It’s been one month exactly since the Club Penguin Armies’ server map has launched. Within that month there have been four wars declared, countless “free-land” invasions, and a community eagerly watching.

Background

On July 20, the first unified server map in over a year was launched. It came following a league split after the March Madness tournament of 2021. Not only is the current server map for a unified community but it is also one of the largest maps created with a total of 150 servers. A server limit has been put in place at 76 servers: half of the map plus one.

For the most part, the rules of the current server map are similar to those of traditional maps used in the past. Amidst the server draft, the Army Board ruled that an army cannot be invaded for the entire weekend (Friday through Sunday) if they are participating in a tournament battle that same weekend.

Update as of August 20

Prior to the release of the map, a server draft was held. However, not every army was present for the launch of the new server map. Notably the Army of Club Penguin, currently the only army not on the Army Board, and the Water Vikings chose not to participate in this edition of the server map. Lime Green Army also pulled out due to a promise of war by the Templars‘ Leader, Xing.

Directly after the conclusion of the server draft, it was revealed that the Ninjas and Red Ravagers had plans to transfer land to the Templars. Seconds later and the Templars published a declaration of war on the Rebel Penguin Federation. Even though the Templars had a ten server advantage, it mattered little. In the end, the Rebels were able to bring that advantage down to six by the end of the war.

Battle for Ascent

Nevertheless, the map saw little to no change despite two major powers going to war with one another. In fact the Templars continue to hold a large majority of land by continuing their invasions of the Limes. Put quite plainly, the server map has been dominated by major armies and their eagerness to hold a bunch of land with little to do with.

In Comparison

As the last remaining bits of land are adopted, we as a community run into the issue of practicality. After the hard work of invasions, the next step seems all too vague.

The result of one of the former leagues’ maps

While the current server map does host a larger variety of colors, the results may seem all the same. There is little wiggle room. In some cases one could argue that the end goal for war is now the infamous forced treaty. Once an army’s capital is taken by an opposing force, they are subjected to a treaty that usually ends less than favorably. Yet with vast empires that reach over 20 or more servers than the task of war becomes jading.

Argument

There is nothing new about the server map we see today. It is time for armies to start acting like armies: battles are inevitable. Although the problem does not solely lie on the responsibility of one party, one army, one person. In fact, I would argue that armies have always been acting as they should be: as communities of free will.

The map is far too large in relation to the current rules. However, if it becomes too small, the fear of being forced into an unfair treaty become all too real. The middle ground has not yet been reached. And I’m not too sure it can be. There have been attempts to introduce new concepts like Project: Conquest where seasonal competitions of land grabbing were to be to be officiated. Still- nothing has really stuck.

The deciding battle of Project: Conquest

Unfortunately, there is no simple solution. We could change the rules, abolish the force treaty, and lower the server map to a fraction of its current size. We could keep force treaties but with a smaller map and frequent map resets that don’t abide by old treaties. Or we could keep the current map and change the way we approach judging by exclusively using it for tournaments and freezing conflicting armies’ nations on the map until conflict resolution (credited to Pjayo). Thus putting the power back in the player.

There’s also just the option to do nothing. Keep the way as things have been. Either way, this new generational topic of leagues, and how should they operate, will continue to generate much discussion within our community.

Club Penguin Armies reached out to major army leaders across the community to gather their thoughts on the current events of the server map:

Can you give your opinion on the current state of the server map? And do you think the map is sustainable?

Aaronstone: I think the map will become stagnant after a while.

Greeny: My personal prediction is that Templars will wound up in war with Ice Warriors and, depending on the outcome (it’ll likely be a close one), I do believe the map may become stagnant as a result. I think the lack of small-medium armies in the community is taking its toll right now.

Link3000: I think it’s interesting to see the map slowly being filled up as well as the interactions between different armies about the map. I can see how a map might become stagnant if the only focus is just free-land. With current wars and also Legends Cup on its way, the focus of armies might shift to something other than free-land invasions so then it becomes less stagnant. However, even if it does reach that point, there is the rule of the map resetting so that will automatically shake things up a bit.

Xing: Bad. [The] community has been dying [due to] low sizes.

What improvements to the map and/or map rules would you like to see in the future?

Aaronstone: I also think that more servers should be added to keep the map moving [as] it gives incentive to armies to do something.

Greeny: Personally, I believe the outside interference term should be an agreed upon term as it results in less action and essentially prevents any world wars. Same with the rule about invading armies simultaneously.

Link3000: I can’t think of any improvements as of right now. The only change I can think of that could happen in the future is change in server draft distribution because of armies/new armies that didn’t want to participate in the first draft then wanting to participate in the new draft (if that is how it will work) etc.

Xing: No force treaties.

Based off these answers, there are various opinions on the current effectiveness of the server map. As mentioned with the Legends Cup around the corner, any activity on the map will surely come to a halt. With less and less free-land becoming available, and larger and larger nations being formed, what will come next?

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