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The Book of Crime Alley Map

Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

I finished putting together the map, and thought you'd like to see it. Since you're redesigning the buildings, I'll leave the supports on.

Spoiler Alert!


I placed my arm between the buildings. Close fit getting down to street level, but not impossible. I'd say the shadow spaces are the most difficult to get to. Since the buildings aren't directly across from each other, you can access the buildings easily. Oh, and since the buildings aren't connected directly to the map, you can actually slide the buildings away if needed.

Spoiler Alert!


Two more views.

Spoiler Alert!


Spoiler Alert!
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Hey Davidlhsl, can I push the friendship a little further & ask if you could have a game on it & let us know how it feels. I really want to know if it has the feel of an alleyway fight or not. Man I really need another FotA.

Cheers
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Hey Davidlhsl, can I push the friendship a little further & ask if you could have a game on it & let us know how it feels. I really want to know if it has the feel of an alleyway fight or not. Man I really need another FotA.

Cheers

Did somebody say.... GAME?!!! :) :) :) :woot:

I'll get on it... (probably finish by Saturday evening at latest)
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Hey Davidlhsl, can I push the friendship a little further & ask if you could have a game on it & let us know how it feels. I really want to know if it has the feel of an alleyway fight or not. Man I really need another FotA.

Cheers

Did somebody say.... GAME?!!! :) :) :) :woot:

I'll get on it... (probably finish by Saturday evening at latest)

I'd hate to twist your arm though :p
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

I removed one lower ladder piece from each leftmost ladder. I've placed a Minion of Utgar on each support column as statues to make them unplayable (these look really cool on the map).

Batman and Spiderman are definitely hitting the game at a minimum.

Oh, congrats on Swamp Thing, quozl. I bought the figure this week with some others.

Edit: Forces I'll play

Player 1 = Hawkgirl / Spider-Man / Batman / Robin
Player 2 = Yellow Lantern / Sinestro Corps Soldier x 4
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

I've been thinking about the upcoming battle, and I there are a few items I can go ahead and report as far as what I'm expecting.

First, the battlements and walls will provide figures with a target point that will allow them to look straight down. There is one hex on the roof (and this point also applies to the upper level of the Platforms 5&6 map) that doesn't have a battlement, so the line of sight will be traced from the figure itself. This means that the hex the figure is standing on will actually block line of sight to some of the lower areas, creating a larger blind spot.

I don't point this out as a criticism, merely as an observation for those of you who design maps. If you are already aware of this fact, then crown me Mr. Obvious. :) But this is a feature I found when playing on Platforms 5 & 6 that I personally found fascinating, as I like the idea of having larger blind spots from rooftops to give ground units better cover.

Second observation: I expect knockback rules to really kick in. Heroes with Super Strength are not immune to extreme falling! Figures are going to want to take high ground on the rooftop and 3rd level, but they will be exposing themselves to getting knocked off. This risk/reward aspect is really exciting, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out in battle.

Finally, the platforms on 1st/2nd/3rd story don't have a lot of room for adjacency. This will promote one-on-one slugfests. I was initially concerned that a side can simply occupy all hexes of a level, but they are still vulnerable to fire from above and from figures climbing down on ladders.

I'm expecting a great battle.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

A guy who plays with Knockback! I love it! :)
And, yeah, this map and any map with lava on it are sooo perfect for Knockback. I really need to start playing with it all the time myself. It's such a fun addition to SuperHeroscape games.
By the way, you guys definitely need to add this David guy to the ranks of the C3G mapmakers! I'd love an excuse to toss him a badge.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

By the way, you guys definitely need to add this David guy to the ranks of the C3G mapmakers! I'd love an excuse to toss him a badge.

This would certainly be an honor. I'm afraid if I commit to anything, that life stuff and other wandering interests would pull me away. For example, this year I bought season tickets to see the Nashville Symphony. Their season begins this month, so that will take some of my Saturday evenings away.

Another project I'm contemplating: I have a software program called Comic Life Magiq (a Mac OS X program). It let's you create comic book style panels, with the ability to bring in photos. I was thinking that this would be an ideal medium to try to do a battle report. Not sure how long it would take, but I'm thinking it would take at least a month to pull together. If the resulting pdf file size winds up being too large, it would pretty much squash the project. But if the file size is reasonable, I could upload the pdf in the Downloads section. Just something I'm playing around with.

But as I see things where I feel I can make a contribution, I will pitch in where I can.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

I have this thread up and don't feel like finding another one, sorry A3n. If David:html will have us, I propose that he become our newest member in the map group.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Status on First 3 rounds:

Team 1: 5th Precinct x 2, Spiderman, Batman, Robin, Hawkgirl
Team 2: Street Thugs, Yellow Lantern, Sinestro Corps Soldier x 4

I decided to see how ground units would fare.

Yellow Lantern made it to 2nd story of left-most building. Team 1 kept heroes close to cops for protection. Two fell to attacks from Yellow Lantern on Batman. Batman's Evasive put a wound on Yellow Lantern and an SCS.

Yellow Lantern is on ledge with SCS soldier, protecting him for the moment from any adjacency. Street Thugs sniped at cops with no luck. One thug took a hit from a cop. Robin strayed from Batman to get to roof of Warehouse opposite Yellow Lantern. Couldn't land a blow. Yellow Lantern's height bonus + Battery 2 bonus landed a decisive hit against Robin, knocking him out.

Yellow Lantern is currently VERY deadly at his position. One SCS is risking a placement on the rooftop (!).

Hawkgirl/Spiderman have moved forward a bit. One SCS is still at the start zone.

Heroes need to use cover more. Maybe work on thugs first, then zip up.

More to follow...
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Batman is on roof of warehouse preparing to grapple to bldg, but can't get initiative in time. Yellow Lantern takes him out Round 4.

