Moderator: Cartographers
natty_dread wrote:Why does there need to be multiple types of impassables? There's already the body of water there (bay? lake?) so why make the map needlessly more complicated?
ender516 wrote:Why does every map seem to need grunge, or fold marks, or to be rotated?
In my opinion, they don't, but there is always much whining if a map uses clean solid colours and and rectilinear shapes.
As far as multiple impassables goes, I was thinking in terms of making the map more visually interesting, but it may just result in clutter at this scale.
natty_dread wrote:... the gameplay is not from the simplest end (unsurprisingly, this being a cairns map)...
so anything that can result in more confusion for the player should be avoided, if a simpler way can be used.
natty_dread wrote:...
So I guess, now, since you have the small image at 780 x 600, the large one could be something around 910 x 700, which I think would be sufficient for it... sorry if this means lots of extra work for you.
ender516 wrote:... but I love their look.
[*]Not totally digging the thicket (one "t", by the way), as it just looks like a clump of browns. It's hard to make out what it is, really.[/list]
-Rev. Sully
TaCktiX wrote:I really like the new fences, and the trees are a good addition to the darkness of the map (gogo autumn colors!). I do agree that the thickets don't work though. I can't put my finger exactly on what's wrong with them, they just don't look right.
Nola_Lifer wrote:Only thicket I don't like is the one between Putnam and Sarah Cloyce. It just seems odd. The others look good though!
MarshalNey wrote:There seem to be a lot of 'isolated' regions that can only break out or be attacked by going through a buggy killer neutral, which could have consequences for escalating games for instance, but really I don't consider that a big deal... it could even be rather interesting.
As for the bonus values... while I agree with Sully's suggestions, particularly with the Witch Hill + Prison + .... bonus, I also think that it is not necessary to focus too much on balancing all of the bonuses against each other. Balance among all gameplay elements is more friendly to beginning players, but really I never considered these kinds of maps to be geared toward that sort of audience- it's a complex, deep strategy map meant to appeal to ambitious or veteran players. I'm not sure it's necessary to tweak all of the bonuses so that they provide comparable benefit for their cost.
The map's scheme follows the classic cairnswk 'layer' system where a single region or group of regions can apply to multiple bonuses. Thus, some bonuses could be considered 'kicker'/'support'/'secondary'-type bonuses that would only be pursued as the cherry on the sundae, so to speak, rather than as a core bonus to build a power base. Obviously gross differences in cost vs. benefit among the bonuses could be a problem, but I'm not seeing that here.
That said, the Witch Hill + Prison + Judges + any Hanged bonus should be easier to accomplish than it is, not to balance it against other bonuses so much as to make it more attractive. Witch Hill and the Prison should have more of a spotlight in the gameplay of the map!
Thus, my feeling is that the bonus should be strengthened for thematic purposes. Right now, Witch Hill and the Prison are kind of a distant 'secondary' bonus and will probably be ignored in most (not all) games.
I may need to look at the map again with fresh eyes in a day or two, but right now I think it's overall stamp-worthy.
-- Marhsal Ney
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