Random Map Script:The Nile

[Spahbod]

Again an RMS. Located in Egypt, it is much like Amazon river in Age of Empires 3. A horizontal vertical river flows in the center of the map with two shallow places. Players start on the opposing side of the river.

For Download click the link below:

Link to Download

And click on the yellow button.

PS: Would you like to add my random maps to the game from Alpha 9? I'd implement changes if necessary.

Naval Map Warning: This map is not suitable for playing against AI anymore.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Spahbod

[ribez]

could it possible to make the river a little less regular? it seems the Panama canal

[Spahbod]

I agree with you. But the Nile is straight in most of it's way and also paths are not yet implemented to the game. But I'll try to do some things to make it better. It's getting late here now so Tomorrow I'll start working.

[feneur]

PS: Would you like to add my random maps to the game from Alpha 9? I'd implement changes if necessary.

It is very much likely yes I'll have to playtest them to have much of an opinion myself (have been quite busy the last couple of days), but just looking at the screenshots they definitely look promising. Especially considering that you are prepared to implement suggested improvements So yeah, it should definitely be possible

[bstempi]

Again an RMS. Located in Egypt, it is much like Amazon river in Age of Empires 3. A horizontal river flows in the center of the map with two shallow places. Players start on the opposing side of the river.

For Download click the link below:

Link to Download

And click on the yellow button.

PS: Would you like to add my random maps to the game from Alpha 9? I'd implement changes if necessary.

Looks cool!

I'll try playing this over the weekend.

[Mythos_Ruler]

Not bad. Nice and open. Good for gameplay.

Some suggestions:

• The shoreline needs to be a lot smoother. It's too jagged.

• I suggest marking the fords with a bunch of reeds and lily pads. Check out my 'Hellenised Egypt' map for some ideas.

• I would use the Cretan Date Palms for now, instead of the Senegal and Date Palms. The former is brand new and looks a lot better than the others. The latter two will be remodeled sometime in the future. Play with them in Atlas to see what kind of configs are best.

• You will need to tone down the Sun color on desert maps so the terrains don't get washed out. See the Oasis map for a good lighting scheme for desert maps.

• Sprinkle in some more bushes. See: props/flora/bush_medit_small_dry.xml and props/flora/plant_desert_a.xml and cluster them around clumps of trees.

[Spahbod]

I've updated the maps to make the river a little more like "river". If you don't see the image's change, Go to the link below and then press Ctrl+R

Here

Mythos: I'll implement the changes to both this and Continent.

[Spahbod]

Implemented the changes to this one. While adding the reeds, I realized that they are added into the river too. But I found it good too. Download it again to see the changes.

[Argantonius]

Not bad, but I would have made it different. Wider river that can only be crossed by boat, dense palm forests/grass/animals concentrated near the river shores and desert/mountains/mines on the map limits far from it. Players would be forced to invest on taking control of a lot of territory and build two cities to win the game at the evry least (one on the mountains if they start near the river and another on the other shore).

Also, Egyptian eye-candy (ruins, obelisks, etc).

Edited January 7, 2012 by Argantonius

[Mythos_Ruler]

Not bad, but I would have made it different. Wider river that can only be crossed by boat, dense palm forests/grass/animals concentrated near the river shores and desert/mountains/mines on the map limits far from it. Players would be forced to invest on taking control of a lot of territory and build two cities to win the game at the evry least (one on the mountains if they start near the river and another on the other shore).

Also, Egyptian eye-candy (ruins, obelisks, etc).

Right, lots of organic material (wood, animals, plants, et alia) close to the river, and lots of mineral deposits (Stone, Metal) in the outlying desert areas. A few patches of palm trees here and there for variety. Maybe even some clusters of treasures spread around the map too, to benefit explorers.

[Spahbod]

Updated the map. Now "life" is situated near the river and there are more mines as we get further. Added Egyptian eyecandy too. Fixed some minor things. I'm against adding cliffs because Egypt doesn't have so much cliffs especially near the river.

[Mythos_Ruler]

Some better Desert Environment colors:

[Spahbod]

Updated the map. Now the river's path is much more unpredictable than before. Updated the image and download file. If you don't see the new image, go to this link and then use Ctrl+R.

Also my other maps which used the river system are updated (Aegean Sea and Guadalquivir River).

[wraitii]

I think the shallow straits are way too blocky, but otherwise it's pretty good... Any way to make the transition from wet sand to dry sand smoother though?

[Mythos_Ruler]

Here's my playable mockup of the Nile, based on the descriptions in the DD. Hopefully we can modify Spahbod's script to look something like this:

[Spahbod]

Here's my playable mockup of the Nile, based on the descriptions in the DD. Hopefully we can modify Spahbod's script to look something like this:

I have some plans to do it myself. But I'm working on a new path algorithm designed for rivers.

[Mythos_Ruler]

I have some plans to do it myself. But I'm working on a new path algorithm designed for rivers.

Great! Can't wait!

[Spahbod]

Mythos, you made me do it today.

My best map ever:

Updated the map. Shallows are removed. River now flows South-North. And many other changes. Unfortunately, new path algorithm will not make it to Alpha-9 as it can cause unusual game crashes.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Spahbod

[wraitii]

Mythos, you made me do it today.

My best map ever:

Updated the map. Shallows are removed. River now flows South-North. And many other changes. Unfortunately, new path algorithm will not make it to Alpha-9 as it can cause unusual game crashes.

Gee, that's really good for a random map algorithm. I only have one playability concern: the players seem to have unbalanced resources (ie the bottom left one has more nearby wood) which I think should be avoided as much as possible in random maps.

Perhaps the players could start more into the desert?

[Mythos_Ruler]

Mythos, you made me do it today.

My best map ever:

Updated the map. Shallows are removed. River now flows South-North. And many other changes. Unfortunately, new path algorithm will not make it to Alpha-9 as it can cause unusual game crashes.

Looks very nice! I agree--probably your best one so far. Almost looks hand painted in Atlas. Great job. You should see if you can't get that river grass effect on the shoreline like I did in the playable mockup. EDIT: Oh, the grass I used is new for Alpha 9. You probably don't have access to it, so it'll have to wait. Maybe Alpha 10 can be the Alpha where we release a bunch of your updated and polished maps?

Gee, that's really good for a random map algorithm. I only have one playability concern: the players seem to have unbalanced resources (ie the bottom left one has more nearby wood) which I think should be avoided as much as possible in random maps.

Looks fairly balanced to me, considering there are two players on one side and 1 player on another.

[wraitii]

Well, there are 4 batches of wood on the right and 8 on the left... My concern was more about "reachability"... The players on the left are much closer to the wood since it's more packed... This is not a huge concern, but I'm reminded from my old AoE II age that this can sometimes make a difference (particularly since they wouldn't have to build a dropsite)

That's why I suggested moving the town centers a bit farther from the Nile: all players would benefit from building a dropsite in the early game.

But it's not really anything too important.

[Spahbod]

Looks very nice! I agree--probably your best one so far. Almost looks hand painted in Atlas. Great job. You should see if you can't get that river grass effect on the shoreline like I did in the playable mockup. EDIT: Oh, the grass I used is new for Alpha 9. You probably don't have access to it, so it'll have to wait. Maybe Alpha 10 can be the Alpha where we release a bunch of your updated and polished maps?

Thanks and yes, I have some plans for Alpha 10. Especially if historic-brunno's path system is implemented.

Looks fairly balanced to me, considering there are two players on one side and 1 player on another.

It is so just by chance. There could be more resources in the eastern bank where that single player is located. But I personally like a little "inbalance" in random maps.