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Map Designer: Aknott [nicolasnaudet@yahoo.com]
Reviewed by: Tarrant[9th]
Stuff From the Text File:
"It's A New 3D Experience!"
Number of Players: 2-6
Starting Units:
Resourcers - 2
Research Ships - 1
What I Thought:
Layout -
Well, I have to hand it to Aknott for a very good and very original design here. Taking a look at screenshots 1 and 2, the map looks like a horse's saddle. Or, you can also say that it resembles a tablecloth that has two opposite ends pulled up and the other two ends pulled down...yeah, that's what it looks like. In any event, this is one of those few boards where the name is very indicative of the gameplay. Field of Confusion can really present you a problem if you're not pretty good with the 3-D movement thing...especially on the ends of the field where the resource plane is almost at 90 degree angles. It's kind of hard to tell from the screenies but this is a pretty good sized map with a maximum player limit of six. It really wouldn't take much more for this to qualify as an 8 player if you ask me. Just for reference, player starting positions are along the long edges on each side of the board.
Combat -
I loved the combat element on this map because the 3-D movement can play tricks on you when your trying to get that strike package to the right place in a timely fashion. If you start out at the bottom of the resource plane, the 90 degree angle of the field screws around with you even more. Not unlike the map implosion, the large size of the map makes it difficult to move battle units over long distances because your orientation becomes your enemy. Aknott also did a good job of making sure that the resources are evenly spread across the entire layout without a central $$$ pit to draw players into conflict. This translates into battles potentially erupting anywhere and everywhere. The half dozen or so games I've played here have typically resulted in player's resourcing units being attacked first but not in every case. Some unfortunate souls attempted direct and blatant attacks on my mothership and even my battle fleets first. This just goes to prove that you can't have your back turned at any point during a game on this map or you might be on the receiving end of a crackling ion beam.
Resourcing -
Like I mentioned above, the resources are pretty evenly spread across the entire board. Even though having a central core of resources to rush to and defend has its advantages, I must admit that the linear design does make things a little more even for all players involved. Anyway, here you're obviously going to want to build as many collectors and controllers as your mothership can pump out. If you're playing with unit capping "ON" (my personal preference), then you might want to go ahead and key up the maximum number of each so you can get them out there pecking at those asteroids.
Overall -
I stumbled on this map after I auto-downloaded it from a team game on WON and it's been my map of choice for about a week now. The tricky orientation and large amount of resources had me hooked after I had my first game. If you really want to put your 3-D movement skills to the test then I HIGHLY suggest that you have a go on Field of Confusion. And, if you're lucky enough to start on one of the ends of the map then you'll really get a chance to put those skills into action. So, in short, I really really like this map and wouldn't hesitate for a minute recommending it to someone...uh, like you guys. I don't really have any complaints for this one but I would love to see an 8 player version hit the streets in the near future.
Overall Rating: 90
Download "Field of Confusion"
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