Crescendo [1.0] is submitted for review.

[LPhillips]

New map: Crescendo [1.0] by LPhillips.
Map editor link: Crescendo [1.0]


[img]http://www.warbarons.com/beta5/minimaps/463.png[/img]


1.1: Cliff end-arounds have all been fixed. I wasn't aware that cliff end tiles are passable.

Goals for 1.2: Geographical fixes.
A) Considering a pass behind the fishing village linking top left player with upper mid-left player.
B) Guard towers, with appropriate unit strength (bandit groups, wild denizens, hauntings) at key points to control map access and provide extra hero xp.
C) View towers to allow players to see a little more at their borders. They're a bit hard to defend right now.
D) Considering road for upper mid-left player speeding access to the south.
E) I need to observe the desert combat between teams to understand what should happen there.
F) Possibly more ruins.

Goals for 1.3: Unit balance fixes.
A) Top and bottom keeps need strong production and strong guards.
B) Top right player needs wood elf spawn in first accessible castle, top left possibly needs to be slowed a bit, or at least handicapped slightly in income. We'll see how important quick access to mid is and how debilitating the upper mid-right player's access to the top right player's lands is.
C) Upper mid-right player may need good income, faster access to key central castles, or playing that spot may be simply a matter of proper strategy.

Goals for 2.0: Full testing and hopefully satisfied players.

[LPhillips]

I don't have the darnedest clue how to set team/scenario/etc, set or prevent random spawns, whatever. But I think the map concept has a lot of potential:

It can be 2v2v2v2 in pairs from top to bottom, it can be 4v4 top to bottom or split down the middle, or it can be FFA. I began with the 4v4 top to bottom concept, but the spawns are pretty fair. All castles are on random because I goofed with the submit button (dunno what I'm doing).

Let me know what you think; 2.0 won't be far behind.


Unite your kingdom with diplomacy or war and complete the ancient war! Do what your ancestors never could; cross the great desert and conquer the your ancient adversaries!

[LPhillips]

You need to try this map on FFA. Need.
It's even fun with 7 computers (so far).

I didn't intend it for FFA, but this is amazing on FFA. It needs a lot of tweaking: a few specific spawns for the topmost and bottommost players, some access changes. It's a mirror map, with some work to make it look organic. (Thanks for all the mapmaking options guys!)

So, it's worth playing. Topmost players compete for high-spawn keeps in the top middle. Top left (bottom right also if you're considering the mirror setup) has faster access to the middle of the map, but slightly less hope of quick local conquest. Top right is able to reach the keeps faster, has slightly better chances of local conquest, and fairly convenient access to the upper middle-right player's lands. However, the top right player must focus on fighting the top left, as he/she has almost nowhere to expand other than into the top right player's lands. The middle four players all have access to the central portion of the map, with various balanced perks such as towers, ruins, and cities controlling key access points. However, they soon find themselves locked in battle over the cities running the central line of the map and (if they're good expansionists) the desert itself and its fine ruins. The upper middle-right player has better desert access, but less view of the desert and a much harder position to defend. The upper middle-left (and its mirror) is currently the strongest position, and needs some work. Will probably have poorer income than the others, and not the best unit availability.

Please give me feedback; I want to correct any problems very quickly. The spawns are all random now, and so are the starting locations.

[tyrannicide]

This map is not balanced. So: If you like to gamble, by all means \"make it official.\" But it is not a test of wits, skill, or tactics. It\'s just the luck of the draw. Sorry.

[LPhillips]

This map is not balanced. So: If you like to gamble, by all means \"make it official.\" But it is not a test of wits, skill, or tactics. It\'s just the luck of the draw. Sorry.

It's got no defined spawns, which is my fault. I didn't know what I was doing. I'm sorry about the luck of the draw, but the city number is fair. But thanks for the feedback!
By the way, criticism is good. But that's not criticism. You've given no reasoning, nothing critical (analytical) at all. I'm just assuming you are referring to the lack of unit balance, since the city numbers are fair.

#1, it's a mirror map. So for teams, it's balanced. I'm also quite confident that the setup is valid and with a little tweaking it will be balanced for FFA too. Again, I'm sorry that the lack of defined spawns makes it a "luck of the draw" map. I think geographically, linking the top left with the player below (and the bottom right with the player above) could be helpful. But be aware that a couple of mountain tiles don't represent an iron barrier. The potentially wealthy players in the middle have to defend from all sides!

#2, a few spawn tweaks and income adjustment can control expansion rate of players very effectively. So if the map is/becomes geographically sound, it can be well balanced.

I'm playing the first team game with human players now, looking forward to seeing if they think it's worth developing and what they suggest for fixing its faults.