(4)Sewer Strome V1.03

[mafe]

So, I initially this map looked very promising to me when I first opened it in the editor. And there is lot of good stuff in there; the inspiration from Royal Gardens is also quite obvious.
I like the the neutal undefended shop as well as the look of the areas surrounding it. The "sidelane" shallow water areas with the fountains (of power!) are also quite unique, and it places the fountains in good location where they are not the all-defining feature of the map. Itemdrops are mostly fine (see below), nice idea with the goldmines at the main bases as a de-facto easter egg.

However there are also some features that are weird or can be considered borderline bugs:
1. Expansion layout is irritating in the sense that the red/purple players have a nearby expansion that isnt "theirs". But this could also a standout feature on the other hand.
2. Creepspots with aggro issues: The expansions in between the players, and the crab/stormreaver spot in front of the blue/teal bases.
3. Naga snapdragon as creeps: Slightly overpowered compared to other level 3 creeps. Elven archer is probably fine.
4. It's kinda weird that one can build next to 2 out of 4 labs only.
5. Watcher wards, many (most notably Remo) dislike them, I dont think they are that bad, but when in doubt I would remove them.
6. Generally there seem to be an awful lot of choke points/narrow areas all around for a 2v2 map.
7. A lot of the excitement of the undefended shop is taken away by the fact that there are four other shops, so no competition for it.
8. At the southwestern tavern, a single hidden archer can trap heroes that are bought at the tavern.

So overall, it's good map but I still have mixed feelings about it. Imho you should do something about 2 and 8 at least, the rest is can be debatable. Map set to Awaiting Update.

 

[mafe]

Uhm... the aggro issues still exist for me, thought they appear to be slightly less likely. The tavern situation is improved at least.
Still, back to Awaiting update. Maybe there is confusion about the aggro or we test it differently. Feel free to contact me in discord, but I can also leave some scrrenshots here if necessary.

 

[mafe]

So, there was a major rework.... Overall the map seems to be better while still keeping some of the fun ideas like the undefended central building. Much of what I wrote above still applies, unless in the locations where there was an "obvious" change.
The aggro issues appear to be fixed, except at the gold mines between the players. I really dont get why you set the creeps in the back to camp and left the gnolls in the front on normal aggro range? Wouldnt it make more sense to do it the other way around?

Anyway, since this is the only remaining issue, it's not enough to require another update, especially since the creep camp in question is unlikely to be alive for long anyway. Therefore map approved.