by Zettian Juggernaut

Hot Potato
Author: Zettian Juggernaut
Sets: RotV x1, VW x1
Glyphs: Two Random Glyphs

2. Hive In A Basket by TheSparkleInYourWater

Originally Posted by TheSparkleInYourWater

The Swamp/Lava combo seems to have been a popular one.



Glyphs are optional and may be Power Glyphs or Treasure Glyphs.

Treasure Glyph Trap:
Your choice
or
Swamp Gators: Destroy a small or medium figure you control who is standing on a swamp water space.

3. Reset by capsocrates

Originally Posted by capsocrates

Reset


1xRotV, 1xBftU
Supports two random power glyphs.

See here for discussion and feedback.

4. Highland Road by Boromir96

Originally Posted by boromir96

ENTRY 1: Highland Road
Author: Boromir96
Sets: RotV x1, RttFF x1
Suggested Glyphs: Any 2 random Glyphs.

Notes: If you'd like you can check out these two Pictured Battle Reports to get an idea of how this map plays.~B96

5. Fortified Crossing by Louisan

Originally Posted by quozl

Fortified Crossing
PDF download

6. Peat Fire by Killometer

Originally Posted by Killometer

Peat Fire
requires 1 SotM, 1 VW
supports 2 random power glyphs and 2 random treasure glyphs
Swamp Gas trap included in build directions
-Your opponent rolls an attack die. If the result is a skull, the triggering figure takes one wound, and, if possible, you must inflict a wound on an adjacent figure.

7. Waterway Cavern by qt.bangerang

Originally Posted by qt.bangerang

Here is my 2nd entry:
Waterway Cavern
Requires 1 RotV, 1 BftU
Supports 3 random treasure glyphs

8. Leviathan by Typhon2222

Originally Posted by Typhon2222

Leviathan (v4) Download PDF
Uses: 1 SotM, 1 BftU.
Glyphs: 2 Wannok, 1 random.



Comments on the map:

Spoiler Alert!

• Proof against Z-bombs.
• Eight walk to left glyph. Eight walk to right glyph. I.e.,.... bring on the Zombies! Nine walk to central glyph. (Technically eight, but a speed bump means that a Move 4 unit won't be able to reach it on OM2.) Marcu can still pull his glyph-grabbing cheese though. Can't have it all.
• Going right seemly slightly preferable to going left: it gets you to level 3 faster, and is better situated for attacking and holding the glyph. This advantage is countered by the SZ separation and the seven-hex swamp hill between them, which limits the number of units you can easily commit to the right. Going left makes it easier to send in reinforcements.
• There are 4 single-hex tiles at the top level (level 4), and for walkers they're equidistant from both sides.
• No easy choices for Raelin. The level-4 perches on the sides are out of her reach. She can just make one of the central level-4 perches, and that might seem tempting. But she's exposed there: it's hard for her to bring up reinforcements quickly enough to provide protection, while her opponents can swarm her.
• No good dragon perches that I can see either.
• Maybe it's the vaguely yin-yang shape of the spiraling arcs, but looking at this map on the table soothes me.

[Typhon2222]

Would love to see some discussion of these maps, so will throw out my two cents. Really just the first things that occur to me on each....


Hot Potato
The side water seems wasted, since I doubt it will see much action. The central area is varied enough, but feels strategically limited, with few tough choices. Just pile in the middle and flail.

Hive In A Basket
Much to appreciate here, both aesthetically and tactically. But I fear the difference in glyph accessibility. A Move-5 figure can reach the left glyph in two turns, but not the right. But Rats can. That worries me.

Reset
I fear the proximity of the glyphs to each other will suck all action to the very center, magnified by the inaccessibility and narrowness of the high ground on the sides.

Highland Road
An admirable map, with some interesting tactical decisions fit into a small space. I'd prefer to see the ruins rotated so that they protect the SZs more effectively from the road, which is where I expect the greatest threat to come from. Removing the walls from the bridge pieces might also open movement up a bit more — as it is now, their presence just serves to funnel traffic towards the three-hex rock tiles on top level, which already dominate things anyway. But overall seems solid.

