Improving the Deployment Map

[kongming]

I, like many other of Legion Arena fans, grew up poring over on the battle maps from the campaigns of Hannibal and Caesar and Alexander. The terribly exciting thing about LA is the ability to live out those boyhood dreams of glory on ancient battlefields.

With that in mind, I suggest that Slitherine should consider extending the antique map motif that they have used for the campaign introductions and general package design to the deployment map. The current deployment map is effective, but it lacks something in visual appeal, and has some limitations in practice. The size of the map is to small for the units to look great and the "live" terrain is OK but often hard to "read" and distinguish scrub from open ground, except by rolling over. And nearly impossible to see elevation other than by trying to interpret shadows.

If one were to "draw" the deployment maps on "antique parchment" in a sketch style that replicated ancient maps, one might be able to add more terrain/elevation detail than is currently "readable" from deployment maps.
This is a "less is more" kind of situation. Whereas the current map tries to show the terrain as is, a sketch map could resort to more symbolic representation to communicate more info. Just recall how evocative Tolkien's maps are. These maps would also enhance the historic design motif of the game and create a greater illusion of the player being that general sitting in his tent in camp poring over the terrain maps prior to the battle.

Units could be represented as more static and abstract 3D "chessman", or even as the square (3D) blocks that are always used in text book battle maps, and probably more like what ancient generals actually used for imagining their own strategies. For us war-map guys, the key elements are the arrows. On war maps, the arrows are what makes the action. Broad colorful arrows that sweep across the battlefield. Who doesn't love those? The current waypoints are effective, but they lack in visual strength.

One more key element, is the ability for units to be shown to turn, so for example when a cavalry unit sweeps around the flank in attack formation, that when it makes its turn, the front of the column is shown to swing around. Currently, such a unit is shown to have its side facing the enemy.

Vale,

Kongming