Methods of Scoring:
Control Points - Capture points of interest on the map by either killing them (the easy way) or by having more units than the opponent in an area to get a bar to fill up to a certain color (the 2-player-totally-not-taken-from-guild-wars-what-are-you-talking-about way).
Kill things - Including opponents, monsters, the enemy spawn point(s), the moon, etc.
Capture the flag/obliguitory-other-object - yup.
GTFO - or t... yeah, wrong way around.
Neat perks, details, shenanigans:
=> All Maps <=
- You do not need 100000 goddamn levels for a 30 minute game. >.<"
- A million heroes would be nice, but if they turn into clones of the opponents, or even other heroes on their own team... scrap 'em.
- Adding cheap tomes will cause Agility based heroes (or any hero, due to the way Agility works) to become "imbalanced". Be careful.
- When you get close to finishing your map, feel free to start turning "Map Boundary on top of Dirt/Grass/Snow" into "Map Boundary behind Rock Wall/Regular Wall/Cliff/Barricade/Broken Bridge" or something.
- I am biased towards a lower level count from having played Guild Wars. Seriously though, do you really need 100 levels for 5 abilities?
- Canned heroes can have surprising plot twists, while original heroes can become canned. Sucks, don't it?
- I'd complain about swearing, but then I remember the game got a Teen Rating. Just, try to tone it down, and remember, "It Makes Sense In Context" (thank you, TVTropes).
- Those are some sweet BTNs! Too bad the green screen comes out when the game's paused (or while I'm waiting for the ability to cooldown [or, while I'm waiting to be unSilenced]).
- Aw man, that's one cool item, too bad there's a cheaper one exactly like it TWO SHELVES AWAY! Jeez... Oh... My hero can't equip that type... darn... No refunds? What? What. WHAT?!?
=> Push (AoS/DoTA) / Control Point <=
- Have reinforcements appear from *gasp* BEHIND the base! :-O Subsequently, have "special order" units appear in the wave *AFTER* the next (to show for travel time).
- Sci-Fi maps can make use of Drop Ships / Transport Choppers to drop infantry, and heavier carriers for artillery. As a bonus, have a capturable base in the center, and allow Drop Ships/Choppers to drop closer to that.
=> RPG <=
- Your Save/Load system is nice and all, but... I don't have a good internet connection, so when you prevent me from saving the normal way... I know, I know, "host a darn bot". Sorry, I don't want to use 3rd party tools if I can help it.
- Um... Where exactly am I supposed to go exactly? I keep starting in the middle of town, with no sense of direction- Somehow, that is different from starting in the middle of nowhere with no sense of direction.
- Why does everyone want me to do their chores for them without any good excuse for not being able to do now raocow?
- Ok, so I complained about grinding earlier. Why must I kill a bajillion rabbits to become king of the hobbits?
=> Escapes <=
- This is not directed at 'every' one, but really, do I really need to escape on dirt tiles while dodging fluffy sheep-trolls? Whilst staring at the black void around me? I think Blizzard made floating rocks. You could at least disable their pathing (set it to 'None), make 'em walkable, and place them about here and there.
- It's not about having BAWLZ Energy Drink or Extreme Gut(ter)z of (fake) Steel. It's about being able to withstand your cheap hits you I Wanna Be The Guy Wannabe. (Again, not directed at every one, just some.)
=> Fan-Games <=
- We know there wasn't a good place for your fanfic, but... Oh, you're actually trying to make a good map. Well, uh, carry on then.