Dignan's Maps - New Map 08/17/24

[Dignan]

Re: Dignan's Maps - New Map 6/7

Digging a bit into the wayback machine of your maps for this review...

We had a NorCal gameday last weekend. Killo Jr. picked Fissure to be one of the maps, since TT is the only expansion I (and therefore he) don't have. I defaulted onto it for my first match, and wasn't initially very enthused about that. It looked pretty small, the watery canyon looked like it would split play, and I like to move fast, so heavy snow is usually not my favorite.

Instead it was a fantastic, engaging map with lots of options. The heavy snow dominating height made it play bigger than it is, there are a myriad of pathing options to cut off or bypass opponents depending on goal, the interspersed ice tiles keep the low water from being too daunting to cross, well placed LoS blockers allow slow melee hiding places to leapfrog to engage range, and the fixed Valda is very attractive to help balance the snow penalty but not so important that it can't be situationally abandoned. My second match also ended up being on Fissure, and I had no complaint at all about playing it back-to-back. This is one of my favorite maps I've ever played on.

The only weakness I saw was that the 3 hex glacier doesn't seem 100% efficiently used on the edge of the map. I wonder if a low path around the outside would be possible and beneficial?

Killo Jr. is reading my review over my shoulder, and asked me to include " had a ton of fun on it also."

Hah! That's great, man. Thanks for the feedback on that map. I really appreciate your comments (and those from Killo Jr.). It's crazy, but some of the things you said line up directly with what I was trying to do with this map so many years ago. It sounds like a lot of my intent translated well and you guys had a good time with the map. Glad to hear that the map still holds up.

As for the 3 hex galcier, I'll have to take a closer look at the build and see what is possible. I've actually been going back and looking at some of my older maps, so I might need to take a look at this one as well.

Thanks again for the post.

 

[Dignan]

Update 01/30/24

Here is the first map of the new year for me. I've been working on this one for a little while. It started when I rebuilt Fulcrum to take another look at it. I played on Fulcrum a few times and remembered some of the aspects of the map I really enjoyed. I then started thinking about using the same footprint and generating a new design. After messing around with the terrain a bit, I came to a layout that I really enjoyed. I really dig the feel that this map has and have really enjoyed the games on it.

Map: Deja Vu
Date Uploaded: 01/30/24
Requires: 1 RotV, 1 FotA, 1 TJ

 

[Sir Heroscape]

Double Wannok?! haha, spicey!

Also, curious why you didn't make it symmetrical with the bushes? any particular reason?

 

[Shurrig]

I am a fan of the visual asymmetry! Raises the aesthetic of the map by a lot by doing a little. Really dig it.

 

[Dignan]

Double Wannok?! haha, spicey!

Yeah, originally the map had no glyphs, but we found the play would just stagnate around the high ground on one side of the map. It felt like the map needed pull on both sides to really shine. With the double Wannok where they are, it feels like players have a strong reason to develop on both sides of the map.

Also, curious why you didn't make it symmetrical with the bushes? any particular reason?

As Shurrig said, I just did it to break of the visual symmetry of the map. I did the same thing with some of the rock and grass hexes just to make the map look a little more organic and less "fake".

 

[Killometer]

I really like the Wannoks protected by Jungle. It gives that little extra impetus to engage the glyph holder, and softens range's ability to knock them off.

How often did you see bottlenecks at the level 3 road hex overlooking the centeal level 2 road "courtyard"? It seems like a pretty strong place from which to defend lateral movement.

Did you notice armies with Raelin I pulling to the right, especially ranged against melee armies? I notice the little perch right outside the start zone (single road for one army, single rock for the other) covers the two single level 4 hexes on that side.

Theoryscape nitpicks aside, it looks fun. Over the next month I was planning on doing some tourney army testing on maps from our pool, but I'm probably going to bump this one to the front of the queue.

 

[Dignan]

I really like the Wannoks protected by Jungle. It gives that little extra impetus to engage the glyph holder, and softens range's ability to knock them off.

