i'm one fan that does not have to be convinced of the difficulty of making a fair MP asymmetric map. i made my first effort with TA many moons past and then later efforts with WZ, first using Edit World and then FlaMe.
so my interest goes beyond just the matter of acknowledging or demonstrating difficulty and extends to the actual making.
within that spirit of inquiry towards revealing useful principles, my thinking on this topic goes to what follows as a starting point.
* the concept of "fairness" has always been stricter in MP map making than in maps for SP Campaign mode. Fairness in SP can naturally include "handicapping" in its GP design so asymmetric maps are the norm in Campaign mode, for example. which leads to the possibility that if MP GP was accepting of handicaping techniques then fairness in asymmetric map design would take on a meaning different than what is conventionally assumed in traditional symmetric map design. and I think within that acceptance of handicapping, fair asymmetric MP map designing would be more feasible than only applying the conventional fairness criteria derived from symmetric MP mode mapping.
* i believe the requests for more asymmetric maps is reflective of the Campaign Mode fan base wanting an aspect of that mode's experience in playing on MP designed maps.... which simultaneously serve Skirmish Mode vs. Bots, the fans of which overlap more with Campaign Mode than MP vs. humans.
but, I'm getting ahead of myself. I really would like to get down to a more basic level in uncovering and stating clearly, the practical hows of going about making fair asymmetric MP maps.
so, I will reboot this post with the following
* the assumption here is that in the great set of all possible asymmetric WZ maps there is a sub-set that can be balanced, or made "fair", for FFA or Team MP vs humans, and that your map, montetank, as it stands now can with certainty be a part of that sub-set and not the other sub-set that can never be balanced fairly for MP GP using conventional fairness criteria that donot employ handicapping techniques.
* one could further posit that there is a better chance of balancing for FFA or Team MP if the topographic asymmetry is designed from the ground up with that in mind rather than if the asymmetry is random.
* so my first question would be:
~ is the topographic asymmetry of your map by design with balanced MP in mind or is it purely random ?
* my second question:
~ if your topographic asymmetry is achieved from the ground up by design with MP balance in mind, what were the criteria you followed in the making ?
i hope I'm not out of bounds in going down this path. if I am, donot hesitate to set me straight.
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