Well WOTC is set to release the Ilum map pack on tuesday, with the relesed stats of Luminari we know the fig stats already, and with the exception of a few the map has not yet been revealed, so is anyone anxious for it, or is there a lot of apprehension due to the first two releases. II for one am looking forward to it, I've heard the best has been saved for last.

If there is any at gencon this weekend, what do you think those who've seen it already?

We are getting some more prizes,

I was told "one of each map pack"

I'm hoping the third one is in there.

I'm looking forward to the next one, and I hope the new map is good for competitive play because some variety is sorely needed.

But I will still enjoy using it (and the others) even if it isn't approved, because there is much more to playing minis than just DCI

agreed!

Greetings from GENCON! I was able to buy the map pack today! I like it but I doubt it will be DCI legal. Highlight for me was standing their showing it to Fingersandteeth and watching the master dissect the starting areas and gambit. Very cool. The Coruscant Streets is awesome for RPGers, but way too open for DCI guys IMHO. The Cavern is very cool. No places for commanders to hide on that map. Which I could show pics, but don't have me camera cable with me.

Link to pictures of the new map pack posted in the Bloomilk forums here

Yeah, I only looked at the maps real quick between rounds the one day, but I would definitely agree that the Coruscant Streets one is way too open for DCI. The Cave map looks like it should probably be OK, but it has that darned open gambit center, plus on quick inspection, it looked like one side had a definite advantage in terms of starting areas. Though a Mando Scout team would still do well on it I guess. Have to bust open my pack this week sometime and review it more.

I find that it's important to see them in person before making a final detemination on the maps quality. The small snapshots just don't provide good enough information.

I'll be interested to hear how opinions change after seeing the map. Dean and others have told me the Caves map is good for DCI and likely to be approved. I've heard from several people that "it's like the Rancor Pit, except no bottleneck."

Coruscant I expected to prompt much debate and discussion. I think some will like it in spite of the open gambit.

Interested eh? Okay here's mine.

I like the caves, one corner bugs me due to a clear line across almsot hte entire map. The other thing is hte pit's in the corners, in the starting zone, I had the smae problem wiht the areana. Twice I've started games with my figs in a pit not payign attention to the difference in yellow and orange. But other than that I think it's really smooth. Even though gambit is open, it is surronded this time, so that helps. It provides a lot of room for movement, and various ways to reach the opponenet. I love the lack of doors. As strategic as they can be, this map is perfect without them. There is no real place for them anyway. It's nice to see you doesn't place doors just for kicks.

As for Courascant, I like it and dislike it at the same time. It looks great astheticlly, it has some great rooms, for RPGing and scenario, and you've tossed some cool eastereggs into the pit squares. But for play, eggh, more than half of the map is open, with just minimal amounts of cover. It forces all skirmish based combat movement to one area on the map. Between the sabaac lounge and the office/storage room. The long road will be vacant by any intelligent skirmish player. The Turboshaft area is a great GMA stageing area as well for anyone daring enough to come out into the road. And gambit is a kill box for just about anyone, but especially for those approaching it from the casino side. If zams crashed speeder was on the road it would have been a little better, a little cover goes a long way.

But I like them overall. I think my fav of the 3 sets is the Ratataka arena and the crystal caves.

I'm looking forward to your urban warfare map you spoke off some time ago.

Thanks for the comments, Dalsiandon!

Unless I'm thinking of some other conversation, Coruscant Streets is probably the urban map I was referring to. When combined with the older Coruscant map (in one of several ways) you can have a battle royal through the streets and alleys.

A crashed speeder in/near the gambit area is an excellent idea for this map, by the way. I wish I had thought of it at the time. (Of course, I greatly underestimated the importance of closed/covered gambit at the time--this map was designed a couple years ago.) This makes me want to make a set of tiles designed to add cover to the streets, actually. Hmmm. Tempting...

I figure the public lifts will be a tempting place for Stealthy shooters. The right-side player can basically sit back there in the doorway and take pot-shots at much (but not all) of the gambit area (if the player is willing to split his or her forces). The left side can do this from the doorways, or advance to cover on the northern platform, but you're right: to do this without stealth would be suicide.

Anyway, I don't know if the DCI players will go for it (considering the open gambit and extremely asymmetrical layout) but I personally think it would be a lot of fun to play, from either side.

