Hi,
what do you guys think about the current number (7) of wastelands in 1v1 strategic settings? (ladder and auto-games)
I had some cases where wastelands narrow the number of viable picks too much and that limits your choices. It makes it hard to use different strategies in those cases.

Lowering the # a bit could work out imho, or maybe it could be a random amount, let's say between 4 and 7?
Alternative could be their size, at 10 troops, they are really hard to crack. Although that's kinda the point of a 'wasteland'.
Just curious to read what others think about this.
cheers

they make each game different so its more entertaining. it would be much hard to counterpick with fewer wastelands.

Setting up fewer wastelands would let untouched too many regional patterns in well-known maps (well, in this case, Mid Earth of course). Wastelands structure the options and movements, and 7 wastelands on 23 bonuses (I think that's 23) still give way enough space to pick with both flexibility and global positioning considerations. I like it this way, at least not with fewer wastelands.

I'd actually vote more wastelands rather than less if the number had to change. I like the current number, though.

maybe keep a set number of wastelands, but only allow one per bonus, to allow a more static number of starting locations..?

@Perrin, 1 per bonus would kill any expansion consideration from most of the games on the 3 to 5 first moves. Would be awfully slow imho. The picking system has interest because there are assets to fight for. Wasteland the whole map and this is over.

@TI : +1. I wouldn't really mind adding a couple more, at least as a tryout, not remove some whatsoever.

Mian, I am not proposing more then 7 wastelands.. am just proposing it is done in more of a warlords style.. this would eliminate the chances of say.. 3 wastelands in Canada.. since there are 23 bonuses, this would leave 23-7 bonuses available in every game instead of 23-(x) where x is anywhere from 1-7

I actually kinda like the random dispersal. I think it creates more variety. It can create the "Oh hell no nobody is going from Africa to Asia/Russia anytime soon due to Iran and Turkey being a wasteland" or the "Nobody is crossing the Atlantic anytime soon" scenarios. Doesn't happen a lot where the wastelands have an enormous impact on the game other than to mean a bonus nobody will get, but I like it when it does.

i would like the wasteland-size to become a little smaller, say ~7-8 so conquering a wasteland to take the bonus becomes an option (it shouldnt be a great option, but it should be a possibility allowing for more different strategies)

only problem i see is that "blocking wastelands," the ones on chokepoints, would become too easy to break through
this could be solved by making another distribution in the map itself(by the map/template creator) by selecting which territories should have a big wasteland should they become a wasteland(the ones on chokes) and which wastelands would become small wastelands if they become wastelands