Map Making Balancing Section

[Boggz]

posted on March 6th, 2010, 5:58 am

Last edited by Boggz on March 6th, 2010, 6:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Hey so I realized I'd never be able to fit the whole thing in a PM.



  Here's what I'll throw down.  Of course I will add my own pizzazz .


  Greetings, Map Makers!  Kudos for even being willing to spend the time and the eyeball energy slaving over your screen to make a fun map on which we can blow shit up!  This will hopefully get you acquainted with some of the common habits and "mistakes" that newer map-makers tend to make (myself included ).  Any object that you can place in the Map editor will hereby be referred to as a "Doodad" as it is in the Warcraft Editors .  Asteroids, Nebulae, Moons, yadda yadda are all Doodads.

  [I'll split it up how I tend to think about it.  You are welcome to arrange it how you like]


  BALANCING A NEW MAP:

At the moment there are only a few tangible factors in making a balanced FleetOps map that's still fun.  I will go through a list of options and then investigate what it means based on a few factors. 

Here are the first things you should be considering when beginning a map as they will very much affect balance and playability.

Firstly:

  Is your map:

• 2 Players
• 3 Players
• 4 Players
• 5 Players
• 6+ Players

Secondly:

  Is your map:

• A Free For All (FFA)
• Team vs. Team
• Both

Thirdly:

  Is your map:

• Symmetrical
• Asymmetrical

[tt](Sexy) Table of Contents:[/tt]
A.  Habits of New Map-Makers
  1.  Number of Moons
  2.  Number of Nebulae
  3.  Derelicts
  4.  Blocking Trigger Placement
  5.  Nebulae Placement
      a.  Moons inside Nebulae
      b.  Forced movement through Nebulae
      c.  Nebulae "shadowing"
  6.  Bottlencecking
  7.  Wormholes
B.  Balancing Your Map
  1.  Map Size
    a.  Small
    b.  Medium
    c.   Large
    d.  Extra Large
  2.  Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical
    a.  Symmetrical
    b.  Asymmetrical
  3.  Asymmetrical Map Comparison
    a.  Tau Ceti 1.0
    b.  The Final Frontier II
    c.  Cellula Eucaritica

A.  COMMON HABITS OF NEW MAP-MAKERS:

Btw, I'm TOTALLY guilty of this when new content is added or I make maps for a new game  .

#1 -- TOO MANY / NOT ENOUGH MOONS
  Moons are crucial to gameplay and a sufficient number has to be provided with "over-saturating" the map.  Certain factions do better with fewer resources (Feds) than other factions (Rommies) and the moons have to be able to support all factions choices.  Too few moons and strong early game races will CRUSH non-early game factions.  Too many moons and it becomes a tech-fest to see who can spam the most of the best unit.

#2 -- TOO MANY NEBULAE
  Notice how I didn't say "too few"?  Mutara (Purple) and Crystalid (Blue) nebulae are both disruptive to the game's pathing like the other nebulae, but they also provide a completely safe haven for Borg.  Borg can run in and essentially be invulnerable unless they are on death's doorstep and losing a ship or two in the neb is worth it.

#3 -- DERELICT SHIPS / STATIONS
  Yes, yes... we all wanna finally play with that Prometheus or set up some Breen or try and make a Neutral team out there that we HAVE TO FIGHT BECAUSE THEY OWN THIS SECTOR AND AND AND ... AND ... well the effective implementation of derelicts isn't possible yet (in my opinion).  Once the map is played for the second time everyone will know where those derelicts and send their first scout out there to take them.  Then suddenly that Cube you thought it would be fun to have Derelict is walking into your base about the time you're done with your third Saber. 
[align=center]--DERELICTS ARE JUST TOO GREAT AN ADDITION TO A TEAM EARLY GAME--[/align]
And you might be saying "that's why I set it up so that you CAN'T get to it early game".  Well ... that's fine I guess, but keep in mind that there are lots of ways to "cheat" around those stopgaps.
  For the time being, it's inadvisable to add too many (if any) derelict ships to your maps as all it takes to have a working Sovereign, Cube, or McKinley yard is 2 crewmen.  Stations can then immediately begin recrewing and a vessel can just run back and recrew as well.  2 crew is all it takes for that ship to be mobile and have weapons online as well ... albeit at a slower rate.

#4 -- POOR BLOCKING TRIGGERS
  The Blocking Triggers (F10 - Non Player Races, F2 - Triggers, F1 - Blocking) are what ACTUALLY prevent ships from moving through things.  They are big, white, and ugly Hexagons that prevent ships from passing them.  They do not exactly fit a single Asteroid Field Doodad properly and will often have "overhang".  In game this ends up making it so you can't actually go to a certain place even if you can't see something there.  This is very important when it comes to moving fleets and micro-managing your ships in battle.  If for some reason you can't move somewhere that's empty you'll be like "WAAAAH I don't know where I can go!  There's nothing there!" 
  Solution:  make sure your blocking triggers line up as nicely as possible with whatever doodads you've placed.

