Jump to content

playing big maps


Recommended Posts

Hi

Before i buy i like to know how big maps are playing.

i had try a master map in cmbn that was unplayable is better now ?

Thanks

Generally yes larger maps are working better, but a couple caveats

CMBN will likely get the 3.0 upgrade sometime in the next few months. Until then no change for CMBN

For CMRT, it is still heavily dependent on your machine. If your particular computer is not up to the resource level don't expect a sudden miracle. Performance will be better but you won't suddenly be able to go crazy on a 4x4 km heavily forested map with several battalions on each side. ;) That is part of the issue with larger maps, it isn't just the map size that increases. It is also the unit density and that starts to drive up resource needs of the scenario.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The largest master maps that I made for the area of the Soviet campaign in RT (5 of them) were around 6k long by 3 to 5k wide. These are pretty wooded, with two maps having a number of buildings (but certainly not "urban" like in CM:MG).

The master maps are not scenarios. They are for scenario makers to chop up into smaller chunks to set battles on- there are no forces placed (you may know this already).

The largest of the CM:MG master maps I made (Nijmegen being the densest) had many, many buildings on them. My 2013 Mac Pro with an ATI 7950 and 16gb RAM running Windows 7 64bit in Bootcamp was able to fly about the map with no issues. Load times were quite long back then however. This has been improved in RT.

Some people may wish to make an entire battle with large forces on these maps, but they should have a speedy computer to attempt a full master map battle. The critical question with anything as large as these maps with lots of forces becomes- What are your computer specs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BFC had originally hoped to be able to provide very much bigger maps for CMRT but though actual gameplay was adequate things like load times and save times increased exponentially. So plans were scaled back to reasonable expectations.

Huge maps have some utility in making beautiful master maps for subdividing into discrete battles. But remember, if you've got foot infantry at the far end of a 5km map typical human walking speed is about 5km an hour. That's a lot of time spent watching pixeltruppen walk. And if he's carrying an MP40 he's going to have to walk up to 150m from the enemy before he has a hope of shooting him. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What nobody has made so far is a map that is 2km x 8km. For a really long, detailed in depth battle this could be really fun. An example would be a defender starting with the middle 3/4 of the map and the attacker starting with the map edges (on the 2km side). The objective for the attacker is to join up, the defender to keep a road corridor open through the middle. This could be made even more challenging by having the defender get periodic reinforcements of trucks which have to be exited from one side to the other.

It would be a massive undertaking to make such a battle, and the battle itself would probably need the max time and regular reinforcements, but oh man... that could be one heck of an epic battle!

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got a 4 x 4 km map on the go which I hope to finish. A lot of trees on there mind and I plan to use a lot of forces.

I've got some thoughts about making it processor friendly in terms of the both the terrain and force sequencing. Hopefully I'll be able to pull it off as I think the scenario will be a belting challenge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What nobody has made so far is a map that is 2km x 8km. For a really long, detailed in depth battle this could be really fun. An example would be a defender starting with the middle 3/4 of the map and the attacker starting with the map edges (on the 2km side). The objective for the attacker is to join up, the defender to keep a road corridor open through the middle. This could be made even more challenging by having the defender get periodic reinforcements of trucks which have to be exited from one side to the other.

It would be a massive undertaking to make such a battle, and the battle itself would probably need the max time and regular reinforcements, but oh man... that could be one heck of an epic battle!

Steve

<dribble> I'd play that !

Hell, I'd AAR it ! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even if you were attacking in one direction along the corridor it would be fun.

I still (when I have time) really enjoy the ("dynamic"?) campaigns in CM1 where the playable area of the map moved depending on your progress, so you would start on the far edge of the map that you played the previous mission and would be seeing more of the map as you progressed. Of course if you were forced back you would find yourself fighting over areas of the map you'd already played.

I can't recall if the terrain maintained any damage, craters etc from mission to mission, but it may have.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What nobody has made so far is a map that is 2km x 8km. For a really long, detailed in depth battle this could be really fun. An example would be a defender starting with the middle 3/4 of the map and the attacker starting with the map edges (on the 2km side). The objective for the attacker is to join up, the defender to keep a road corridor open through the middle. This could be made even more challenging by having the defender get periodic reinforcements of trucks which have to be exited from one side to the other.

It would be a massive undertaking to make such a battle, and the battle itself would probably need the max time and regular reinforcements, but oh man... that could be one heck of an epic battle!