Yeah, the glyph location and the map overall definitely feels like it gives melee a nice boost. Normally I don't protect glyphs with jungle, but it has led to some interesting plays on this map. I've seen ranged units get pulled across the map to engage the wannok glyph on the other side. I like that interplay as it exposes the range and accelerates the aggression. I like anything that pulls figures across the map.

How often did you see bottlenecks at the level 3 road hex overlooking the centeal level 2 road "courtyard"? It seems like a pretty strong place from which to defend lateral movement.

I tested an iteration with the glyphs a little more central and there was definately some bottlenecks in the middle. Moving the glyphs over and allowing them to be engaged from the higher platforms seemed to open things up. This first iteration had no glyphs and the gameplay tended to stagnate to whichever side the ranged army chose to camp on. The current location seemed to give the best combination of action in the middle and the sides. I was really trying to get armies to engage across the entire map.

Did you notice armies with Raelin I pulling to the right, especially ranged against melee armies? I notice the little perch right outside the start zone (single road for one army, single rock for the other) covers the two single level 4 hexes on that side.

I can't say I've played enough games on this with and against Raelin armies to notice any trends with the ideal perch. The small level 2 perch has led to some interesting things and overall I've enjoyed its inclusion. It has allowed players who have had their start zone overrun to make some last stands with their heroes. So itt has created some late game drama without being too impactful on the early game.

The development of ranged armies (or melee for that matter) up the right feels a little slower than up the left. But the level 4 placement feels right with this in mind. You want to move up the right, but can flow somewhat quicker up the left. It's been interesting to see how melee armies have attacked the right hand high ground. Commonly there is a pincer attack from both the right and left because you are able to quickly flow up the left.

Theoryscape nitpicks aside, it looks fun. Over the next month I was planning on doing some tourney army testing on maps from our pool, but I'm probably going to bump this one to the front of the queue.

Awesome, let me know what you think. I've really enjoyed this one. It feels very frantic and deadly.

 

[Foudzing]

@Dignan Just came to say that I very like your new map Déja vu! Very orignal (wannoks avalaible from startzone!) map, the range melee machup seems very balanced, extremly fast map. Love it!
We played with Yngwild(disengage+Wannok) glyphs but I really think the double Wannok you suggested would be better.
The only downside I would notice is if the armies are low figure count, the fight might concentrate on one half of the map, especially if some auras are in play, but not really something you can prevent, esp on a 2 hills map, if players really want to pod they will pod.

 

[Dignan]

@Dignan Just came to say that I very like your new map Déja vu! Very orignal (wannoks avalaible from startzone!) map, the range melee machup seems very balanced, extremly fast map. Love it!

We played with Yngwild(disengage+Wannok) glyphs but I really think the double Wannok you suggested would be better.

The only downside I would notice is if the armies are low figure count, the fight might concentrate on one half of the map, especially if some auras are in play, but not really something you can prevent, esp on a 2 hills map, if players really want to pod they will pod.

Thanks for the feedback, Foudzing. It's always great to hear the perspective of other players. Your experience mirrors what we saw down here in Texas. It's been a bloody and vicious map that plays quick and dangerous. It feels like there is always a way to pressure your opponent. We've really enjoyed our games on it, glad to hear you have too!

 

[Sir Heroscape]

I've playtested on Deja Vu several times now (4-5?). Overall, I like it as well...that said, there's one feature I'm not fond of because of the potential abuse of it. That said, I'll reserve the right to hold that comment until after the tourney in Peoria this weekend...cause...I might just use it

 

[Dignan]

I've playtested on Deja Vu several times now (4-5?). Overall, I like it as well...that said, there's one feature I'm not fond of because of the potential abuse of it. That said, I'll reserve the right to hold that comment until after the tourney in Peoria this weekend...cause...I might just use it

Be sure to let me know about the issue and how it plays out. I always look to correct my maps if I can.

 

[kolakoski]

Well met!