#5 -- PLACING NEBULAE OVER MOONS OR PLACES YOU ARE FORCED TO GO
  a.  It may seem fun to place moons in Nucleon (Red) nebs and justify it saying "oh well if you want to have those extra resources then you have to repair your freighters when they get low!  It's called Strategy!"  No, it's called a HUGE PAIN IN THE ASS.  I wouldn't want to be checking back every 10 seconds.  You will lose those miners and they will not even replace the amount of resources they cost to build.
  b.  In general don't put nebulae in places where you HAVE to go through them in order to play the map.  Pathing is really the biggest issue because the little demons that work inside the game can cause oodles of very frustrating problems that will drive your fellow Gamers CRAZY. 
  c.  Never place Blue, Purple, or Green nebulae too close to either the beginning moon pairs or even the expansions.  These moons are crucial to a decent game and should not be shadowed by utility nebulae.  Borg can make almost broken use the Purple and Blue's, while everyone else can simply retreat to a green any time they need to (or even shoot at you from inside it).

#6 -- BOTTLENECKING
  Leaving the only way in or out of a HEAVILY trafficked area as a tiny passageway invites a player to line it with turrets or even a starbase.  To be honest, the only real culprits of "turtling" are:

• Dominion Perimeters (of which there can only be 3)
• Federation Torpedo Turrets (Mayson Only)
• Klingon Heavy Weapons Platforms (take too long to turtle anyway)

  Basically it's asking a Dominion or Fed player to box themselves in and just wait ... Romulan Turrets are too weak to do this, Klingon Turrets both too expensive (resources and supplies) and take too long, while Borg never build Turrets at the moment.  Always leave decent space (artillery range diameter) or multiple entrances into a starting base to avoid this.
  NOTE:  Some people really like to turtle.  That's fine.  However many people do not.  If you want the majority of people to play your map you should strive to avoid making bottlenecks like that.

#7 -- WORMHOLES
  Don't put wormholes too close to a person's beginning base.  Wormholes right now are a VERY good way to escape a situation because ships pass into it rapidly and when they do all weapons fly off wildly.  It is very easy for a fleet to show up in your base, ravage, then run back through the neb before you can do anything.  Then of course on the other side they have 3 Perimeters and their ally placed 20 Mayson Torpedo Turrets.



B.  BALANCING YOUR MAP:

Balancing is the most difficult part of making the map in my opinion.  Many beginning factors determine what must be done to keep your map balanced.

#1 -- MAP SIZE
  The size of the map with distinctly affect what needs to be done in order to keep it balanced. 

[tt]A good rule of thumb regarding the size of the map is:  "The bigger the map gets, the higher in the tech tree the first units will be". [/tt]

  What this means is that if the the Map is a 50,000 unit by 50,000 game for a 1 v 1, by the time your first few destroyers make it to your opponent's base they will have battleships ...  The size of the map directly dictates how long the action and reaction time will be for fleets and technology.
  You might ask:  "What sizes are Small, Medium, and Large maps?"  That totally depends on how you arrange things inside your map.  I (Boggz) tend to make maps a little larger than normal, but also make clear and open lanes for harassment and REQUIRE that players move closer to one another to expand.

  a.  Small Maps -- should always have enough space for building-intensive races like the Borg or the Dominion.  Borg structures are inherently HUGE.  They need plenty of space and not having it can be crippling.  Dominion players also need enough space to put Ketracel White Synthesizers at their moons as well as tech labs.  Klingons need space for the OODLES of research facilities they will have to build.  Oddly enough, it's the Feds that will likely need the least room.  ONLY place nebulae in areas that are not crucial or heavily trafficked as it can throw the balance very easily.

  b.  Medium Maps -- 2 to 5 player maps.  Give people enough space to breathe and not be "forced" anywhere.  Some encouragement in terms of where they should be expanding won't hurt, but forcing a player to build certain ways because of asteroid or neb placement is generally a poor choice.  1 full expansion moon pair and a few more pairs centered between the teams is a good choice.  Some nebulae in neutral areas can be a fun way to add flavor.

  c.  Large Maps -- Best for 6+ Players.  Multiple extra moon pairs is recommended as the teams will then be nearly forced to compete for them or perish.  Avoid "take this area or lose" kinds of situations as people will not like them.  Larger Nebulae will do alright as long as they are not too strategically crucial to holding an area.

  d.  Extra Large Maps -- 8+ Players only.  Maps over 25k x 25k are ASKING for a tech race.  The longer it takes a person to get to your moons and harass you, the longer you have to build up stronger defenses and create higher tier vessels.  VERY hard to make work well as it just ends up being a mad rush to spam the overall strongest baseline vessel.  If it takes more than 2 minutes for a miner or a construction vessel to reach another moon pair ... the game is gonna be unplayable for most people.