Hawkgirl takes 3 wounds from Sinestro on roof after avoiding another attack from the same figure with police protection. She swoops to roof, but can't land either wound or knockout (rats!).

Yellow Lantern flies up and wipes out Hawkgirl. With only Spiderman and 1 cop on the field, and only 3 thugs down, Player 1 resigns.

I need to try this again, but not tonight. The approach is far more difficult than I anticipated. Yellow Lantern is really brutal, and has rolled no less than 5 skulls on each of his attacks.

Edit: Oh, and both the police and thugs have proven themselves immensely valuable in this. The thugs on the ground effectively pinned Batman from gaining cover without risking engagement strike. One brave (or stupid) cop made it to the 2nd level (!!!) to attempt to take out a SCS.

Edit 2: Well, Batman could Batgrapple to avoid engagement strikes, but was still within attack range from 3 street thugs, Yellow Lantern, and an SCS.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

It seems like whoever can grab the most hieght first wins on this map. If that turns out to be the case I think it could turn nasty very quickly for the other side.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

It seems like whoever can grab the most hieght first wins on this map. If that turns out to be the case I think it could turn nasty very quickly for the other side.

This could be the case, which is why I want to try again. There is plenty of cover below that I didn't take advantage of that I should have. But Bat Grapple only makes it to level 2 from below, which is what pinned Batman's approach. Batman could go to opposite building and Batarang at a safer range. Spiderman (which didn't see action) can go up 3 levels.

Oh, and Yellow Lantern's attack (6 dice) + both batteries (2 dice) + super-duper height (2 dice) = 10 dice!!!

One thing I really love about this map is that you really have to think every single round.

There are still options to try, so I haven't given up on this one yet. :)
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Sounds like Knockback didn't come into play for socking people off the roof very much.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Sounds like Knockback didn't come into play for socking people off the roof very much.

Heroes simply didn't survive long enough, as they were mostly picked off at range before they could make it up. I have some new things to try for the next game.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Nothing but garbage on television, so I've got time to try again. I won't take very detailed notes other than to cite highlights, which should speed this up a bit...
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Ok, this was a different game. The Yellow Lantern still dominated, but it wasn't the sweep the first game was.

Street Thugs were pretty much taken out in Round 3.

Hawkgirl swooped to 2nd level where Yellow Lantern and SCS were stationed. Yellow Lantern gave her 3 wounds from range. Later, Yellow Lantern knocked her out.

Yellow Lantern knocked out Batman in Round 5. Batman had better use of cover, but Yellow Lantern hits with a ton of bricks.

Knockback first appeared when Yellow Lantern attacked Robin, but Robin survived knockback damage. However, Robin was no match for the Yellow Lantern and was KO in Round 5 from Yellow Lantern's Eviscerate.

Yellow Lantern used some Insurgent Motivation on a wounded SCS to boost the remaining SCS.

Spiderman takes command. His Spidey-Sense really helped. By the time he was inevitably knocked out, Yellow Lantern had taken 4 wounds (most from Spiderman, others from Batman's Evasive Strike). One SCS had 2 wounds, another had 1, and another had 0.

One remarkable knockback story: At the roof, the SCS knocks Spiderman 2 spaces off the top of the building. Spiderman rolls 20 on Extreme Falling and survives!!!

Better game, and the victory had more to do with the units than the map. Because I played cover more effectively this time, there was constant movement back and forth between levels and buildings.

This is an incredibly fun and challenging map to play.

Edit: Well, it was a sweep, but the wounds on Yellow Lantern and some of the SCS made this closer than it seemed.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

It sounds like as long as you play smart on this map, then gaining hieght gives the normal advantage. I think this run through is more accurate since I think most of us would try to utilize the cover as much as we could.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

David, do you think the buildings need the supports or will they work without them?
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

David, do you think the buildings need the supports or will they work without them?

I removed the supports, and the buildings simply won't hold on this card table. Even if I tried it on a hardwood table, you're going to have constant contact with the buildings moving units from one level to the next (and as the 2nd game demonstrated, there will be a lot of movement). The ramparts can sometimes get in the way and cause you to bump the building when moving units into position on the platforms, particularly the hexes on levels 1 and 2 with the ladder. This may be more of an issue for those like me who choose not to rebase their Heroclix figures. Keep in mind also that some people like to set up their maps on carpeted floors as well. That's how I set up Wayne Manor. I can't play this map without the supports.

Oh, and there was one instance in which temporarily sliding the building away from the map proved helpful in accessing the map.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

...Okay, I'm officially unhappy that I always thought one of everything would be enough...And don't have enough Castle, Forest/Road, OR Marvel sets for this...
That's my issue also, & I designed this :duh:

I made part of the suggested change for the support but added another means to support it also. Whilst doing that I moved the warehouses back inline with the buildings & widened the street entrances a little. This also allowed me to now include 24 start zones.

@Davidlhsl, as I was making the changes in VS I thought of a way that might help that 2nd floor tilting 2 hex tile. You'll see on the top building I changed the configuration of it. But alas I already pulled my building down & worked on my next one. If you still have it up would you be able to make that modification & let me know if it solves the issue.

HSC file
PDF file

FreakShowAlleyV2.jpg


Cheers
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

I'll definitely try this new version and let you know how it works. When you said you were going to modify it, I was afraid we'd have to lose the fourth story.

I had forgotten to report on the tilting tile, because it never became an issue.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Question: What are the four single-hex pieces on Level 12? I've never seen the single line in the hex before.
 
Re: C3G Map in progress - Freak Show Alley

Question: What are the four single-hex pieces on Level 12? I've never seen the single line in the hex before.

Those are the Raelin/Taelord figures. VS uses that line to indicate the direction the figure is facing.
 
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