Always found this map to be interesting, but inappropriate for our "normal" 'Scape games. Thematically perfect for Blood Meridian, however . . .

P.S.: Height/Move 5 can just barely get out of the depressions I take it.

P.P.S.: I hope you don't mind my adding Jungle pieces to the Map (not overwhelming, 1-2 per crevasse).

 

[Dignan]

Well met!

Always found this map to be interesting, but inappropriate for our "normal" 'Scape games. Thematically perfect for Blood Meridian, however . . .

P.S.: Height/Move 5 can just barely get out of the depressions I take it.

P.P.S.: I hope you don't mind my adding Jungle pieces to the Map (not overwhelming, 1-2 per crevasse).

That's great. Always happy to see some of the more unusual maps find a place at the table. This one is always one of my favorites to break out and play on.

 

[Dignan]

Update 08/17/24



I've been working on this map for some time now. I was tired of seeing so many new maps released with absolute symmetry (dual small ruins, using three small rocks to mirror one 3 space rock, people leaving out or only placing the large tree in the center of the map, etc.). I've always felt that a map can be a little asymmetrical and still be fair to play on. As long as you are reasonable in your design, other factors will have a much larger impact on the outcome compared to a few minor differences in the two sides of a map.

So with this one, I wanted to try and push my design a little further. Make sure the large tree isn't just in the center, use both ruins differently, don't mirror the map. I think this came out ok, but I'm sure the community at large will think of several things I've overlooked. At the end, hopefully it is fun on the table and something interesting.

Map: Precarious

Date Uploaded: 08/17/24

Requires: 1 RotV, 1 RttFF, 1 VW

 

[1Mmirg]

Thank you for what you do here, Dignan. I appreciate the way that you create beautiful and significant maps for our community. I love that you push the edges of what we do here in meaningful ways.

I need to look at this map closer when I get a chance, but at a glance this looks to be a strong, attractive, and clever map. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[Dignan]

Thank you for what you do here, Dignan. I appreciate the way that you create beautiful and significant maps for our community. I love that you push the edges of what we do here in meaningful ways.

I need to look at this map closer when I get a chance, but at a glance this looks to be a strong, attractive, and clever map. Thanks for sharing it!

Thanks for the kind words and please get back to me with your feedback. This is a map that I would like to refine and see if I can really hammer out any issues.

 

[Killometer]

I love maps like this. Meaningful asymetry while maintaining balance for both armies to develop across the entire map is a wonderful thing. I die a little inside every time I see a map with dual small ruins. I'm definitely going to try Precarious out if I can ever reclaim map building duties from Killo Jr.

Revisiting my last post in this thread, I did end up building Deja Vu and playing some matches against Killo Jr. on it, but it's been several months and I don't remember anything constructive to say about it. Maybe no news is good news?

 

[Dignan]

I die a little inside every time I see a map with dual small ruins.

You and I are cut from the same cloth.

Revisiting my last post in this thread, I did end up building Deja Vu and playing some matches against Killo Jr. on it, but it's been several months and I don't remember anything constructive to say about it. Maybe no news is good news?

As long as you had fun playing on it, that's good news.

Any feedback is always greatly appreciated, but not expected. I'm just glad to hear that people have tried the maps out and had fun playing on them.

 

[caps]

I really like the look of this one. It reminds me in a good way of one of my other favorites of yours, Grutabane Pass. Except this one is a little more likely to be tournament worthy.

Wannok on level 3 is a pretty interesting choice! I'll have to see about getting this one in the rotation.

 

[Dignan]

I really like the look of this one. It reminds me in a good was of one of my other favorites of yours, Grutabane Pass. Except this one is a little more likely to be tournament worthy.

Wannok on level 3 is a pretty interesting choice! I'll have to see about getting this one in the rotation.

Thanks. Yeah, the glyph placement is tricky on this one. Without the wound glyph up there, we just saw everything clump around the lower portion of the map. But maybe the wound glyph on level 3 will be too much.