Map Design Competition!

Good day fellow AWBWers! I've gathered you all here today for a special announcement:

As you may have guessed by the topic, the Map Committee is hosting an official map design contest open to any and all contestants! Specifically, this contest is aimed at one of the most difficult design features to pull off effectively: Asymmetry. You heard me correctly- all maps submitted for this contest must be asymmetrical! Hopefully this will prove to be a fun an exciting way to explore something that's usually viewed as unfair or imbalanced. For those of you who are interested, the rules are as follows:

1. Maps must be asymmetrical or they will be disqualified (Obviously)
   
2. Maps must be designed for 2 players
   
3. Contestants may submit up to 3 total maps; multiple accounts cannot be used to submit more than 3 maps. Any maps submitted after the first 3 will not be considered
   
4. Maps may not be modified once they have been submitted. Screenshots will be taken of each map to ensure that the original version is what is rated. Please remember to check your work before entering your maps!!
   
5. Any special rules or settings must be declared in a map comment prior to submittal, otherwise standard Global League settings will be assumed
   

Maps can be entered into the contest one of two ways: You can post a link to your map right here on the forum thread or you can send me a PM declaring that you'd like to enter it into the contest (please provide a link to the map). Entries will be accepted through the end of January.

Each map submitted will be reviewed by Map Committee members who will provide a 0-5 rating in each of 3 different categories, described below. The average of these ratings, along with a brief summary, will be provided in the form of a comment on each map. Some scores may be provided before the contest is over, but a winner will not be decided until the deadline is up and all entries have been evaluated.


Rating Categories:

Playability: First and foremost, it's important to design a map that can be playable and fun. This category is devoted to ensuring that the map will not stalemate, has a good terrain balance, a comfortable and appropriate production facility and funding level, interesting front dynamics, etc. In short, would gameplay be smooth, natural, and rich?

Balance: The biggest problem with asymmetrical maps is the fact that they are nearly impossible to balance perfectly. Therefore, it's only fair to rate an asymmetrical map based on how well that challenge is overcome. Basically if two equals played an equivalently good game, would one side favored over the other? This can get complicated fast, but we will be looking at this in excruciating detail if it comes down to it.

Creativity/Aesthetics: Who says you can't get style points? Asymmetry opens the door to a lot opportunities that just aren't possible in symmetrical maps, so take advantage of them and make something creative, innovative, and easy on the eyes. Impress the judges!

Grading Scale:

The first two categories (Playability and Balance) will be graded based on the following scale:

0- So bad that it practically can't get worse (Hopefully none of these!)

1- At least one significant basic mistake

2- Demonstrates knowledge of the basics but makes other, notable mistakes (similar level to a borderline candidate for Casual Play category)

3- Demonstrates solid knowledge of the basics and the AW mechanics, but falls short in light of the AWBW meta (similar to a solid Casual Play map)

4- Demonstrates understanding of AW and AWBW mechanics/meta and executes well, but there are some minor mistakes (A rank equivalent)

5- Demonstrates a high level of understanding of AW and AWBW mechanics and executes with no discernible errors of significance (S-rank equivalent)

The last category will be graded based on the following scale:

0- Asymmetry has little or no significance in games on the map

1- Limited asymmetry, uninspired, and aesthetically displeasing

2- Moderate asymmetry and neutral or slightly negative appearance

3- Moderate asymmetry and somewhat aesthetically pleasing

4- Substantial asymmetry and either creative or very aesthetically pleasing

5- Substantial asymmetry and impressive display of creativity and aesthetics

These rating systems are designed to be an absolute scale such that 0s and 5s are actually indicative of the worst and best you could expect to see on the site. Asymmetrical maps are hard to design so this will also help give some perspective as to how some great designs would compare to balanced and respected symmetrical maps. For that reason, those who are truly deserving of 5s stand out- if you receive a 5 in any category, you should be extremely proud of yourself!

Now that you have all of the information, allow me to give an example score for this map that I created to kick off the tournament. This will help give you an idea of what things we will look for in a map and what kind of feedback we'll give.

My example map looks like this:


And the sample ratings are as follows:

Map Design/Playability: 4 Overall nicely playable, but has some shortcomings, including low funding for the number of bases/airports, lockable airports, and mediocre city distribution.

Balance: 3 Generally equivalent funding, but property locations, while similar, are somewhat imbalanced in terms of both distance to/from key points and defensive capabilities. More attention to balancing neutral bases and city location/capture phase progression could make this a 4.

Creativity/Aesthetics: 3 Decent looking map with notable asymmetry earns the map a solid 3. However, it does not go above and beyond to earn points for creativity or for using asymmetry to be innovative. Apart from the asymmetry, this map sticks to a standard mold.

Final Score: 3.33

Alright, now that you have an idea of what to expect, get out there and start making some maps! If you have any questions, please send me a PM or post here on this thread and I will answer them as soon as I can. Good luck!

I love the idea. I'm in!

I'm posting this as a reply instead of editing my post, because some of the formatting tags don't show up properly (probably because of my intentional misuse of the "list" function) and it would take a lot of effort to reformat everything when I edit.

Moral of the story is that I want to slightly modify the rating system a bit for the 4 and 5 ratings for the Playability and Balance categories. 4 should be "best Casual Play or low A-rank equivalent" and 5 should be "high A-rank or S-rank equivalent". The goal here is to make 4s and 5s a bit more attainable, but a 5 would still be indicative of something that could be used in a competitive play environment, such as GL, without any concerns (at least in the category where it gets a 5). This doesn't make much of a difference for people submitting maps, but it might slightly change the ratings we'll give across the board.

That is all, carry on.

Vassals with Tassels
http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=68158

River Flows

http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=68147

La Beauté Déraisonnée

http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=68166

Due to the site being down for a bit over the last couple weeks, the deadline for submitting a map for this contest has been extended. As of now, all maps must be submitted by the end of the day on February 14th. (Will you be my valentine?)

Also, while I'm here, additional submissions have included:

A new front behind the mountains by the-map-making-shadow (the-deadly-shadow)

The Caesar Addresses His Legionnaires by Just Look at My OPness

I'm submitting two maps:

1. A Symmetry
   
2. Solar
   

It's still midnight in the continental United States!

Thanks for the submittals! Mostly as a result of all of the site events, I'm leaving the deadline open-ended for now, potentially through the end of the month. We'll try focusing on getting results back for the maps that have been submitted so far and see what the interest level is looking like at that time. If people are still submitting maps, we'll be more inclined to leave the deadline open, but otherwise we might close it sooner rather than later.

Since it's currently open-ended, here comes my work.
http://www.awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=68399
I don't know whether the background can be loaded sucessfully. It fails in my computer now as there is something wrong in the site.

http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=68391
Here comes my second work which is more asymmetric than the 1st one.
It's March 1st now in my hometown......

Max and Grit.
http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=69171

Obviously making a fair map with Max and Grit as the CO's is near impossible, but I think I did manage to make a map that plays to both their strengths, is asymmetrical, and is still balanced.

Asymmetrical Jem
http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=69250


Cold War
http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=69258


Jem Island
http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=69297

Chess.
https://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=77787

i assume its still going

It may as well be. I never got around to scoring most of the maps, so maybe one day I'll get around to it. If people want to keep posting maps, I don't see any reason not to include them.

That said, your map hurts my head.