AYP's Maps - Multiplayer Map! Echidna's Garden

[The Deadliest Warrior]

Originally Posted by All Your Pie

I could definitely get the PDF later tonight. Really though, it's not terribly complicated and you could just build it fron the picture.

I probably could but I'm far too lazy.

If you don't mind I'd still like the PDF file, if not I'll give it a shot from the picture.

[All Your Pie]

Alright, here ya go:

http://www.mediafire.com/?2hk1bffee1vyuwi

[The Deadliest Warrior]

Originally Posted by All Your Pie

Alright, here ya go:

http://www.mediafire.com/?2hk1bffee1vyuwi

Thanks! I likey!

[All Your Pie]

Taking a break from Virtualscaped maps now, I've got some eye candy here for you all.

Enjoy.

Spoiler Alert!

My two new castle sets arrived yesterday, so I added them to my other one and made this.


Castle... something. It doesn't really have a name yet.



There are lots of paths.



Lots and lots of paths. (The placement of the ladder coming up through the floor may not be entirely legal. )

Its even got a secret passage into the courtyard.






It's a bittersweet joy - this castle is truly epic, but new castle sets are easily the most painful thing in Heroscape to work with.



I'm not as proud of the rest of the battlefield, but nobody is really going to look at it anyway.

[All Your Pie]

Been a while since I poked around in here, but I figured I should make more of an effort for my next ARV submission. That being the case, I've decided to post what I have so far to get a few more eyes on it before I finalize things. So without further ado...

Statuary Hall--1 SotM, 1 FotA, 1 VW

Instructions

I wanted the contest's theme to encompass the whole battlefield, so this map represents a once illustrious display of statuary that has fallen to ruin. The swamp and lava pits with Wannok sunken into the ground give me the impression of a powerful curse visited upon the area, perhaps by a treasure that was not meant to be found. Also, I wanted to use this specific terrain combination, since it isn't one I see very often.

As is typical of me, the map is an absolute mess of pillars. Between them and the molten lava, I've tried to minimize sight lines and access to height while still preserving mobility. The closer hill to each start zone features a narrow trek through swamp water and lava field, while the farther hill is easier to reach. I expect that developing large squad armies will be tricky on this map, and if so that is a feature more than a bug.

I've already got it built and plan to test it soon, but if anyone has any comments or concerns, feel free to let me know. I'm still pretty new to the competitive mapmaking game, so any criticism is welcome.

[Sir Heroscape]

Initially I like the look and feel. I agree it seems a bit congested, and while that might be a feature, I would run some spammy melee armies on it and see if you get annoyed by the movement/development of the army throughout. From what it looks like to me, this could be really hard for melee to develop smoothly, which even with the lack of height positions for range, will still give them a bit of an advantage if there aren't avenues for melee to route the screen. The only other thing I see a problem with is Wannock on lava. As a competitive player I would have no reason to sit a figure on that glyph because it activates at the end of the round just like lava, and the figure may die before you even get to activate wannock. the only situation would be if I had a strong enough figure that could take a few hits to wound my enemy, but even then, it's likely not an even trade of wounds. I think glyphs on lava need to be more powerful in order to get players to try and risk it for the bonus but then try to hop off at the end, or get stuck there by an opponent holding them down.

[All Your Pie]

Originally Posted by Sir Heroscape

Initially I like the look and feel. I agree it seems a bit congested, and while that might be a feature, I would run some spammy melee armies on it and see if you get annoyed by the movement/development of the army throughout. From what it looks like to me, this could be really hard for melee to develop smoothly, which even with the lack of height positions for range, will still give them a bit of an advantage if there aren't avenues for melee to route the screen. The only other thing I see a problem with is Wannock on lava. As a competitive player I would have no reason to sit a figure on that glyph because it activates at the end of the round just like lava, and the figure may die before you even get to activate wannock. the only situation would be if I had a strong enough figure that could take a few hits to wound my enemy, but even then, it's likely not an even trade of wounds. I think glyphs on lava need to be more powerful in order to get players to try and risk it for the bonus but then try to hop off at the end, or get stuck there by an opponent holding them down.

Yeah that point about Wannok makes sense. For some reason I though default order was Wannok first, then lava, but the fact that it’s a diceoff makes it a no-go. Even if it was a good strategic choice, having to roll the d20 so much at the end of any given round slows down the game too much to make it worthwhile. I’ll test it with Gerda and see how that feels.

If things feel too clogged up, my first plan will be to reorganize the first level to make it easier to send units in through the front and take away some of the superfluous pillars. I might even be able to adjust the start zones and make the startzones further than 7 flying spaces away from the glyph, but I’ll play it by ear for the moment.

[All Your Pie]

After some preliminary testing, here's my revised version.

Statuary Hall--1 SotM, 1 FotA, 1 VW

Instructions
List of changes:
1. Adjusted pillar placement to free up routes near the start zone.
2. Widened opening to the central road area, moving swamp water to speed up deployment.
3. Adjusted pathing on the right side of the start zone.
4. Moved single-hex lava heights closer to the center.
5. Changed glyph to Gerda.

