I suggest that you look at other defense maps to see how they used the mechanics of the game. Most maps are monolithic in their approach to waves in that you need to deal x amount of DPS within y seconds in order to clear the wave. There are a few outliers to this approach and by utilizing them you can make your mechanics unique and diverse. I'll be talking more about the different ways map makers use the mechanics in the game to make it engaging and the history of some defense maps in general. These topics will indirectly talk about balancing and hopefully give you some ideas on how you want to build your map.
Regional DifferencesHere's a quick history lesson about defense maps and the ways map makers have shifted and refined gameplay. When I say regional differences it's not just West (English speaking) vs Korean maps but also the generational differences between the maps. Most of the Korean maps I'll be talking about were made around 10 years after those of the West and as such have had the time to refine and address some issues that the defense map genre had. Neither is better than the other as they each have their own pros and cons. I will list some heavy generalizations between them, know that there will of course be outliers.
Regional Differences: The West1. 2000-2008. Roughly the height of map making for English speaking players. Started with (the original) Turret Defense and many subsequent defense maps followed the same general formula.
The Issue. Because some of the older maps were made when advanced map editors and techniques were either unknown or not made yet some maps are very crude in construction.
2. The Track. Waves spawn at the start and move to the exit. When enemies reach the exit live(s) are deducted until defeat.
The Issue. Units with low range are inherently at a disadvantage. Because enemy units move from x to y splash units may not be as effective.
3. Team Defense. Most maps in this era were team maps that shared the same waves.
The Issue. Since most of the maps gave resources based on kills, players with more kills could get stronger resulting in a feedback loop. This is one of the largest issues I see with these older maps. The game wouldn't change at all if most of the players left after a certain level because one or two players would be getting all the kills anyway.
4. Heroes or Selectable Units. Players are able to choose their unit type to upgrade from the start or purchase them at a later time.
The Issue. Some units are just better than others in the general sense. It can be mitigated to some extent with effective upgrade balancing but the longer the game progresses the larger the disparity between the efficiency of different units.
5. Ground based waves. Maps that did not use air only waves had to have anti-wall techniques or some other type of mechanic to allow waves to pass through.
The Issue. Anti-wall techniques such as having the computer unally the player and order move would be based on the AI which can be risky in some situations. An example would be turreted units attacking despite there being a clear path through or waves blocking themselves resulting in unprovoked attacks.
6. Damage Types. A lot of players will choose units based on their favorite, these include ghosts and hydralisks which have non-normal damage types.
The Issue. Concussive damage is the worst damage type followed by explosive. It's extremely hard to balance them with upgrades as the efficiency of the player's DPS will change wave by wave.
7. Game Limits. pre-1.18 a limit of 1700 units and 200 bullets were allowed.
The Issue. No valkyries, no mass units, etc. Of course in some maps at later levels this would always become an issue.
8. Replayability. Because there is no RNG in many of the maps players are able to refine their decisions on how to play it.
The Issue. Min-Maxing. As stated in 4 there will always be an optimal unit no matter how well you balance.
The Issue. After a while playing the map will get boring. This is most evident in later stages where you just sit back and press the upgrade button.
9. Extra Stuff. In maps like Tarpit Defense there's an exploit(?) with drones that players can do to keep themselves occupied once their defense is set up.
Regional Differences: Korea1. 2010-Present A lot of time has passed and the tools and knowledge available to map makers has grown. Many of the maps are very refined and polished by comparison.
2. The Circle. Units will generally stay within the same area. Defeat occurs when too many enemy units have accumulated in the player area.
The Issue. By resolving the issue of the track the mechanic of strategically placing units (like on a corner) is lost.
3. Individual Defense. All players theoretically can get the same amount of resources because they all have the same opportunity.
The Issue. You get lonely.
4. RNG. Korean maps have an overwhelming amount of RNG associated with them. This often takes form with the 'gamble' option where the player will get a random assortment of units.
The Issue. Bad Luck.
4a. Combinations. Because of the heavy amount of RNG some control over the player's progress is given back with the use of combination units. e.x. if you have x and y units you can combine them for z.
The Issue. It's a very convoluted system that has to have built-in charts of each combination within the map. The majority of playtime will be spent looking at the chart.
5. See 2.6. Damage Types. Some maps that I've seen have Protoss units as enemies. Because shields take full damage from all damage types it doesn't matter what units you have.
The Issue.[/b] Protoss only enemies.
6a. Shield Recharge. In NemoNemo D shields will recharge to full every few DC cycles. There will also be a lot of enemies within the wave. Having non-focus fire units (cannons, storm, etc.) will mean you wont be able to break the shields to deal damage to the unit.
7. Game Limits. Korean maps tend to use less units on average. This is mainly because of point 2 and there usually isn't an issue with CCMU.
[i]The Issue. No valkyries still because fuck you.
8. Replayability. Because of point 4 each game will play out differently.
The Issue. Since RNG is such a large mechanic within the game the lower levels tend to be easier causing the average game length to be longer. Furthermore it can be frustrating to the player as their outcome is somewhat out of their control.
9. Extra Stuff. I think in NemoNemo D there's a lot of extra things you can do for both income and defense. This is just an example as there are many things you can do.
ConclusionAgain, neither is better than the other. Hopefully this gives you some ideas on what to use for your map. In regards to balancing I feel that it'd just be a bunch of trial and error. Adding in more factors such as RNG complicates things. Maybe you can figure out what kind of method or scaling (if any) the makers used. Hopefully this helped.
To see some Korean maps check out the DLDB defense category I've uploaded some there. I'll also upload some maps here as well. I think these maps are decent but it has been quite a long time since I've played them. Also some have really shitty music. Also check out
this map.
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