Spring RTS Engine

smoth wrote:http://www.smoth.net/files/Grts_desertValley_15.sd7

Not a release but I wanted to give you guys a file to take a look at.

forb, if you want to do a feature def. this will be the release version, I just want to give some of the ba guys a chance to:

A: try the metal spots out
B: try the metalspots widget out.

important thing: I fixed a few issues with the metal spots widget and added some randomized gfx so it won't be teh same spot over and over. The spots images will be redone later.

anyway do take a look.

so ba people, I need YOUR feedback. I do not want to release this map months later and you lot hate on it because I didn't design it well enough for ba. You guys have a chance to give some feedback. I have added, tweaked improved and bug fixed the metal spots widget...

all that is left is for you guys to put your money where your mouth is and try the godamn thing.

I have made adjustments as requested in this thread and really would appreciate it if you guys made a very small return on my investment. PLAY THE THING A BIT so I can know how it works for you. I want to see you guys leave some feedback on it so I can move on to other maps. You have a plethora of dated maps and most of the other mappers have given up on you. I am still here, virtually begging for feedback.

Is it so hard to play a 1v1 or 2v2 on this map?
Is it so hard to download it and go, yep the metal spots work or didn't work?

...

this is what the new metal spots and the vehicle pathing looks like.

Desert Valley is a part of our semi-standard map rotation and a Planetwars map so its good to see it optimized for metal-based games. It always played a bit unlike any other map though, partly because it was very large for corner-based startboxes, and had so much metal in the start position (toning it down will probably have helped). Maps this large are usually played NvS or EvW so each player faces direct confrontation, played in the corners most of the emphasis seems to be on driving units down the middle, while the flanks are hard to hold due to their openness (and, well, flanking).

Immediately the only problem i can see is that the metal extraction radius is so large that it covers all 3 starting mexes. This means you get a single +6.2 mex to start, which is fairly non-standard. This will make these mexes very attractive for overdriving in Zero-K (or mohos in BA).

Some of the problems with the sheer hugeness of this map could probably be solved by playing it NvS (or EvW?), because there are now extra 3-mex spots, however, the fact that the top lacks a 5th 3-mex spot somewhat precludes this possibility. Though i suspect this will still happen, as the unclustered 4-mex spot in the upper left would be just as attractive (more problematic for BA because they dont have communism, so in a 5v5 that player gets somewhat screwed).

I'll get it registered in rapid and make it a featured map.

make the evo cfg the same as the gundam one btw

Very nice map. Could play it very well. Pathing worked.

I found one place where BA kbots easily get stuck (see attached picture). They can climb the hill only at that narrow spot, so if a couple of them are on the hill and want to leave, they get stuck. I guess they shouldn't be able to climb the hill, as the other hills seem to steep. IMO not an issue.

The "UnitShapes" (0.5.8) widget fails: Instead of my team color the circles are transparent, if a unit is selected its circle is opaque and white. Normally it's a team colored circle, opaque on the outer ring, fading into transparent to the inside (where the unit is).

Vehs can navigate very well.

For BA team games it's indeed a little tricky to find a good {h,v}-split, but IMO it's more of a challenge than an obstacle.

I like maps where flanking is possible: it offers the possibility for more varied game play and surprises :)

About the mex radius: in my BA 7.60 test games it wasn't to big - each mex covered only 1 m-spot.

dan:
you forgot your attachment..

can you also attach the shapes widget, there are several versions.

sak:
Odd, the radius was fine in ba, I will check tonight.

forb:
the HLV(the pickle shaped thing) is used in the feature set and it is not PD, it should not be in evo.. that feature is based on Bandai's IP not something I can release as public domain.. so it is closed license. So evo would need it's own config.

oops... the same thing happens in mails :)

BTW: I didn't test all hills - it's just this one that I came across by coincidence.
If it's important to have them all none-climbable, I can run another game to check the other hills out.

lol smoth, don't expect any remarkable effort/feedback from BA community.

You should concentrate on ZK people instead because they are playing your maps.

Trust me, your map is fine - I've made bunch of BA maps and some of them have even succeeded.

And btw, this map is meant to be played SW vs NE. Why do you need to think how it works horizontal or vertical?

It is meant for ne vs sw but if they are playing it as evw and nvs I need to consider that.

SirArtturi wrote:And btw, this map is meant to be played SW vs NE. Why do you need to think how it works horizontal or vertical?

LOL - why didn't I see that? Yes that works much better

smoth wrote:It is meant for ne vs sw but if they are playing it as evw and nvs I need to consider that.

Making all rounder designs isn't easy, actually they fail in most cases. You should stick with the solid NE vs SW design. It's very good one...

You are trying to please everyone smoth. It's a rocky road, been there done that.

It's a great and good looking map!
Have played only 2 matches on it, but i liked it a lot!
Thx!!!

Played a couple of 1v1 BA matches on it. The metal layout is more sane than the the last version of this map I've played (11), and it looks great of course. I didn't find any unexpected pathing or gameplay quirks, but then I wasn't looking too hard.

I admit we found ourselves missing the hilly mess in the NW corner in version 11. I imagine you got rid of it because of entirely valid pathing complaints. I'm not suggesting you bring it all back, but I just wanted to note that the old version had one gameplay element that I really liked: The NW corner was very different from the SE corner--one lending itself (in BA) to kbot guerrilla tactics, and the other to vehicles. This led to some really interesting 1v1 matches.

You liked the old giant plateau? I didn't see people using it much so I broke it up into alleyways because that seems to be more friendly with the pathfinder. You can still position snipers hidden on the hilltops for ambushes thanks to springs LOS system.

people wants the old giant plateau in the top north corner, they gets it!



That what you lot wanted?

Looks teh sweet.

but is that what you guys wanted?

I think so, but I can't really tell without seeing the slopes/passability.

zoggop wrote:I think so, but I can't really tell without seeing the slopes/passability.

*sigh*

conveh

peewee


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