28 replies to this topic

[wraitii]

A new map script! It took me quite a few days getting everything to work as intended, but it should be allright now. My original idea was to make a very cliffy island, a bit like Corsica, with a very jagged coast that would be hard to take over... In the end, I did two so that the sea gameplay would actually have a purpose.

It might be a bit too forest-y on very small maps, but it's not too much of a problem.
Screenshots:

Attached Files

•  Corsica.zip   7.04K   49 downloads

Edited by wraitii, 02 July 2012 - 10:49 AM.

[Pureon]

Looks great wraitii!

The coastline is really what makes this random map script stand out for me - it still isn't perfect, a lot of texture blending enhancements needed, but more of this please.

Now where do I find an AI that can traverse it?

[Mythos_Ruler]

If I had one major criticism of all of the random maps done for the game so far (except "Oasis" and maybe "Deep Forest") is that the scripters aren't giving the player enough room at their base for expansion. Having to chop down tons of nearby trees in order to place a barracks is kind of annoying. As a general rule, I think there should be a tree # limit within X meters from the player's start point. Something like only 5-10 trees within 30 meters of the starting civ centre. Players need room to build. This particular map is better than most, but it's something to keep in mind.

But specific to this awesome map...

I love the coast lines, though I think the features should be scaled up and a few more wide beaches added. Players will need room to build docks and to land their forces on the other island. I would try adding some more depth to the water. Put in some deeper areas with the black deep sea terrain texture. All-in-all, this is a winner. Perhaps square and round variations? And some fish.

EDIT: Also saw that metal and stone are in super short supply...

[quantumstate]

Wow, that coastline is great, the map is generally very pretty. I'm not so sure about pine trees on a beach though.

[Mythos_Ruler]

quantumstate, on 05 March 2012 - 11:08 PM, said:

Wow, that coastline is great, the map is generally very pretty. I'm not so sure about pine trees on a beach though.

You mean like these?

[wraitii]

Getting the trees farther away from the player would not be a huge pain. However, it would kinda break the "forest all over the place" effect... Perhaps I could leave some more room, and then make the top level plateau have less trees, so players would develop there. I'll look into that. Stone and Metal mines can certainly be added, I'll have to give a look at the balancing of those (the placers are a bit dumb, so sometimes it doesn't work as expected.)
Fish, I forgot about. It's ready to be implemented, I simply didn't add it in the rush or releasing the map yesterday evening... As for a bit more variation, I guess it can be done.

@Pureon: I guess now I've finished this, I'll start working on Marilyn again. I think water stuff will be my short-term priority, as it's nice to be able to play on water maps.

[Spahbod]

There are two things I really love in this map, shores and terrain texture. Awesome map. Reminds me of some AOE 3 maps. Still needs some work with shore texture blending and ramp positions. Also you can decrease the density of forests. Remember that people are not suggested to play with 8 players in a tiny map. Waiting to see updates.

[wraitii]

Allright, I've tried following most of your suggestions... Here is an updated version:
-more room for construction
-more mines, and bigger mines
-streamlined texture integration, though it's not perfect since the engine afaik doesn't support very good blending
-made the cities have "city tiles" around, looks cool since I made them blend with the grass well.
-Added fishes
-Beaches are a bit more straightforward and a bit bigger.

Download link in the OP.

New Screenshots:

[Mythos_Ruler]

wraitii, on 06 March 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:

Allright, I've tried following most of your suggestions... Here is an updated version:
-more room for construction
-more mines, and bigger mines
-streamlined texture integration, though it's not perfect since the engine afaik doesn't support very good blending
-made the cities have "city tiles" around, looks cool since I made them blend with the grass well.
-Added fishes
-Beaches are a bit more straightforward and a bit bigger.

Download link in the OP.

New Screenshots:

Looks nice! Download link is missing though.

[wraitii]

Fixed. I missed a " " ".

I wonder if the beaches should be a bit greater still... I'd like a balance of "able to build a harbor" and "hard to invade".

[Mythos_Ruler]

Looks beautiful. I'd love to put this into Alpha 9, with your permission. One problem: Your chickens. You tend to put chickens inside the bounds of a civic centre, which confuses the AI. Also, sometimes trees get placed into the middle of mines, which confuses the low level unit AI (they try to get to the tree and get stuck, which is what happens with the chickens too).

[Pureon]

This is looking really great

Texture blending on beaches could be improved at some point:

[Mythos_Ruler]

I think what he's doing there with the beaches is as good as can be expected with the current terrain blending system. Maybe we can improve it in the future. The only other option would be to include a dozen more terrains per biome that blend the different existing terrains together, which would be a pain and not look as good as a better blending system would.

[Geek377]

Just got a chance to play this, and my first look report: its amazing!
Aye, the others were right. The coastlines look much more natural. In the meantime, I do hope to see an AI that can defeat me (or try to) on this map.

[wraitii]

I could try to add waves, if it's possible with the rm generator, it might make the blending look a bit smoother. I'll look in the chicken/tree issue, should be an easy fix.

Edited by wraitii, 07 March 2012 - 07:33 AM.

[Pureon]

wraitii, on 07 March 2012 - 07:31 AM, said:

I could try to add waves, if it's possible with the rm generator, it might make the blending look a bit smoother.

That wouldn't fix the blending between the beach sand and the grass. At Mythos points out, we simply don't have any textures that work very well as a transition for those textures.

[wraitii]

I may have a way to make that look a bit smoother. I'll have to test, but yes, it'll remain imperfect.

edit: oh, and no problem putting this into Alpha 9 as long as I've managed to fix the few real issues remaining, which I shall do this afternoon.

Edited by wraitii, 07 March 2012 - 07:40 AM.

[wraitii]

Okay, so I've fixed the chicken and "trees in mines" issues, also made the whole thing more symmetrical (there were a few things different between the two islands that should not have). I tried many things to fix the shore blending, but nothing was satisfactory.
Download link in the OP.

Unless there is any specific problem, it should be addable to alpha 9.

[historic_bruno]

wraitii, on 07 March 2012 - 02:26 PM, said:

I tried many things to fix the shore blending, but nothing was satisfactory.

It needs this.

[wraitii]

Small-ish update since I was making maps... I slightly improved the beach design, fixed a few bugs. Made the water slightly more murky.

Download link in the original post's attachment.