I don't think this is the environment to test maps.
True, but my concern is being on the tail end of a map that is suddenly deemed unintentionally biased to the opposing side's army, through no fault of the army builders.
This happens on every map, including BoV.
Sure, that's true. Honestly, if the maps are fair to both startzones (either by symmetry or other balancing), and we get to name a new army for every contest, then there isn't anything terribly wrong with using any map for this event. That said, some maps will push me towards certain army choices, which can be annoying. Also, some maps can be balanced, but at the same time be boring (e.g. a pure king-of-the-hill map).
I don't think we have to stick to only BoV maps by any stretch - some of my favorite maps aren't in the BoV, after all. But I'd like to see us using maps that everyone feels pretty solid about. Usually that will mean a map that's seen some testing or tournament play.
As far as
Hot Treasure goes, my only real concern at first glance is that there's very little going on in the center of the map. It's pretty wide-open, too, but with lava and jungle that isn't necessarily such a bad thing.
Dok, how do you feel about reverse the whip for the semis/finals? Can't sandbag the semis and expect to win.
Eeeeh... I'd really like to see at least two games with the army before the reverse, if we use RTW.
I agree that you can't sandbag the semifinals, obviously. But if it's just that one game with the army before the finals, then it becomes almost a bluffing game. It's all about guessing what the other person is bringing, and then bringing the weakest thing you can think of that could beat that. With two games before the reverse, you can't really think about one matchup anymore. It's more of "what's the worst army I can play that I still think I can beat a lot of stuff with"? And that's where RTW gets cool.
So, I'd like to see one kill-em-all round in week 3 or 4 or 5, then a repeat of that army in the semifinals, then RTW with that army in the finals. That's still just two games with the same army - I think your attention span can handle that.
We still need 1 more person. Obviously we can't start this week, but I really would like to start next week. Any takers?
I'd really like to go up to 8 people before we start. I'm pretty sure we can find one last recruit. I still have one game left in the tournament, so I'm in no rush.
