Spring RTS Engine

The heightmap is as good as finished, and the texture also. For the metal layout i would like to ask you guys to save this image and post a new one mith metal 'dots'. Maybe after a poll, i will try to pick the best, and make it into the map :)



unleash the metal placing war!! :D

you really need to learn to do that for yourself

haha!! it never okay is it! First you say that all my maps have a horrible metal layout, and in need of drastic change, and if i ask people to help me with it, you come with this?? you're funny

I'll check your metal design later, back here sunday or monday. Thk you!

dont flame on each other

honestly i think you're the two best map editors the spring community has at the moment

try to learn form each other

@icexuick - just make some suggestions by yourself and discuss dont just spam out maps - the metal layout is your weakpoint

@angel - help him a bit, make suggestions - your weakpoint at the moment is the texture map i guess (its all so colorful and funky :D - make it more matt)

yeah you right. I didn't really mean it as flame, just thouht it was kinda strange and funny :).

i have made multiple ideas for desert rock, and am now playing on a demo map, but i didnt have time to post it, also wanted to post the routes of the different unit categories, but my collegeau is waiting downstairs as i type, so i have to go to work!

hopefully i see some great metal layouts sunday evening when i have time for TAS again !

Imo, a better way of doing it would be a release, and then asking if the layout and content was good and what could be better.

The way I lay out metal is not for everyone. However, the way I do it engourages expansion (which is my style).

What I ask you to do is take 5 or 10 minutes visualizing a game with concept layouts and try to reason through what would happen in the game.

It won't always turn out exactly how you intended, but that's what recompiling is for.

Just try. Really try. Then come back with a finished layout and map. That is my advice.

Ask yourself this. Many of the established mappers here have learned how to correctly do a metal layout that is fair and balanced and does not promote porcing. Ask yourself why you seem to be having some trouble.

sure a concept is important - but rebalancing is important too

so just make it - and if its crappy, rebalance the map

dont spam out more and more maps, care on fewer, but well balanced maps

i guess we have enough crappy maps

Actually suit, to address your comments earlier about my terrain... Ice's tend to be really surreal (which looks really cool), wheras mine tend to look a bit more realistic (actual texturing on everything,wheras bryce generally uses 1 to 2 textures across the entire map with different bumpmapping --- O prefer actual texturing cause it also looks super cool).

Too colorful? I'd like you to explain what you mean if you don't mind.

Sweet looking map ice, cant wait for it ^^

Forboding Angel wrote:you really need to learn to do that for yourself

I really rather that he relies on other people if he isn't so confident of doing a good job on that. I hate the ammount of extremely beautifull maps that are ruined by such a small thing.

«Do what you do best then outsource the rest!»

IceXuick wrote:... For the metal layout i would like to ask you guys to save this image and post a new one mith metal 'dots'. ...

If you know me from these forums you know i am a balance freak. I would be interested in doing that. But would have some issues, i can't quite figure out how the map is as far as terrain (what are hills, what are cliffs, etc).

Also, there is a need for some other stuff.
- How big is the map.
- What kind of gameplay do you want? Fast,/slow, technical?
- There seems to be water. How do you want the distribution of importance between land and water? (no metal in water, more metal on water, etc)
- Any other special idea on the metal distribution?

note: I almost don't read post in the forums "maps" at all. I ended up in this thread by chance.

Black Dots are metal. Red dots are Geos.

Drone_Fragger wrote:

Black Dots are metal. Red dots are Geos.

that looks good, provided the map isn't 20x8 or something

It should work regardless. at the moemnt it looks to be about 10 X 20. But thats just me guessing from the fact atha picture is 400 X 800. Meh.

I ga hier maar even in het Nederlands op reageren.
Ziet er echt fantastisch uit!

Your maps really stand out from the "rest"
Drone_Fragger's metal layout looks good too.

In my opinion, the metalspots in the water should be on small islands, or there be at least 2 or 3 small islands in the ocean.
This is for the following reason:
Naval combat in big oceans often seems quite strange and boring, maybe because there are no real chokepoints to fight for. Floating Lasertowers etc. do not really make a difference.

It seems, you can only stop a naval army with an even bigger army, fortified islands can balance that out. Take a look at Oki River, (http://www.fileuniverse.com/?p=showitem&ID=1803) the team who controls the water usually wins.
Islands are also great fun to conquer if it has become impossible to attack the main bases.
Its even better fun to completly sink them, so make them have quite soft ground

I'm just a noob player but here goes:
http://img7.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc= ... Metalb.jpg

Love the design. Really looks great. Perhaps if you increase the shadow cast by the hills (I know people don't lake false shadows, but oh well) they will seem even higher...

Here is my metal layout:


Excuse the poor quality paint JPEG conversion.
Yellow = Metal, White = Geo
(In reviewing it again, I'd probably place two or three more metal patches in the mountain pass, and maybe another in the water)

As you can see, I prefer lower metal distributions which starve the player into occupying key areas. I think the risk here is that the map is a very porc-oriented map. You want to keep the players from sitting back safely in their bases and rush up a Bertha or something. The players need a reason to go outside the comfort zone of their bases.

If you feel there isn't enough metal for more than two players, you could just put a few more metal patches in the general areas I have indicated. The yellow dots are as much "zones of importance" as actual metal patch locations (except for a few at the starting bases which I had to place for the first player to get going, and to allow for 2v2's).

I intentionally kept metal patches off the landing beaches, because I think that they should be kept clear of obstructions, so that they don't block up too quickly, and are kept for the vital purpose of invasions.

Can't wait to try AATA on this map. I hope they have landing craft ready

I vote for Drone Fraggers version. Except one thing:

The metal spots should at least look like as they were randomly placed. Maybe just move them a bit around so it doesn't disturb balance but looks more naturally.

Warlords version is far better, if youre gonna cluster spots together, make them a single super-spot, plus high metal on a map with obstructions invariably turns into a diarrhoea coloured shitty porcmatch.
Id add a metal spot or two near the middle geo though.

Ya, one more metal spot on the beach that needs to be defended from ships and warlord's metal distribution is prime... Well for a 1v1 map at least, a few more mex scattered with the same approximate distribution pattern would be nessicary to make the map more compliant to higher player numbers.