Review - Raspberry Peak
(Version September 27th 2023)
Description: Raspberry Peak is a visually pleasing map that offers pleasant and beautiful contrast over a mixture of Outland-tiles and vibrant grasses. The package includes a slightly altered version that offers customized creeps and free pick-up items that heal your units after fights.
Terrain: The terrain is very pretty, with a nice mixture of deep reds and vibrant greens. The color usage is not overly ecstatic, which is good. Version 1.1 is a considerable update for the visuals, as the rather skimpy-looking trees have been changed to nicer-looking ones and tile blending has been improved as well. Good job. Usually, you'd like to stick to offering just one version of the map, but considering the version-wide difference I think here it is good to offer both. I'd still love to see the trees on version 1.0 be changed to the Ashenvale and Lordaeron variants, but I'd see the previous version quite marginal. Very clever usage of Short Bridges (Dead) to create pillar-like structures. Some of the larger objects (City Building Base Ruined) could be lowered a little to sink them at least partially underground, as the floating wooden planks are a little disturbing.
Layout: The layout consists of small islands of obstacles. The whole map is mirrored properly, featuring a diagonal match-up, with little objects on the map to be contested, with the Tavern and Red Camps being practically the only exceptions. The shops are placed relatively close to the players, granting the players early and fast access to purchasable items and possible early harassment. The altered versions also switch the location of Goblin Laboratories to the Red Camps, though I do wonder what the usage of Goblin Laboratory if it is gated behind a 23-level creep camp that does not sleep.
Creeps: The creeps differ greatly between the versions and version 1.1 is more coherent and consistent and easier to read than the other versions. The base version has some unusual combinations of creeps that don't necessarily fit each other thematically as well as making them harder to read (the more uncommon they are, the less likely players are to know their strength). In version 1.1 Unit Skin function has been used to turn Tuskarr Healer to look like a Satyr, which enhances the visual appeal of the camp without being drastically disturbing from a gameplay perspective, as the two creeps used are close to one another in power. The runes of rebirths in the corners always roll the same unit, which makes the random unit quite obsolete, this could be fixed (applies to version 1.1). The altered version does not bring a lot of extra value to the map as the custom creeps are brand-new and thus create confusion. If played a lot they could be a nice addition, though I feel like the Corrupted Moon Wells and Raspberry Bushes could be very well included in just a normal version of the map as well (without need of custom creeps). Considering the Raspberry Bushes: they are falsely titled (they do not heal an area, only the unit that picks them up), please fix this. I feel like the melee value of the map is actually reduced in the altered version, as it moves the Goblin Laboratories, and introduces new creeps (that are not necessary or greatly improve the map in any way).
Gameplay: Version 1.1 is a very nice looking, functional map for two players, version 1.0 is the same with slightly worse visual aspects and coherency of the creep camps, but still very playable. The altered version is a strange mixture of custom content and standard melee: while the custom content does not stray that far from the classic melee, it creates a puzzling confusion and can alter balance in surprising ways; for better or for worse.
The gameplay itself revolves around each player conquesting their objectives, and harassing tactics: the terrain leaves little room for caging in an enemy hero or patrol and has a lot of room for maneuvering and open pathways for harassing. Larger fights are less likely as there is little reason to all-in your opponent. With two relatively easy expansion gold mines and lots of lumber resources available (in addition to early Goblin Laboratory) one can expect to see prolonged games with large armies. The altered version affects these points somewhat: Harass can be more effective due to the free pick-up healing items and Goblin Laboratories which offer faster scaling are removed from the early game and instead replaced with Mercenary Camps.
Recommendations:
Fix the issue with the Raspberry Bushes in the Altered version. I'd also recommend thinking about whether the Altered Version brings much more value to the map. I'd also question why the Icecrown Mercenary Camps instead of for example Ashenvale. The random creep in the corner red camps is useless as it only has one option to roll into: perhaps add more options (that would add more interest to the RoR) or replace it with the actual creep itself. Overall very nice work on the map, version 1.1 is nice looking and good quality, the altered version needs more tweaking.
Awaiting update
