In
Switzerland, they had brotherly love. And after 500 years of peace
and democracy, what did they produce? The cookoo clock. Bring on
the civil war! Kill the Swiss!
HQ
Placement: It's a standard cliche to put the Home
Bases at the corners and as far away from the action as possible.
I think good level design should offer more variety, and putting
each player's HQ in the thick of the action presents unique challenges.
Panic
Attack: My idea for this level was to provide each
player with many factories, but then scatter them across the battlefield.
It's much more fun than handing you a quadrant and giving you your
own country, and I've dabbled in this idea on Candyland Sucks
and Drink and Drown.
What
makes this so great is that it creates an instant sense of panic.
Notice that your HQ is in the open; it can be reached by any number
of enemy factories. Your first priority is get back home and defend
your capital.
Open
Warfare:
Within a few turns, the entire battlefield is erupting in open warfare.
This is exactly what I wanted to achieve, and it gives this map
its greatness. There are no front lines; every square inch can erupt
in violence.
Why
aren't any of the standard Advance Wars maps this good?
I want that panic rush we get from playing Robotron.
Factories
and Cities: Each player begins with 8 factories,
which gives you several strategic options. You can place forces
almost anywhere, but you must also defend your territory. And, let's
not forget about your capital.
There
are also 24 neutral cities, adding another layer of complexity.
My level designs usually focus on small forces, because I'm not
fond of seeing swarms of Neotanks bulldozing everything in sight.
Where's the strategy in that? Fortunately, the chaos of this map
will require that you pass on the more expensive hardware.
Fog
of War: I try to design these levels for both daytime
and Fog of War play. It's much better to give players as many options
as possible, and let them customize as they wish (this is the Goldeneye
Rule).
Fog
of War adds to the tension, and forces you to pay even more attention
to defense. There's always the feeling that something is just out
of reach, hiding in the shadows. The layout is just perfect for
this mode, with mountains, forests, roads, and buildings colliding
into each other. Great fun. |
