Spring RTS Engine

KochCanyon-v01

A metal-rich canyon runs winds its way through the desert. Controling the low ground
may prove difficult, however.

16x16, recommended 4 to 6 players.

Thanks to:
LathanStanley, for excellent features
ForbodingAngel, from whose map the SMD settings were shamelessly stolen
hrmph, for providing excellent metal patches
EDIT: Also smoth, who made the palm tree features

Download link (EDIT: URL changed to version 2 of the map)
KochCanyon-v02



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This is my 2nd TA Spring map. Haven't quite gotten the hang of photorealistic textures yet, but I'm not displeased with the visual appearance, either. More screenshots can be found on the download page.

Tools used:
GIMP
POV-Ray
Erosion tool

I really like the concept! Great-looking map, I'll play it tonight for sure.

looks good, gonna play it tonight. hope it's not too porcy...

another texas mapper?

we have three here now

this looks like a very playable map too. i don't think it will be too porcy, as lots of metal is down in the valley, and also because each side has a sort of peninsula that juts out over the middle of the map to the other side.

k, got a game going on it, here's what i've found...

there's a ton of rocks, but their energy values make them slow to reclaim, and they aren't worth that much metal. there's also plenty of other things around to reclaim for energy only if you desire.

the layout is interesting and i like how it plays out. i have a couple of concerns...the biggest of the two is that kbots can walk up and down the valley in rather obscure spots. select a group of yours and press f2, you'll probably find some very sneaky places to climb up and attack enemies from behind. they are not obvious at all, so people not familiar with the map will not know they need to fill those gaps with defense and teeth. the map is also asymmetrical, so these paths might end up being a bit unbalancing.

on the other hand, this gives T1 kbots a use. T1 vehicles immediately jumped out at me as being way more useful than the bots due to the terrain variations, but since those little holes exist, they will probably even out in terms of efficiency.

my smaller concern is that the valley in the middle is only a tad bit above the set sea level. a comm expoding in the valley yields a very odd-looking lake in the middle of this completely dry map.

overall, i rate it as a pleasurable spring experience, and i will definitely play again.

my smaller concern is that the valley in the middle is only a tad bit above the set sea level. a comm expoding in the valley yields a very odd-looking lake in the middle of this completely dry map.

Doh! I totally forgot that could happen...

Thanks for all your comments; some very good points there. Would you mind posting the replay so I could see how it played out? Or you could e-mail it to me: rogercnorris at gmail dot com.

the first time a game is played on a map is more likely than not a terrible representation of how the map's balance really is.

i'll send the replay to you, but if you want to see how it really works i'd say to wait for people to start playing it a bit more, so they are familiar with it (especially since those tiny kbot ramps are hidden around). only then will you get a good idea of how the balance of the map is...btw this applies universally to level design for any multiplayer game.


btw my spurs will kick your mavericks ass this year...

hunterw wrote:another texas mapper?

we have three here now

Does that include me? We have lots of Texans on here apparently :) Nice map btw. Its interesting that you used pov-ray to make it!

I have updated the map to version 2. New download link has been added to the first post at the top of this thread.

The altitude of the map was increased, so that COM explosions in the canyon don't result in lakes forming.

Also, I've tweaked the heightmap so that kbots can't climb over canyon walls in places where they shouldn't.

might be useful to upload the pic you have here (the minimap) to the UF link, people who dont visit the forums would want to see it...

I'm not sure why the overhead pic isn't appearing on unknown-files. I uploaded 4 pictures, and the overhead map was #1. But it isn't showing up for some reason. The same exact thing happened when I uploaded version 2.

it always happens to me too when i upload a map, the first pic disappears - just go to your profile\manage files\ and re-up the pic to one of the free slots.

Very intresting map, however the blue background is really ugly. Besides that, great work!!