Map Balancing (What's your favourite map?)

[angry_bosmer]

Hey everyone, I was wondering what people thought made fair and fun maps.

Likewise, what maps are you enjoying at the moment and why?

I'm working on a map which I think has some cool geography. I'm touching it up from the terrain map I used to specifically add different gameplay oriented elements.

I want the map to include at least a few interesting challenges while being balanced enough to be playable with any gameplay style. Also I'll try my best to make it look nice at the same time!

So far I know I want the following:

-To limit flat space to small coves along the coast, larger areas by rivers and on highlands. I want those spaces to be of premium value to the player. Force the player to choose where to farm and where to set up settlements.

-To separate coal and iron. Otherwise its too easy :P

-Put all the oil somewhere rather inconvenient. I'm thinking in the middle of the ocean (oil platforms might work soon) and some large islands off the coast.

-To reserve areas for Uranium deposits.

[Xbalamque]

i use the empty first model. Some maps are nice but the dificulty to prepare ground if there are to many montains and soil irregularities discourage me to try that maps. For example, Yougoslavia has many montains in real and Greece have many islands that would need a better system of trafic boats and boat passagers than we still have until now in the game.

[gusgblaw]

I look for variety of sights/sites and interesting logistical challenges ( But not unfair of unnatural)
that'll get me to go at it from different angles and use all the modes of transport.
I like the storytelling part ( for lack of a better word) of the game, so if I can believe there would be a reason for people to want to settle near this border and find their fortune exploiting these patches, and carry on from there it makes me want to plan this 'story' and then build it.
I really dont like all flat lands and anything were features seem to have been planned for a specific setting/placement, like 100% density patches of ressource in a neat semi-circle around a valley/bay.

I've been playing 'deep territories' by Grink. Honestly having a grand old time with it, checks a lot of the boxes on your list. There are huge open space in the top part tho I don't really use them for roleplay/logistical reasons.

[gusgblaw]

I used to play the populated vanilla map, and plan my republic around where there were already people. It's another nice story when your socialism slowly expands trough the map to lift those little town out of near-feudalism.

[argent]

Making maps is a very cool thing, a great idea. Love it !

There are a great number of factors, here are just a few.

In my view it will not be possible to make a map that will suit all players, at all levels of play, and definitely not play style. For example funds and construction (no auto build) allow people to overcome various map issues easily, or with great difficulty.

Consider customs (type, numbers and placement), natural barriers to reach them, resources placement, proximity (especially to any possible start up areas as well as each other) and quality of deposit (lower % may be better, farmland (to start areas and other resources). The ability of natural resources to impede spread and reach such as bridging rivers.

May I suggest you
Make one that suits your play style, because those are the parameters in which you have the experience and understanding.
Think about how you would start a game and build it to give people similar options, and ease of development.
Look at some people who are very experienced players and examine their maps, especially if they have made more than one (we all get better) - especially if their play style is similar to your own.

Enjoy !

[RP-BOOST]

You are creating just the map we want, a balance in everything, in terrain, mountains, trees and resources scattered on the map strategically, for example you can have a great place to extract your resources but you will be quite far from the coal and iron mines. Here is an excellent place for our agriculture, but it is far from all natural resources like oil, coal minerals and iron.
This is where I'm going to start! They have coal ore and iron, but this terraform for terraformat? And please, not filling the map with trees and trees, we can do them ourselves, please put just a few for the game's aesthetics. And of course, if possible, some islands that we can use.

[virgilio.dias]

I am playing in the Ukraine map and really enjoying it. The geography is nice, iron and coal are spread around the map in small but sufficient quantities and oil is very scarce.

All in all it is a good challenge.

[FlygonSA]

Currently i'm playing in a Norway based map with some coastline and mountains, its called Sørfjord Soviet Republic if you want to look it up in the workshop

[Shtahetta]

Początkowo opublikowane przez gusgblaw:

I used to play the populated vanilla map, and plan my republic around where there were already people. It's another nice story when your socialism slowly expands trough the map to lift those little town out of near-feudalism.

