So I decided to make a new map and I'd really like some advice. This is a rough version and it hasn't been straightened and prettied up yet so don't whine about the phase lanes being off. The basic premise is that this is a 1v1, 2v2, or FFA map. Each side starts in a corner with a standard Terran planet. Each side should easily be able to take over both a fire and ice planet.
To get to other players you either have to go through random special sectors (gas clouds, magnetic fields, whatever) or go the very long back door route. The back door routes are NOT able to be colonized. There is a single asteroid connected to this back door route which is both hard to attack and to defend due to it's remote nature.
The first couple players to research interstellar drives will be able to warp to the second "bonus" sun and easily colonize one of the easily defended desert worlds.
The first player to gain wormhole tech will have access to an easily defended Terran world. I could easily see a player moving his capitol here.
This map incorporates my own personal "balancing" of the game without using a mod. I have increased the artifact and special chances by about 15% each. I tried to make some choke points to minimize the constant fleet bouncing and hopefully make people use phase inhibitors more.
Regardless of what happens I will likely release this map in multiple versions including:
-Pirate/No Pirate Version
-Differing Scale
-Less planets/more money
I really need advice on the following things:
-The back door routes distance. Currently they are over 3.5x longer than most inner system jumps. I want this to take a long time so that you really are doing a gamble throwing a fleet so far from home. Exactly how long this should take is up for discussion.
-The asteroids connected to the back door planets; should they even exist?
-Should the random special fields surronding the sun be lessened to two? Should they even exist? I could easily have the star be a huge crossroads...but it might be too much.
-Should the asteroids in the wormhole and second star area exist?
-Anything else you feel like sharing.
