Random Map Contest

Paititi – 39.1 Points 1st Place

by Cicero

The rich land of Paititi features ample deposits of gold and stone - however, these lie some distance from the player starting areas. Although this map is fairly wallable, players will have to reach out to secure control of these locations.

Each player has one group of gold/stone mines at a moderate distance to their flanks. There will also be a group in the centre if there are six or more players, whilst in 1v1 each player will have two groups - one to either side. Note: the starting resources are somewhat close to the starting TC - this is by necessity. The water on this map is largely aesthetic.

WK – Download

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Originality	Professionality	Balance & Playability	Theme	Visual Appeal
7.9 / 10.0	8.0 / 10.0	7.0 / 10.0	7.9 / 10.0	8.4 / 10.0

HenkDeSuperNerd

very well done! this script adds complexity of extra lands, and the amount and size of these scale with playernumber. It is very unique to use playerlands to add a second area for each player, which in this case is used as a place where additional resources spawn. The distribution of these lands is very fair
Only in the rare cases of playing this map with more players than the map-sizes fits, the TC-land of a player could spawn near the middle and the resource land of this player towards the map's edge, which would be very beneficial to get hold of the middlee area (where with 6+ players there are additional resources, or which in a King of the Hill game could be an objective as well)

Very smart to use a gaia map revealer to force the relics and predators away from the playerlands, since this fixes the issue that those are also forced away from neutral lands, and thus spawn only at the maps edge.

I love the abundancy of many forests, while having sheep and minerals nearby prevents bugged resources.

I like the different terrains and I love the large clumps with the tall grass.

I do not really see any added value of the outer ring of water, except from looking nice (or maybe to hide your army) Maybe where the lakes are large, navy could be used, or a sneaky transport to get past walls.
IMPORTANT: you should edit the Line of Sight on the MAP_REVEALER so Gaia units won't benefit from the aditional line of sight near the TC (minor detail, but this could make a boarlure easier, since boar won't lose agro when uder TC)

AlgernonR

Very nice-looking map with good thematic connection. It is also quite unique in the gold/stone areas in between players and that the players know where the main golds and stones of the enemy are located. I cant judge if there would be any balance issues with this, but I like the approach. A good decision to have each player get two areas in 1v1 so that trush isnt as dominant. The water on the outside is a nice touch and make the map more unique as well as very nice to look at. The scripting is also very nicely done and shows great experience - the adjustments to different player counts on several different sections in the script shows that the scripter has made some real efforts in testing for several player counts.

Pyroptere

Often only 1 boar spawning.
Looks really nice, and completly into the theme.

Chrazini

Extremely well-made map. The attention to detail is excellent. It matches the tournament description perfectly and offers a good amount of originality by cleverly using player lands to create fair patches of resources on the map and some interesting aestetics. Despite using a lot of visual objects to enhance the theme, it's not overused, and the map plays excellent.
The creator of the map is, however, a little too harsh with the object restrictions. You must be careful using min_distance_group_placement as I experienced objects not spawning as the object generation rules were too strict. This is a big no-no.

Zetnus

Paititi is an unconventional map that that concentrates gold and stone in small patches between the players, and forces players to contest these areas.

Map feedback:
-Quite a good and novel map, despite any criticisms I may have
-Wrong map prefix. it should be RMC not RMS. But that’s not a big deal.
-The only map to try anything nonstandard in terms of resources. Implementation is well done; however, it does noticeably affect gameplay, which is something you have to be careful about when making a comp map.
-"Resource lands" are not always evenly spaced between players. There is no way to fix this (other than doing all lands with direct placement); however, it can result in awkward situations (especially if anyone decides to play it as a FFA rather than a team game)
-No extra map resources other than wood and a very few shore fish. Could at least have added some deer or equivalent huntables.
-The map edges/borders are well done
-Eye-candy is not excessive (other than grass perhaps)
-Start out very housed in regicide, due to the lack of a castle (could use UP1.5 magic to add population headroom, or just give everyone a house to start)

Code feedback:
-Basically no flaws in the code
-Good call adding the AI info (although they still sometimes struggle, or take a long time to find the gold and stone)
-Nice job creating the extra lands as player lands
-Nice use of lands to make the water on the edge
-Objects placed in a sensible order
-Good use of the map revealer to properly constrain relic location

T-West

Resources right under the TC make it feel too much like GA. Feels very similar to El Dorado (especially with the perfectly square resource piles), but with the center gold moved instead to a different location. I like the use of mountains throughout the map.