I'm not 100% on the glyph choice. I also considered Ulvania or Valda. Thoughts on either of those? Even in a very vulnerable position, Gerda can be quite powerful.

[BiggaBullfrog]

Really like your second draft for this map, AYP! Looks like it's encouraging a lot of decision making, which is awesome. I think Gerda can work on this map, since it's doubly vulnerable due to being in open low ground, as well as on lava. I've found that can make for some good risk/reward play in games and think it would work that way here too. If you do switch it, I don't think Ulvania would be good enough to warrant contesting the glyphs. Valda may work, but on an already small map with road I'm also not sure that it would be beneficial enough for armies to contend it either. But playtesting may prove otherwise.

One thing I am a little concerned about is that the side swamp water pathways don't seem like they'll get much use, resulting in just a mad rush for the center. While that's not the worst thing ever, it can detract from the map, and it's possible you could rearrange terrain to either attract more action in those pathways or add more to the central areas. Of course, it's also possible I'm wrong, since I can see a little benefit from using them (at least, the left one I do -- the right one doesn't seem like it justifies any use IMHO). That's more just a note for you to pay attention to when playtesting. Overall it's a neat map!

[All Your Pie]

Originally Posted by BiggaBullfrog

Really like your second draft for this map, AYP! Looks like it's encouraging a lot of decision making, which is awesome. I think Gerda can work on this map, since it's doubly vulnerable due to being in open low ground, as well as on lava. I've found that can make for some good risk/reward play in games and think it would work that way here too. If you do switch it, I don't think Ulvania would be good enough to warrant contesting the glyphs. Valda may work, but on an already small map with road I'm also not sure that it would be beneficial enough for armies to contend it either. But playtesting may prove otherwise.

One thing I am a little concerned about is that the side swamp water pathways don't seem like they'll get much use, resulting in just a mad rush for the center. While that's not the worst thing ever, it can detract from the map, and it's possible you could rearrange terrain to either attract more action in those pathways or add more to the central areas. Of course, it's also possible I'm wrong, since I can see a little benefit from using them (at least, the left one I do -- the right one doesn't seem like it justifies any use IMHO). That's more just a note for you to pay attention to when playtesting. Overall it's a neat map!

I’ve found in testing that the right side path tends to see more attention as another route to develop to complement the center path. I might try to put some level 2 terrain on that route in order to make it a safer approach, which would in turn raise the value of the left-side lava hill. I’ve found its sight lines to be extremely limited, to the point where I’m considering rearranging some pillars in order to make it more valuable.

Another change I’m considering is removing the central glyph altogether. The center of the map is already an extremely powerful location that, if left alone, can lead to an army getting rushed by the opponent and having a lot of trouble even leaving the startzone. Having a glyph there only exacerbates the problem. Instead, leaving the lowered 3-hex “scar” of lava creates another route for units to pass through while discouraging them from parking there and screening the enemy. Since the center position is already powerful, removing the glyph doesn’t remove the incentive to move there. I’ve played a test game that confirmed this, and I feel fairly confident it’s a change I’ll keep.

I still might move around some of the pillars and terrain near the hills. At some point I’ll have to settle on a final design, but for now I’m really appreciating all the insight and comments.

[All Your Pie]

Alright, another major revision to Statuary Hall, along with a name change. The new one sounds a bit more punchy and dramatic I think. Hopefully the theme still comes through, but that'll ultimately ride on the backstory.

Iconoclast (Statuary Hall v3)--1 SotM, 1 FotA, 1 VW

Instructions

Pretty broad changes on this one, most of which should be visible from the image. I'll try and summarize the major ones.

1. Opened up sight lines around the main lava hills. Units there now have eyes on various parts of the map center, depending on where they stand.
2. Shifted pillar placement to improve routing along the right side path. Now, it is almost completely hidden from the elevated lava, and has a route to circle behind the elevation.
3. Removed the center glyph entirely. The center of the map is still very important without it. The lowered lava now functions as a deterrent against screening units clogging up the middle of the road. Cutting across the lava field opens up new movement options without the glyph forcing figures to stop.

I feel pretty good about these changes. I'll keep testing the battlefield, but for now it's at a place where I'm happy with it. Not that that's set in stone, of course--feel free to comment if you notice something hinky. I'm still a novice at this after all!

I may start working on a second submission, so keep an eye out for that if you're interested.

[BiggaBullfrog]

Nice, I like the changes! You're doing a good job improving each version! Just out of curiosity, did you consider putting a Treasure Glyph in the middle (which may help with the contest theme)? Or Treasure/Power Glyphs at the edges in the swamp water? I don't think they're needed -- I agree it looks like it can function without glyphs and I enjoy glyph-less maps myself -- but I was just wondering what your thoughts there were.