Workshop Thread

[Sir Heroscape]

Lost Road Marsh by Leaf_it has received enough Nay votes to be removed from the playtesting process.

[Sir Heroscape]

Jandar's Summoning Circle by @Flash_19

The original version of this map concerned me because of the easy choke points that one could seal off once they've taken the height in the middle, but this version does a great job of opening up the flow of the map to allow much better movement.

Initially playtesting this map, I started to feel that there was just too much bet on who took the hill first. It plays kind of like a King of the Hill scenario, and I kind of like that. On this map, every game, players tended to want to grab height first before anything else and I thought that was a fresh new playstyle outside of a "run for the glyphs as fast as possible". The Glyphs on this map are easily contenstable, kind of out of the way and all of that is okay with me, mainly because they are used as a bonus for whoever might have had to concede the height to their opponent. It's also nice that one of the glyphs is protected from the highest points on the map, which really does help an opponent who may be controlling it and also fighting an uphill battle for the high ground.

I will say that this map does tend to hurt 4 move figures...but many maps can because 4 move can be just so slow. That said, the large majority of figures are 5 move and I feel that 5 move figures handle this map well enough that it's not too cumbersome. I had many a game on this map, and I can't really say it ever felt imbalanced or off. We'll have to see what the other judges say, but I feel confident enough with this design to give it an to be inducted.

[antmarchingroves]

@BiggaBullfrog, @Sir Heroscape, @Nomad, @Robber - I have taken all the feedback given for Valledon Fortress and have made several changes to address the concerns with my original submission. I have run several games on this updated version and all of the games played well and offered many great gameplay decisions. So I would like to resubmit Valledon Fortress for reconsideration to be inducted as an ARV tournament approved map.


Thank you for your consideration!


Valledon Fortress

[BiggaBullfrog]

Awesome, I really like the re-working you've done! I'm more than down to run this version, to review Valledon Fortress.

[Sir Heroscape]

I know there have been changes, but would you mind highlighting some of the changes youve made and why? It helps to have a summary of what was changed in order to see specifically how those changes affect gameplay and sometimes I miss those if it’s not explicitly stated.

[antmarchingroves]

Originally Posted by Sir Heroscape

I know there have been changes, but would you mind highlighting some of the changes youve made and why? It helps to have a summary of what was changed in order to see specifically how those changes affect gameplay and sometimes I miss those if it’s not explicitly stated.

Sure, you bet! Here is a list of the main changes I've made to the map:

1.) The original version was fairly flat (lv3 height) with not much height variation across the board. In this version, I increased the height to lv4 by bringing much of the road tiles up one level and spattered more high spots throughout the map.

2.) I added three road tiles coming away from the center of the map, extending towards the start zones to help army development out of the start zones.

3.) I reworked the ice and snow tiles near the southern end of the start zones so that figures were not having to drop down to lv0 ice and then climb back up to lv1 snow tiles when progressing out of the start zone. I also extending the road tiles further down in the southern section of the map to allow 5 move figures to reach the road on turn 1. This made for much smoother army development in the snow section of the map.

4.) Also in the snow section, there used to be a single space between the 3 wall section and 4-hex glacier. This was a potential choke point, so I removed the 4-hex glacier and put in the 3-hex glacier, which opened up the area so that more figures could move through it and also engage opposing figures more easily.

5.) I made both power glyphs predetermined glyphs (Wannok at the northern end, and Valda - Move+2 at the southern end). This was a suggestion from Biggabullfrog and it has proven to be very helpful for melee armies, especially 4 move figures.

6.) And finally, I added additional height on both sides of the castle door, near the Wannok glyph. This helped figures coming out of the start zones have another way to approach and contest that glyph. In every play test, this proved to be an area where several exciting skirmishes took place.

[Sir Heroscape]

That’s perfect, thank you!

I really like the rework. to review.

[Leaf_It]

After playing on Ruined City a bit in preparation for a local tournament, I have decided to rework the map a bit. The changes are not drastic, so any playtests that have been done won't be completely useless.

Ruined City

[BiggaBullfrog]

Ruined City by @Leaf It



Ruined City is a really compact map, which is to be expected of a map that uses only two Marvel sets (master sets barely bigger than an expansion) and a Fortress set. The road makes getting from place to place even faster (when you need to -- it's small enough that it's usually just used for engaging figures on a hill on the other side of the map) and on the whole the map makes for quick and dirty action. The map does use warehouse and fortress pieces to cut down on the power of ranged figures, and the small footprint also helps to keep them from kiting to the Forgotten Forest and back.

The main focal points on the map are the four hills in the center. Battles usually revolve around battling for control of these hills, and an army that successfully entrenches on even one of them can be difficult to remove. The map does allow players to play against that possibility with how easily armies can counterattack with the road and small size of the map, and when really needed figures can skirt the edges of the map in order to get into a better position to attack a hill. For such a small map, I always felt like there was an option for me, and smart play and use of the map's features allowed for some comebacks from unlikely situations.

All in all, Ruined City makes for quick, fun games, while still allowing for many strategic decisions despite its small size.

I vote to induct Ruined City into ARV competitive map hall of fame.

[Sir Heroscape]

@Leaf_It I'm not sure I'm seeing the changes. would you mind pointing out the changes you made and why?

[Leaf_It]

Alright, lets get some side by side viewing here.



Right in between to the ruin, and the castle pillars, theres a Raelin perch, on what was at the time the highest level on the map.
The distance to the glyphs was uneven for each player. it is now even. I also moved the single hexes that were there, and replaced them with a double hex.
I rerouted the roads so that they are all on level one, which increases their usability. The bump only really slowed everything down.
Their was a lot of level 3, which was the highest, and that was a little bland. Now there are 2 single hexes on level 4, which should make gameplay a little more interesting.
I changed the startzones because they felt spindly, and now they are more evenly shaped.

[Sir Heroscape]

Indeed. I see the changes now! that was very helpful. I do think the changes are an improvement too. to review.