Hey neo_sluf,
So I tested your game several times with several different people. The following is feedback that we all agree on.
Basically, what it boils down to is: Your map makes absolutely no sense to an average player.
You need a better way to integrate new players, or your map will never be played, period. As it stands, new players would need to invest at least 2 hours into the game before even attempting to play.
They would need to read a comprehensive guide on each hero, then play several test matches to figure out your items, systems, and abilities, then they would need to play several more matches to figure out how to actually use those items and abilities.
This is a ridiculous time investment for somebody who doesn't even know if the map is going to be any fun once they play.
I can see that you have a lot of interesting concepts from a design perspective. I know you're probably dying to take things to a more complex, advanced level. Unfortunately, having a really cool-looking map with lots of neat features that nobody understands/nobody plays is pretty pointless. The only real purpose is to mentally masturbate to your own work. If you don't ever want anybody to like, actually play your map, and you were designing for the sake of designing, then more power to you.
If however, you want to attract a niche community and make the map fun and successful for other people to play, I have some advice:
1) Simplify everything. You need players to actually have a world that they can understand in order to get them hooked on the game.
2) Make enough abilities to give a diverse play style, while still keeping it bite-sizable. I would recommend giving players the option to play with 4/5/6 abilities max at the beginning, and players choose 4/5/6 of the total 8 abilities for each hero. That way there isn't so much that people feel overwhelmed.
3) Make a mode where players can have a chance to test out and get the feel for their abilities before the actual rounds start.
4) Make a "Beginners Mode" where you have a limited scope as far as the item combinations you can choose. Make it give you the choice between three or four preset builds that work well for the given hero.
5) Simplify what each ability does. Right now it feels (to all of my friends, and to me) like you just run around spamming abilities, and eventually one of you suddenly dies. This does not reflect well upon the level of comprehension we had for the game.
In summary, we are intelligent and test maps all the time, but this one really takes the cake for incomprehensibility. I recommend you address this issue as soon as possible before making any public releases.
Also, as an aside, 1v1 maps tend to lose their fun factor after a few plays through. I would consider making 2v2/3v3 options, or the map will be lost in obscurity, a novelty at best, and an incomprehensible and forgotten relic at worst.
I look forward to more updates. I hope you can fix this map, because I can see you and your ideas have a lot of potential.
-Mech
Approved
