Minister X wrote:Frankly, I think that starting with only a handful of terts is less of an evil than players starting with bonuses. I'm going to make all bonus terts start neutral - twos and threes as mentioned above. Then there is ZERO chance of dropping onto a bonus, and that's perfect. New map to be posted shortly.
I am in 100% agreement.
I'm going to take a moment to post some guidelines, since your post touched upon so many good ones that perhaps haven't been stated anywhere (despite best efforts)... I apologize if I am stating the obvious. So to clarify on the points you made that lead you to this conclusion-
(1) Generally, as long as 8-player games provide at least 3 regions per player at the drop, it's not considered a problem (unless custom starting bonuses/values make a quick elimination likely).
(2) Also in general, I like to see the percentage for bonuses on the drop at or below 5% (1 in 20 games), particularly if they are greater than a +1 bonus. For something like a +4, the percentage should be 1% or lower. That may sound harsh, but consider that many thousands of games will likely be played on the map, and every time players see an opponent get a whopping +4 on the drop, they'll howl and scream at the Foundry and CC (plus they'll foe the map... well, they would if they could anyway). Obviously, this is guideline and not a rule, as dropping bonuses can work if the map is meant to distribute dropped bonuses among players. However, balance on the drop is the ultimate goal in every case.
(3) I saw that you used empirical trials to arrive at statistical probabilities. Impressive and it saves us CAs time
However, if you don't mind using mathematical formulae instead of simulation, there is a quick and easy tool on CC for just such a purpose. It's
Mr.Benn's Bonus Calculator that can be found in the Tools forum of the Foundry.
(4) Although starting neutral values of 3 or higher are very common on CC maps, neutral values of 1 or 2 are perfectly acceptable! In many cases, the actual value comes down to the personal concept of the mapmaker and their tastes in CC gameplay. For instance, I personally like lower neutral values because I prefer to see troops being used rather than stacked in games.
OK, end of guidelines.
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Your choices for neutral 2s and 3s and their placement looks good. Your update speed was frightening.
Your flavor text has a rogue word in it, here, "... Will you
fall become the next Caesar? Or will you fall as another bloody corpse?" (italics added)
Remove the word
fall in the first question. Also, I think it might read better if the two questions were combined, as in, "... Will you become the next Caesar... or just another bloody corpse?"
Also, it might be even clearer/more explicit to state in the lower right corner...
"Earn a +4 bonus for
every 4 Gates..." rather than "
any 4 Gates". That way, the examples below are reinforcing this single rule, rather than expanding it by stating that 8 Gates, etc. give additional bonuses.
Overall, I'm pretty comfortable with the gameplay. Great work
-- Marshal Ney