Spring RTS Engine

I think a version of Azure Rampart with only 2 fortresses, for 2/4 players, would be very cool. (and might look good as well)

And, preferably stretched horizontaly instead of vertically so there is no problems between the player who starts top or bottom and vehicle factories placement.

(a 4/6 simetrical version of Azure, for team play, has also been mentioned some times)

What do you think, zwzsg? Shoudn't be too hard to make it...

No, wouldn't be hard to do. But the problem is that map is built around the idea of having a large central ring where you're very vulnerable and everybody battle out, and starting position set back in easily fortifiable areas. With only two forts, then the map would become very linear.

Three, four, and six, ... forts version are doable, but I don't want to start churning out too many variants of the same map. Would be better if all Spring maps had different texturing style, atmosphere, and feeling, imo. Plus if I did a four forts version people would call me a Nazi.

Besides, you can still play with 2 or 4 players in Azure Rampart. It's still balanced. 2v2 is odd players vs even players. Ok the north players are closer to the nearest enemies that the south player, but no team get any advantage.

Also, currently the crenels and relief don't play any role in Azure Rampart. At first I hoped that people would build artillery behind opening, and expensive structures behind walls, but it doesn't seem to happen in actual games. So I'm thinking about ways to make the whole rampart idea play a role in the gameplay, and not only in the eyecandy.

Maybe if I come up with a nice layout idea I'll do another Azure Rampart like map. But I've already two unfinished maps to work on, Peripheral Consciousness, and a south america pyramids inspired map, and many more ideas, so I can't promise anything.

zwzsg wrote:...
Also, currently the crenels and relief don't play any role in Azure Rampart. At first I hoped that people would build artillery behind opening, and expensive structures behind walls, but it doesn't seem to happen in actual games. ...

Well, it happens in mine's... I don't put artilery like that because it makes it only usefull in a very narrow angle but i often put important buildings near the walls (blocks artilery as well as gunships that, while strafing, fall off the cliff not beeing able to shoot) and i've seen frequently towers on top of those ramparts (having some nice advantages).

zwzsg wrote:... With only two forts, then the map would become very linear.
...

That's specifically what i wanted. A linear map. The problem with Azure is that it is most often played as a never ending 5 FFA. I've tried 3 times a 3v2 in it but if the players are balanced, it is a very hard game to do for the 2 team. And no one wants to play 2v2 because of the extra spot that, indeed, make tha game a little weird.

In Azure, leaving the fortress, we have a narrow corridor leading to the wider corridors of the middle. I was thinking that they should not have the narrow ones and be connected by one of the larger ones (still defendable but not as much impassable).

This would lead to a specific style of play that would be battling for ground pushing forward or losing ground. I expect that this game style would have a very standard average play time, never «never-ending» and never a «5 min rush».
For example in Small Divide, the style is similar (mostly artilery wars with some raidind to push forward) but if we lose the middle, it is almost decisive.

zwzsg wrote:...
Three, four, and six, ... forts version are doable, but I don't want to start churning out too many variants of the same map. Would be better if all Spring maps had different texturing style, atmosphere, and feeling, imo. Plus if I did a four forts version people would call me a Nazi.
...

I expected you might want Azure Rampart to have it's uniqueness. By no means i would want you to break your willingness in such way nor be responsible for a map that could be a fiasco or ruin Azure's uniqueness.
If you don't do such a thing, i will eventually try to do myself a map with a similar style of play.

PauloMorfeo wrote:That's specifically what i wanted. A linear map. The problem with Azure is that it is most often played as a never ending 5 FFA. I've tried 3 times a 3v2 in it but if the players are balanced, it is a very hard game to do for the 2 team. And no one wants to play 2v2 because of the extra spot that, indeed, make tha game a little weird.

Never played a good Gods of War 2v2, have you? The single contested island is what makes it so exciting...

zwzsg: Or alternatively, they might call you a hindu Just make sure the swastika-shape wont be tilted, and it'll look like like a Hindu swastika, not a Nazi one.

Gnome wrote:...
Never played a good Gods of War 2v2, have you? ...

How many times!?

Gnome wrote:... The single contested island is what makes it so exciting...

Hardly the same thing. In Azure, the first one to get the untaken fortress can easily block himself until a much later part of the game.

Well, for a linear map, with fortifiable starting areas, with a narrow corridor leaving it, leading to the wider corridor in the middle, leading for a lead to a specific style of play that would be battling for ground pushing forward or losing ground, if I had to do it, I would use a cave setting, like Fury's Den.

But I don't plan on doing it anytime soon, so if you want to do it, do!

Just use a different texture set, so it looks very different, and I don't come at you screaming for "ruining Azure's uniqueness with your fiasco"

zwzsg wrote:...
Just use a different texture set, ...

I won't!
That is, if i manage to learn how to do it... I don't have much time between me writing my book and my addiction at a certain game called summer or something...

By the way, does anyone knows if it is possible, in the new map format, to have transparent parts of the map and have a background underneath it like we have in the skybox? (like those maps of starcraft that have a void background)

I was thinking of making the map as an asteroid/fortress floating aroung a gas giant or a gas giant's rings, like the saturn ones. Textures for such a «sky box» could be aranged easily out of pics of Saturn/Jupiter.