Considering The Hovertank

From Gamedozer

[edit] The Hovertank

One of the most unique units in Battalion is the Hovertank. It is an uber unit, meaning that only Premium Users are able to select it. Sure, most of the people playing Battalion are not premium members (although the author of this document suggests that you become one for the Upload Map feature), but this doesn’t mean that you can completely write off people using uber units. The Annihilator, Shadow and Longbow are all relatively simple units that should not require any balance changes on a map. However, the Hovertank presents big problems on maps with small sections of sea used as dividers. Hovertanks are able to become de facto air units on certain maps, giving the premium player a huge advantage in certain situations. How does a map maker prevent the Hovertank from unbalancing a map? One idea is to put an airport on a map. Hovertanks are not cost effective compared to Gunships, so the Premium User won’t be able to gain a huge advantage from them. It’s also a bad idea to place factories very close to each other with just a river in between them. Since Hovertanks are unable to ford mountains, placing a mountain in the middle of a river may be a good idea on certain maps.

Of course, instead of restricting Hovertanks, your map could embrace them. One idea is to deploy Hovertanks with both players in order to encourage their use. Hovertanks can become an interesting variety of air units on certain maps, and they are often able to make a map stand out. Just make sure that you use them wisely.

Back to the Map Making Guide.