Sinharaja – 37.3 Points

by RediRodion

Sinharaja is a wild jungle with a lot of different forests. There can be found a lot of mysterious artifacts. Nevertheless do not feel yourself rest here. Those who get seduced by the jungle never come back. On the map players can find 3 relics. Additionally there are 2 relics in the middle next to the magnificent Stelae for tiny, small and medium sized map and 3 for other sizes. Resources spread across the map are standardish as in Arabia.

The map was created in WK with UP.

WK – Download

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Originality	Professionality	Balance & Playability	Theme	Visual Appeal
6.5 / 10.0	7.8 / 10.0	7.6 / 10.0	7.4 / 10.0	8.0 / 10.0

HenkDeSuperNerd

perfect representation of the theme, and you even managed to put objects as ugly as the craters in and somehow make it look good.
I found out that this map is actually pretty open, and can be hard to wall off (sthe mangroves on the map's edge caused me to not fully wall succesfully) also the middle area is very open.
I love the elevation generation on this map.
IMPORTANT: you should edit the Line of Sight on the MAP_REVEALER so Gaia units won't benefit from the aditional line of sight (this could make a boarlure easier, since boar won't lose agro)

AlgernonR

Well put together map with very nice thematic connection. The visuals are very impressive, especially the middle branching out towards player lands and water - very cool looking mini map. The map isnt offering that much new when it comes to gameplay though. Apart from the 2 central relics I dont see anything particularly different about the map when it comes to mechanics. The scripting is very well done and very clear for a reader, it shows great experience.

Chrazini

Well-made map. I would have liked to see a little more attention to detail. The birds don't seem to fit the theme, and some of the objects appear out of place. The middle looks nice but doesn't add much in terms of gameplay - and might even be a little too cluttered. Players are pushed towards the middle slightly, and the centre is very open which makes for a very open and aggressive map, which doesn't fit the theme of the tournament description very well.

Cicero

Attractive map, skillfully made - the central feature is especially appealing. Mainly, it lacks a defining feature that would change the way this map plays out - it would be nice if the central feature had more of an impact on gameplay for example. Also, the challenge specifies that the map should be semi-closed, but this map is often very open on the front in 1v1.

Zetnus

Sinharaja really goes the extra mile to make realistic running roads that give the impression of an ancient civilization.

Map feedback:
-An impressive map as well, despite anything I might criticize
-Nice layout overall
-Perhaps too much eye-candy for a competitive-oriented map. Could probably have concentrated on the center, and done away with the other hilltop steeles and torches
-1v1 map is noticeably different from all other configurations

Code feedback:
-Only a tiny oversights in the code
-Good job adding some population headroom in regicide to compensate for the lack of a castle
-Very proficient use of map revealers to control object placement
-min_distance_to_other_zones doesn’t exist. You should be exclusively using max_distance_to_other_zones
-Standard on most maps is 0 extra forages (not 2) for map size unless the map is at least large
-Quite impressive connections, to make roads that fit the theme
-cliff scaling by map size <3

T-West

There's a lot of monotony to the use of the new grass terrain, but otherwise this map is gorgeous to look at.

Religious Mountain – 33.6 Points

by SnippyInDaHouse

The religious mountain was a religious worship place long long time ago. Now only mountain deers walks side by side by the many templeruins on the platou. But not for long... As the mountain also is an important strategic point for war, the mountain will soon be filled with human activities yet again. But this time not so peaceful...

Can be played as normal map or regicide.

