A Picture On My Wall by Coconut

[Yurian Stonebow]

Having succesfully finished test playing Coconut's latest H3 map, I am happy to share the results with you. Since I've heard that one picture is worth more than 1,000 words, I hereby quite joyously present thee this picture:



The map features great graphics, good & smooth gameplay and while it may not offer that much challenge, it is still a great experience. A few words for the map maker to consider:

Is the Naga Queen Quest at 103, 53 (in the "upper world") supposed to give a powerful artifact away just like that? It sounds just too easy for its prize. Remember that having random monsters and Diplomacy skill allowed in the map renders the Quest too easy which causes balance related issues.

The story is well written and leafing through the text file revealed hardly any typos, but still it isn't strong enough to carry on throughout the whole scenario. What I suggest the author should do:

-lessen the amount of random elements found throughout the map (Heroes, Towns, Monsters, etc)
-add a couple of story bits to tie all plotlines more firmly together
-name Heroes and Towns
-remove "extra" monster stacks and re-evaluate the strength of the remaining ones (there are too many stacks currently, too many random ones as well)

All in all, the map is pleasing to the eye and has a unique graphical style. The Quests are a bit inbalanced but that can be fixed.
I wish Coconut all the best for his upcoming release version and am eagerly looking forward to try it out once its published.

Good work, mate.



Yurian

[Coconut]

Heheh, if I had known you were going to write this, I would not yet have sent the final version to the headquarters of CH!

I thank you for this post, I see it as an encouragement for my map making. I'm happy with the considerations you're giving me here. I'm trying to make maps for the Heroes fans, so opinions are very welcome. I'm fortunate to have already received some responses. The map is probably getting more feedback than what I had expected, actually.

I wouldn't mind running down a couple of points you brought up about 'A Picture on my Wall':
* not much of a challenge *
It's an easier map than most, I think. Look at most recent maps, and most authors are giving their map an 'expert' or 'impossible' rating. 'A Picture on my Wall' is meant to be also accessible for casual players.
A more skilled player can still try to play as effectively as possible and to finish in a quick time.
* too many monsters *
I guess I like monsters to bash into! When I finished my first play-through, my main hero was still not fully upgraded, so if players want to see their heroes fully develop, they can use the XP from those monsters. Much depends on taste, though; I can leave some stacks out, but I'm just curious whether more players would find the map better with less monsters.
* Naga quest on the easy side for a very powerful reward *
True. There are quite a few great rewards for relatively little sweat scattered around. But the presence of warrior tombs and broken wagons on the map means you can get a powerful artefact for even less effort!
I wanted to keep those things in. I like some luck and randomness in a game, it does mean accepting the possibility of disbalances, although I also think the bits of good and bad luck will mostly even each other out over the course of a game.
* Story could be more rounded *
I always wondered how much of the story I should be filling in. Much I left to the imagination, because I wasn't sure people would be interested in the story at all. But you are the second person who would have liked to see the story more worked out, so a 1.1 will get more text. The story has always had a more complete form in my head, but I've been a bit spartan with what I've put of that in the game.

But, talking about a 1.1, I don't see a 1.1 coming all that soon. Perhaps the current 1.0, still recommended by the author, has to gather a few more comments first!

[Salamandre]

More the map is difficult, less the players enjoy reading the story because it takes constantly them away from focusing on hard and challenging battles. A paradox.