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pad152

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What is the largest map size?

Max number if cities, resource centers?

Max number of AI players?

Any limit on the number of units? I've found in games like these, if there are limits the AI tends to get units, before the player. Example: 1000 unit limit, 5 AI players, when the limit drops below 1000, one of the AI players will get units using up the limit before the player, causing a no win for the player.

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What is the largest map size?

Right now, the largest map size is 4000x3200. The reason I say "right now" is because that's actually a very, very large map. It's probably larger than anyone needs. For comparison, our multiplayer game (5 players; 4 human players, 1 AI) was 1400x1200. In terms of map-area, the maximum map size is 7.5x larger than our multiplayer map. The map sizes are measured in pixels, so if your screen resolution is 1024x768, then the largest map would be four screens wide and four screens high.

Max number if cities, resource centers?

There is no maximum number cities or resources.

Max number of AI players?

The game allows for upto 10 players. You can set all the other nine slots to "AI" if you want.

Any limit on the number of units? I've found in games like these, if there are limits the AI tends to get units, before the player. Example: 1000 unit limit, 5 AI players, when the limit drops below 1000, one of the AI players will get units using up the limit before the player, causing a no win for the player.

No, there is no limit on the number of units in the game at any one time. There are limits imposed by your resources (your military consumes food and oil), but it's not possible for one player to max-out the number of units and prevent another player from building more units.

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Kind of reminds me of "Advanced Tactics", anyone else get that feeling?

Somewhere in a far off galaxy in another time, perhaps a parallel dimension, the struggle for planetary dominance in a contemporary setting with the 20th century technological limitations.

Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent!:D

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey everyone. First-time poster here, although I've been following the game for a while now. I've been liking what I see so far!

Anyway, since this thread was initially about the game maps, it seems like an appropriate place to ask this:

I've noticed that while most -- if not all -- of the maps seen in screenshots seem to consist almost entirely of islands (or at most, very small continents), the Gamesquad preview mentions you can create randomly-generated maps with larger landmasses as well. My question is: Can you create maps with a mixture of both, or is that not really feasible?

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Hey everyone. First-time poster here, although I've been following the game for a while now. I've been liking what I see so far!

Anyway, since this thread was initially about the game maps, it seems like an appropriate place to ask this:

I've noticed that while most -- if not all -- of the maps seen in screenshots seem to consist almost entirely of islands (or at most, very small continents), the Gamesquad preview mentions you can create randomly-generated maps with larger landmasses as well. My question is: Can you create maps with a mixture of both, or is that not really feasible?

Hi Martok, welcome to the forums. Someone else was asking a similar question the other day - http://www.battlefront.com/community/showpost.php?p=1154009&postcount=110. There are four major continents shown in this image (http://www.empiresofsteel.com/assets/images/Screenshot-RandomMapIslands2.png), and some smaller islands mixed in.

I was also worried about making continents too big (and too valuable) because the first person to arrive on the continent has an advantage in taking control of it, and I didn't want it to be a "first player to the one big continent will win" kind of a situation.

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Thanks, Brit! Much appreciation for both the answer and those links.

I was also worried about making continents too big (and too valuable) because the first person to arrive on the continent has an advantage in taking control of it, and I didn't want it to be a "first player to the one big continent will win" kind of a situation.

Ah, I see. So it's not so much that creating a mixture of continents and islands isn't feasible as it would be unbalancing, yes? That's a valid point.

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Is that the Martok I think it is?

I remember playing Empire on the Amiga. This game seems to have more advanced options for land combat, but back then I always thought it played best with small islands and with the focus on navy/air, as that was most fair and the naval/air aspect was the most detailed anyway.

But I'm certainly looking forward to see how this game turns out.

CBR

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I've also a couple questions regarding cities:

1.) Do all cities exist at the beginning of the game, or do the various nations have to found new ones (outside of their starting city)?

2.) Do all cities start out owned by one nation or another, or do some start out as "neutral" cities that must be conquered first?

Is that the Martok I think it is?

Hey CBR; long time no see! It is indeed I -- Camel Lord, and honored servant of the great Mithrandir himself. It seems fate has brought us together once again. :cool:

I'm guessing your presence is due (at least in part) to the HistWar: Les Grognards forum, yes? In any case, it's good to see you here, mate. :)

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1.) Do all cities exist at the beginning of the game, or do the various nations have to found new ones (outside of their starting city)?

All cities exist at the beginning of the game.

2.) Do all cities start out owned by one nation or another, or do some start out as "neutral" cities that must be conquered first?

Most cities start out as "neutral", and they contain a militia which you have to defeat before you capture the city.

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I looked at the maps and whilst pleased to see the diversity my initial reaction is that they look unreal. I fully understand the reasons one might arrange maps to be "fair" however given the use of real world units the highly unlikely continental maps seem a backwards step.

It is perhaps dangerous that when resources are also seeded on the map that players realise that within x squares they can expect to come across land or a resource. Obviously one could design maps but that does rather take away from the excitement of the unknown which made Empire so addictive.

Is it possible for you to put in a potentially unfair map generator for those who want the more mysterious realistic option?

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Is it possible for you to put in a potentially unfair map generator for those who want the more mysterious realistic option?

Well, I could come up with some more advanced random-map generators; something with more options. It won't be something in the upcoming beta. Speaking of which: in the beta-demo you'll be able to open up the map-editor and generate some random maps with the existing system. It'll give you a feel for how the system currently works.

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Random maps are random. :D There's always going to be SOME sort of imbalance, especially when you factor in fog of war, which means that a resource could be very close to a player and yet he doe not discover it until halfway through the game. I have been in very few MP games where players did not need to trade resources at some point to keep expanding.

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I am all in favour of imbalance : )

If you look at the random maps generated currently as exhibited by Brit in his example they all seem to have roughly the same distance to the next land. So after a few games you will know on a normal map how soon land will be found. This does not tie in with history - or world geography.

If however some fudge was required why not show various cities within a certain distance but not the detail of the the surrounding terrain/shape of land. This could be explained by gossip that came along the trade routes.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I assume the AI will be able to handle a map like that if we paint one up in the editor?

Oh yes... one of our testers has made custom maps of Europe (among others) with large continental landmasses. The AI can handle them just fine. (If you think about it, amphibious strategies are far more complex to code for than pure landmasses).

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(If you think about it, amphibious strategies are far more complex to code for than pure landmasses).

Well, that's what I figured. I've rarely see AI that can do good naval invasions. That's why I was surprised the map generator couldn't do maps that were primarily land. I figured the map generator would likely play to the AI's strengths, and thus perhaps the game was much more naval orriented then I'd thought, and it might be much weaker on land (a fact 'hidden' by disallowing generation of pangaea maps).

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