Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

This is the second of two brackets for the ScapeCon Map Contest. If you don't know what ScapeCon is check of this subform.

The goal of this contest was to create tournament quality maps that utilize a slit starting zone. There was a total 17 maps submitted. This bracket has nine maps and the other has eight. The top 3 from each bracket will advance to the final round. You may vote for multiple maps. Link to the other bracket.

Polls close Friday 5/14 at 11:59 PM Central.

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

Do any of the Tundra maps (Chronicles, Cedrus Drift, Frosty Lake) have Heavy Snow or Slippery Ice rules in place? IMHO Chronicles and Frosty Lake should have heavy snow, I will especially not vote for Frosty Lake if it does not have Heavy Snow, as has too fast movement to height without IMHO.

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

superfrog’s unqualified map thoughts:

Chronicles:
Why use the road set if you aren’t going to have any sections of road long enough to use the road bonus? I also feel like there should be a bit more level 4 somewhere.

Off the Beaten Path:
Similar to Mine’s Rift, I don’t feel like there’s much interesting happening here. Basically just stepping up from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 with a road down the side. Not much by way of pathing.

Cedrus Drift:
Not a huge fan of roads that don’t interact with the height. Choosing to take the road on this map makes it hard to get back towards the center.

Peace Unknown:
I appreciate the very interesting splits but this feels like Capuan Arena 2.0 in some ways, and like “how the heck do I attack my opponent” in other ways.

Desolation:
Somehow I got very hung up on the water in the back of the start zones, which messes with the map’s aesthetics imo. Similar to Chronicles I feel that it could use a bit more level 4. Nearly got my vote.

Frosty Lake:
I like the road pathing and the SZ splits. I also appreciate the variety of height in and around the road. Got my vote.

Fantasy:
I like the shape of this map and how the road plays through it. I think this map is a good execution of SZs being split by height as well. And center-ish glyphs? Super fun. Got my vote.

Forest Fire:
Lovely mix of terrain sets here, and great execution. Start zones really feel split, I love how the road fades up into the lava high ground as well. Got my vote.

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

I feel like this is a rather unfair criticism considering the road bonus on a lot of competitive maps is hardly used or even useful. Also that some people build maps with just the trees (and maybe the bridge walls), without using the road at all. It’s a nice aesthetic, at least IMO, and it’s not like the map is so massive it’s impossible to get where you want to go.

Most maps here are very exploitable for or against 2-3 height figures and very accommodating to Dragons with relative height 2-hexes just outside of Start Zones. (EDIT: This goes for both brackets.)

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

The Jabberwock: The glyph placements are a little wide for my tastes, but overall, really nice work. I think I might also push the back dungeon three-hexes up one, so you can attack up into them from the shadow pools. Looking forward to trying this one. Got my vote.

Chronicles: I'm with SF here. The road could be used to better effect, and the center is a bit too static. Overall, a solid first draft, and it could be quite good with some revisions.

Off the Beaten Path: Not a fan. It's too long, the height isn't dynamic, the road isn't used to great effect. Carrying over from the other thread, I'd love to see what you can do by scrapping this map and bringing SOME of those tiles over to Mausoleum Ruins.

Cedrus Drift: I voted for this one because I really like the dynamic height shifts in the center! However, I don't like the roads along the side. This could be a great map with revisions!

Peace Unknown: A really cool concept, but it's wider than it needs to be, and I'm not sure it's really suited for tournament play. However, visually, it's a really cool map.

Desolation: A nice start, but way too big. It's too wide, and it's too long. However, I do really like the center (word of the day: dynamic height). Remove some of the tiles, but I think you're onto something!

Frosty Lake: Honestly, this would have gotten my vote had it been in the other bracket, but I limited myself to four votes here. It just seems a little small, but I'll probably test it this summer regardless.

Fantasy: Only 3 votes for this one so far feels criminal. I'd echo SF's thoughts here; it's one of my favorites. The edges could probably be a hex thinner, but it's not the end of the world. Got my vote.

Forest Fire: Completely agree with SF. I'd also be interested in shortening it by one row of hexes (something I'll probably discuss with UnseenShadowz). A great first competitive map from him; it got my vote.

