Thanks very much for the excellent feedback!
iancanton wrote:lower mekong, tucked away in the corner, is possibly a +2 rather than a +3, though arguments for either can be made.
Yeah I was thinking about that, too. I agree we should change Lower Mekong to +2 as you suggest, as it has only 2 enemy bonus powers as neighbors, just like Deep South. This has the additional effect of making Upper Mekong relatively more powerful, which it should be as it is bigger and has 4 enemy bonus powers as neighbors. And it reduces Phak Isan bonus (details further below).
iancanton wrote:one thing on my mind: bangkok so dominates thailand in almost every way (in a fashion that doesn't happen in major western countries - not even france) that, having removed the inset, a +1 bonus hardly seems sufficient - it's not even the equal of the castle in castle lands. doing something like the aforementioned castle (which gives +2 autodeploy) or increasing the phak klang superbonus from +1 to +2 might be helpful here.
Very good point. I'd prefer to emphasize the strength of Bangkok than Phak Klang as a whole. Let's make Bangkok itself a +2 autodeploy. It may need to start with neutral 3 or 4.
Victor Sullivan wrote:Phak Isan, once obtained, is a lot easier to hold than Phak Nua, since it has fewer borders to cover.
Good point. I think we should equalize both to 13. Detailed analysis below if anyone is interested in my reasoning.
Phak Isan (17 territs) has 4 borders and Phak Neua (15 territs) has 8 borders. They both border 4 enemy bonus powers. This data on it's own would be enough to push for reduction of Isan bonus to be slightly below Neua.
However, Phak Neua can take Loei, Tak, Lopburi and Suphanburi to make a defendable 5 borders, at the expense of bordering an additional bonus power, Lower Mekong via Loei. This more defensible "greater phak neua" (not an official bonus area) would make it slightly more territs than Phak Isan, at 19 vs 17, and would be nearly the same regarding defensibility.
In light of this, I think it may be a good to equalize Phak Neua and Phak Isan bonuses. We just trimmed 1 off Phak Isan from Lower Mekong. If we trim one more away from Phak Isan bonus, it becomes 13, equal to Phak Neua.
Personally, I'd prefer to see Isan stronger than Neua as it contains more population. However I'm willing to compromise by making them equivalent out of gameplay concerns. The 2nd largest city is Chiang Mai at least, so that throws some additional credibility for a strong Phak Neua.
grifftron wrote:Victor Sullivan wrote:Phak Thai definitely needs to be lowered to +8 because it has only 2 borders!!
Phak Tai has more then 2 boarders... you have to put in the attack at the airport in Phuket as well as the 2 attacks that come from the HTMS as well, and the boarder it shares with the West.
Yes, Phak Thai has 4 borders. Could become a 3 by taking Chakri Naruebet. I think the bonus is fair at 14 territs and 4 borders and only 3 separate powers. If it were not for the fact that there are only 3 separate powers bordering Phak Thai (BKK, West, Chakri Naruebet/East) instead of 4, I would advocate increasing its bonus to be almost as great as Phak Neua and Phak Isan. But since it has only 3 separate powers bordering it, and can reduce borders to 3 by taking the ship, I think it's fair at 9. But no less - it is 14 regions with 4 borders after all.
Lets see what others think along with Farang.
