This is not a thread to rank mapmakers, but is a thread to give them a shout out for the hard work they have put in to their maps. I will link some of their maps and give my thoughts on their maps. Please don't feel bad if you aren't included but feel that you should be; this is not a complete list of all the great mapmakers by any means, as this is based a lot on my personal tastes. Feel free to give a shout out to any great mapmakers you think I missed, and include some links to their maps.
Incaman:
https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=16114 https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=24843 https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=15843 https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=35874 There is a very good chance that you have played at least one of Incaman's maps at some point in your warlight career. His most famous, Rise of Rome, is consistently rated above 4.4, despite having 2860+ ratings (second only to Europe). His maps are beautiful, and a majority have some strategic value to them.
lionheart:
https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=49660 https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=47418 https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=50007 He's a pretty new mapmaker, and I see a lot of potential in his work. I really think Small Earth should be replaced with his version of it; it's beautiful. His maps all are eye-pleasing and they sometimes hint at some creative, new strategies. I can't wait to see more of his maps!
RA:
https://www.warlight.net/Map/8437-KPX https://www.warlight.net/Map/10273-UrsaLuna https://www.warlight.net/Map/14538-Final-Earth https://www.warlight.net/Map/14319-Europe-20 Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Ra's maps. I find them beautiful, but the strategy tends to be similar on many of them. That said, I believe any thread that claims to include the best map makers must include RA for his large quantity combined with his great quality.
Dark Mist:
https://www.warlight.net/Map/18584-Siege-Feldmere https://www.warlight.net/Map/15568-Pangea https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=44886 His maps have some strategic value to them, although they do tend to be bigger than I usually like. They are also some of the best looking maps out there.
Mudderducker:
https://www.warlight.net/Map/15141-Hannibal-Gates-II https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=37857 https://www.warlight.net/Play?PreviewMap=31270 I find Mudderducker's maps to vary greatly in size and type of strategy. Some of them aren't the most visually attractive, while others are on par with the best looking maps. The huge variety in his maps really allows a lot of players to find one of his maps that they really enjoy.
Some other great mapmakers I'd like to mention: Qi (for his maps with interesting strategies), Chaos (for his many good maps), Ranek (for his beautiful maps), Troll (for making Europe), Grundie (for giving the basic ideas of many of the more popular maps today), Fizzer (for improving on Grundie's work on the Earth maps)
Edited 12/4/2015 23:02:43
