Anyone feel that random spawns in maps such as Doppleganger are extremely unfair?

from Sins Forums
This might come off as a whine post, but I just wanted to see if anyone shared my thoughts regarding this.  Random spans on large maps aren't so big a deal, but random spawns on mirror maps are just garbage.

I just played a game on doppelganger where I had the following in my system

1x pirate base
2x asteroid
1x empty magnetic cloud
1x desert planet
1x home terran planet
1x dead asteroid.

Then... the guy who wins the game with returning armada, that's a seperate discussion starts the game with
2x asteroid
2x volcanic
1x hom terran planet
1x dead asteroid
1x magnetic cloud with 3 metal extractors 1x crystal


How is this remotely fair? 
He pulls in twice as much metal than me, the same amount of crystal and waaay more in credits, trade ports not included.


strategy
5,948 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
No one said that randomly-created maps were inherently fair; they're inherently random. I'm guessing that's one reason why the devs threw in the custom map creator.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
I agree. Random is random. It is fair. You can also have the better starting position, if you are lucky.
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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
You just have to be patient, one time I got utterly shafted with heavy militias at the neighboring terran/desert planets, & only one easy to clear asteroid in reach. Another time I got 2 asteroids, with the joke militia of 2 cobalts/1 siege/1 flak for the icy and volcanic nearby.

I mean that is why you are playing random isn't it? So it doesn't get repetitive, right?
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
In the early to mid game, an imbalanced distribution of random planets can hurt or harm a player - having more planets means more money diverted to upgrading their infrastructure, more territory to defend, the player with fewer planets can put money into research to boost output from a lower number of planets rather than infrastructure, etc. But if someone survives past that point - especially if the game starts with 2 players out of easy raiding distance of each other - eventually both players will be operating with a similar level of research and one will just have less population, mines, culture, lower income from any given fleet cap.

It would be good to have an option to randomise specific placement and phase lane distribution but keep planet types and total planets vaguely similar.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
He's talking about a premade map the comes with the game, it's not random.

And I agree 100% and I've noticed the same thing on that map specifically. Also for some reason 1 system doesn't have ANY pirates in which is extremely unfair.
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
Dopplegangers is probably my favorite map currently. I don't see what the big deal is about there being problems. Sure things are unfair. Things will never be fair. I built more cobalts than my enemy in 5 minutes. That's not fair to him. I might have an extra metal asteroid and he has an extra crystal. That's not fair either. My opponent is an AI who can issue dozens of commands per second while I have to select, give an order, select something else, and so on to hit that efficiency. That's not fair either. The bottom line is that no situation is ever exactly fair.
Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
How is this remotely fair?
End of quote


It's not at all. Since it's a premade map, and a mirror map, you'd think it would be balanced, but it's not.
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
Every game needs to come with a hopelessly unbalanced "mirror" map. It is the way of things.