Final Bracket ScapeCon ll Map Contest

[infectedsloth]

Welcome to the final bracket of the ScapeCon ll Map Contest! This is the final bracket for the ScapeCon map contest. Nine maps made the finals, but many other quality maps didn't make the cut. For my money, this contest has the highest caliber maps I've seen for a contest so that you to all the submitted maps.

You may vote for multiple maps. You are allowed to vote for your own maps.

Polls close Sunday, 5/15 at 8:11 PM Central.

Preliminary round links: one, two, three

Final Bracket Maps:

King in the North


Slalom


Preservation


Odin Wept


Nomanisan


The Way is Wrong


Contrast


Phalanx


Nightblood

[dok]

Originally Posted by infectedsloth

For my money, this contest has the highest caliber maps I've seen for a contest so thank you to all who submitted maps.

Mapmaking is at such a high level right now. It's awesome.

[superfrog]

My thoughts on these maps and a few others, [with a few added notes for the Finals].

Originally Posted by superfrog

Thoughts on a few of these maps, focusing on ones that advanced and ones that (imo) deserved better. Bracket 1 was pretty stacked so I'm commenting on most of these but the other brackets I'll limit it a bit more.

Contrast

I like this map, the lava is overall placed well and the height is smooth but dynamic. My concerns here are over the glyph areas: having one glyph be 4 move flying from on SZ is potentially rough, the 7/10 walking move split isn't ideal, and the path to get around the glyph to the outside is realllllly snaky. Maybe it's all a wash but it just seems busy. The center of the map was enough to get my vote, though. [didn't vote for this in the Finals]

Turret Rocks: JE

Thought this would pull more votes. The turret could be lowered by 2 and I think the ruins could be rotated to their original TR positions, but this looks solid.

Lava Crag

Also thought this deserved more votes than it got. Not a fan of the level 2 lava placement or the same-level lava, but the rest of the center looks good.

Phalanx

Not sure this is the best 1 RotV map in the contest, but I'm glad it's doing well.

Nebo Terrace

Also nearly got my vote. Seems similar to TR:JE actually. I worry the center is a bit difficult to traverse (either north-south or east-west) with the glyph/tree/water configuration.

Nightblood

Just looks like a winner. I do wonder if the level 4 lava should be split 3/2 instead of 4/1 but there's a lot to like here. And I think the back-of-SZ water should get dropped.

Sanctuary

My one big complaint is the level 0 speed dump in front of the SZs. I guess it's to lengthen the map? I'd rather those spaces be at the back of the SZ if that's necessary. Oh, and I think grass is ugly when combined with swamp. :/

Originally Posted by superfrog

Again, some thoughts on a few of these maps, focusing on ones that advanced and ones that (imo) deserved better. Overall I felt Bracket 2 was the weakest bracket.

Thy Kingdom Come

Really ambitious map, lots of cool concepts. My two big complaints (and the reasons I didn't vote for this) are the "oops, all battlements" construction which contributes to overall chokeyness, and the unintuitive SZs.

King in the North

Gonna be honest, I'm quite surprised this map won this bracket. It does look decent and I'm not super surprised it made top 3 here, but I think it looks a bit too much like a collection of plateaus with a few one-hex bumps, so I didn't quite vote for this. [still surprised at the number of votes this is getting in the Finals]

Slalom

Much more restrained use of battlements and ladders than Phalanx. Pretty sad I used a triple-single to match the 3-hex glacier, but you gotta do what you gotta do

Preservation

What kind of scrub uses three single glaciers to mirror the triple glacier? My actual complaint is the spacing between those two LoS spots, seems easy to block off. I still did vote for this map. [didn't vote for this in the Finals]

Originally Posted by superfrog

Again, some thoughts on a few of these maps, focusing on ones that advanced and ones that (imo) deserved better. Bracket 3 is the only bracket without one of my maps in it so hopefully I'm less biased here

Odin Wept

How do you make a Norse God cry? Burn his tundra.

Classic Typhon terrain-stretching build. I like the placement of everything except the low-ground glyph lava field. Got my vote anyway.

Nomanisan

My only complaints on this map are the molten lava, which could/should be water, and the virtual level 3 jungle-backed ladder spaces adjacent to the central lava field. Overall a really nice map, got my vote.

The Way is Wrong

Seems really basic. Not necessarily in a bad way, I think it would deliver some fine gameplay, but doesn't jump out to me in a contest setting. It also takes me a while to wrap my mind around the SZs for some reason (back 3, but only the grass).

Mesa

Justice for Mesa! I voted for 8 maps overall in the first round of this contest and this was the only one of those 8 not to advance . Really the only thing I don't like here is the random grass height off to the right. It might also be slightly too big, but I love this as a 1 RotV submission.

[OEAO]

I'll throw some thoughts in. But first, thanks to infectedsloth for running a great contest, and thanks to all the mapmakers who created maps for the contest!

I limited myself to 3 votes in each bracket (including the finals), but I won't be upset to try any of these finals maps.

King in the North: looks really solid. Not sure why you wouldn't use all the shadow tiles though- there are plenty more spots they could go on the map.

Slalom: not a lot to say other than it looks really solid. Got my vote.

Preservation: I think this is my favorite map from the contest. I don't think the middle passage being 1-wide is a problem, especially because a lot of maps don't even have a middle passage (like Platypus).

