|
Author |
File Description |
Charx |
Posted on 04/22/10 @ 12:45 PM (updated 05/03/10)
File Details |
Ruleset: |
AoW: SM - Unofficial Patch 1.4 |
Map Size: |
S |
Levels: |
3 |
Single Player?: |
No |
Co-Op vs. AI?: |
No |
PBEM/Hotseat?: |
Yes |
Multiplayer Online?: |
Yes |
# of Wizards: |
2 |
# of players: |
2 |
Skill Level: |
Advanced |
Password Protected: |
No |
Very asymmetric competitive 1v1 scenario setting, so there is still a lot of work to do.
While the Archons may be played in a more common style, you might have to focus on your particular strengths as the Goblin player, which are movement-range, forest-walking, swimming and concealment.
I hope that a game on this map will have many different battle sites and that players will see themselves forced to split their army.
Comments of any sort to improve the map are always welcome.
Patch notes:
Version 1.1
-------------
Bugfix:
- Gruumsh kill event fixed
- Race relationship events fixed (Gruumsh gets +30 elves, +30 halflings, -30 dwarves)
Balance changes:
Affecting Furio:
- added war hall to Furio's capital
- removed magic quest stone in crystal garden
- removed 1 tree in western swamp area, so that there is a path through the swamps that allows faster movement
- fixed and lowered ancient temple guards
- Scar has been added camouflage
Affecting Gruumsh:
- enabled war hall in Port of Hope's end
- removed 1 stack of area-guards in cavern graveyard
- weakened the circus guards
- set the market guards from medium to weak
- set the gold mine guards in east cavern from medium to weak
- Gruumsh set back to lvl 1 hero
- Gruumsh added +1 ATT, removed underground camouflage, added cloak of underground camouflage, added poison dagger
Affecting both:
- changed guards for resource-structure in western swamp area from medium to low
- removed 1 bat area guard in sw cavern
- raised camp guards from weak to medium in sw cavern
- added weakly guarded large gold pile at sewers entrance
- set the water node guards in northeast caverns from medium to weak
- added a wharf to Refugio Alto
|
Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
---|
Swolte (id: swolte)
Staff |
Posted on 05/02/10 @ 08:39 PM
PLAYABILITY
Original and daring concept to (basically) have no Wizard for one party! I am glad this unconventional design wasn't punished by the judges.
:)
The map is sufficiently open to allow for multiple ways of attacking the opponent, though some routes are still probably more plausible to take then others (eg, sw ug quartile seems not worthy to go). It also seems games don't have to take very long. The Gruumsh player can die quite early. Players also have a lot of opportunity to get reinformcements along the way (recruit sites), which would probably make for some big decisive clashes around day 12 and then a finishing up of the game, hopefully not to long after that...
BALANCE
Unfortunately, one of those maps you'll have to play a few times to get a good sense of all the opportunities. There is a lot to consider. So much, that it is mindboggling...
However, I have been staring at the map for quite a while now and could find no obvious problems. Furia is better protected and looks less risky, whereas Gruumsh has some more advantages exploring, and recruits being better available in quality and quantity. I guess I am leaning slightly towards Gruumsh (Shade, sorceress, and Lady of Pain in that recruit site... nasty combo!!). But then again, Furia has got more opportunities for quests, etc...
ATMOSPHERE
This is a perfect example of setting a story! Very compelling background and you can already imagine having fun acting out the characters in PBEM. Strong piece of storytelling there.
The mappainting is masterful. I'd say creating that slum atmosphere is brilliantly done. It really captures the mood of the story-setting. Same for Furia's area with sewers and prisons. Very well thought out.
No other words but praise!
I don't recall Charx producing a map before, but this work is very impressive. I am glad to see this map ended high in the scoring. Considering it truly being his first, even more so... I hope we'll be seeing more maps of his' soon!
(Mistakes: check the reasons for the control relations, they are all the same). |
Timelord |
Posted on 05/03/10 @ 12:11 PM
Very good atmosphere and a good example of careful map-design keeping in mind the story backdrop; good balance using magic vs unit/hero powers; recruitment structures in line with the story while minimizing exploits to a large extent; provides scope for pvp quite early; one drawback is commiting to an option excludes others; kill event for Gruumsh needs to be modified to include Independents as otherwise would result in stalemate.
(above comments snipped from the judging)
This map was my favorite in the competition. I love the story-setting and the way the map is designed to enhance that setting. Truth be told, I thought this was a Swolte map at first :)
If I were to rate the competition version, it would get 4.5 [4.55 for playability, 4.4 for balance, 5 for atmosphere] |
Charx
File Author |
Posted on 05/03/10 @ 04:20 PM
Thanks for your comments, guys. You mentioned that people would probably tend to play a single army with a fast push. I am fine with a fast push, but would like to see some more spreaded army movements on this map, because most of last tournament's maps already had this "one big battle decides it all" gamestyle. Thanks to you I am aware of it and could make some changes to version 1.1 to encourage players to go different ways simultaneously. |
ibobs |
Posted on 05/04/10 @ 10:02 AM
Not to be played blind for the goblins... Unless you are feeling lucky (punk) ;)
[Edit] Did I miss the warning about letting Grummsh die??? It is harsh if not.[Edited on 05/04/10 @ 03:15 PM]
|
ibobs |
Posted on 08/24/10 @ 10:36 AM
Just wondering - if the dwarves hate Furio, then why do they have a dwarf hero at the start that hates them? |
Oleg123 (id: oleg123) |
Posted on 12/24/11 @ 04:53 PM
Playability: 4
Not 5, because version 1.0 was 5 for me - I liked it more. Try to get the older version, if you can.
Balance: 5
Creativity: 5
Map Design: 5
Story/Instructions: 5
Additional Comments:
If I ever were going to give out "The Best Atmosphere" award (like anyone would ever give rats' parts about my opinion ;)), this map would win.
[Edited on 12/25/11 @ 01:59 AM]
|
nyarlathotep |
Posted on 05/02/12 @ 11:25 PM
Playability: 5
I played this during the the 2010 tournament and this map was a blast! I have never felt so involved with a game as this one, even to the point I actually dreamt of receiving turns and discovering troops popping up in impossible place :) That might be also because of the tournament setting, but still, I enjoyed this map enormously
Balance: 5
As I only played the tournament version, I wouldn't know if the last version is the same. But in my opinion, both party had a good balance.
Creativity: 5
The thing is this, one party does it the normal way, but the Gruumsh player has to play this game on a totally different ground. While the Gruumsh wizard sits safe in a tower, he can't get out. In stead, there is a Gruumsh avatar hero, which has to do all the dirty work - and not get killed in the process :)
Map Design: 5
This map looks good from top to bottom!
Story/Instructions: 4
As with so many dedicated player vs. player maps, there is not that much of a story included. There's a bit to sketch the situation, but after that, it's finished.
Additional Comments:
But if you really want, a player can put up his own story. Exactly as I did during the tournament. Here is the logbook of that match: http://aow.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=st&fn=25&tn=4160&f=25,4160,0,0&st=50
So thank you Charx for creating such a gem of a map :) |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
---|
4.8 | Breakdown |
---|
Playability | 4.5 | Balance | 5.0 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 4.5 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 876 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 58.11 KB |
Added: | 04/22/10 |
Updated: | 05/03/10 |
|