Terrain Placement
Written by: TheGamerASD
Maps are made of terrain, like plains, forests, cities, and more. So, it is important to know how and where to place terrain in your map.
Plains
Plains are the most common terrain type in most maps. They have 1 defense star and have 1 movement cost for all units except for units with wheels, which have 2 movement cost on them.
Forests
Forests are a terrain type which have 2 defense stars. They have a movement cost of 2 for units with treads and a movement cost of 3 for units with wheels. Forests are good for slowing down vehicles but not infantry. You should make sure not to place too many forests near the frontline, as they can make it hard to attack by slowing tanks and increasing defense.
Cities
Cities are an important terrain type because they not only have 3 defense stars, but they also give income to the player who owns them. You should make sure not to place too many cities close to each other as this can make it hard to attack into that area. While placing cities, you should keep in mind that infantry units can move 3 spaces per turn, so don’t place too many cities within 3 spaces of each other.
Roads and Shoals
Roads and shoals have 1 movement cost for all units, but they have no defense stars. They should be placed for helping wheeled units get around or for making it easier to attack into a tile. The difference between roads and shoals is that naval transport units can cross shoals but not roads.
Mountains and Rivers
Mountains and rivers are impassable by vehicles, so only infantry, mech, and air units can get over them. Only infantry units are slowed down by these tiles. Mountains and rivers are useful for shaping where battles will take place since vehicles will be unable to cross them. You should make sure not to place too many mountains or rivers at the frontline, or it will be hard for players to attack there due to the limited movement.
The difference between rivers and mountains is that rivers have no defense stars while mountains have 4 defense stars. In addition, infantry or mech units on mountains will gain additional vision in fog of war.
Oceans
Ocean tiles are impassable by all units except for air and naval units. They are useful if you want to stop not only vehicles but also infantry from crossing over a tile.
Pipes and Pipeseams
Pipes and pipeseams are impassable by all units. Pipes can be useful for slowing down the deployment of air units in smaller maps. Pipeseams can be used to allow players to open up a faster deployment path for their units later in the game.
Missile Silos
You should avoid placing missile silos in your maps unless they are locked behind a pipeseam or only reachable with air/naval transports. Placing missile silos out in the open usually causes FTA because whoever reaches the silo first will gain a large advantage over their opponent.
Most competitive maps on AWBW don’t have any missile silos. If you do decide to place missile silos in your map, make sure not to place too many or an odd number of missile silos.