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Map Reviewer
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- Feb 19, 2011
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Review - Kings' Ancient Oath
(Version July 5th 2023)
Synopsis: Kings' Ancient Oath is a visually stunning melee map for two players. The map features a mixture of different tilesets that beautifully blend, creating a layout that is quite unusual for a melee map with its narrow chokepoints and thin tree walls blocking movement.
Map Aesthetics: Simply put the map is gorgeous. The black Dalaran Ruins tiles fit so perfectly with the more vibrant colors of the grass. The tile usage is really good - in some areas, there could be some rough dirt to break the evenness, but the terrain work is art as is. There are also nice elements of environmental storytelling, which are rarely seen in melee maps. While the visuals are very nice indeed, some quite critical choke points could be widened a little for a better melee experience.
Map Layout: The layout is okay though quite restrictive. The corner expansions could be opened with an additional pathway to make them more accessible. The narrow corridors and chokepoints make the map feel quite claustrophobic. The narrow chokepoints also restrict the movement of larger armies - fortunately, the tightest spots seem to be unbuildable making it impractical to wall off areas of the map. The really thin tree walls that are the main layout-creating obstacle on the map are also interesting elements in the map as they can be broken down to get additional access points on the map.
Neutral Objectives: The neutral objectives are placed very well in terms of environmental fitting - the decoration and spacing around the camps are also mostly good (some camps could have more space to engage). The Wildkins mixed up with Murlocs is a strange combination but not extremely distracting. Other than that the creeps make nice thematically suitable camps of acceptable strength. The item drops however are quite skewed towards the strong side: usually you want to drop 1-2 items per creep camp (mostly 1) and 1 item level per 4-6 creep levels (meaning creep camp of total level 10 would drop around level 2 item). In this map, the average creep level per item level is 3 (the target average should be around 5 for common melee). The creeping route seems quite strange with the green camps scattered on opposite sides of the base but the orange camps don't seem too difficult to transition into. The neutral objectives are placed quite nicely. The Fountains of Mana are really powerful neutral buildings to have, but having them placed in a dead-end beyond a narrow passage can also easily turn them into death traps with no escape.
Map Gameplay: The game flow seems decent with two expansion mines available with relatively safe positioning. Due to narrow tree walls new passages can be created around the expansions or with other means (Blood Mage and Keeper of the Grove say hello), which can alter the game positioning in surprising ways. The lack of Goblin Laboratory can be a bad thing but it also gives more emphasis on these few heroes and strategies allowing movement otherwise not available on the map. The item drops are too good for the creeps' strength but at least they are consistently too strong.
Recommendations:
Tune down the item drop strength overall (see comments above for further info).
(Version July 5th 2023)
Synopsis: Kings' Ancient Oath is a visually stunning melee map for two players. The map features a mixture of different tilesets that beautifully blend, creating a layout that is quite unusual for a melee map with its narrow chokepoints and thin tree walls blocking movement.
Map Aesthetics: Simply put the map is gorgeous. The black Dalaran Ruins tiles fit so perfectly with the more vibrant colors of the grass. The tile usage is really good - in some areas, there could be some rough dirt to break the evenness, but the terrain work is art as is. There are also nice elements of environmental storytelling, which are rarely seen in melee maps. While the visuals are very nice indeed, some quite critical choke points could be widened a little for a better melee experience.
Map Layout: The layout is okay though quite restrictive. The corner expansions could be opened with an additional pathway to make them more accessible. The narrow corridors and chokepoints make the map feel quite claustrophobic. The narrow chokepoints also restrict the movement of larger armies - fortunately, the tightest spots seem to be unbuildable making it impractical to wall off areas of the map. The really thin tree walls that are the main layout-creating obstacle on the map are also interesting elements in the map as they can be broken down to get additional access points on the map.
Neutral Objectives: The neutral objectives are placed very well in terms of environmental fitting - the decoration and spacing around the camps are also mostly good (some camps could have more space to engage). The Wildkins mixed up with Murlocs is a strange combination but not extremely distracting. Other than that the creeps make nice thematically suitable camps of acceptable strength. The item drops however are quite skewed towards the strong side: usually you want to drop 1-2 items per creep camp (mostly 1) and 1 item level per 4-6 creep levels (meaning creep camp of total level 10 would drop around level 2 item). In this map, the average creep level per item level is 3 (the target average should be around 5 for common melee). The creeping route seems quite strange with the green camps scattered on opposite sides of the base but the orange camps don't seem too difficult to transition into. The neutral objectives are placed quite nicely. The Fountains of Mana are really powerful neutral buildings to have, but having them placed in a dead-end beyond a narrow passage can also easily turn them into death traps with no escape.
Map Gameplay: The game flow seems decent with two expansion mines available with relatively safe positioning. Due to narrow tree walls new passages can be created around the expansions or with other means (Blood Mage and Keeper of the Grove say hello), which can alter the game positioning in surprising ways. The lack of Goblin Laboratory can be a bad thing but it also gives more emphasis on these few heroes and strategies allowing movement otherwise not available on the map. The item drops are too good for the creeps' strength but at least they are consistently too strong.
Recommendations:
Tune down the item drop strength overall (see comments above for further info).
