update: my image uploader wasn't working earlier and I ment to post these pictures:
there will be a thick forest with other habitats like thick grasses.
with a few things like this:
since you can hide in grasses or forests(not so much) quite well but you can't quite hide up in the trees or anything like that due to the limited warband engine, there may going to be a few places on the map that are more campable to replicate that in a different form. in the movie/books the character hides in the tops of the trees to keep herself alive, this will act somewhat in the same way.
Just somethings to keep in mind when making the map:
Granted I am not sure how large you are currently planning on making it, several PW maps are made so large (with so many objects) that no matter how good your computer, you will need to play on the lowest settings possible to get maybe 20fps. Not to mention how poorly your computer performs when you are on top of a mountain or something and the amount of rendered objects is innumerable. You should playtest your map as often as possible, especially with such dense forests in there, to make sure it can actually be played on the average computer. With so many trees so densely put together like that, it could prove challenging for most to get a playable framerate.
While I think a large map would be best to allow for the 'predator and prey' vibe, too large of a map can prove troublesome. Looking at your picture there, I am assuming that players spawn in the phallic forest, and there most of the gameplay would take place. However, with such a large map players can easily run to the very edge and afk, probably never encountering another player unless someone has a similar idea. Unless you have countermeasures in place (let's say a team of volunteers who patrol outside the forest on plated chargers, killing anyone who leaves the forest), the map could allow for very dull gameplay.
TL;DR: Don't make the map excessively large such that crpg runs at 10fps, and also allows for boring tactics. More is not always merrier.
To answer your questions:
should all players start out with a low quality weapons, something around hatchets, practice swords, and pitchforks staffs? After thinking about it, I would say all players should spawn with a knife of some sort. Maybe allow them to choose their favorite, or only allow them to have a pre-determined one. In my opinion, there is too much imbalance between the peasant tier weapons for each class. The hatchet doesn't really hold up too well against the scythe, staff, voulge, or any of the cheap 2h axes. And if you want to pick from among the wooden "practice" weapons (the practice sword, practice longsword, and staff), the staff is undoubtedly the strongest, with the other two kind of tied.
Again, just my two cents, but if you allow people to spawn with weapons under a certain cost, or anything similar, it would be pretty tough to balance between the classes. The only way starting with a 'real' weapon (one that you can block with) could work is if everyone had more or less the same build, with split melee proficiencies, so that everyone can spawn with the same exact weapon.
Should throwing be allowed at all?( some throwing in unviewable when shiethed so people may hide high quality throwing weapons (throwing lances) in their inventory without being victorious at the start.Maybe only include those than you can see?
what should be the rewarded area be comprised of? (starting weapons on ground, weapon rack for champions of initial brawl, healing tent?)
A healing tent would be nice, but someone can easily sabotage any victors by breaking it... maybe that is part of the game, depends on what you are aiming for. Weapon rack would allow for the player to spawn in any item they own... looms included. They could also change up their armor to +3 milanese plate, or spawn a plated charger in, etc... Once again, maybe you guys would allow that, maybe that isn't your intention. Sure the victor should be rewarded, but gaining access to literally anything seems like a bit much. Imagine if in the books/movies the last man standing at the beginning could call in an apache and take to the skies, while everyone else had swords and bows... kinda not fair. Also... just like the healing tent, someone could break the weapon rack before anyone got to use it. I say the prize for being the last man alive is just that they get to choose from among anything left in the pile. Maybe there are masterworks thrown in there, and it would take time to sort through all the weaker items to find those.
While I understand that the point of the center is to mainly serve as a grab bag for all but the initial victor, I would advise against throwing in too many 2 directional, or 1 directional polearms. Simply because this game mode will mostly devolve into dueling scenarios, and if I were running this, I wouldn't want to screw someone over THAT badly. Also if the map is going to be mainly dense forest, then keep mostly all the weapons on the shorter side, to at least give most players a chance to get swings off. Would also suck to get a flamberge/glaive/long voulge/etc. when you can't even use it properly.
what horses?For the competitors to use? No, not really. Not to mention that as far as I know, you would need to spawn in a bunch of horses before the round started... I don't think you can plant stationary scene objects on the map that will be intractable should a player find them (like purchasing a horse in PW).
For the 'admins' on patrol? Yes.
do you think there should be areas around the map that are more defendable? (defendable ruins, houses, etc.)Certainly ruins, or something that can give you the high ground. But houses with a single door for an entrance... maybe, not so much. Maybe have one on the entire map? Idk...
should there be weapons in these houses as a small reward for holding them?No. Finding and occupying them should be enough of a prize. Having scattered weapons elsewhere (not only in the center starting area, maybe in bushes here or there, or just out in the open in some places) would encourage scavenging. You don't necessarily want people to all go and hide in their own little hole for the entire match.
should low quality(stuff you start with) weapons be allowed until X minutes into the round?Like I said previously, I think only daggers should be allowed at first. In which case if someone wants to play the entire game with nothing but a dagger (or any low-tier weapon) then by all means, allow them to.
Poll