WK – Download

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Originality	Professionality	Balance & Playability	Theme	Visual Appeal
6.0 / 10.0	6.1 / 10.0	7.9 / 10.0	7.0 / 10.0	6.6 / 10.0

HenkDeSuperNerd

Really like the jungle feel with the additional ruins and rocks and the amount of different forests.
Map fits the semi-closed requirement very well
The elevated area adds to the playability and is likely to be very relevant in both 1v1 and teamgames. also this open spot makes the map not completely wallable and provodis a nice passage to the opponent (a common annoyance of maps like mongolia). The different sizes of forests, and the large numbber of patches makes walling easy, but still challenging to close all the gaps
- I havent had the opportunity yet to test how the deers and relics affect the game, and how this differs in teamgame and 1v1.
- visually this map is very appealing, mostly because of a variation of terrains, while limiting the amount of strange objects to keep the map ' clean'. I like to see the contrast with the mountain and the rest of the map, altough personally I'm not too fond of how the stumps and ruins look.

Some downsides:
- player lands are different terrain which makes it easy to spot the location of the enemy (not necessarily bad), however due to the addition of 'fake spots' of this terrain this is somewhat fixed.
- the thick and ragged woodlines near the player starting area can often obstruct resources (mainy the main gold was ' bugged' in a few tests)
-The mountain did not always spawn, because the spawn location was blocked by a tree. This is easy to fix by moving the command generating the mountain up, or by restricting the jungle tree spawns to the grasslands.

AlgernonR

At least on one generation the Mountain in the middle doesnt spawn, could probably be fixed. The theme fits and I like the fact that the theme is integrated not only as a visual thing but also in the gameplay of the map - in that regard I really like it. I think the map does look nice and I like the use of cliffs and elevations. The very large woodlines can be a potential problem in restricting the access to the very important middle. The script is nicely written and includes helpful comments about the different sections. I found it funny how the regicide comment says "castles is for pussies" and then the regicide option does include a castle.

Pyroptere

Looks more like African than junglish (Well there is jungle in Africa but still^^), the roman ruins feel a bit out of place there aswell.
The gimmick of the center doesn't add too much and is something already seen in many maps.
Some of the time the mountain doesn't spawn in 1v1, it's not a big deal, but since it's the name of the map, that's a bit sad.

Overall it looks nice though and since pretty standard would be also quite balanced and playable.

Chrazini

There is an inconsistency with the mountain generation in the middle of the map. The Roman ruins in the middle seems a little bit out of place, and the overall aesthetics seem lazy.
Resources often become bugged as the minimum distance between forests and cliffs seem a bit too narrow.
Balance is great, and the middle provides an excellent area for players to fight for, while staying vulnerable because of the cracked sand.

Cicero

I like the use of the cracked-earth terrain to make the centre more difficult to hold. Bugged resources occur fairly frequently on this map - this could be fixed using the Gaia map revealer 'trick'. Also, having the forests spawn in such large clumps can sometimes block off resources - consider using smaller clumps to solve this.
The jungle straggler trees can sometimes prevent the mountain spawning in the middle - to fix this, you could either change the order in which objects spawn, or specify the terrain that the jungle trees can spawn on.

Zetnus

Religious Mountain is sort of a Goldrush-styled map, where the center is a mountain with deer and relics instead of gold.

Map feedback:
-A solid map gameplay-wise, with decent visuals; despite any criticisms I may have
-Plenty of space to build
-The central mountain provides interesting gameplay opportunities. Could also be interesting for king of the hill.
-Extra map resources are occasionally trapped between pockets of forest and and the edge of the map
-The mountain peak is missing some of the time, probably due to trees being placed too close to it
-The mountain peak would also fit better visually to the cracked earth, if you pick a variant without grassy slopes
-Generally good access to allies
-relics can be difficult to spot behind the roman ruins (can be a feature or a bug, depending on how you see it)

Code feedback:
-Mostly minor stuff here
-Mountain could have been handled differently by just spawning the object in the center of the land with id 2, and not bothering with a special land
-Place the mountain object earlier, to make sure it appears every time
-No cliff scaling to map size
-Perhaps relax the constraints on the extra gold and stone by map size. This will make it less likely to be hugging the edge of the map, and in turn reduce the chance that it gets trapped behind forest
-Looks like you didn't end up placing grass patches

T-West

I like how the mountain is scattered with deer and then relics, rewarding both early and Castle Age aggression. The hill in the middle is definitely valuable to hold, but it's not covered in gold like gold rush, so not as valuable to hold late game. The grassy_road, shallows, and beach terrains weren't used. Otherwise the use of stone heads around the map and broken pillars in the middle make it interesting to look it. The map definitely fits the semi-closed requirement with the large amounts of forests, and there is a nice mixture of jungle and bamboo, even if it is a bit weird to mix the mesoamerican jungle forests with the asian bamboo. There should be an interesting balance between walling to keep your home base safe and fighting over the middle hill.

