Re: Ulysses' Maps (2 New Scraps Maps 3/2020)
Not gunna lie - that rotating picture is pretty cool! How'd you do that?? Was it a screencast that you uploaded to google drive?
I just downloaded some freeware called ScreenToGif, it did all the hard work and was fairly easy to use. I used it to screen capture VS then saved it as a .gif and shared the link through Drive. I was pretty pleased that it displayed correctly. I'm definitely keeping it installed!
1) I love the clear start zones, the overall size of the map, and it certainly looks great. Overall it looks like a very inviting map to play.
Thank you! I'm glad it doesn't seem too small, I almost quit working on it for that reason alone, but I liked the footprint so I forged ahead anyhow.
3) Overall I have two main concerns, and a couple other smaller suggestions. My first concern is the restrictiveness of the map. There are a lot of choke points throughout the map. While a few choke points typically aren't a bad thing, I feel like it could be quite frustrating to play against rats or any other screen type army on this map as it currently is. There is another thing to consider when a map is too restrictive, and that is can units reasonably fit on the various parts of the map? If you have spaces on the map where some of the bigger figures can't get to (or at least threaten - meaning they can move adjacent to that space), then you've got a major problem. A tournament map can't prevent someone from playing a particular army because of the way that map is set up.
I always struggle with choke points. It usually happens that I'll fix one and a new one springs up shuffling terrain around. I play tested some Goblin Cutters on it and even though they were falling fast it was too easy for them to clog up passages. A few revisions ago there were less wall pieces. I'll see if I can widen things up and cut down while keeping the theme.
The large figures issue is certainly an oversight here. I haven't been playing any builds with huge figs recently and I really should've moved Nilf or someone around the board a bit. Great advice!
The next concern is the three hex dungeon tile on level three right next to the start zone. If I was running range, I would definitely take advantage of that.
For the terrain you have available, I feel like you've done well at trying to utilize it effectively. However, there might be a couple sections you'll want to think about some more. The area around the central rock is really choppy - it has a lot of up and down with battlements and elevation changes. I'm most worried about the single battlements that are closest to the tallest part of the rock outcrop (they are attached to road tiles). Also, some of the shadow tiles are placed in areas where they likely won't see any use - it would be better to try and use them in places where a unit threatening a key position can benefit from the defensive bonus. To explain what I mean by that, think about where ranged units are likely to try and situate themselves, and put the shadow tiles in a place that would help melee units threaten that position or provide them additional cover as they try and get there.
I can absolutely work on those three hexers, it'll be nice to have those freed up and do a little re-envisioning.
I knew that choppiness by the 3-hex outcrop was a problem. Part of me was thinking about nixing the shadow and the water there and leveling it out, also yes those battlements right there are pretty awful. I was thinking originally I'd have a back-stab path that made it easy to get on top of whoever perched there, but it's too easy to clog up as it is and those battlements just stifle movement too much.
Those shadows towards the bottom of the map have been moved probably 10 times and I know there's a better spot for them, I just have to find it. I need to think about it as you mentioned, helping figures threaten advantageous locations.
2 additional thoughts:
- Try to keep the integrity of the map as you've currently designed it. Sometimes people will see our suggestions and go back to the drawing board and rework everything. Not so. What you have is working, but it does need some tweaking...so try to keep the map design - for the most part - the way you envisioned it...but the challenge here is now to make small shifts, adjustments and subtle changes that'll open up the map a little more, level it out and make it more refined.
Thank you for this! I had just about scrapped this build, but you guys have inspired me to keep at it!
- The road. Right now it looks nice, but it's actually not really helping movement through the map. It's disconnected and relatively short, so most figures will really only get an extra space during their movement. Try to rethink how you want the road to be represented in this map in order to help with the flow of units.
So having the road disconnected was conscious, though I'm thinking a little misguided. My thought was that since the map was fairly tight, the movement would be quick enough without it, but now I'm thinking about Knights or Tarns and how I need to keep range at bay by letting melee get to them if I can.
Thank you so much guys! It's all very thoughtful, concise, and helpful. I'm absolutely going to keep revising this and I'll post my next version when I'm feeling good about it. Thanks for taking the time to take a critical look, you guys are awesome!
