Louis Cyphre
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Hello everyone.
Last year, I noticed this thread in the forum list. I opened it, didn't understand what it was about, and closed it. Since then, I've occasionally noticed that the thread is still active and that there's some discussion going on. The other day, I finally decided to give it a try and was amazed by you, the author. My amazement came even before I opened your works. Unwavering enthusiasm – that's what I see in you. To work on this alone for more than three years and not receive even a small review with recommendations and criticism in return is, at the very least, unfair. Not knowing what to expect from these kinds of maps, I decided to do my first playthrough live (link). And I think it would be useful to briefly outline my feedback here:
There are many genres in map-making, and each has its own essence. This project is an alternative embodiment of random scenarios, where the will of the great Random determines the fate of the playthrough. This is the case in games like The Binding of Isaac, where each new attempt can be either easy, difficult, or close to impossible. Well, the concept is there; it just needs to be perfected. And in my opinion, I noticed the following shortcomings:
- There is absolutely no pleasure in simply skipping turns at the very beginning. I was playing on 200% difficulty and had to resort to this because the lack of a hero and resources led to immobilization. I recommend giving at least a random starting hero or 3000 gold and 5 units of ore to build a tavern and hire someone.
- An unpleasant situation occurs when a friendly hero with an empty movement point reserve blocks the path of another hero, who, although has movement points remaining, cannot pass further because the spiral structure does not allow it. I would like the path to be at least 2 cells wide. Heroes appear with different movement points: some have Logistics, some have Logistics as a specialty, and some have slow units. This part of the randomness should be optimized.
- When I looked at the screenshots of your works, I experienced mixed emotions: it was strange, incomprehensible, and it seemed absurd, which strongly put me off. And the reason for this is the chaotic map design. Imagine a bag of toys that has been dumped on the ground – that's roughly the association. Therefore, I think that a coherent and structured look is needed. In many places, there is a wall of 1x1 obstacle objects, and the first things that come to mind are a stone, a single mushroom, and a bush. Quite absurd, isn't it? I strongly advise you to adhere to a specific set of objects for each landscape, so that the obstacle looks like an obstacle. You can't step on a mushroom in the game, but visually it is not perceived as an obstacle at all.
- On these small maps, there are many cities, and this gives me an idea that, in my opinion, would perfectly complement your idea, namely, a playthrough for a result. I think it's no secret to anyone that the maximum number of points for a single scenario is 500, but achieving such a result is often impossible on many maps. I remind you that to get 500 points, you need to defeat everyone, dig up the Grail, and capture the required number of cities within a certain number of days. For example, you can achieve this result by capturing 16 cities and digging up the Grail in 10 days, or 17 cities in 11 days, etc. This is another reason to fix the issue of simply skipping turns from the beginning of my criticism and give the player the freedom to do a hardcore speedrun for the maximum result.
Overall, thank you for the project. I really hope that it will live on, develop, and reach its peak.
Last year, I noticed this thread in the forum list. I opened it, didn't understand what it was about, and closed it. Since then, I've occasionally noticed that the thread is still active and that there's some discussion going on. The other day, I finally decided to give it a try and was amazed by you, the author. My amazement came even before I opened your works. Unwavering enthusiasm – that's what I see in you. To work on this alone for more than three years and not receive even a small review with recommendations and criticism in return is, at the very least, unfair. Not knowing what to expect from these kinds of maps, I decided to do my first playthrough live (link). And I think it would be useful to briefly outline my feedback here:
There are many genres in map-making, and each has its own essence. This project is an alternative embodiment of random scenarios, where the will of the great Random determines the fate of the playthrough. This is the case in games like The Binding of Isaac, where each new attempt can be either easy, difficult, or close to impossible. Well, the concept is there; it just needs to be perfected. And in my opinion, I noticed the following shortcomings:
- There is absolutely no pleasure in simply skipping turns at the very beginning. I was playing on 200% difficulty and had to resort to this because the lack of a hero and resources led to immobilization. I recommend giving at least a random starting hero or 3000 gold and 5 units of ore to build a tavern and hire someone.
- An unpleasant situation occurs when a friendly hero with an empty movement point reserve blocks the path of another hero, who, although has movement points remaining, cannot pass further because the spiral structure does not allow it. I would like the path to be at least 2 cells wide. Heroes appear with different movement points: some have Logistics, some have Logistics as a specialty, and some have slow units. This part of the randomness should be optimized.
- When I looked at the screenshots of your works, I experienced mixed emotions: it was strange, incomprehensible, and it seemed absurd, which strongly put me off. And the reason for this is the chaotic map design. Imagine a bag of toys that has been dumped on the ground – that's roughly the association. Therefore, I think that a coherent and structured look is needed. In many places, there is a wall of 1x1 obstacle objects, and the first things that come to mind are a stone, a single mushroom, and a bush. Quite absurd, isn't it? I strongly advise you to adhere to a specific set of objects for each landscape, so that the obstacle looks like an obstacle. You can't step on a mushroom in the game, but visually it is not perceived as an obstacle at all.
- On these small maps, there are many cities, and this gives me an idea that, in my opinion, would perfectly complement your idea, namely, a playthrough for a result. I think it's no secret to anyone that the maximum number of points for a single scenario is 500, but achieving such a result is often impossible on many maps. I remind you that to get 500 points, you need to defeat everyone, dig up the Grail, and capture the required number of cities within a certain number of days. For example, you can achieve this result by capturing 16 cities and digging up the Grail in 10 days, or 17 cities in 11 days, etc. This is another reason to fix the issue of simply skipping turns from the beginning of my criticism and give the player the freedom to do a hardcore speedrun for the maximum result.
Overall, thank you for the project. I really hope that it will live on, develop, and reach its peak.
The Answer lies somewhere You never thought.