Battlefields of Valhalla Discussion Thread

[Jexik]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Are there any lava maps that are not a hindrance to the Romans?

I didn't test the Romans, but the flatness of Fire Isles would lead me to say that it'd be lego-friendly. My swogs and arrow gruts were able to use their adjacency bonuses just fine.

I'm still pondering Hot Bog.

Edit: I opened it up and took a closer look. I vote Yes to review; it still seems pretty intriguing. I'll keep Dignan's concerns in mind though, and probably try to get at least one game in with Roman Legionnaires.

[Rÿchean]

For Fire Isles, it isn't so much the flatness, (though that certainly helps) as it is the size. That thing is pretty small. I played some games on it last night. The knights rocked the house on it, becasue they were able to actually get somewhere in the first round. (without Gilbert)

Update coming......

[Dignan]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Thanks for the cents! I never seemed to run into this problem, so my questions would be:

Are there any lava maps that are not a hindrance to the Romans?

Well, out of the BoV, Ember Canyon Road doesn't hinder the Romans, but Hot Heights can be problematic. There are maps out there that use lava and allow armies with adjacency bonuses to function. But your point is taken.

Would that Q10-Stinger combo have beaten a melee-heavy team on most maps?

Well, the army faired well enough against other ranged armies at the tournament. And it did take out a Q9, MW, AE army (which is comparable - sort of). Most maps do favor range and therefore, most maps will find ranged armies beating melee armies. Personally, I try to create maps that level the playing field, but getting the right balance is quite a challenge.

There is nothing wrong with having a "range" dominant map in the BoV or a tournament. That's up to the judges and the tournament organizers. I was just offering commentary from a "pro-melee" player.

[Velenne]

As much as I love using the asphalt with the lava rock tiles, and though this map has tournament moxie, I don't feel Hot Bog is strong enough for the BoV. I'm voting no to review it.

On a mostly unrelated note, I'd like to reiterate to those who frequent this thread that the standard we're trying to create with the BoV is a very high one because it must be a foolproof source for TD's to select maps they know will facilitate a good event. There are over a thousand maps in the Downloads section right now, but only ten in the Battlefields of Valhalla. That's 1%.

About 50 maps have been submitted for review, making the success rate about 1 in 5 among those maps folks have either directly purposed for the BoV (something we discourage) or maps already deemed tournament-worthy that players have felt were exceptional.

This isn't to say we're shooting for some percentage or anything, but to remind everyone that the qualifications are fairly steep and that just because a map isn't accepted for review or admittance doesn't mean the map isn't good or even tournament-unworthy. It's just not "Top 1%". Keep your eyes open at your next tournament for those rare maps that rise above the rest and if you find one, nominate it!

[arp12]

It's cool that you have "BoV Judge" tags now.

[Cleon]

Originally Posted by arp12

It's cool that you have "BoV Judge" tags now.

Yes, nice touch!

[LongHeroscaper]

The "BoV Judge" tag is SOOOO cool! It is awesome!!

Will there be "BoV map builder" tag?

[Shades fan]

I really like the Tag too. I love and appreciate what you judges do.

[Kahrma]

Maps pending review:

Baraxton Falls 2.0 by Sir Pongo/Krackon_02

The three glyph locations are what scream to me on this map. The red starting zone has much easier access to the two lower glyphs, while the blue starting zone has only marginally easier access to the high glyph. In fact, the bottom glyph can be reached on turn one from the red starting zone by flying (4 spaces) or walking (6 spaces). Compare that to the blue zone, which must fly 8 spaces or walk 10 spaces to the same glyph. The topmost glyph is on one of the highest portions of the map - higher than any other real estate within 8 spaces. Unfortunately, my vote is no to further review.

Hopscorch by Elstree

I like the look of Marvel and VW together, and I'm glad to see a submission which provides an alternative to using RotV. However, I have many of the same concerns with this map as those cited by Ry and V. Even if it plays much differently than my initial impressions suggest, I'm not convinced this map is innovative enough to be included in the BoV. Sadly, my vote is no.

[ThrasherDarkrai]

Yes, the BoV judge tag is awesome! Whoever did that deserves a really big cookie!

[Darkomen57]

Ok, thank you to everyone who took time to look at The Crossing. When I played it, it seemed to be good, but after seeing what other people had to say, I see their points. There were some pretty major flaws which I will try to think about on future maps. Thanks again.

[Elstree]

Originally Posted by Kahrma

Hopscorch by Elstree

I like the look of Marvel and VW together, and I'm glad to see a submission which provides an alternative to using RotV. However, I have many of the same concerns with this map as those cited by Ry and V. Even if it plays much differently than my initial impressions suggest, I'm not convinced this map is innovative enough to be included in the BoV. Sadly, my vote is no.

Thanks, guys, for giving it a look. I hope you'll give it a play sometime just for your own amusement. I think there's a lot going on that you can't see just by looking at the image, but of course everybody says that!