Mokaya Lands – 31.4 Points

by Vardamir117

A untamed land of loose forests that can be blazed by a careful pathfinder, though most can be avoided. Once, an ancient civilization flourished here, but the scant remains of it are now inhabited by many animals.

Plain AoC – Download

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Originality	Professionality	Balance & Playability	Theme	Visual Appeal
6.3 / 10.0	6.0 / 10.0	4.5 / 10.0	7.5 / 10.0	7.1 / 10.0

HenkDeSuperNerd

3 map styles (jungle, temperate, bamboo) is cool
The patches of mud and flowers, the ferns, the different types of trees and the ruins, all add a lot to the visual appeal of this map.
Main concern is playability: unit pathing and the difficulty to wall makes this a real challenge. Some players might not enjoy playing such a challenging map. Also some objects are likely to be trapped (in a test one of the relics was trapped in the forest.)
The cliffs are nice, aswell as the open areas with ruins. Some elevation might have been nice.

AlgernonR

The main problem I see with the map is the high likelyhood of bugged starting resources. While the idea of forests of straggler trees is a unique one - I dont think it is very good. The map does have a thematic connection, but personally I would have liked to see some addition of hills, both to follow the theme and also to make it more visually appealing. I also think the player lands look a little bland, there are some other patches used to create more diverse terrain but I think more could be done to make it look less flat. The script is nicely written and the comments are helpful in guiding a reader in understanding the purpose of different sections. So the idea is nice, but I think the most problematic thing is the playability and the high likelyhood of bugged starting resources. The high likelyhood of bugged extra resources is also a problem. Good to randomize the looks of the map to create some variability - also nicely themed with different eyecandy for different ruins. I do however think the Statue object looks pretty bad when duplicated as often as it is in this map.

Pyroptere

Why is there a chance to get the "Oak theme"? That's not into the theme and less good-looking. Sad about the wolves and the sheep aswell (Why not always jaguars and turkeys?)
The "staggler" big forests is an incredible idea =) A bit sad that it would require weird rules to be played competitively (otherwise would be a laming fest, well I guess you can try to prevent opponent to scout your woodline aswell. Very interesting concept).
Because of the density of the forest, it often stucks deer inside or gold and stone partially (or entirely) inside the forests.
I love the fact that you can cut and place foundation to clear the path, to the ennemy but also to solve the issue of buggued ressources, only problem is some of the trees are not stagglers, is it made on purpose?

Chrazini

All forests are made of stragglers, whether or not this is a good idea is tough to determine. It does add a fun element and layer to the game, but I'm unsure if it works for a competitive game.
The idea of cutting through the jungle is quite original and immersive, which I really like.
Obvious pathing issues.

Cicero

I liked the wood generation here - which is the main feature of this map. There is a high chance of bugged resources with this map, however - finding a solution here would be an important improvement for this map. Perhaps something more could have been done with the resource placement here - for example some more extra resources scattered around the map to make exploring these forests more worthwhile?

Zetnus

Mokaya Lands is a map heavily forested with loose forest and narrow paths to get through.

Map Feedback:
-Quite a good map, despite any criticisms I might have
-Fits the theme well
-Regional forest mixture variations are a nice touch
-The forest coverage is a bit too high, restricting the build-able land that isn't close to the player starts
-Player resources (gold and stone) can spawn in niches where it can be difficult to access, or where there is barely enough room for a mining camp
-Eye-candy is not excessive
-No connection generation (-would be useful for trading lines with allies, and would also provide more space to build)
-No elevation - but given the restricted building space, this is probably for the best.

