Monsters! - Battle for the Powerstones

[dolomite13]

Awesome comments!!!!

I should have a few hours this weekend to work on the map and I will see how much I can add or change.

Map Modifications
- Monster names in a logical order.
- Changing "colored" monsters to "special" or some other term.
- Making the "M" and "L" stand out a bit better on the sides of the map.
- Naming the wizards in a creative way to work with the special monster associated with them.
- fiddle with the blue monsters stripe/glow to match opacity of the rest.
- work on wizards to add personality to them.
- put a space between "lairof"
- adjust for color blind players (symbols etc...)

Thanx a bunch =)

--D

[dolomite13]

Here are the faces I used in the current map.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3560/349 ... d81d_b.jpg

I created several more and will probably be changing to these as I think they look better.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3562/349 ... 9761_o.png

Click image to enlarge.

Please feel free to comment.

--D

[Incandenza]

- Making the "M" and "L" stand out a bit better on the sides of the map.

Actually, I think they stand out okay on the sides, it's just in the legend, i.e. making them look something like: Mind Blast and Lightning Bolt...

[whitestazn88]

i'm here doing the preliminary review.

in terms of how it looks, its pretty cool. i like the whole technicolor kinda thing going on. seconly, the gameplay looks interesting and fun.

the only problem i would have with this map is the neutrals spawning to 15 on the shields... a little too high. and i feel like the objective is too difficult, but whatev...

i did like the addition of those powers that you can get with the powerstones though (i've been semi following this for a bit)

[sully800]

After taking a while to study the maps that I applied the colorblind filters to I agree that there needs to be a better way to tell which monsters are connected to the wizards. I will be looking to add symbols to them that match each wizard. I also agree about the faces. They are sort of weird feeling and I will be playing around with that as well.

Thanx for the great feedback!!!!

--D

An easier way of connecting the wizards and monsters would be to make the names match the color codes. Also, I don't think the wizards need three letter names because there is a lot of space and they are the main characters. I know you already named the monsters but I don't like all the English names. It's good that you can pronounce them but I would rather fight Sif than Sue

Here are some examples of names that I think sound wizardy and monstery. Feel free to be creative and use anything that you prefer but this may help you to get started.

Red = R = Rayden and Rog
Blue = B = Brima and Bek
Green = G = Golworth and Gak
Yellow = Y = Yeshna and Yub
Orange = O = Olan and Ope
Cyan = C = Cryma and Cof
Slate = S = Sythe and Seb
Pink = P = Purlin and Pex

[dolomite13]

Thanx sully that makes great sense. I didn't have much time over the weekend but I should have a few hours to poke at the map during lunch this week. I already reorganized the names in an alphabetical manner starting top left and going around the ring of monsters. I love the name suggestions. =)

[dolomite13]

New Map

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/350 ... 2b9a_o.png

Click image to enlarge.

Map Modifications

- Monster names in a logical order.
Now alphabetical starting top left and going clockwise around the map.

- Changing "colored" monsters to "special" or some other term.
Changed to "special monsters" and denoted with an asterik (*) next to their names.

- Making the "M" and "L" stand out a bit better on the sides of the map/key.
Added a glowing ring to the letters M and L to make them stand out and added this to the key.

- Naming the wizards in a creative way to work with the special monster associated with them.
The wizards names now correspond to the name of the special monster they can attack. They start with the same letter.

- fiddle with the blue monsters stripe/glow to match opacity of the rest.
Done

- work on wizards to add personality to them.
Changed the wizards faced. I like these much better.

- put a space between "lairof"
Done

- adjust for color blind players (symbols etc...)
Hopefully the map is better for this now.

Other Changes

- Changed it so that both powers of a powerstone reset to 5 when controlled.
- Updated key to reflect changes and clarify mechanics.
- Added real names to the wizards.
- Made the monster names more monster-like and less realistic.

Connection Map



http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3402/350 ... 4286_o.png

Colorblind Maps



Deuteranope - http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/350 ... 74b0_o.png



Protanope - http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/350 ... 447c_o.png

[Danyael]

looking great

you are on the right way to make it colourblind friendly but the wizard to monster even with the * but i can not tell which wizard attack which monster the colours are to similar
i.e Grath, Olan, and Yesha look the same colour. As well as Purlin and Brago look the same and Sythe and Cryma look the same
the matching monsters look the same as well

as i suggested earlier maybe have a small icon after the names

edit: my bad i just noticed the first letter trick but it took me a while

[dolomite13]

looking great

you are on the right way to make it colourblind friendly but the wizard to monster even with the * but i can not tell which wizard attack which monster the colours are to similar
i.e Grath, Olan, and Yesha look the same colour. As well as Purlin and Brago look the same and Sythe and Cryma look the same
the matching monsters look the same as well

as i suggested earlier maybe have a small icon after the names

edit: my bad i just noticed the first letter trick but it took me a while

I was thinking of trying a different symbol for each. I will revisit that again when I have a chance later today or tomorrow.

--D

[Incandenza]

Some great progress here, dolemite! Well done bringing some order to the army of monsters...

Okay, I have a quick gameplay question: why would I want to bombard the shield with a lightning bolt when both the shield and the lightning are killer neutrals? If I'm going to take out a wizard, wouldn't I be a billion times better off just loading up the relevant monster?

[dolomite13]

Some great progress here, dolemite! Well done bringing some order to the army of monsters...

Okay, I have a quick gameplay question: why would I want to bombard the shield with a lightning bolt when both the shield and the lightning are killer neutrals? If I'm going to take out a wizard, wouldn't I be a billion times better off just loading up the relevant monster?

