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Age of Annihilation Map Contest CONGRATS FLASH_19!

My two submissions for the AoA map contest. I knew going in I wanted a map that used a single master set and another that used all the terrain from the first wave, as I expected the combinations to be very common in people's collection. Here are Ceremony and Lost Wonder:

EDIT: For clarification, the battlements used in Ceremony represent the wall end pieces, not a short or long wall hanging off the pillar.

Ceremony
Set requirements: AoA
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Lost Wonder
Set requirements: AoA, BftW, LJ
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Second Map for me:
A Day at the Beach: (PDF)
VirtualScape link
beachday2.png


This is again built with 1 of each new set.
Again, I challenged myself to build a mirror symmetric map, in order to make use of every piece, and to feature a long coastal area.
No special rules for this one.

There are three main sections here.

The T-shaped terrain piece in the middle uses 4 pillars, two small wall segments, and one large wall segment (represented by the RotV ruin in the VS file)
The pair of small walls by the beachfront should also each use the broken wall endpiece, but I'll need to see it in person to make a final decision to where exactly those belong. Map consists of 3 main sections: High grassy ground to the south, open and exposed. High rocky ground in the middle, covered in jungle pieces (and matching the height of the grassy hill), and the beach, with the new wall pieces and a tree blocking the view to the valuable wellspring healing spots.

Other options:
I didn't mark glyphs on the map, but if Glyphs are included, I'd put Yadulkia (Disengage) on the 7-hex grass piece on the bottom of the map, and Haukeland (Healing 3 wounds from any of your units) on the center Wellspring water tile to further incentivize going for a swim at an opportune time. Yadulkia promotes melee combat, as do the jungle pieces providing their ranged defense boost.

Blurb:
Are you a pirate? Do ya love the high seas? Or do ya just fancy a dip in big 'ol blue?
Come Visit the Athenoek Keys! Sandy beaches! Tropical Palms! Saltwater coastal wellsprings! We've even installed privacy screens for you modest bathers!

IRL photos:
beachforegroundsmall2.jpg

Just look at everyone frolicking in the water and loving it. Creatures from many realms, Marr, Earth, Toril, and what's this? Zendikar? It seems the fame of the Athenoek Keys extends even across planes, and she summoned a loyal Mermage with her! Yes, everyone is having a splendid day at the beach, no sign of anyone arriving to spoil a beautiful summer afternoon!

And more of a top view to better show off the topography:
beachtopsmall.jpg
 
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First time Map Maker for 1v1s, typically my friends and I make large maps just because it's fun to see what we come up with.

For the first, I used just AoA and the 2nd being AoA, BftWS, and LJ, considering these seem like it would be common for Heroscape newcomers.

Tidal Ruins: Submission #1 - 1x AoA

5Ybrsa9.jpeg


Spoiler Alert!


Neptune's Parapet: Submission #2 - 1x AoA, 1x BftWS, 1x LJ

zKCk8Nf.jpg


Spoiler Alert!


Personally, I think I may have gone a little too large with this one. It's about 26"x28", but I still like the way it turned out.
 
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My entries:

EDIT: I should also mention that pieces from FoA were used to represent the wall pieces in AoA. Hopefully it is intuitive where things go (pillars adjacent to each other should be connected, etc.) Battlements were used to represent the larger wall piece connecting the two pillars.

Invested:
Requires 1x AoA, 1x BftW (BB1), 1x TJ (TGaLE)
invested_v2_original.jpg


Eltania:
Requires 1x AoA, 1x BftW (BB1), 1x TJ (TGaLE)
eltania_v2_original.jpg
 
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Here are my entries:

Oasis No More

2x BftWs and 1x LJ

pxl_20240415_044801875_TJl.jpg


Spoiler Alert!


Fallen

1x AoA Master Set and 1x BftWs (Battle for the Wellspring)

screenshot%202024-04-14%20230751_p75.png
 
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Y'all are fine. I'm going to cut off more sign ups from here on out though so Skywhale has time to take photos. I need to build the non-AoA pillar maps myself as well.
 
Meant to do this before voting was well underway, but I wanted to share my quick thoughts on all the maps from this contest. Note that a most of my thoughts here are just cursory opinions and may not actually reflect how good the maps are competitively, though I have tried my best to evaluate them all fairly.

Admiral’s Plateau by Sheep

I love the look of Admiral’s Plateau, had I been a bit more attentive to the poll I would have given it my vote in round 1. I suppose the only knock against it is that it’s hard to tell which side is better without having played on it.

Board (2 Tiers) by superfrog

This map has some things going for it, decent LoS blockers and good but not OP podding areas, but I think I was sort of underwhelmed by its table presence. I think anyone taking this to tournament will have a good time on it though.

Ceremony by me

(Biased, but) I think this map is one of the better AoA only maps from the contest. It was difficult to get my head around the terrain requirements at first but ultimately am glad where it ended up.

