whitestazn88 wrote:i'm not super happy giving this vote to you rj, you didn't do anything different. but i still don't like the pirate map (i don't know why... its just weird as a middle earth replacement. sorry WM), and it seems as if wca is just not even worried about this comp anymore.
In defence of the Pirates map (and no I'm not saying who I voted for) the main problem I see with it is that it contrasts a great deal (good thing) but is overall very dark (not so good thing). I like the dark feel, but there's a
lot of dark, and the light/bright parts are very stark in comparison. It looks spooky in way, and I think it just misses the 'nail on the head' by a small amount. By the same token, I don't think it would take much to settle the balance between light/dark, and make the entire aesthetic merge. Also, the army circles are all the same, but some have text positioned on top of them - I think it could benefit from having the circles all separated from the text so they don't overlap.
Hell, I may as well continue...
Map 1 looks great, I still think it needs work, but it's getting to the stage where changes to it are going to make great difference as the 'basic' layout is done - it is just a matter of getting the balance right between the texture and where the land meets the water. I feel the shorelines are too clean a cut from land to water - there could be a little more transition between them to 'smooth it out', which would make the detail flow better. Aside from this, it is beautiful. Every territory is textured wonderfully, and small details like the river water flow and the faint brighter patches in Stone Wilderness are easily overlooked as being fantastic, as they fit so very well and naturally.
Map 3 - it's great, it is. I'm disappointed that there's very little been done to the map since round 1 to be honest. In regards to the theme, true it doesn't have one, but it's a blank canvas in that respect, and so has potential to settle into the right spot a lot easier than the other two, as any thematic changes will not be drastic. For me, it needs something more on the land. The mountains and lakes are good, but some non-border graphics would bring it out a lot more. There are graphics on the sea (waves, ships) that simply aren't reflected on the land. It makes the land look a little stark in comparison, and so unfinished. But overall it balances perfectly. Maybe army circles and 88s would bring the business that it requires, without them it is hard to tell.
I don't think any of these maps would fail in the Foundry/Final Forge (wherever it is they go after this), but I do think they all need a little more work. As an entrant in the other comp, I understand that the time we had to do these was quite limited, and the jobs done here are all brilliant. Each map shines in it's own way, each map can improve, each map is unique. I think the votes will reflect peoples personal preference more than which map is 'the best' - they are all great and all have personality. Kudos to all entrants
