Mountain Fortress map

[SonofMoose]

I wrote the following message via the 0AD contact form and was advised to post it within the official forum.

So here goes ....

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Hi there

I have enjoyed playing 0AD and would be really keen to play the type of "Mountain Fortress map" that I designed for Age of Empires (AoE) many years ago. It was played on a gigantic sized map and involved the player having to build up a massive economy (while protected by mines enlosing his cliff top entrance). When ready, he would carefully venture out into the open map and find more resources (especially wood) as well as the narrow mountain pathway (positioned between parallel cliffs in order to provide the impression of increasing elevation) that would lead to the lower level (plateau) of the enemy camp which would be surrounded by closely packed ballista towers (which would be archer garrisoned guard towers in 0AD).

After overcoming the towers, additional archers and ground troops, the player would need to continue ascending up the heavily fortified mountain via narrow (and often hairpin bending) pathways set within parallel cliffs. These deliberately extremely lengthy pathways (due to the hairpins/switchbacks) would be lined with many more guard towers.

This scenario not only made good use of siege weapons to destroy the ubiquitous towers but also provided the player with a sense of fairly slow but extremely meaningful progress (a bit like attack yards in American Football). Every tower destroyed represented real ingame progress. It was very much a scenario for the connoisseur who loved trench warfare at its best.

This scenario would (on the one hand) require an extremely well-populated enemy mountainside but (on the other hand) require a fairly static (standing their ground) enemy as a mass "Zerg Rush" would effectively anihilate the player. The enemy (in view of its massive size and potentially massive starting resources) would have no need to harvest any map resources (thereby effectively leaving them all to the player - who might well require them).

The ingame map would need to be as big as possible (preferably much larger than the current gigantic) in order to provide this scenario with a truly epic feel (and enough "hard miles" to cover). In addition, the player would also require a fairly large safe-haven from which to obtain ongoing resources (and build new units) as the casualties mount. There seems little sense in risking a total "wipe-out" with a possible enemy counter-offensive on a regular sized map.

Would anyone on the development team (or one of the renowned map makers) possibly be prepared to make this scenario come to lfe (as I am hopeless with 3d map editors). [i really miss the basic no-nonsense AoE map editor].

Btw: As your xml map scripts fairly closely resemble the Age of Mythology ones (in which I was able to edit map size), would it be possible for me to do the same with the 0AD ones? Not only would this mod be necessary for the proposed "Mountain Fortress" scenario, but it would be great in some of the existing 0AD maps.

With kindest regards

Jeremy

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I trulu believe that this type of map would add immensely to the replayability of 0AD. Maybe it might be best tackled by a highly proficient scripter rather than an expert map designer. Unfortunately I am neither - although I do have an outline of what I have in mind ....

[Radagast.]

Not bad. If you designed it, do you have some sources? Like screenshots, perhaps even the map files?

Have you seen the Massive Map?

Edited April 27, 2014 by Hephaestion

[Stan`]

That would be a good motivation to finish those

http://trac.wildfiregames.com/ticket/87

http://trac.wildfiregames.com/ticket/2070

http://trac.wildfiregames.com/ticket/993

and the cliff 3D models ^^

[thamlett]

hmm, sounds like a great idea.

I especially like the drama you add to the description .

[SonofMoose]

Hephaestion:

Massive Map certainly looks most impressive - but it is not quite what I have in mind ....

Thamlett:

Thank you so much for your kind words.

Indeed - one could start the scenario by stating that the Persians (preferably) have invaded Mount Olympus and expelled the Gods from their Home. It is your task to reclaim it for them ....

I unfortunately cannot find the somewhat simpler outline I used for Age of Empires and Age of Kings. Instead, I have taken the liberty of attaching part of a far more ambitious plan that has never been implemented. The attached portion will likely be plenty big enough (even with the surplus cliffs removed from the top and the bottom - although additional levels would be great).

Preferably view the map at 400 or even 800 per cent with a 1x1 pixel grid. The narrow green "squiggles" within the brown cliff faces are the proposed switchbacks (hairpin bends). There are also additional water hazards to further bottleneck the map. The green represents walkable and/or buildable terrain. The orange is also walkable and buildable (but possibly of a different sort).

The vast majority of this map will be heavily prebuilt (with preferably Persian structures - which are imho the most aesthetically pleasing). The player will start somewhere below the mountain in a scluded but resource rich area.

[SiahH]

sounds like a nice map, you are very descriptive

[SonofMoose]

Is anyone prepared to try and make it?