#2 -- SYMMETRICAL VS. ASYMMETRICAL

  a.  Symmetrical maps are much easier to balance.  It is easier to see where the moons, the   Nebulae, and the "Blocking" Doodads and Triggers are at in relation to each Player's start.  Symmetrical Maps follow an inherently balanced pattern because (in theory) everybody has the exact same advantages and disadvantages.  Many of our favorite maps from Stock are Symmetrical like "The Very First Map", "First Strike", and "High Energy".

  Common Features of a Symmetrical Map:

• A full Moon pair expansion near each start position.
• A central area equidistant from all starts where much fighting occurs.
• Nebulae away from the start positions, usually near the middle.

b.  Asymmetrical maps are a little more tricky to balance.  Because they are inherently uneven, it can be very difficult to make sure that each player starts off with an equal advantage to the others.  It can be done though and should not deter a person from at least TRYING an asymmetrical map now and then.  Asymmetricals actually have fewer "rules" if you ask me, but they just have a few "rules" that absolutely CANNOT be broken lest ye nevarrrrr have yer maps be playeeedd yarrrrrrr  :

  Rules Not to Break on an Asymmetrical Map:

• Even moon distribution.

The starting moons for each player must be accessible within the same amount of time as the others.  The First and Second Moon Pair Should be Accessible at equal times for all players.

• Even access to the map.

A player should not be put RIGHT in the center of 4 others ... they won't like that.

#3 -- ASYMMETRICAL MAP COMPARISON

  Here are three Asymmetrical maps that work under different principles:

  a.  Pure Asymmetry

[align=center]"Tau Ceti 1.0" by Phoenix"[/align]
[align=center][/align]

  Phoenix made sure that each starting position in Tau Ceti had equal access to it's beginning moon pair.  The resources on that map are more scarce to encourage exploration and projection of power.  He has very skillfully placed moons in places where a person would not normally go if they were not looking for resources, thus giving those areas a distinct draw.  Nebulae are almost absent from the center of the map to prevent them from being abused by the Borg.

b.  Subtle Asymmetry

[align=center]"The Final Frontier II" by Boggz
[/align]

With FFII, I tried to create a balanced beginning for all 6 players while causing the map itself to be uneven.  If you look closely, almost all of the moons are actually symmetrical.  This is because in online play people can feel they have an unfair disadvantage if the moons are not equal for all players.  The difference, however comes from the fact that the actual map doodads are arranged in asymmetrical patterns.  Each area has it's own feel to it and it's own method of attack.  Purple Nebulae are arranged so that they can be used for escape, but are NOT available in areas where "camping" would be useful.

Conversely, there can also be asymmetrical maps that are almost completely for fun!  The next map we'll look at is "Cellula Eucaritica" by The Black Baron.  He has gone on to create an entire representation of a cell using the Map Editor (please correct me if I got that wrong).

c.  Gimmick Asymmetry

[align=center]"Cellula Eucaritica" by The Black Baron
[/align]

  Now the key thing to remember here with a "gimmick" map, is that they are for fun!    They are only partially meant to be a balanced gaming experience and are more created for the fun of pitting the mitochondria against the nucleus!  Baron created a very fun map based on a theme and it will work best for a game that is played with patience and the willingness to laugh .  Expecting a fair and balanced starting is ... not likely, so just have fun!


Woof.  Ok I'm tired.  It's 23:21 where I am and I'm pooped.  I'll continue in the morning.

posted on March 6th, 2010, 3:10 pm

Looks quite good so far - eagerly awaiting the finished product 

posted on March 6th, 2010, 6:21 pm

Ok so I'm peetering out and looking for suggestions on what is left.  I'll add a "Final Thoughts" section and maybe some more pictures (cause who doesn't like pictures?), but all in all these are the main points when it comes to a player's first attempt at Map-Building.

posted on March 6th, 2010, 7:08 pm

Ok, in that case then I'll begin "guide editing (at least some people who visit the guide don't visit the forum, and a lot of the 'in-jokes' are lost then). I'll try to keep it as true to the original as possible

posted on March 6th, 2010, 7:31 pm

Hahah yeah go right ahead.  Edit as you see fit.

  There should be a pretty clear distinction between what is playing around and what is an actual important part of map-making.