Code Feedback:
-Mostly minor things here
-Extra forages have "place_on_specific_land_id 21", but you have no such land, so they aren’t placed
-Good forest mixing
-No cliff scaling to map size
-Missing “terrain_to_place_on MAIN_TERRAIN” for extra gold on small map size
-Placing some of the more important player resources before placing trees may help issues with them being too difficult to access

T-West

Doesn't use the shallows or beach terrain. The minimap is interesting to look at, but is also a bit confusing. There's some nice eye candy hidden in the forests though, even if the map generates only a single forest type at once.

T90Official

I find this to be a nice map in most aspects but it will be hard to use competitively. The 2nd and 3rd golds are often surrounded by trees and unable to collect from, and I find the trees in the center to make things difficult with pushing later on in the game.

RMC_wild_woods – 25.6 Points

by Zetnus

Small clumps of forest and many individual trees give the illusion of safety in what is actually a relatively open map.

Designed in the HD Edition. Should run just fine with AoC+UP. Will also run on AoC without the UP in a pinch, but the player lands will start at a different elevation. Not tested in WK. Resources are quite standard. The main thing of interest on this map is the fragmented forests and the high amount of straggler trees.

HD – Download

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Originality	Professionality	Balance & Playability	Theme	Visual Appeal
4.3 / 10.0	5.1 / 10.0	6.4 / 10.0	4.1 / 10.0	5.6 / 10.0

HenkDeSuperNerd

I actually like the large amount of stragglers and small patches of forests, but I think the map is a bit too open. The different type of grass/dirt terrains do not blend together that well.
I like the steps in the elevation which creates some unique way to use elevation difference.
The map plays out pretty similar to arabia with ponds: additional stragglers makes walling awkward (and be warry of the palisade delete trick) and woodlines are not ideal (they run out pretty quickly). The elevation grants tactical benefits, but could hinder placement of TC's and castles

AlgernonR

Nice visuals in the HD version - less so in AoC (and broken in WK). The concept is not that interesting in my opinion, and the thematic connection is quite weak. Sure the technical stuff is there but it feels generic to me. Would have liked to see some implementation of the theme and also some kind of extra gameplay element - cause this map looks very much just like Dry Arabia with more wood. The script is nicely layed out and shows understanding and experience - the use of shallows for the player lands is a nice touch. Good use of comments to make the script readable. As a whole I would say the map is working (bugfree as far as I can tell) and without issues - other than it being a bit boring.

Pyroptere

A bit too open, not jungly at all.
I like the small woodlines and the elevation.
The ground texture is looking good aswell.

Chrazini

The map is interesting - the sparse wood and hill generation is excellent. However; it doesn't tick many of the boxes of the actual tournament requirements.
It's an extremely open map with little to no actual theming. Sheep, boars and wolves all seem out of place in what is supposed to be a thick ancient jungle.
I like the map, but sadly it doesn't seem to fit the tournament description very well, which influences the rating quite a bit.

Cicero

I liked the mix of original terrains here. This map should've been more closed imo (less open than Arabia) to fit the theme, and to differentiate it from other similar open land maps. Something else to set this map apart also would have improved it - perhaps something with the resource placement?

Zetnus

My own map :)
Don't worry, I didn't score it. To be honest, it's a bland compared to some of the others and probably not ancient or mysterious enough.
I clearly need to up my game.
Not sure why it breaks on WK, since it is fine on the vanilla UP.

T-West

I really like the use of the leaves terrain to connect the different patches of forest. And the use of hills seems pretty interesting too, with a few cliffs dotted throughout. I like how short the cliff formations are---enough to give some eye candy while not being annoying to play around like longer cliffs can be. But the map doesn't use any of the grassy road, beach, or shallow terrain, and it is quite open (not semi-closed). The wood likes are quite small, which can be rather annoying to play with. It might have been interesting to see some of the AoAK trees with 150 wood used here, if the intention was to keep small clumps of trees.

T90Official

I find this to be a map with good potential, however i find the amount of trees in the center of the map are too excessive for it to be competitively accepted. With some small tweaks can be a great map.