I can't help but think this map is great for huges, particularly flying huges like the snowspeeder. Considering the prevalence of snowspeeder squads in the championship, this is probably a mark against it--but back when I was designing it my goal was to make a fun, reasonably open huge-friendly map that would connect to and compliment the existing Coruscant map. I call it a mission accomplished; I just wish I understood the importance of more gambit protection at the time. A big smoldering chunk of cover at the intersection would go a long way in that regard.

My thought on the new maps:

Streets - All levels, not a chance in hell! This map is scarily open and looks highly abusable. Engagement would be hard at best and it is very hard to approach your opponent. Push squads could have fun from the left, but no one in their right minds who isnt running this is going to give them that side. It reminds me too much of ossus.

Caves - This one scares me into thinking it could be another Taris. It looks good not having played it, but once played it may be a nightmare. BUT! I think i like it at all levels. To me it seems to be what the rancor pit should have been. The Islands are situated in a way that Melee can advance safely towards the middle and gambit. They can be hidden and still run around the corner to attack gambit. At the same time there looks to be some very nasty LoSs possible from the edges to gambit and especially the lower left to the upper right. If someone can push past the 2/3 point the map REALLY opens up and could cause problems for the defender/commanders, but that could be a good thing for all those abusable commanders that like to stay hidden from action. Also if you have given up 2/3 of the map you are generally in trouble anyway. It also looks like huges could get around fairly easily. Speeders could abuse the running routes, but the rest of the squad will have issues.

Completely agree with that. And I have the same slight worries that a short term yes might reveal why it'll end up a longer term yuck. Hopefully we can figure it out by Decemberish through casual play and makea good decision for the January update.

I know exactly what your saying. On the street map combat is really forced to two door ways in one corner of the map. And the difference between this one and the rancor pit, whcih agian botltenecks is the gambit on the rancor pit is nopt a suicide run for both sides. This map has no safety on the street portions. As I mentioned, a speeder sitting there providing cover while not optimal sure would be better then the full on openness that is the courasant streets.

This is pretty much in line with what I expected regarding Coruscant Streets, but I'm surprised people are concerned about the caves. It has some tricks, certainly, but the general consensus I was getting from those who saw it early was that it was a very strong map for DCI playability.

Taris taught us to hedge our bets. Taris looked really good at first, but the more its been played the more it favors not only shooters, but mobile shooters. There are just too many lines missing to allow safe passage and engagement (Still like it though but not as much as i did at first).

Not until you start playing squads on it and see what lines of sight there are and how things can be abused will people check off on it. As i said, at first look it looks like a great map and should provide some fun options for shooters as well as melee. melee SHOULD get close enough to engage while shooters can have some nice shots, but if mobile attackers can take too much of an advantage of the islands, then it might not be so good. After counting from different hiding spots, melee should be able to charge the center. As i Also said, its a map i like because it is possible to charge commanders, which could be really nice.

I would call it cautious optimism. Until its been played and tested, i wouldnt expect more than that.

Fair enough!

For as much as people used to rave about the Death Star map and quoted it to me as an example of a well-balanced SWM map, I've come to realize lately that if the very same Death Star was published today, some players would gratuitously lament the open gambit and decry the layout as too friendly to mobile shooters.

I'll gladly accept cautious optimism in that sort of environment.

But the Death Star does have cover for someone in gambit. It is not purely wide open. Gambit should be a risk to get, but it should not be so much of a risk that it forces the game back to the power of turtling. Gambit was suppose to ward that off.

On a side note, I put the two Courascant maps together and they are awesome as a pair. Did you design them at the same time or are the streets a later incarnaction? Becasue they really do look great together. As a single map, streets, it's not my fav, but as a pair it's incredable.

And it's nice to see you so accepting of the direction. Most artists are so hyper sensitive that they would flip from half the responces mentioned around here.

But cover isnt enough. With the power shooters in todays game, simple cover is not enough, which is why i really dont see the deathstar as balanced. I also agree that if it were released today it would be decried as too open.

The old Coruscant was created a good three years or more before I started the new one. They were definitely not made as one, but I was very careful to make sure the new one could connect to the old. If you haven't yet, try lining them up in different ways. The obvious connection is along the long edges through the vertical roads, but they fit along the short sides as well

Here's a bit of trivia for you: the placement of the turbolift cluster on the new Coruscant map is based on another map that I sketched up much earlier but have never finished: A Coruscant apartment building based on Padme's place from the start of Episode II. If and when I finish that map, the turbolifts can connect the two maps and the backdrop around the outside of the apartment building will be the Coruscant Streets map, blurred for depth.