Fortified Crossing
If there were no water inside the castle, and a strong glyph inside it, I could see reason to enter the castle rather than climb atop it. As it is, this map seems like a field day for ranged. But huge kudos to Louisan for her aesthetic sense. Can't believe she's only 11, is that right quozl?

Peat Fire
I like the lava placement, and the invitation to hop on the perches near the Hive itself. But strategy seems a bit one-noted, mainly because the sides are so similar. Going left feels much the same as going right.

Waterway Cavern
Glyphs entirely cut off by water make me shudder for any walking army facing flyers.

Leviathan
Hey, what can I say, I think it's an inspired map. But take that with a huge dumptruck of salt. Hopefully somebody better qualified than I will be able to comment.

[boromir96]

Originally Posted by Typhon2222

Highland Road
An admirable map, with some interesting tactical decisions fit into a small space. I'd prefer to see the ruins rotated so that they protect the SZs more effectively from the road, which is where I expect the greatest threat to come from. Removing the walls from the bridge pieces might also open movement up a bit more — as it is now, their presence just serves to funnel traffic towards the three-hex rock tiles on top level, which already dominate things anyway. But overall seems solid.

I originally had the Ruins rotated more, but they created a funnel to get out of the start zone, which theoretically could be blocked off easily by one rat. I just really like how the wall looks, and I can't imagine leaving them out(They're so cool , not to mention I just got my first RttFF 2 weeks ago) Also remember that it's not that hard to jump over the walls...

[Viegon]

Glad to see someone start some discussion on these, thanks Typhon and Killo.

I would make a run at analyzing these maps, but I always feel uncomfortable criticizing other entries of a contest I've entered.

[Typhon2222]

Originally Posted by Viegon

Glad to see someone start some discussion on these, thanks Typhon and Killo.

I would make a run at analyzing these maps, but I always feel uncomfortable criticizing other entries of a contest I've entered.

That's your gentlemanly nature, Viegon. Classy to the core.

But seriously, weigh in. Discussion only does the whole community a favor. For confirmation, you should see the pages and pages which the previous GenCon map contests of prior years generated.

[boromir96]

Originally Posted by Viegon

Glad to see someone start some discussion on these, thanks Typhon and Killo.

I would make a run at analyzing these maps, but I always feel uncomfortable criticizing other entries of a contest I've entered.

I just don't say anything negative about those in my poll, bit if I feel like it, I'll give negative/positive feedback in the other polls.

[Killometer]

Hot Potato-I generally like the middle of the map-raising the lava just one level above the safe terrain is enough to encourage players to use it, but not so much that it makes it difficult to climb. I think that it might benefit from removing the central molten lava hex from each 4-hex pool: that would open up another valuable path in an otherwise congested area. The glyphs could be pulled away from the middle of the map a bit, and the SZs look like they were tacked on as an afterthought

Hive in a Basket-I like how this map forces players to climb over lava to get to the opponent, but it's edges are very narrow. The lava should help prevent them from getting too clogged.

Reset-Having both glyphs in the central pit is going to draw most of the attention there. The relatively small area of the hills tones down their dominance, and the ruins look like they'll help assaulting units wrap around the map to get within striking range.

Highland Road-Very aesthetic map-I love how it gives the "feel" of a bridge without actually using one. The road across the middle is going to be the immediate draw, but with the high ground immediately overlooking it and the glyohs off the the edges I think some of the action will be pulled away.

Fortified Crossing-Very nice looking castle map, but I think that it would benefit from some glyphs to spread the action out from boiling down to king-of-the-hill.

Peat Fire-Discussion here.

Waterway Cavern-I like how this map catches the look and feel of a subterranean river, but as I've pointed out before, river=sad melee.

Leviathan-Who let this yahoo into our clubhouse? Good set combo, good pathing, good use of LoS blockers, enough elevation changes to make positioning fun but not so many that they bog everyone down, and double-Wannok maps can be nasty-fun.

[Viegon]

Alright, you convinced me, I'll give it a shot:

Hot Potato: I do have to agree with Typhon here, the water isn't really going to be a part of the map (a trap I often find myself falling into). This map seems to have the simple charm of most lava maps, pretty well balanced, and I like the look of the center piece; though another negative side is the molten lava restricts movement quite a lot.

