by lostatlimbo on Wed Nov 30, 2011 12:48 am
I have a few questions...
1) Why is the official incident report hand-written on lined notebook paper? Wouldn't it be more like a printed form and a bit more official?
2) Why is NO DIVING on the Pool Rules? Isn't that what the Dive Tank is for?
3) Old People? Really? How about calling them Soakers instead? I don't see any reason these all need a two letter code. Could be ST, DT, S (for Soakers) and K (for Kids). Although, I agree with Sully that these would be better with realistic names (please don't use CC nicknames). Then the legend could just be "Swimmers and soakers loose one troop per turn due to fatigue."
4) You talk about people sunbathing, but currently this looks like an indoor swimming pool. If it is supposed to be outdoors, lighten the whole thing up considerably and throw some stronger shadows in there.
5) Why does it look like someone jizzed all over the Lifeguard Wars title? It took me five minutes to realize it was supposed to be water splashing.
...and comments
1) I don't think the bikini babe works here and I don't think cheap tricks will garner more support for the map (at least from me).
2) Pool Rule #3 & #4 seem contradictory. If I understand #4 correctly, you mean that you can attack anyone in the same pool (excluding Swim Team)? If so, this would be clearer: 4. Within Kiddie Pool, Hot Tub, and Dive Tank, assault* any other territory in the same pool.
* I believe 'attack' must be 'assault' so as to not violate copyright.
3) In the Lifeguard Manual "spalsh" is spelled correctly.
4) The white tile around each pool looks rather choppy. I also think it would look a little better if it lined up with the brown tiles that surround them. Not perfectly, but closer - at least the same tile size.
5) I agree with griff that diving boards would be a nice touch. You could even have tiers and increase your bonus if you hold them and a dive instructor.
Aside from that, I like this map and hope you keep developing it. Some of the visuals are very solid and the rest just need some minor tweaks. The gameplay is unique and I like that, but I think you should reconsider the neutrals. I think it makes a pool bonus not terribly useful. Players generally don't like having to take out multiple neutrals for a bonus - especially one that will be really difficult to hold with open assault routes in each pool.
I'd consider making the swimmers starting positions and the lifeguards neutral. The swimming pools are the focal points of the map, so they should really be heavily used in the gameplay. Maybe you could do bonuses like "+1 for every swimmer in the same pool held while also holding a lifeguard?" Something like the Prison Riot prison gang bonuses.
$.02