(04-13-2018, 11:44 AM)plloyd1010 Wrote: While I don't know the specifics of the situation, I can say that you don't need pretty maps for playtesting. The only requirement for a playtest map is that it be technically accurate. Imagine a sketch map looking like the old SPI maps. Not much color, but accurate. I would expect that APL uses something like Hexdraw, or does a quick paste over(under) with CS2.
As to what kept them from release, I have no idea.
Our (PG) playtest maps were either drawn by hand or in HexDraw. Some designers provided maps, others did not and I drew those based on the designer notes.
Guy did a masterful job converting my maps into final product. The final maps were generally slightly different than those we provided (say a handful of hexes different out of 187) but I suspect all the changes were made to make certain features feel more natural. In my opinion, none of his changes affect gameplay significantly.
We were not involved with IA so I have no clue what was playtested (or not) and what maps they used for playtesting.
