(4)Fallen Esgaroth v1.3

[Achille]

Played this one with some friends in a FFA and it turned out really fun. The name of the game is resource management. Inefficient use of lumber will be a player's demise. In this sense I like the numerous chokes built into the map. The scarcity of lumber would initially make someone balk at the cost of building of defenses, but the benefits such defenses gain due to the narrow passages grants them the additional value to be considered viable from a cost - benefit perspective.

I have also always been a fan of players competing to grab their hero of choice from the tavern, having only one is a breath of fresh air in my own opinion.

Regarding the visuals of the map, the blending of the terrain tiles is satisfactory, though I would like the sand to appear a little bit more 'moundy' as it looks a little on the flatter side, but that is just my own preference.

I also usually find that the lowering of cliff tiles below the water line is ugly, but here the player is given the aesthetic of a sinking city and I find that it actually works quite nicely.

The only visual element that I found that I did not enjoy was the waterfall dropped atop shipwrecks, as it felt flagrantly different to the beauty and care invested in the rest of the terrain:



Yet this waterfall was a small detail and really pales in the face of the fun fast paced gameplay that my friends and I enjoyed. This was a very fun map!

 

[mafe]

Ok, once again a lot of the usual feedback for you maps applies once again. I appreciated you managed to come up with yet another completely unique look. I've never played minecraft myself but for some reason the sharp edges and "blocks" near the shops remind me of it. At first I thought the map looked lazy, with barely any doodads except near the borders of the map, which creates a somewhat sterile look. But looking at it for a while, it nevertheless works in creating a "minimalistic" style, in a positive meaning.

Regarding gameplay, most of the stuff is fine. I currently see 4 issues/bugs:
1. All creeps at the central mines are on camp stance, at least one fo them should not be.
2. Units bought the western lab can become stuck on the left of the lab if very unlucky.
3. Creeps at shops can aggro by accident, but in a real game it's unlikely to happen though.
4. It's good to have pathing blockers stacked with the buildings near the expansions, but from a few angles it is still possible to see through the buildings.

So 1 and 2 can be easily fixed. 3 and 4 are no must, but recommended. Map set to Awaiting Update.

 

[mafe]

Ok, let's about the points from my previous review:
1. is fixed.
2. is fixed.
3. looks sufficiently improved.
4. still exists.

Unfortunately I now noticed another (new?) bug: At the expansions you can be behind the buildings, but you can still move too close the non-camp-stance creep which will make the whole camp aggro. This could be easily abused to pull the creeps and easily creep the expansion. Imho this should be fixed, maybe by something a simple as adding a few more buildings in the relevant locations.

Until then, map set to Awaiting Update.

 

[mafe]

The issue of "accidentially aggroing the creeps at the mines" no longer exists. Therefore map approved.

PS: Even though the minimap is often just an afterthought, I'd say this is one of the best-looking minimaps I've ever seen.