Battlefields of Valhalla Discussion Thread

[Kinseth]

Id like to Nominate "The Borogoves" by Typhon2222.

In our recent online tournament, we used this map. I must say that it was refreshing to play on. The ability to give the low ground importance, and a reason to actually want to hold it is fairly unique about this heroscape map. The blend between shadow/brush and the glyphs give it a different feel than most maps out there.

I recommend everyone try it out and see if it is BoV worthy.

The Borogoves Download PDF
Uses: 2 BftU, 1 TJ
Board for online play

[1Mmirg]

Yes. This one has been on my radar and I've been thinking to try it out. Now I have another good reason to.

I vote YES to review The Borogroves.

[mad_wookiee]

Yes to review.

[dok]

As with previous maps that we've used in online events, I am happy to provide game histories so you can easily view a play-by-play of the 23 games played on the map that round. It's a pretty nice resource to see how people play the map with a wide range of armies, as well as a wide range of playing experience and playing styles. PM me if you're interested - I'll need an e-mail address that you can use for google doc login so you can view the game history.

[nyys]

The Borogroves

[Dignan]

Maps pending acceptance for review:

The Borogoves by Typhon2222

I've got several reservations about this map, but it looks like it is worthy of a "go". YES to review.

[Typhon2222]

Wow, that was fast.

Sheesh. Two by Killometer, two by Stinky, all Bay Area concoctions.


Updated 3/21/2013

Logged 1Mmirg vote: YtR The Borogoves.
Logged Dignan vote: YtR The Borogoves.
Logged mad_wookiee vote: YtR The Borogoves.
Logged nyys vote: YtR The Borogoves.
The Borogoves moved to review.


Maps pending acceptance for review:

–––


Maps currently being reviewed:

RISING PRESSURE by Killometer
Yes = 0 ; NO = 1 (Dignan) ; PENDING = 5 (1Mmirg, mad_wookiee, nyys, Raider30, Typhon2222)

SONG OF THE WALRUS by Typhon2222
Yes = 0 ; NO = 0 ; PENDING = 5 (1Mmirg, Dignan, mad_wookiee, nyys, Raider30) *Typhon2222 removed as map creator

DRY SEASON by Killometer
Yes = 0 ; NO = 0 ; PENDING = 6 (1Mmirg, Dignan, mad_wookiee, nyys, Raider30, Typhon2222)

THE BOROGOVES by Typhon2222
Yes = 0 ; NO = 0 ; PENDING = 5 (1Mmirg, Dignan, mad_wookiee, nyys, Raider30) *Typhon2222 removed as map creator

[personwholives]

Originally Posted by Typhon2222

Sheesh. Two by Killometer, two by Stinky, all Bay Area concoctions.

It's all part of our evil plan to take over everything. Facebook and Google were only the beginning of the bay area dominance.

[Dignan]

Maps currently being reviewed:

SONG OF THE WALRUS by Typhon2222

Song of the Walrus is a nice little map featuring the swamp and tundra sets. The construction is excellent and Typhon clearly demonstrates some excellent skill with this set. Despite all the voids and limits of the terrain, he's created a stable and uniform looking map. I had serious concerns as I was building it, but the layout shows excellent polish and it's clearly a well thought out map.

The general layout of the map is solid. The main channel to your opponent is through a central hill. On the wings are power glyphs. The height of the central hill is mitigated by the large LOS blockers that prevent access and shots down to the glyphs.

My first problem with the map is the width. The terrain has been used well, but it has been used to create interesting elevation changes as opposed to sprawling hexes to maneuver around. The placement of the hive and large glacier have effectively made the map 6 hexes wide. Additionally, the passage through the center is slowed down by the gate keeper hexes (the highest level snow pieces) which typically take time to dislodge your opponent from.

The result of this relatively narrow map is a strong possibility for a traffic jam. In nearly all the games I played on this map, there was a tough fight focusing on getting control of the highest snow hex on your opponent's side. Both armies tending to slam together at the central part of the map and duke it out until eventually someone got dislodged. While players might enjoy this style of fight, I would prefer a map that allowed for a little more movement in the key battle areas. The narrow center gap and high ground really made movement come to a standstill in that area.

The second complaint I have about this map is related to the central hill as well. Very often, maps with a central hill result in a snowball effect in a match. The winner of the initial engagement on the hill will often be in a dominate position with his opponent literally facing an uphill battle to get back into the fight.

Typhon has done a good job trying to mitigate the power of the central hill, but I didn't feel like the problem was solved with the LOS blockers. In about 2/3 of my matches, the player winning the initial skirmish on the hill was easily able to roll that into a dominate middle and end game. I think the source of the problem is the shape of the map itself. The start zones funnel units out in a limited number of paths. Most of these paths are very exposed to units on the central hill. It was very difficult for players to get units from the start zone and into the fight without getting shots rained down on them.

I actually I got play on this map several times in a local tournament and two of those matches ended with me killing the majority of my opponent's figures in his start zone because of the advantage I got from a couple of early rolls. While some players may enjoy a "rich get richer" mentality in Heroscape, I prefer a match where a hot start doesn't have such a huge impact. I realize that a hot start isn't a map's "fault", I just feel that this map can magnify that event.

