Random events are particularly unfair in duels, because it's pretty much zero sum. What you lose is what your opponent gains. When in FFA multiple people can profit or get hurt by the event. But making the game fair and yet interesting and exciting is not trivial. The most fair setting would be mirrored map, with no random events at all. Which can quickly turn into a click fest and not necessarily the game I am personally looking for, but I bet some players would be pleased. 

I am not sure how reveal map can help with weird resource distribution. If there's still only one prime spot it becomes poker game. Not much to do with OTC. The outcome is determined right there. Someone loses either by taking too much debt or by missing on the only valid founding location. We'll have to see, but I doubt that will solve the issue completely. 

2nd the delay after another colony founds. I hope its not too long though because it should be possible to screw someone over who founds too far from the desired resource. I have had instances where we both found at the same time, one on the resources, another near them, which sucks because I'd never found at that spot after the other player founded.

Cubit: I see that situation around frequently. Carbon sometimes requires founding so far away that a found/claim rush is inevitable leading to an auto win/loss. On the other hand, I also see similar situations, except there is room to found touching the carbon, but the scav still founds outside, and I take advantage and found inside, thereby letting me have the better carbon tiles.

InSyncOTC: Reveal map will because you assume debt to take the better spot, which hopefully is enough to offset the difference between the best spot, and the 2nd best spot. Better players will have a better idea how much debt can be taken on safely.

I don't like the thought of mirrored maps. It was a good thing in starcraft since it got rid of silly imbalances that exists on certain maps (like Lost Temple) and mineral placement. However, mirroring the map in OTC will make it so the players aren't really fighting it out with each other. It will remove the competition over claims for the less important resources since those resources will be present on both sides of the map. There would always be 2 triangles of water (if there was one) etc. There'd be no way to shut another player out of a less important resource like that water or silicon since it would always exist in duplicate, unless its one lone tile on each side. 1v1 is fun because there's an element of risk*. Mirroring the map decreases limited interaction even further. I am on board with trying to get the 2 starting locations to be closer to equal in value that they currently end up being. I like the reveal map mechanic because it removes the pressure and need to mirror the map.

*This is after each player founds on a functional starting position. Ideally, you'd be able to function without iron or carbon, but steel consumption is just so massive in comparison to other resources (power excluded) that its impossible to progress without producing them yourself. You can function without silicon or carbon as there are other options.

Well, this discussion rings a bell...

I have to say I changed my opinion on resource gen in larger games, even in a 4 man FFA it's possible to conjure something on a "bad" map. However in 1v1 you need to be (almost) self-sufficient, which you do not in FFAs. So I guess resource gen becomes more important but I am 90% that ones Reveal Map becomes default in QM you will find that map gen really isn't at all that bad. All these horrible map situations are much rarer than normal, playable maps because as I had pointed out before, 1v1 is normally played on small maps (which supposedly were meant for 3 players), not tiny. I believe it is the case for QM as well.

But if we are talking about how to improve resource gen, a rather radical idea I've had the other day is that the normal terrain can be removed (since it hardly spawns anything). This might, however, turn the resource-friendly maps insane as there will be just way too much... also it will remove the normal map type (which I frankly don't mind too much)

If you call a map with adjacent water and iron a "meh" map then I imagine you have huge problems with map gen

My proposal sounds massive but the more I think of it the more I like it. This would not just help with the amount of resources but also with the allocation. Thi would basically create a couple extra fields of resources... which would save almost any map. But it might ruin the "easy" ones.

I also don't think that 10-15% percent of the map are that terrible, perhaps I'm wrong on this one as I've mostly been playing QM on the current beta and avoiding the scary players. And I do claim that I'm better at scanning than an average person, so I mostly found first and get the nicer spots.

I haven't played too many 1v1's where the map being unplayable wasn't caused by the players themselves founding and crushing resources. Granted, those carbon/alum spawns are very annoying to play against, but I suspect that the 50k debt assumed for that spot would make up the difference. I'd like to wait and see how the 1v1 plays with reveal map on before they make too many changes to the maps/resource spawning.

Fun fact: You don't get D bond rating until you go over 200K in debt in a 1 vs 1. If your founding scavenger or robotic you can found as early as 100K and be perfetly fine. Meanwhile, your opponent is forced to foudn almsot immediatly after you, taking on a ton of debt himself, otherwise you out pace him too quickly, so the debt usually evens itself out because your playing robotic/scavenger and he's a scientist, despite you founding earlier.

I haven't seen a single high carbon in about a couple dozen QMs, and so scavenger seems like a non-option. I hope to see them more, but have high carbs been removed?

Want to hear something really funny? The first auction was for the nuke... That didn't feel bad at all. Just... sad. 

No idea about carbon. Haven't play scav for a while myself. Probably there were no decent spots. Will pay more attention in the nearest future.