Small Choices
Creator: MAX COMMANDER || First Published: 07/26/2015 || Players: 2 || Size: 10x14
Categories: C-Rank, Standard
Rating: 9.00 in 3 ratings
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Comments:
the-deadly-shadow (07/26/2015 04:35pm | Edited: 07/27/2015 02:04am):
Cool concenpt. However taking a comtower should be most often preferred to a city.
Realizing this, it gives the players less ability to make their own choices.
MAX COMMANDER (07/26/2015 05:57pm | Edited: 08/01/2015 01:38pm):
Concept: Choose two starting bonuses!

This map is particularly fun under fog of war—you don't know which bonuses your
opponent chose, and the forests around the center of the map provide plenty of
opportunities for surprise attacks.

Changelog:

4. Prevented bonus infantry from entering battlefield; removed extra city for Blue Moon;
moved southwest neutral city closer to factory, making the city at least 2 days away (for
infantry) from any other neutral city; replaced communication tower with lab; allowed
late-game access to city via pipe seam, making it a slightly less attractive bonus option.

3. Swapped out the bonus lab for a communication tower.

2. Gave each player their neutral factory, and gave Blue Moon an extra city.

1. Moved the lab and starting factory closer to the enemy neutral factory, theoretically
making the lab slightly more difficult to defend. This didn't change the distance from the
lab to the enemy starting factory.

walkerboh01 (07/26/2015 06:20pm):
Good concept, I made a similar map once before:
http://awbw.amarriner.com/prevmaps.php?maps_id=53960

As for your options, the second base is the obvious best option, especially since it effectively
means several cities and the airport too. City vs. missile is an okay tradeoff on such a small
map, but I can't imagine ever choosing the lab either.

Personally I would use the first infantry to get the base instantly, then hold off on moving the
next infantry until it's clear which option will provide the largest benefit in the midgame (and
force the opponent to deal with the threat of a missile during all turns).
MAX COMMANDER (07/26/2015 06:38pm | Edited: 07/26/2015 07:52pm):
@walkerboh01, that's an incredible map, and you clearly put a lot of thought into it. Do
you make maps for other games?

Anyway, I appreciate your feedback. I'd like all four options to be roughly equally
advantageous, and I certainly don't want entering the battlefield to be an automatic
choice. If anything, I'd rather that option be the least attractive.

Giving each player their second base at the start of the game would disincentivize moving
the infantry onto the battlefield. However, it would also ruin the FTA-counter. I'd have
to give Blue Moon another city or another infantry.

Do you have any suggestions? Should I scrap the option altogether?

MAX COMMANDER (07/26/2015 06:43pm | Edited: 07/26/2015 07:44pm):
@the-deadly-shadow, I took to your feedback and moved the neutral city further away.
walkerboh01 (07/27/2015 11:46am):
Hm the FTA is a little bit more complicated on this map. Obviously, as you can tell from looking
at my map, I decided that the best option was to have only one infantry in the piped-off section,
with no quick access to the outside. That really simplifies the FTA issues on the map, and it's
what I would recommend for you too.

In general I'd also say that having a larger map allows for more diverse options. It's hard to
balance the options when it's (1 city | 1 missile | 1 lab), because they're not of similar value.
That's the reason I went with larger blocks, because it's easier to balance the options more
closely when you can do (1 airport + 1 city | 1 port + 2 cities | 1 missile + 1 tower | 4 cities). But
even then, the balancing gets /really/ complicated.

Basically you're going to have to run a lot of play-tests and do a lot of tweaks. This type of map
is easily the most difficult one I've ever made, and the one I put the most time into
balancing/designing. Feel free to PM me in the future if you want any feedback - I'm unlikely to
obsessively check this map's comments... =).

And no, I don't map for any other games. But I also don't play any other games that have that
capability.



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