As a minor gripe, I'm not entirely sure I like the glyph placement. It's pretty fair, but my gut always told me I'd rather have the strong glyph on my right as opposed to my left. However, this is pretty minor and wouldn't keep me from voting this into the BoV if that's all I was concerned about.

So, despite this being a very well constructed and thought out map, I'm just not in love with the gameplay it generates. I vote NO for it's induction.

[Typhon2222]

Updated 4/2/2013

Logged Dignan vote: NtI Song of the Walrus.


Maps pending acceptance for review:

–––


Maps currently being reviewed:

RISING PRESSURE by Killometer
Yes = 0 ; NO = 1 (Dignan) ; PENDING = 5 (1Mmirg, mad_wookiee, nyys, Raider30, Typhon2222)

SONG OF THE WALRUS by Typhon2222
Yes = 0 ; NO = 1 (Dignan) ; PENDING = 4 (1Mmirg, mad_wookiee, nyys, Raider30) *Typhon2222 removed as map creator

DRY SEASON by Killometer
Yes = 0 ; NO = 0 ; PENDING = 6 (1Mmirg, Dignan, mad_wookiee, nyys, Raider30, Typhon2222)

THE BOROGOVES by Typhon2222
Yes = 0 ; NO = 0 ; PENDING = 5 (1Mmirg, Dignan, mad_wookiee, nyys, Raider30) *Typhon2222 removed as map creator

[1Mmirg]

OP updated. Glad to see The Borogoves under review.

[1Mmirg]

Song of the Walrus by Typhon2222

This is a map that uses its resources well. I absolutely love the use of line of sight blocks and have enjoyed my games on the map. That said, I’ll spoil my own review now and say that I finally found the map a bit cramped and too range friendly for my tastes. I also found (as Dignan noted as well) that this map tended to be mostly a race for the center and then (if things weren’t decided there) a crushing assault on the enemy start zone. These attacks were often just withering. The start zones are just too exposed and it’s hard to contest an enemy army attacking from the nearby height.

The center of the map is the most tight, leading to crushing, difficult fights. I like the use of sight blocks and relative height in the middle, but it’s all too tight--and, at the same time, also usually too valuable a point to not contest, leading to lots of messy fights there in the middle. We did have a lot of armies that used the wings of the map effectively as well, picking up glyphs, using the relative high points, and stretching the battle to one side or the other (generally to whichever glyph was most desirable to both armies). This isn’t a tame map and there are some choices, but generally the map came down to similar patterns. I'm glad the wings are there and they help, but not enough. (I did enjoy a recent game where a hydra slipped around the back side and hit the middle from behind, but, of course, the middle is fairly solid from either side.)

Ranged armies—if they could get embedded in the high points—tended to be quite dominant on this map. There is just enough height to allow them to really maneuver effectively from high point to relative high point. Melee armies had to be successful early on and then to manage to hold on. It did happen--some melee armies pulled big wins in fact--and I appreciated that the map only really favors ranged armies that are played well and/or have favorable starts (or critical swings).

The line of sight blocking allows melee some useful cover, but at some point they have to come out and the heavy changes in height make it hard for them to close—and even when they do, they invariably are attacking into ranged units now in favorable high perches.

I was honestly surprised how much height variations this map has--five levels from just these two sets! I think that adds to the map's dramatic appearance and makes it a bit more dynamic than it would otherwise be. However, it also makes it that much harder on melee that have to slog up and down on those hills.

A few pickier points: I lost a couple of glyphs under the map when someone too anxiously grabbed at them and shot them through the shufflepuck-like openings adjacent to them. Not a big deal, but a little annoying. Similarly, I found that one of the three-hex pieces near the start zone (perhaps just an older piece) didn’t hold in place and would pop out of place because it had no anchoring piece under it. (Other three-hex pieces did fine in the same place, but it was the only swamp three-hex I had at the time available.)

None of this is a big deal, but this kind of thing happens when a map stretches itself to its spacial limits. Overall the map is remarkably stable for how much vacant space is under it, but sliding it to table to table at an event, fishing out a glyph underneath, or finding a piece that isn’t stable reveals its limits at times. (And I’ll admit that I’m not a big fan of maps, aesthetically, with too many gaps. On nice wood tables it’s not a big deal, but on cheap white plastic game store tables, these maps lose something for me. Okay, far too much about picky things. My apologies.)

This map’s greatest weakness is what a rat swarm can do to it. With only a few passable spaces, rats can clog the map in really undesirable ways. And they can often do so with height advantage in the most critical spots, adding insult to injury. A few well perched rats and this map becomes brutal.

Let me be clear, this map is plenty solid and plenty of fun. It’s a remarkable feat of engineering and careful hex use, a really fun and dynamic use of height and line of sight blocking. If I would play it with no rats and being able to draft for it each time, I don’t think I’d have many issues beyond the small picky things and the way the map tends to reward the early victor with a particularly superior position. If you have these two sets, you owe yourself a game or two on this map, but for the sake of the Battlefields of Valhalla I’m afraid it isn’t what I’m looking for.

I vote NO to induct Song of the Walrus into the BOV.

(I am, though, quite happy to see another Typhon map, one that looks more like my kind of map, in my judging queue. I can’t wait to play on the Borogoves!)