A Day at the Beach by Nukatha

Better than Sluice Gates, but still not great. If jungle adjacent to level 3 is a no-no, jungle adjacent to level 5 is sacrilege. The map is also huge, and the wellspring water at the edge of the map is not incentive enough to pull players away from the hill.

Eltania by Flash_19

I think this is the standout map of the tournament (well, except for mine obviously), just a very solid looking asymmetric map. Like Admiral’s Plateau, it’s hard to judge how good it really is, but at a glance it all looks very well balanced to me.

Embroiled by Ulysses

I wasn't in love with all the choke points near the northern glyph, but I do think there is a lot of appeal to this map. Not much to say other than that without having played on it, solid map!

Fallen by Megasilver

Fallen is a miss for me mostly because it lacks a lot of aesthetic appeal, the different types of land terrain are kind of used all over the place and I wasn't really a fan of all the random single hex wellspring spots. The middle also seems like a pain to cross, I could see games pushing to one side of the map depending on which glyph is the strongest since they are hard to get to as is being on level 4.

Hexcelmans by Foudzing

I’m not a fan of the glyph areas at all, but the middle seems balanced enough. Not bad, but not a standout for me either.

Hidden Grove by Sir Heroscape

The map seems to pull left, the far right of the SZ is just kinda bad for 5-movers. That being said, the rest looks good. For the terrain this map uses, I think Hidden Grove is a pretty stellar option.

Invested by Flash_19

Aesthetically speaking, this map nails everything. I wasn't sure if I was going to give it my vote due to to how tight the wellspring water side looked, but it looked solid enough to push it over the edge (Plus it manages to effectively use the big wall, so extra points for that).

Knot in Tresting by superfrog

That line of wellspring water out the right really bugs me. Even though I get why it’s there, it negates any purpose of placing units over there unless they’re flying or you have no other space in your SZ.

Lost Wonder by me

I know it underutilizes the LoS blockers from AoA, but as a counterpart to my other map I intended Lost Wonder to be more open. I think I get away with it with the jungle, and I think the map conveys its aesthetic of a lost shrine with this wellspring in the middle nicely.

Neptune’s Parapet by Chubbs7575

I’m not a big fan of the giant wall in the middle and I’m not a fan of how two-hillsy the map is.

Not in this Joint by Leaf_It

A boring map but it looks like it plays fine. It’s giving me July vibes, but without the lava field.

Oasis No More by Megasilver

I think it’s pretty good given the terrain restrictions, but Oasis falls a bit short for me in a couple aspects. The middle looks bumpy, and getting to the right-side glyph, while only 8 moves away, seems difficult to get to. Aesthetically speaking, I like it quite a bit though.

Ritual by Vydar_XLIII

The only map I’ve actually played on in this competition aside from my own. It’s very good, and even though there’s no level 3 here the map doesn’t really need it. Nice work here.

Scumrun Island by TreePowerz

The map is very bumpy and while I don’t think the level 3 jungle is that much of a problem, it is very prevalent here. Also coming out the left of the SZ feels particularly rough with not much jungle or LoS blockers to develop behind.

Shattered Crest by TreePowerz

Again, looks pretty hilly for and I’m not sure it utilizes its LoS blockers super well. Also don’t love the random, disconnected sand throughout the map.

The Sluice Gates at Laur's Edge by Nukatha

As a competitive map, I don't think this map is very good if I'm being honest. The scenario attached seems neat, but it would never be played as intended in tournament anyway. Having to pass through water is bad enough for melee armies, being forced to cross a minimum of 2 water tiles to get to the other side is just brutal. Also, I checked the build instructions and .hsc file for this map, and while it is technically buildable, there are lots of floating pieces on the first level and many unstable overhangs that concern me.

Sundered Sea Stronghold by Sheep

I like Sundered Sea Stronghold quite a bit more than Framework. Framework felt a little too good for range the last time I played on it (granted, I played against AE versus Sheep himself) and the jungle/ central pillars looks like they help out in that matchup. I still worry about horizontal movement throughout the map, but generally speaking I think this is pretty dang good.

Tidal Ruins by Chubbs7575

The center of Tidal Ruins has one of the most painful chokepoints for melee, but it does looks a lot better in person.

Verdant Vigil by Ulysses

Kind of a weird one. At first glance I didn’t really like it, all the jungle in the SZ and it’s slender, wavy appearance kind of threw me off. However, after analyzing it a bit closer, it looks like a very fun, solid map. It looks a bit thin if anything, but the middle seems to be dynamic making it play a bit bigger than it really is.

Wool by Dunedain

I don’t quite get the name; my best guess is that the walls vaguely remind me of a loom? That said, this might be my favorite Dunedain map to date, great job!
 
Also, I checked the build instructions and .hsc file for this map, and while it is technically buildable, there are lots of floating pieces on the first level and many unstable overhangs that concern me.
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@Shurrig I built it physically (hence the photos) and paid as much attention as possible to maintain stability of the structure. I tested it with a bunch of the most dense units (Krug and similar) in the worst possoble positions and ensured it would stay intact and not at all wobbly. Had I realized the prompt stated "competitive" maps, I wouldn't have entered it here.