Yes, I think it fits the spirit of the game - to modernize a poor country and make it a communist utopia - and not build the utopia in taiga. Populated map is both easier and harder - it gives me free workers, but rebuilding old towns (using only COs od course :-) ) is a pain in the ass. I appreciate the work of creators needed to make realistic looking towns and villages. I prefer sparsely populated countryside, with one real city and some villages. This makes me feel like being the ruler of a real s%~πhole. If I make it an industrial state, this would be a grand achievement. And if I fail, comrade chairman won't notice ;-)

[fjorkar]

I play the vanilla card with a population, all options are of medium level, except that energy and education are in hard mode, so to speak, to play historical reality.
I mean, the whole world was discovered in 1960, so I'm taking political power over a backward country with simple resources scattered across the map. The terrain corresponds to reality, mountains, rivers, a flat land there. A hill there, a mountain somewhere, like in Eastern Europe.
I do terraforming every now and then, but mostly I try to bypass nature but not destroy it. That's why I build snake-like roads around the mountains, bridges to overcome the valleys.
I am for raw materials that are far apart (coal, iron) like in the real world.

[Storpappa]

I started with a theme, in my case Lithuania SSR

I obtained the land height map to start
There is a significantly famous island castle, Trakai
The capital city of Vilnius
A number of easily identifiable major rivers that flow in some direction, such as NE to SSE

And then neighbors, and cities near those border points

That gives me able to concept work to fit a country into a square. And that is where you adaptation fits in. Rivers needed to be scaled down for edges to match game scale
There are a few high points, that in game are larger, otherwise they get lost on the map
There is significant stretches of farm lands - I have those, but it is also too easy to hand a player a perfectly flat map. That land is scorched and rocked in some places to prevent it turning into Kansas


Gravel is easy because you can look at the areas you want to add color or depth like shorelines. Without rocks flat, with rocks, cliffs. Then look up major sources of rocks and mined materials. Potassium, salts, ores - place to taste

The three bigger items you get to paint, oil, iron and coal
At this point, your just doing a balancing test
I painted out the vast Northern oil fields, just off map. In border, you can easily do a fuel start.
The newer player can use that area to learn and get started

The experienced player would see that, know what it is, and go to other areas of the map

THAT encourages harder players to give it a try

One edge has is it one or zone? Hmm, go find out. Wait, there are border towns but no connections? Aww, you fool, you fell for the oldest traps in the books
* never get involved in a land war in Asia
* never go in against a Sicilian when DEATH is on the line
* never trust someone when death is chasing you

As for population - I never populate
I do use the buildings off map, so if you fill them they will die and escape, messing up your states for a few years - MUwhhhahaha

I also the first player to make extensive use of over the border buildings.
I do this for decorations when looking at the map
I do this to amp up the borders when on ride along
I do this to clutter up the map when looking to go somewhere
I do this because they catch fire, cause more traffic, and encourage you to ignore fire messages, to your peril
And lastly, I do it because you learn Lithuanian and Russian words without evening realizing it.

PRO TIP - DO THIS LAST.
Save your map
Add trees
Save
Publish
Trees are a bit easier - the game gives you the major varieties for the region - find out which is your predominant type. Lithuania is pine trees and pine forest. You can't be boring and just turn every square into a single type of tree. That might be a bit for people on older, slower systems

[MG83]

still playing default map. even it is unrealistically elevated like hell .

[FrostyCrits]

I use
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1821761929

Don't like fighting with terrain. Little light on resources, but the best map I have used to date.

[Shrike]

Lyubinsk uninhabited has been my favorite so far. There are spots where the cursor glitches out but I found you can fix that with a quick hit of terrain tools

[angry_bosmer]

This is all great! Thanks for the feedback. I've been using similar metrics to what Argent mentioned. I ended up mirroring my terrain map to allow the borders to be where I prefered them, but I'll play around with it to get a good amount of variation in the terrain. The tools are really good!

[argent]

Początkowo opublikowane przez angry_bosmer:

This is all great! Thanks for the feedback. I've been using similar metrics to what Argent mentioned. I ended up mirroring my terrain map to allow the borders to be where I prefered them, but I'll play around with it to get a good amount of variation in the terrain. The tools are really good!

That is cool my friend, I mentioned some of the valid aspects, and as you say - there are many.

So fab to see the (small case for emphasis) love we see in the responses here. But ZERO CREDIT (and I mean zero) credit to me, all credit to the community who helped me make those comments. None of them are original - all are learnt from this community (and the necessary self learning validation).

tldr: This is why WRSR is fab - the community. Long may it prosper !

And to continue (why stop this fundamental question @angry_bosmer asked ) :-

What is your fav map today - and why ... ?

And your response is ..? xD