RBL-4NiK8r wrote:OK from what I have read an seen in the pics I will give you my thoughts of things so far. Do to the fact its a 4 player map some starting points have more of an edge then others.
In this pic if you look at the top base and the one on the right they basically have a straight line to each other sure they may have a Scav base near by, but nothing really breaks up the map on that side to stop a truck rush or anything else. Also from my POV the left hand base would have the edge when it comes to resources they have 2 Scav bases and 2 bridges that can share defense from the looks of things. Oh ya about them bridges they are major choke points and defense on either side like bunkers with hardpoints behind them would be very hard to deal with early in game.
I was wondering how long it took you to build that force up that you used to attack the Scav base ? and was this done with just 4 oil wells ?
4nE
I didn't look at the time it took me. As I said, artillery would surelly have made the task much easier, the force I've used to destroy the base was using the dumbest behavior (Do or die, just were sent to the middle of the base with one click and watched). Scavs don't build up, so you can take out most of their defences, making your task much easier.
About the alterations you've mentioned, I'm glad to say I've (mysteriously) done specific things esactly due to the same motives! Added a cliff prolongation between the northern bases that stops direct rushes, and will add scavengers to the passages to avoid tower rushes completely. In the Southwestern base, I've added a very wide passage (20~ tiles wide I think) to the Southeastern base - So that on FFA games the southern players can be more easily attacked between each other, as the nothern ones will. Reccomended teams will be 1 northern + 1 southern combo for normal games, and northern/southern teams for more difficult ones.
The Southwestern base also may look like it has too much of an advantage by being somewhat less accessible by the other players and having the secondary bases nearer to each other & to the base - but overall, their "island" will have the least oil resources as well. There won't be the ghost towns, with additional resources, directly accessible to their base, as well.
After all, I really did want to make starting positions with different pros and cons so that I might try balancing the map in more interesting ways than the average we see everyday. This final balancing can't be done without the planned beta testing, with the opinions of many different players using many different strategies.
The Implementation of a handicap system directly to the base game, or simply playing with friend you know and letting them in positions that fit their skill level would reduce the inequity level, but I won't count with that! Your suggestion is welcome, and you can be sure it'll affect the development of the map. Always remember, as it is being developed and changed everyday, there's always a solution. There is hardly a solution for people who play the same way for 8 years, though
Many changes (hopefully the great majority of them, improvements) will still be made until even the beta versions are released. With good feedback in the future, and constructive criticism, like yours, in the present, I'm sure I can fix the map issues and make the map at least "Average" for all users. Also please note that there will be different versions with more power.