How to move on from V&V

[Darkness01101]

@TyrannoNinja

That’s one thing that bugs me a lot about the random maps throughout the Age series. It’s particularly noticeable with regards to map layout. I much prefer maps that look naturalistic, as if they could be real environments, but a lot of the maps we have look so artificial in their layout instead (e.g. straight lines, unnatural distribution of resources, etc.). It really mucks with immersion for me.

New patch brings yet more contrived, mirror-world, unnatural, human-bulldozed and -landscaped “arena” maps designed for computer game players in 2025 sitting behind their computer screen rather than some natural landscape in medieval times. Very immersive.

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“Added 8 new random maps”

(… that I will probably rarely, if ever, play. Gotta cater to the eSports and Ranked players every time, of course!)

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“Added 13 re-imagined Ensemble Studios maps”

(… 13 more arenas, on top of the 8 above. The 40 or 50 arenas that already existed before the patch weren’t enough)

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“Added 1 new special map”

(… Just what I was hoping for. 1 more arena map for good measure. Icing on the patch cake! )

By skimming the above maps and going from memory of what was in the game already, I’ve deduced one secret to making good maps for eSports and Ranked is to try and make sure the map has a crater or a doughnut feature in the middle, or make it a cracker with a strip of tasty cheese (resources) right down the middle or around the perimeter. ^{(Chef’s kiss! )}