Odin Wept: I like it. It might be a tad small, but the sets are restrictive. It almost got my vote here.

Nomanisan: Looks solid (starting to see a theme here...?), but I'm not convinced the gameplay will be the most interesting (looks a bit flat overall).

The Way is Wrong: Definitely gives off Quasatch Playground vibes. Looks solid, but I'm not in love with the center (or the starting zones).

Contrast: The glyph placement is wild, but it may work, and the center looks good.

Phalanx: Looks solid, but I'm not in love with the 1-hex sand outposts, and the center could be flattened a tad (the map is a bit wider than it needs to be, probably to facilitate the outposts). The ruins also don't serve much purpose here.

Nightblood: Looks really good. It got my vote, but I'm more excited to try Preservation (probably because 2x BftU 1x VW is a more common combination; Stygian Rift is classic, and Blood Star looks really good).

A few that missed the cut that I voted for:

Nebo Terrace: Updated Elswin Plateau looks really fun.

Alpaca Trail: Very asymmetric. Looks wild, but fun.

Mesa: My preferred 1x RotV map from the contest. I don't love the hill to the right, but I really like the ruin placement (the big detractor from Phalanx imo).

Broken Top Pass: Love the Honor-like starting zones. There aren't enough good 1x RotV 1x TT maps, and I dig this one. The ladder spires were really unique too.

[superfrog]

Yes, the ruin placement on Phalanx is an afterthought. I don't think they hinder anything though, and they help Zelrig-proof the map for whatever little that's worth. Oh, and the ladders give height on the sand 1-hex outposts. Otherwise they wouldn't be there for sure.

[Sheep]

Originally Posted by superfrog

Nomanisan

My only complaints on this map are the molten lava, which could/should be water, and the virtual level 3 jungle-backed ladder spaces adjacent to the central lava field. Overall a really nice map, got my vote.

Yeah the lava stuck around from a previous version that used the rest of the water in the SZ. Definitely not a sticking point to keep them but not sure it changes much except Marcu dunking and some C figures having a little bit of fun.

The center ladders are an intentionally strong spot but I don’t think they’re problematic. There’s counterplay to them (the aforementioned adjacent level 4 or any other level 4 with the appropriate range) but if additional games proved them worrisome I’d remove them. Hasn’t been the case so far.

Originally Posted by OEAO

Nomanisan: Looks solid (starting to see a theme here...?), but I'm not convinced the gameplay will be the most interesting (looks a bit flat overall).

If you get some games in on it, let me know if you’re still not convinced.

[superfrog]

Yeah, just nitpicks. I really like it overall.

[Sheep]

My thoughts:

King of the North
Double space denial is strong with this one. Hounds especially hate the Wannok side of the board since they can’t engage the figure on the outer level 3 snow space.

Slalom
This one looks good. I don’t love the single turn Zelrig spot at the highest point of the map. I’ve also never loved maps that force double spaced figures to go all of the way around a glyph to claim it from certain sides. Could also have a two hill problem but wouldn’t know until tested.

Preservation
The outside Levels 3 and 4 look like double space denial heaven.

For all three maps I will say I respect using the Tundra set. It’s the only expansion set that has no good gameplay benefits. It’s not exactly fun to use as the core expansion.

Contrast/Odin Wept
Combining these two because they’re actually really similar. Both have the dungeon 24-hex on level 2 protruding into the SZ and the glyphs on lava. Vegie just recently gave me a critique for one of my maps saying that glyphs on lava usually have strong positions. That position was level 3 with no adjacent height. I just found that ironic. I think it could be fine that glyphs aren’t meant to be held permanently until death. The protruding 24-hexes could be good and bad. I like that it provides a nice place to set up but range might enjoy the single space lanes quite a bit.

Nomanisan
This was the first map I built for the contest so I was really focused on how I could implement ladders in a balanced way. The result is what I feel is the best implementation of ladders in the contest. Does that make it the winner? Not exactly.

Double spaced figures should feel safer implementing ladder denial too.

This Way Is Wrong
I like this one except the jungle bushes adjacent to the outside 2-hexes. Maybe the middle could be combined or something but pretty solid otherwise.

Phalanx
I still don’t love the two turn potential to get Nilfy/GWs to either hill’s level 4-5 height with no adjacent same level spaces to counter attack them from. I also don’t love how a single figure on either of the middle hills can restrict double spacers to level 3 around them and a single figure on the outside level 2 spaces around the glyphs can restrict them to level 1 on the outsides.

Nightblood
At this point, seeing a new Flash map is the same as going to see the newest Marvel movie. Same working formula with different set pieces. For better or worse.

[Typhon2222]

Originally Posted by dok

Mapmaking is at such a high level right now. It's awesome.

We're living in the golden age of 'Scape cartography.

[GameBear]

Congratulations to @Flash and @Andre !

[OEAO]

Yes, congrats to Flash and Andre! IS will be in touch about which prize you want. The cards won't be shipped until after ScapeCon (because I won't have them until ScapeCon).

[Flash_19]

Originally Posted by GameBear

Congratulations to @Flash and @Andre !

Originally Posted by OEAO

Yes, congrats to Flash and Andre! IS will be in touch about which prize you want. The cards won't be shipped until after ScapeCon (because I won't have them until ScapeCon).

Thanks so much guys!

There were so many excellent maps from this contest. Golden age of map making indeed!!