So since the contest is now over (for quite a while): What to make of this map?
The judges of the recent contest were not too convinced with this map and raised some valid points:
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I mostly agree with them.
If I'd say the map is "style over substance", than this may sound mean, but it's not meant that way. But rather as a means of saying that the visual theme of the map is its main standout feature, while the gameplay features are not bad but not great either.
So yes, I really really like the "snake"/"wurm" that makes for a great minimap. Ingame, the map itself looks very nice too, but unfortunately a side effect is that is hard to get a sense of orientation while playing without constantly glancing at the minimap.
Regarding gameplay, I see the following weaknesses:
1. Overall the map is a bit too large for a 1v1 "standard" 2-players-6-goldmines-map.
2. AoW-creeping isnt very convenient.
3. Some itemdrops/creepcamps are unconventional, but in a good way (such as the lvl11 camp near the base, which includes a lvl 7 turtle). But some itemdrops are quite a bit away from the norm, in particular the camp at the central expansions, which is lvl 16 but only drops a lvl 2 item. This should be a lvl 3 item, and possibly a powerup too. On the other hand, a lvl 2 charged item from a lvl 6 camp isnt appropriate either (as ag3nt pointed out in his review).
It's a borderline case, and I'd really like to see some changes to the items. Look at ladder maps to get an item how strong a camp should be to drop items of a specific level.
On the other hand, iirc you already improved upon earlier versions of the map, and as a sort of "concept map" the map does its job. Therefore map
approved, but only just.
Approved
