Warzone

Reviews

on 6/10/2014.

The star systems are all named after the real stars near Sol (our sun), and each color reflects its class: F-class "yellow" stars, white stars, red dwarfs, etc. This is to add some education to our game play. I also tried to position the stars accurately relative to Sol and hold to the one-outpost-per-light-year metric. But I also have to consider game balance and that this is a 3-D environment 'smushed' into a two-dimensional map -- so astronomical purists please forgive me.

In the game resources are all in the star systems, and outposts carry no bonuses but possess strategic value. Often battles rage between the outposts for some time. Also taking outposts one turn at a time allows more time to prepare star systems. I wanted a map where the enemy force can be thwarted en route to its destination. Often this is the case (e.g. Napoleon's march into Russia or Hannibal's long trek from Africa to Rome).

This is my first kick at the can at map-making. Comments are most welcome. I hope you enjoy playing it. :-)

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Review by

NinjaNic

on 6/10/2014.

At first it didn't look like much, but there is definitely more to this map than it looks like. I did a quick single-player game but then realized that abandon/blockade cards would be a great idea. There are only 2 things I would add to this map:
-A "star-only" distribution...
-And (small) bonuses for owning a path connecting 2 stars.
Nothing less than a great map, with minor imbalances, it deserves at least 4 'stars.'
...hehe... dumb joke, sorry.

Response by map creator SiVisPacemParaBellum

on 6/10/2014

Great ideas, NinjaNic!

I will set up a star-only distribution.

Abandon/blockade cards would work really well and very much be in keeping with the strategic nature of the outposts -- like blowing up a bridge.

I also like the idea of a bonus for controlling a full path. I think 1 is a little low, but two would equal the smaller star systems so I will have to go with one.

Right now I've balanced the star systems to equal the number of incoming routes. If you think some balancing is in order suggest away (preferably with a rationale).

... and I appreciate the 'star' reference ;-)

4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Review by Nathan

on 6/10/2014.

I was very skeptical when I first looked at this map. There are only 20 territories that are part of bonuses, and those bonuses are quite skewed. Nevertheless, the beauty I discovered in this map lies in the LACK of value in the connecting supply depots. Just as I imagine would apply in real life (someday), if you are going to assault another star system, you had better bring EVERYTHING you're going to need with you. Sieges will not work, as you have to maintain a much longer supply line than your opponent. Strike quick and hard and you can win on this map.

Response by map creator SiVisPacemParaBellum

on 6/10/2014

Thanks for the feedback, Nathan :-)

I think I can scale this up to about 60 or so star systems, but I wanted to find out if people like it first before doing that. Some people may prefer the smaller size so perhaps two versions of the map are in order.

Totally agree with your insights on attack strategy.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Review by

ARand0mPlayer on 10/25/2014.

I really like this map. I am currently playing in a game with some friends. We use the standard values for the bonuses, choosing your starting position, random warlords distribution so the stars are the starting positions, local deployment, 0 base income and no cards.
It makes it really fun and challenging, because you have to deploy your troops at the stars and make for good transport routes, which makes it rewarding to capture all the outposts between your stars.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Review by barakobama on 6/19/2014.

interesting map but too easy

Response by map creator SiVisPacemParaBellum

on 8/21/2014

Agreed. Working on a more challenging version. I find that if I team up the AI players it becomes significantly more challenging.