Hive in a Basket: I like this map, it has a fun little theme, and looks pretty well for play. I do question the narrow-ness of the map paired with the placement of the molten lava, as movement through the center could get easily congested.

Reset: A pretty map, the height dungeon and rock is visually pleasing. The low startzones should draw you out quickly, though with the placement of the glyphs I do worry about how all the battle could be drawn to the center, as the outside heights are both hard to reach and are heavily blocked by LoS. Though I could be misjudging this, as I haven't played on it.

Highland Road: I really like the look and idea of the map, and I think the placement of road, height, and glyphs are well balanced for wide-spread play. Though I like the initial idea of the large tree in the center of the road, I worry about how easily you could clog that up with a shield and camp your range on the nearby height; in the end I think this map would probably be better off without the large tree.

Fortified Crossing: I love the look of this map and the use of the castle, and I really wanted to vote for it, but in the end I felt the lack of reasons to draw you down from the castle was too strong, and all that space surrounding the castle would see very little if no play.

Peat Fire: A nice looking and well made lava map, but unfortunately I'm starting to find lava maps not all to intriguing because of the abundance of them. So for me it's like this: well made, balanced, visually pleasant; all in all a good looking map, but it doesn't seem to bring anything really new to the table. I do love the drudge support though, just gotta love it.

Waterway Cavern: This map is beautiful. I love the theme you get from it right off the bat. Unfortunately, I worry how much play may have been sacrificed for theme. With water dividing the entire map, and the glyphs lost on their own little isles, I worry about how it will affect melee and how much support it will give to units that can go through/over water. Though, I will note, with the water being raised in some areas, it would allow melee to cross without being stuck at the bottom of the map. So I have worries, but I wouldn't be too surprised if I was proven wrong if/when I see it in play.

Leviathan: This map also gets points for good looks. The dungeon pathway through the swamp I really like. Overall, I like this map; it seems fresh and balanced, and it looks like the whole map would be used. I really don't have any criticism for it.

That's what I got, I hope I didn't offend anyone. All the maps here are great.

I'll try to get to the other polls soon.

[boromir96]

Originally Posted by Viegon

Alright, you convinced me, I'll give it a shot:

Highland Road: I really like the look and idea of the map, and I think the placement of road, height, and glyphs are well balanced for wide-spread play. Though I like the initial idea of the large tree in the center of the road, I worry about how easily you could clog that up with a shield and camp your range on the nearby height; in the end I think this map would probably be better off without the large tree.

True, But 4 and 5 move figs can reach your height in 3 turns(the Glyph in 2(3 for 4 move figs)) and 6 move figs can reach it in 2. Also, if you camp on your high ground, the big tree can block line of sight extremely well

[Viegon]

Originally Posted by boromir96

True, But 4 and 5 move figs can reach your height in 3 turns(the Glyph in 2(3 for 4 move figs)) and 6 move figs can reach it in 2. Also, if you camp on your high ground, the big tree can block line of sight extremely well

Good point, camping on the height will be tricky. Still, I think the bridge would be more fun if it was opened up some.

[White Knight]

Originally Posted by Viegon

Alright, you convinced me, I'll give it a shot:

Hot Potato: I do have to agree with Typhon here, the water isn't really going to be a part of the map (a trap I often find myself falling into).

The Marro Warriors can make use of the water. So can the Sahuagin Raider. So it's not entirely useless. There might be a few other units that can use it as well.

For Project Pokemon, we have several figures that get bonuses from water, so having at least a little water helps them.

[Viegon]

Originally Posted by White Knight

The Marro Warriors can make use of the water. So can the Sahuagin Raider. So it's not entirely useless. There might be a few other units that can use it as well.

For Project Pokemon, we have several figures that get bonuses from water, so having at least a little water helps them.

Yeah, but that's only a handful of units (maybe a different case for Project Pokemon, I don't know your guys' work very well over there), and even then being off to the side like it is it might not be worth moving to it.

But, anyways, it is pretty minor an issue and the water looks nice on there while rounding out the map, so all considered it doesn't bother me or anything, I was just agreeing with Typhon. And like I said, I've found myself placing water like that all too often too, I just like to see it when water is really made a major part of the map (or actually all pieces you’re using, I hate seeing unused tiles).