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Map Designer: [7th]MadHatter
Reviewed by: Tarrant[9th]
Stuff From the Text File:
"The pilot training arena orbiting the Tagaak system has collapsed and is beginning to implode. Due to the wealth of resources contained within, factions from across the galaxy are vying for control of the area. Take control and hold the arena for yourself!"
Number of Players: 2-8
Starting Units:
Resourcers - 1
Research Ships - 1
Scouts - 5
What I Thought:
Layout -
Well, here's a style of map you don't see everyday. I must admit that when I first took a look at "Implosion", it didn't really jump out at me and I just skipped by it in my reviews. Fortunately for me, I was smart enough to give it a go on WON one evening and later with some computer players...now I'm hooked. The design of this map is best described as a gigantic cube with eight "arms" (one from each corner) coming down to intersect in the middle. The overall size of the cube is enormous or, in layman's terms, "damn big". I haven't seen anything this large since my Genesis-240C review. While it's not quite as large as the Genesis maps, it is definitely bigger than most 8 player boards I've seen as of late. The arms I mentioned earlier meet in the middle of the cube at a spherically shaped resource patch which represents the bulk of the bounty on the board. The sensor map screenshots above tell the whole story. Just for reference, player starting positions are at the extreme corners of the cube.
Combat -
Like most Homeworld maps, skirmishes on "Implosion" typically take place around the center resource patch and along the arms that come down to intersect it. This makes sense as the quickest path to the easy buck is going go be along one of these arms. Expect most early game battles to erupt as people either try to keep you away from the money or as you try to protect your holdings. The best strategy to employ is to quickly get as many collectors as possible to the center of the map and hold the fort. You also want to start moving your mothership to the center as soon as the game starts. The reasoning behind this is three-fold. One, the less distance your collectors have to travel, the quicker you can build up cash reserves. Second, the distance from the corner of the map to the center is rather far and you don't want your mothership left all alone in the void as you are fighting to hold the resource patch. And three, if you need to start sending reinforcements somewhere, you'll want your base of operations to be close by so you can use those shiny new Heavy Cruisers that are rolling off the assembly line.
Resourcing -
From the picture I painted above, it would appear that this is just another one of those "run to the middle and fight it out for control of the resources" games. To a certain extent that's true but not in every case. The "latice" of the cube is made up of resources as well. Even though they are not concentrated strands, you can still drum up a sizeable income if you make sure to send collectors and controllers along them. But, for the quick buck, try your best to get some units in the middle where the majority of the $$$ are. More than two players resourcing at the same time in the center resource patch spells nothing but trouble so plan on having to defend your collectors. And, as always, the more you have of them, the better.
Overall -
So far, I've neglected to mention the main reason that I liked "Implosion" so much and that would be the skill level involved in moving your units around. 3D movement on this board is very difficult to say the least and you'll have to be a master at this aspect of Homeworld if you want to be a contender. It's kind of hard to describe but the latice work of the cube has a tendency to confuse you when trying move your units...especially in 3-dimensions. The board is very large making it difficult to get the whole area displayed at once on your sensor map. "Implosion" also demands that you pre-plan your unit allocation a little bit more than usual. With the "big map" thing going on, you won't be able to send reinforcements quickly unless you waste money hyperspacing. Therefore, it's a good idea that your heavy strike groups be somewhat self-sufficient. All these things combine to make this creation a classy map and very worthy of recommendation. However, the difficulty in movement has me listing it under the "advanced players only" category since newbies will probably start getting a headache after about ten minutes of gameplay.
Overall Rating: 85
Download "Implosion"
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