Four battlegrounds, each ringed by wooded hills at the edges. Meridian and Tidewater each start with a Headquarters and play by the same rules.
Open country dotted with woods and ponds. Plenty of room to sprawl, and plenty of directions to be attacked from. A good first map.
Play it: watch towers on every approach, and use the woods: forest slows ground units to ×0.6 but drones fly straight over.
A river splits the map, crossed by three bridges. Whoever holds the bridges decides where the fighting happens.
Play it: turrets at your bridgeheads, and remember you can build your own bridges (40 cr per tile). Gunboats pass under bridges and can work the whole river.
Two islands joined by two narrow necks of land. Every ground attack has to squeeze through a choke point.
Play it: wall and turret the necks, then break the stalemate with drones and gunboats, which ignore the choke points.
A great lake sits in the middle and both sides fight around it. Expand towards the shore to build a harbour.
Play it: a Mobile HQ outpost on the shore gets you a harbour, 2.5 cr/s of trade and gunboats that can reach the far bank.
The rival plays by your rules. Difficulty changes how sharply.
Time to learn the city side before the pressure starts.
The intended experience. Balance the economy and the army.
A faster, richer rival that doesn't slip up.
On every difficulty Tidewater builds its own town, power, defences, police, research and army, raids with fast units and sends growing attack waves. The "first attack" value is how big its army must be before it commits. Read the tips to be ready.
SIMCONQUER