Regarding "A Day at the Beach", excellent commentary, I am woefully out-of-practice regarding maps. I'll keep those points in mind for my next build.
 
Some thoughts on (many of) the maps for this contest, but first an overall note: I think it would have made much (much!) more sense to group the maps for the opening round of the polls by their set usage. That gives a much better chance for well-designed maps to rise to the top regardless of their set usage.

Anyway.

Group A: I think this set of maps was insanely good, with 4 of the best maps in the entire contest.

Ceremony looks really good, kind of a weird aesthetic with the grass up top, but these sets stretch my traditional aesthetic thoughts from RotV. I think my main critique here is the edges feeling kind boring and the water somewhat extraneous. I might toy around with moving the 1-hex sand up to adjoin the 2-hex sand and make a 3-hex run, probably also moving the glyph somehow.

Invested looks very very good. I do worry a bit about the movement through the rock side glyph area, both laterally and forward. Feels like you could bump the glyph all the way out to the edge here and bump the rock formation in a space? Idk.

Fallen looks okay but the edges are very strong and I think most of the map will struggle to see play. Lowering the glyphs would probably help there.

Embroiled is another winner. I don’t really love the SZ and that rock hex outside, but I like the level 4 shape a lot around the central wall formation.

I think Board 2 Tiers did not get as much love as it deserved. I know it’s not flashy but I don’t see any red flags.

—————

I agree with Flash that Lost Wonder’s center concerns me (in fact, he stole that observation from me). Other than that I like this map a lot. I could imagine moving some jungle from the glyph area to the level 2/level 3 border in the venter of the map if the wellspring water disappears.

Hidden Grove is very solid for the small amount of terrain that it uses but I’d rather see either the jungle or the height by the glyph area (or both) repurposed somewhere else.

Admiral’s Plateau again needs more love than it got. Very solid asymmetric map, although of course I’d need to play it to understand it well.

Neptune’s Parapet is solid but the right side 7-hex is too strong. Most armies won’t go past that if they can help it.

Oasis No More just seems like the center perches are strong for no reason.

Hexcelmans is fine, got my vote. The edges don’t look very friendly and there’s a lot of boring level 2 in the very center but it is mostly fundamentally sound.

—————

Scumrun Island looks very close but I’d love some glyphs and some stronger pathing through the right side.

Knot in Tresting is not that good, I’m not surprised it didn’t get many votes.

Ritual is a nice bilateral map. I don’t think the 7-hex in the middle as the max height is very interesting, and the glyph with no nearby height is also a bit perplexing (but also boring). Still enough here (including some lovely aesthetics) that I voted for it over my own map.

Sundered Sea Stronghold looks very playable. No major complaints other than that the level 3 is very linear, which sometimes is annoying.

I just noticed that Wool has a mistake in the picture: the sand 3-hex on the far side is one space too close to the SZ. And honestly that’s why I almost didn’t vote for it the first time (and left it off the second round): my eyes were drawn to the far side rather than the near side for whatever reason and I thought that triangle looked too far removed from the action. Glad to see I was mistaken there.

—————

Verdant Vigil is cool. The SZs look a bit chokey and also very well protected by jungle, but I like the rest of the map a lot.

Eltania is also a good looking map. As with Sheep’s asymmetrical map, hard to tell whether the balance is just right, but it’s very reasonable on a first and second look.

Tidal Ruins is just too difficult to cross the center.

Shattered Crest would be better (imo) if the leve 5s were pushed out 1-2 hexes to allow smooth movement across the center.

Not in this Joint looks pretty solid, one of my favorite map with just an AoA set. A little bit of Dry Season vibes.
 
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Nukatha said:
Also, I checked the build instructions and .hsc file for this map, and while it is technically buildable, there are lots of floating pieces on the first level and many unstable overhangs that concern me.
Click to expand...
@Shurrig I built it physically (hence the photos) and paid as much attention as possible to maintain stability of the structure. I tested it with a bunch of the most dense units (Krug and similar) in the worst possoble positions and ensured it would stay intact and not at all wobbly. Had I realized the prompt stated "competitive" maps, I wouldn't have entered it here.

Regarding "A Day at the Beach", excellent commentary, I am woefully out-of-practice regarding maps. I'll keep those points in mind for my next build.
Click to expand...

I do appreciate that you actually built the map to test its integrity, and I hope my critiques were not taken personally. My biggest issue with Sluice Gates regarding its build really comes down to that first level. There should never be pieces on a map that don’t connect to the rest of the build, it’s very problematic for transit, stress of the pieces, and it’s confusing for others trying to build the map. I understand this wasn’t made with competitiveness in mind, but I was trying to grade it within the parameters I did with the rest of the maps and those were the issues I saw. I’m sure if I were to critique a map like Table of the Giants (more probable than you’d think), it would similarly receive criticism in a context it was never meant to be played in.
 
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