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

Not a map expert but I'll join the fun.

Jabberwock- My intuition is the glyphs are way too wide. I think in practice it will play like a warped to the sides version of the Borogroves, which imo already plays a little too much to the sides. Very pretty board though.

Chronicles- Have to agree that the noncontinuous road is a little weird. I think the board could really benefit from a road down the middle to get some action going there, and in the corners to set things up in the middle.

Off The Beaten Path- I think this map is really cool. The flat road on the side and the hilly top makes for a very split startzone feel to the map even though the map itself is kind of flat. Not sure how balanced it is, but it's very creative.

Cedrus Drift- I like this map a lot. Startzones are strongly split by the Hive/Glacier and water, and has the same road dynamic as Off the Beaten Path but on both sides, with the snowy middle as the safer area. Voted for this one.

Peace Unknown- Not sure it's tournament viable but it embraces the chaotic startzones more than any other map in this pool. I struggle to see the game making it over to the glyphs to be honest, I think the fight will start instantly.

Desolation- Solid map. I think it's a little flat though, with the three 7+ hex flat areas right outside the startzones on level 2.

Frosty Lake- Fun one. Reminds me a lot of Wyrmwalk, but with Ice instead of lava. Voted for this.

Fantasy- Another cool one. I think this one the glyphs are too close together though, especially with the road.

Forest Fire- Solid board. I don't have too much to say; maybe it's a bit too much of a shooting gallery since the big LOS blocking ruins are in the back and the big tree isn't in play, but I like it. Voted for it.

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

Jabberwock: Very solid. Hills at opposite ends concern me a little, since you could end up with two camps no one wants to leave, even with some cover between. Also not a fan of the high point being 2 spaces, not leaving enough room a dragon or something that's gotten up there to be challenged from even ground.

Chronicles: I appreciate what this was trying to do, but not a big fan of the road not actually being utilized. Visually, and with the distribution of height, I think it might actually be an OK map. I'd probably just like it better with different terrain.

Off the Beaten Path: I like a concept map, but again the road is probably not very utilized here. To avoid armies just pulling straight toward the height, maybe glyphs could be introduced (one in the middle of the road, one between the height on the other side).

Cedrus Drift: Seems fine. Nothing much to comment on here, just a reasonable map.

Desolation: Same as Cedrus Drift.

Frosty Lake: Really interesting mix of road, shadow, and LoS blockers in the thick of the map. Again, there are good dragon perches, and I do wish the road accessed the outer-most height. But it does look quite interesting to play.

Fantasy: This time the 2-hex height is both accessible by road and not the highest point of the map! The central glyphs are interesting, though I do wonder if that would cause the outer lanes to be neglected.

Forest Fire: And here the 2-hex height again accesible by road, and also lava! Not much else to say on this one. Possibly my favorite of this bracket.



Embracing the split start zone cue was the starting point for this map, so my goal was make something that did that and appeared semi-viable. Depends what the glyphs are, but it could be enough once the step up to the road is taken. Anyway, completely accurate feedback.

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

Second bracket unsolicited thoughts:

The Jabberwock:
Very wide map, but I think what's really hurting it is that it's difficult to navigate from side to side. There's also a lot of fast height changes, which I'm never too excited to see in a map but may just be a pet peeve.

Chronicles:
I'm not as bugged by the covered road spaces as others, I think, but I do think it would be nice to have at least a stretch of road available to help development. I do think the concept is fun, though. Pretty good build, but my gut is saying developing left is favored.

Off the Beaten Path:
I'm not really a fan of long and narrow maps. I never find the gameplay exciting, and in this case Raelin can cover all but one line of hexes. (She always covers a lot of real estate, but it always seems especially noticeable on these long and narrow maps.)

Cedrus Drift:
I really like this build. I do think it would be a pain for double-spaced heavy armies with the narrow swaths of height through the middle, which would be my primary suggestion for improvement.

Peace Unknown:
Looks like a lot of fun, though not something I'd play competitively. Would like it even more if the sides were brought in some.