That is a good question. I have been considering making it a bombard of other powerstones so they are harder to hold, or possibly a bombard of wizards themselves... any thoughts?

--D

[Incandenza]

Some great progress here, dolemite! Well done bringing some order to the army of monsters...

Okay, I have a quick gameplay question: why would I want to bombard the shield with a lightning bolt when both the shield and the lightning are killer neutrals? If I'm going to take out a wizard, wouldn't I be a billion times better off just loading up the relevant monster?

That is a good question. I have been considering making it a bombard of other powerstones so they are harder to hold, or possibly a bombard of wizards themselves... any thoughts?

--D

Well, you could rename it Dark Surge or something and have it bombard other powerstones, I can totally get behind that. Another thing you might want to consider for any killer neutral that bombards is if you want people to be able to fort their armies off that terit at the end of their turn (which would mean, for instance, that Lightning Bolt or whatever it ends up being can actually attack its attendant power stone to make the xml work). Whichever way you want to work it is fine, just wanted to make sure you were aware of the bombard/killer neutral repercussions.

[dolomite13]

What if the powers were changed to something like this.

Lightening Bolt: Bombard any monster in a range of 3.

This would let you defend a powerstone and leave a few monsters around the map that could not be reached by bombardment from any of the powerstones. Increasing the range to 4 would assure that no monster could escape bombardment.

These images show how far each powerstone could reach.

Range 3

Range 4

Mind Blast: Attack any special monster in a range of 6.

This way you could attack the nearest special monster and one in either direction around the ring of monsters. It would slow movement across the board a bit. Maybe a range of 10 would be better, that would put 5 of the 8 special monsters in range of every powerstone.

These images show how far each powerstone could reach.

Range 6

Range 10

I am fairly certain I only want 2 powers per powerstone but if someone has a suggestion for a third power that would add to the gameplay please let me know I am open to all ideas and comments.

I am also a tiny bit concerned with the 15 per shield but I believe that with the bonuses and the ability to win by taking all of the powerstones this should not cause a stalemate.



--D

[dolomite13]

Some possible new maps...

Large Map (With 88's)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3597/350 ... 2812_o.png

Large Map (NO 88's)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3584/350 ... 1e2e_o.png

Small Map (NO 88's)

This is a first pass at a small map, I did NOT resize unit circles and made no attempt to check font readability.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3595/350 ... c48e_o.png

Let me know what ya think.

--D

[TaCktiX]

Instead of some religious symbols (Islamic crescent and star, yin and yang), how about some runic-looking symbols that appear to be some kind of magical symbol. Take inspiration from Angerthas. Tolkien is always right.

Really, that's the only major complaint I have at the moment, and after consultation with the rest of the Drafts team, I am proud to present this map, Monsters!, with the Drafts stamp.



Go get 'em in the main foundry.

[dolomite13]

Thanx TaCtiX...

Here is a version with runes =)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3591/350 ... 3514_o.png

Click image to enlarge.

--D

[Danyael]

know those ruins are awesome and its so mush easier to pick out the monster wizard connection

[Incandenza]

The runes are a nice touch, but on the small map I can see people confusing the red and slate runes... might want to swap out.

As far as gameplay, well, that's a bit longer post. Lemme get back to ya on that one.

[dolomite13]

I am interested to hear gameplay thoughts, I have a few of my own as well.

I think the killer neutral reset to 5 on the powers may be too high. Or may need to be different for mind blast and lightning bolt. say reset to 2 for lightening and 5 for mind blast.

As for the shield I think I would like it to be hard to knock out a wizard but 15 may be too high and 10 may be too low.

--D

[LED ZEPPELINER]

i think a reset of 3 for killers would be good. maybe a 7 instead of the maybe a 10 with a -? for the sheilds

[sully800]

Congratz on the stamp! Shouldn't it be the new one though?

I like the runes on the wizards a lot, its always helpful to have multiple ways to see connections so I love that you are striving for clarity. Is there any way to place the other runes on the monsters themselves in a way that makes sense? The ones on the wizard hats look great, but the ones floating next to the monsters seem a bit strange...

[samuelc812]

Congratz on the stamp! Shouldn't it be the new one though?

They should update by themselves once they go live i think gimil has to do something

[dolomite13]

Congratz on the stamp! Shouldn't it be the new one though?

I like the runes on the wizards a lot, its always helpful to have multiple ways to see connections so I love that you are striving for clarity. Is there any way to place the other runes on the monsters themselves in a way that makes sense? The ones on the wizard hats look great, but the ones floating next to the monsters seem a bit strange...

I can try =)

--D

[dolomite13]

Here are two maps ... I have a few different graphic treatments on each for you to consider and give me feedback on =)

This is what we will be considering.

- Basic monster font colors.
- Rune colors and placement.
- The readability of troops on the map using "88" and "888" placeholders.

MAP 1

Q: How do the 888's look?
Q: How does the white font on basic monsters look?
Q: How does the simple Rune on the special monsters look?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3574/351 ... 3a04_o.png

Click image to enlarge.

Map 2

Q: How do the 88's look?
Q: How does the black font on basic monsters look?
Q: How does the fancy Rune on the special monsters look?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3336/351 ... a7ee_o.png

Click image to enlarge.

I do not wish to taint any-ones opinions with my own so they have been wrapped in a spoiler.

My Thoughts

- 888's look fine.
- 88's look fine.
- I prefer the black font for basic monsters.
- I prefer the fancy rune symbol.

Thanx for your feedback =)

I will be checking for comments all weekend and hope to discuss a few other topics with everyone including starting forces and peoples thoughts on the powerstone powers.

--D



.

[LED ZEPPELINER]

Your army circles are huge! scale them down some