Dragon Realms [8.0] is submitted for review.

[somenpotatis]

New map: Dragon Realms [8.0] by somenpotatis.
Map editor link: Dragon Realms [8.0]

[somenpotatis]

To complete our library of classic Warlords I and II maps i herby present Dragon Realms. Battle the other dragon lords for dominance of Dragon Island, but beware that the economy is poor and the environment hostile with strong neutrals and watchful guardians in every ruin.

As with my other map i tried copying the original tile by tile, but this time things feels a little skewed, horisontally i think it's fine but maybe it's a little compressed vertically? Anyway the minimaps align rather well so i don't actually know that anything is really amiss. Since all players are affected by it, in the end it should only be an esthetic issue.

Just by looking at the map i think black and blue has the most benifical starting postions and white and gold the most exposed ones, but sorting this out and performing other fine tuning I want your help with. Please join my test game and tell me what you think and together we'll make this map the best it can be!


Best regards/ Johan

[Moonknight]

Very cool!

[somenpotatis]

Yes, they sure knew how to make nice looking maps back in the days! I hope the copyright holder sees this as a tribute rather than an infringement, either way it shouldn't seriously affect the sales of a 25 year old game.

Probably not the most balanced in terms of starting positions, but as a scenario map i think it can be part of the fun to overcome difficult situations. Had a period when i wanted to beat the Warlords II ai from every starting position on every map, but that got tedious after a while

[somenpotatis]

The first test game indicates that the two central starting positions are disadvantageous, perhaps both by being close to each other and also by being open to attack from all directions? However this is the original layout of the map and perhaps those positions are meant to be more challenging?

Awaiting more input regarding the original scenario map, i have also created a more flexible non-scenario map with various FFA and team setups. 3 player FFA using the corner starting positions (red, blue and black) seems like a more balanced alternative to a 5-player game. Sadly, making it a non-scenario map also removes any preset starting units and replaces them with the random ladder starting units, thus removing some of the dragon theme. To match the often weaker starting units i removed some of the neutral defenders. Also, while playing the first test game the open area between white and gold became somewhat of a bottle neck, easily defended by a strong horse lord for example. Because of this i added a mountain pass leading past this area to open up the game a little.

Please join the new test game and tell me what you think of it!