[Capital Competition] Middle Ages

[-=- Tanarri -=-]

Let me be the first to say hooray! and thanks Mr. Benn and Nobodies

[MrBenn]

This map has now been uploaded for Beta Play

[OliverFA]

¡Congratulations on making to map to the beat stage! I will join some games to see if I can provide some humble feedback.

[phantomzero]

Very interesting to see how the new Capital XML gameplay works. I couldn't believe that when I took my opponents last castle I automatically one the game. I didn't need to wait for him to start! Very fun so far.

The small map seems a little small for my eyes to read but I'm getting used to it.

[tec805]

"Yana palace isn't 9 neutral like Nyw palace"

Triples Game 8452370. If the holding team was to go first they would probably be able to hold an additional city. Unless I'm doing the rolling, because the dice gods do not like me

[thenobodies80]

You are right.
I'll fix this asap

[thenobodies80]

The new file was sent to Lack.

http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/3/21/2373685/competition/final_files/MiddleAges3.xml

[DJENRE]

Congrats!
Your map is really interesting. Bonus are good as it's more intereting to hold a city than outside bonuses. Keep it like that it's perfect.
I gonna send u a pm regarding a tourney on middle age.
Thanks
DJENRE

[thenobodies80]

The new xml was uploaded by lackattack

[DJENRE]

good to know.

[Commander62890]

I wrote this for my buddies, but I figured I'd post it here as well:




I love this map... there's so many different strategies!

The unique thing about this map is the fact that everyone starts with 9 armies on their Palace(s), but that it's not a conquest map. There are really only a few neutrals. The 9-stack is behind your own lines, so you need to fort out of it to get those armies in play (unless your enemy makes a bad move and exposes your Palace without being able to do any damage to it).

However, unless you fort directly to your own territory that is blocking your Palace (the Square), you expose your Palace to attack. If you lose all your Palaces, you are immediately eliminated from the game and all your troops go neutral.

In trips and quads, you need to be very careful about that... everyone only starts with 1 Palace. Killing enemy Palaces and protecting your own will probably be the main goal of your team. On the one hand, you need to protect your team's Palaces. On the other hand, you should really try to play it aggressive - clear the area around your own Palace, thereby protecting it, and fort your Palace to a teammate... who then tries to take out an enemy Palace for an elimination! If you can't accomplish this, then just fort your Palace to your Square, so that it's at the very least in play, and you can use it next turn. By doing this, the enemy still needs to go through 11,1 to kill you, so it's a very good defensive play, with some offensive opportunities for the next round. The only problem with that plan is that you probably won't be able to reach an enemy Palace, so it's not going to help you get an elimination in the near future.

Now, in doubles, it's very different. You start with 2 Palaces rather than 1, so you can afford to fort one wherever you like with no fear. You can fort one to a teammate in round 1, giving him a quick 11 stack, even if that exposes your Palace... because you have another Palace with 9 armies on it. The Palaces are not a bonus, and are therefore less important in doubles. You still need to be a little bit careful, though, especially if you lose 1 Palace or when cards come out.
In doubles, it's much more about bonuses and territory count (and later, cards) than trying to kill a Palace and protecting your own. There are a few pretty good bonuses, and you must decide which ones are the best choices for your drop. It's very important to fort out of your Palaces in rounds 1+2, to get them in play and help increase your territory count.

It's important to get the 9 Palace armies in play in trips and quads as well, but sometimes you'll want to leave it where it is for defense (if they're targeting you), or only fort it to your Square (which borders the Palace) for defense. Also, I haven't fully mastered trips and quads - there may definitely be situations where you'll want to go for bonuses, some of which are fairly easy to obtain (especially in trips). However, from what I've seen, the fight for Palaces usually takes precedence. I had a game where they stacked a player with 22 armies in an attempt to take one of our Palaces, but we took out that player's Palace right before his turn, turning his 22-stack into neutral.

All in all, it's an incredible map, partly because the strategy in doubles is so very different from the strategy in trips and quads. I'm still figuring out all the complexities of trips and quads, but I think I've got doubles pretty much down pat.

My only concern right now is "first turn advantage," which is probably pretty big.
Nothing you can really do about that, and I'm not even sure yet if it's an issue.

[LewisJB3]

Yayt has 4 territories to defend and only receives a 3 man bonus. Seems disproportionate to some of the other cities. Just a thought.

Oh, btw, love the map

[MrBenn]

My only concern right now is "first turn advantage," which is probably pretty big.
Nothing you can really do about that, and I'm not even sure yet if it's an issue.

When developing the gameplay for the competition map, we took care to ensure that the 9-stack cannot be used to attack in the first round, thereby reducing the attackers advantage in round 1. I don;t think there's really much else that can be done about it to be honest...

[Commander62890]

My only concern right now is "first turn advantage," which is probably pretty big.
Nothing you can really do about that, and I'm not even sure yet if it's an issue.

When developing the gameplay for the competition map, we took care to ensure that the 9-stack cannot be used to attack in the first round, thereby reducing the attackers advantage in round 1. I don;t think there's really much else that can be done about it to be honest...

Right, and that helps a lot.

But the first team can still fort out of their Palace first and use it first... it can make a difference.

There's nothing that can be done about it, though, if you want to keep the map as interesting as it is right now
- The 9-stack is a big appeal, and its pros far outweigh this con.



Also, I've been looking at this a bit, and it looks like Aery Palace is a damn tough place to start in team games. With the neutral 2 on Gate C bordering 5 territories, that basically means that the guy on Aery Palace can't fort his stack out if the other team knows he's done it. This is in contrast to some of the other Palaces, where, if you clear the area around you, you can leave your Palace relatively unguarded and still feel safe. Not so with Aery... you need to keep a stack there at all times, lest an enemy come through Gate C from any direction. I'm about to learn this the hard way in a trips game.

If you want, just take a look at the Aery/Gate C issue and maybe contrast it with the situation in other Palaces and let me know if you understand what I'm talking about.

[MrBenn]

If you want, just take a look at the Aery/Gate C issue and maybe contrast it with the situation in other Palaces and let me know if you understand what I'm talking about.

I suppose it would be possible to remove one/two of those connections/borders?? If so, which would you suggest to leave attacking options open but improve defensibility?