Desolation:
Personal pet peeve: Maps that use two SotM because I only have one. (I'm a filthy casual...) It definitely feels too big and that a lot of time would be spent developing. If the start zones were right at the base of the level 2 height, I think it's much more exciting.

Frosty Lake:
Personal pet peeve: Small maps because they're hard for me to gauge. I feel like there are a lot of ways to restrict movement here which concerns me, but also there are a lot of paths so I may be misjudging it. Love the set combo.

Fantasy:
I really like the look of this one. I feel like there are a lot of options available to keep the decisions fresh throughout a game. I'm not 100% sold on all of the height placements, but I'd play it in a heartbeat.

Forest Fire:
I get really concerned when seeing a map this open because range can do a lot. But at the same time, I absolutely love how this map is using the lava and road. So ultimately I could see gameplay going either way, but it gets me excited to try it out!

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

You’re aware none of the road hexes are actually “covered” right? Every road hex is visible on the map. It just looks covered by good ice/snow placement but the tiles underneath are rock hexes.

Thanks for the input!

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

Great map analyses, everyone! Had a blast reading them.

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

My post from the other bracket.

Re: Bracket Two ScapeCon Map Contest VOTE
 

More hot takes from the peanut gallery:

The Jabberwock
Like:
Love the start zones, color coded, well split, and really stretching the pathing out to accommodate the wider map
Love the Borogoves feel in the center and I'm really happy with the placement of the other TJ pieces as well.
The map just looks awesome (already built this one IRL)
I voted for this map, likely my favorite so far
Thoughts:
I agree that it would be nice if the central outcrops could be brought outward more to allow the shadow pool to contest some of the two hills.

Chronicles
Like:
Development seems like it flows well here
Love maps that use the bridge walls and they look great
Don't mind the un-bonused road aesthetically
Thoughts:
The split here seems a little arbitrary, not sure how it plays that much differently than an un-split map.

Off the Beaten Path
Like:
The bilateral symmetry is very cool and it shows you took some time with it, at least in my experience bilaterally symmetrical maps take some finesse when working within a set amount of tiles.
The center of the map looks especially fun to play
Thoughts:
Tiny bit of double-space denial in the SZ (not a huge deal)
As others have said, it's long, and I'm not sure the road will make it worth the slog

Peace Unknown
Like:
Certainly the most creative take on the challenge and a very clever idea
Love the way you made playing through the center so difficult, but you're rewarded with Wannok if you do
Thought:
The straight castle walls that butt up to the RotV ruins may need to be rotated to fit (at least in my test they needed to be flat side facing the RotV ruin tip)
Probably not great for standard tourneys, but I'd run this in a figure draft game for sure

Desolation
Like:
Great theme, liking the dual hive action as always and the name fits what I'm seeing
Thoughts:
Don't love the start zones back-lined with water, not sure why it's there except aesthetics maybe
It feels pretty large and the pathing seems odd in places
I do feel like this is maybe only a few tweaks away from being twice as appealing to me

Frosty Lake
Like:
The road looks very usable and the terrain combo is gorgeous
Shadow placement seems on point
The two 2-hex perches can't be hopped back and forth on with 6 move dragons
Thoughts:
It would be cool if the road could contest the north and south snow hills
Zelrig would have maybe too good a time on this, but no one can afford him anyhow

Fantasy
Like:
Really like the long two-hex SZs on this though it's a pretty mild split here
Digging the way you divided the grass and sand between the two sides of the map giving it balance without it being completely aesthetically symmetrical
Thoughts:
Not sold on the glyphs being so close to each other, I feel like the faster team could lock down the whole center and have quite the advantage depending on the glyph pool
I think just moving the glyphs would help the outskirts see more action, even though I like the edges play fast and have good LOS blocks.

Forest Fire
Like:
Love how the road works its way to the lava height and has a few good pockets of elevation itself without being overpowered
Glad to see the SZ get some good cover from the ruins
Thoughts:
A tiny double-space figure denial in the SZ and a little hard for them a couple other places on the map too, but nothing huge
Would almost like seeing the lava and water swap places in the SZ split
High lava dunk potential
This isn't the first map named this for a map building contest, but I don't think Rednax published it on his page, no biggy probably