How to balance a game?

[Failenx]

Hey guys, I've been working on a map, specifically a Vamps game. If you don't know what that is, builders defend themselves using defensive towers to fend off the Vampires.

There are 4 vampires and 8 builders.

What would be a good way of balancing a game that focuses on towers and the Vampire hero?

I guess the problem I'm having is I have no idea where to start. From buying items and their cost, to the lumber gaining rate for the builders.

I just don't know where to start on this kind of thing.

The best way i've found so far is just using a calculator to make the changes for damage and armor, etc.

Thanks for any tips.

 

[canons200]

how to balance the game? keep on playing.

The best example >> icefrog is still balancing the dota, every new version have a lot of changelog, lower or higher certain value.

 

[tommerbob]

Balancing is probably the longest and hardest part of the mapmaking process. It takes endless hours of playing, again and again and again, all in different situations.

One thing you can do is to post your map and request other's help and input. Not only can it save you hours of time, but they can give you insight that otherwise you would have missed. A bit of constructive criticism can go along way!

Good luck with your map.

 

[WCGMapMaker]

1 of my projects is a ladder map with 8 new races, i am attempting to balance all flawlessly, i have been balancing for 7 months, it never ends and its a lot of math. especially with 12 total races.

You could always use vamp fire as a reference map but even that isnt balanced of course and has lots of changes that needs to be made. Problem with that is i dont have an the original WE version that isnt protected, you could ask for it at their website.


Basically to balance a defense game like that is more then just hero + towers. Human builders should have damage as well and be able to kill certain units vamps can someone, should be lots of summonables for vamps which requires further balancing and so on. Have basic towers that grow advanced, sepcialty towers, summons for vamps/guys for hire. Humans should have slayers, a system like vamp fire, summon trackers, all seeing towers, as well as the other two, lots of tower upgrades a huge variety of upgrades infact, a very good gold lumber system, automatic or human achievable through mining.

Should have a very well thought out strategic terrain for both human and vampire advantages.

Take vampire at max level with no items/tomes or anything and get his health and damage, balance basic towers to that. Balance upgrades to an average attack/health/mana of the vamps based on how much gold they can make maximum per minute and how much they can max power out based on that, and thats what upgrades will be based on for humans. Take human towers at their max and base vamp units on that to help distract, infilitrate etc. Human speciality towers should be a wide range, to already maxed power towers and toweres that need upgrades, base cost of average vamp power per game, not based on weakest or best players, but make sure those are also adequate scenariors by throwing in tricks for humans. Many many items and recipes for vamps for many strategies. Dozens of different types of towers, virtually hundreds of upgrades; upgrades for vamps, vamp units and so on.


Like i said, it never ends!!!!!