Dinkyland [v0.89]
Creator: andymans || First Published: N/A || Players: 16 || Size: 49x49
Categories: None
Rating: 0 in 0 ratings
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Comments:
Varker (07/21/2025 09:22pm):
White is missing it's infantry
andymans (07/22/2025 01:47am):
Aiiii

Accurate, thank you
Linten (07/23/2025 07:44am):
16Man maps simply become a resign-fest, the outcome is always decided by players taking over free bases from resigns and as such should they should be left as gimmick maps only. Not some symetrical 'balanced' FFA or Team Game.

Cut the players down to eight and you get a much better experience.
andymans (08/02/2025 12:05am):
Agreed. I generally make 2v2v2v2 / 8p FFA maps and then vet the players to try to take out the leave-ers or at least some of the most obvious ones. But yeah, I dislike the 16p form factor. I will probably just debug this one slightly and publish and then never pay it attention again.
ShiningForce4 (08/23/2025 05:37pm):
This map is bullshit in an ffa.
Only 8 countries have close access to the main island
PhoKing (08/24/2025 04:08am | Edited: 08/24/2025 03:08pm):

I think the map is designed such that it incentivizes the 8 players closer to the center to focus towards the center, and that
leaves the other 8 to fight it out in the corners? This leaves those in the corners to fight in privacy, until someone wins. Less
reward but also less risk for them. The folks in the middle have access to the middle, but it is also more dangerous, and they
can be attacked from more sides by more people. Thus they are a bit more vulnerable? I presume that is the logic, I might
be wrong. It is a cool concept and probably a lot of fun when the players don't rage quit. The map is both layered in terms of
ways it can play out, but also still simple to understand. I like it.

I actually have a suggestion, mostly taken from the feedback the other folks have raised. You can make this map into an 8p
map. Just remove 8 of the HQs, and combine it so every player has 1 corner base and 1 base facing the center. This
alleviates the concerns people raised. I have a further suggestion, perhaps it can be structed as mixed base, and designed
around 2v2v2v2? Have each players corner base be in a different corner from where their center base is, that way they
cannot deathball their army. Maybe the corner base can be next to their teammates center base? That way they can have
each others back. They can theoretically reinforce each other if they see fit (never happens but nice to leave room for it),
and that way the fights are pointed in more singular directions. Also if a player drops out, the teammate who is left behind is in
position to take their fallen allies bases due to proximity. This leaves them a chance to be able to continue the game so it can
keep going. If you make it FFA instead of team based, people send each other messages and make cease fires to gain an
upper hand anyway.

Also perhaps at the very center of the map, if the goal of the missile is to draw out a fight in the center, there can be a com
tower instead of a missile? I feel like people are more drawn to a com tower than a 1 time missile, and thus it would lead to
more viscous fighting. Comtowers are like catnip for some people, they go COOKOO FOR COMTOWERS! GJ on the map ;)
andymans (08/29/2025 01:05am):
Yeah, what PhoKing said was my intent... the closer bases are more exposed, whereas the ones back in the corner are more secure but also have a harder time accessing the center.

I do think the points about unequal time to access the center is valid. I don't think it'll be possible to make it 100% identical for the edge people and the corner people, but I made a new version with (among some other changes) more equal time to access the center. I think it'll probably just take some playtesting to make them roughly-equal, and then it's probably fine. FFA isn't going to be hyper-balanced like a 1v1 map, I think some general iteration and tweaking should be fine. New version with fixed distance to the center (although that's obviously not everything involved in balancing the two positions): https://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=177483

So it's funny that you say about an 8p map, this was actually based originally on an FFA/2v2v2v2 8p map that I turned into a 16p map, which had exactly that structure of a main base along the ring and then an additional smaller corner base per player: https://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=177632

I like the 8p better. I made the 16p as an experiment because people seem like they like that form factor... but to me it's just too many people. I prefer the 8p format honestly.

I started out always doing 2v2v2v2 instead of FFA, but it seems like maybe just doing FFA with each player having an obvious designated buddy is the way to do it. It seems like people can figure it out, and it allows for more reasonable flexible responses if e.g. one team starts having a big snowball of success, or if someone drops.

I'll try out the comm tower in the middle. The missiles was just kind of meant as a treat, not a significant map factor, but maybe encouraging some more intense fighting in the center so it's one more thing to figure out and balance might be a good thing to do. The labs are *hugely* impactful in the late game because they allow stealths, but maybe having an early game purpose for the center is good too. Something's been bugging me about the game in the center so far. I'm a little hesitant about letting it have that "tipping point" to enable that much more a snowball of success for one singular team, but maybe it's a good thing.



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