Forged Alliance added many mostly very well made maps to the already good map selection we had in Supreme Commander. Additionally many maps were tweaked to improve the gameplay on it and reduce imbalances (most prominent example of this is Arctic Refuge).

This series of reviews has the goal to give you a good start at the new maps, showing some key features and general strategical approaches which hopefully are very helpful for you.

The First map in the Series is Williamsons Bridge. It's one of the two new 5x5 Maps (the other being Crag Dunes which will be reviewed next). Image 1 shows you a overview of the map, the red numbers show you the amount of mass you can reclaim from rocks in these areas.

The Adversaries are connected through a long pathway with a steep slope (so units can't climb it) to both sides of it. There is only 1 Mex in the middle of that pathway (which is called Williamsons Bridge I guess) so the main focus should be on the flanks, but don't get surprised by a attack through the middle, which is easy to fend off if you scout it but without scouting it might be unpleasant for you. Furthermore you shouldn't let your opponent claim the small plateau on your side of the bridge ("PD" in image 1). A small defense base with some added walls can protect the entire flank (image 2, the the big green circle sections show you the arc which the T2 pd can cover without hitting mountains).

With the large range a tactical missle launcher has in Forged Alliance everything you have can be targeted from a TML standing in your opponents base, so build TMDs, image 3 shows you an example how you can protect 3 outlying mexes with only 1 TMD (as long as the tmd of the enemy isnt right in the middle of the map) and don't forget to secure your main either.

As both players have one rather easy and one harder to defend flank, both players will be one the offensive simultaneously - bottom player on the right side and top player on the left side, which makes promises for an interesting games.

Air units play a key role in this kind of battle, as you can transfer them easier between both battlefields or take out the defenses on the plateau with some artillery dropped in the blind angle of the PD(s) on or below the the plateau.

All in all I like this map very much. It makes good use of elevation, has a rather low amount of mass (10 mexes per side and about 2200 mass in rocks to reclaim per side) and offers lots of different strategies, especially for a 5x5 Kilometer map. If you have any In-Depth Questions about the map just PM me in gpgnet or add a comment.