Steve

To quote what Tim Allen used to say about walking thru the Craftsman tool section of Sears? "My nipples are getting hard thinking about it."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even if you were attacking in one direction along the corridor it would be fun.

I still (when I have time) really enjoy the ("dynamic"?) campaigns in CM1 where the playable area of the map moved depending on your progress, so you would start on the far edge of the map that you played the previous mission and would be seeing more of the map as you progressed. Of course if you were forced back you would find yourself fighting over areas of the map you'd already played.

I can't recall if the terrain maintained any damage, craters etc from mission to mission, but it may have.

I dont remember about terrain damage either but IIRC destroyed tanks would be there battle to battle. But tanks that could be recovered would be removed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes CM1 Ops were indeedy fun (as I try to remind everyone whenever I get the chance).

Be good if larger map sizes for CM2 can increased via a patch in a couple of years when PC hardware has more grunt.

-F

CM2 maps are already pretty big.

I've been playing a "pretend Russian front" scenario made in CMBN ( Schmiedestal! by GeorgeMC ) for a while now (H2H) and after a game-hour have reached the first Touch objectives. The actual objectives are still faaaaaar away.

Despite the large forces involved, they have been completely swallowed up by the landscape.

That's without the map size increases that version 3.0 has brought.

Contrary to what many initially thought of CM2 when it came out, it actually shines in large scenarios.

Granted you may need a PC with plenty of grunt and you need a fair bit of time to do your orders (30-45 mins on avg for me ), but big engagements on big maps can be totally absorbing.

My 2c :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

<dribble> I'd play that !

Hell, I'd AAR it ! :)

I would like to indulge in such megalomania but I am very doubtful my current NVIDiA graphics card (GEforce 100) would support such a huge map plus all the units that might be involved. However, if someoe could suggest a better graphics card tt might allow my PC to run games that big I would be very interested in reccomendations! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Despite the large forces involved, they have been completely swallowed up by the landscape.

That's without the map size increases that version 3.0 has brought.

When we had 5.6km x 5.6km maps, very briefly during development, I couldn't believe how HUGE they were in game terms. I could believe how horrible my performance was ;)

Huge maps are really only good for two things:

1. Battles where maneuver is the primary objective. And for that you need fairly modest sized forces.

2. Battles that you don't mind if they take you 2 months to finish in WeGo. Lots of units means lots of things to do and lots of things to do means lots of time spent doing it!

When I was making some scenarios for Red Thunder I started from the huge, and freak'n awesome, master maps from Ben and Pete. I trimmed it down to what I thought I needed, put the units on the map, then figured out that I could trim more. After playing a while I realized that I could trim even further without affecting the battle's options. And that's important because there's no reason to have a bunch of map that you'll never need for a particular battle. All it does is stress framerates.

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2. Battles that you don't mind if they take you 2 months to finish in WeGo. Lots of units means lots of things to do and lots of things to do means lots of time spent doing it!

....

Very true, we started this scenario with an "it takes as long as it takes" attitude.

On the other hand, the map he created for this scenario is freakin' beautiful.

There may be some bits at the back on the "Russian" side I'll never get to, but it makes a really well-rounded whole.

If he doesn't recreate the map in CMRT, I'll have to hunt him down with my Bribing-Beer/Whisky - Scotland's only so big, he can't hide :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When we had 5.6km x 5.6km maps, very briefly during development, I couldn't believe how HUGE they were in game terms. I could believe how horrible my performance was ;)

Huge maps are really only good for two things:

1. Battles where maneuver is the primary objective. And for that you need fairly modest sized forces.

2. Battles that you don't mind if they take you 2 months to finish in WeGo. Lots of units means lots of things to do and lots of things to do means lots of time spent doing it!

When I was making some scenarios for Red Thunder I started from the huge, and freak'n awesome, master maps from Ben and Pete. I trimmed it down to what I thought I needed, put the units on the map, then figured out that I could trim more. After playing a while I realized that I could trim even further without affecting the battle's options. And that's important because there's no reason to have a bunch of map that you'll never need for a particular battle. All it does is stress framerates.

Steve

Also mini campaign type battles, agaiin with fairly modest forces lasting three or four hours allowing for plenty of manouvre and a couple of engagements. But of course your PC Specs have to be able to handle it so you probably need a machine tat can meet the hgh end specs,. Ofcourse I am sure you can still do linked battle campaigns or smaller versions on the 4 x 4kmmaps most people's PCs can probably handle. Maybe thaty is still the way to go for most of us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guys - just to mention the 5.6k x 5.6k map still exists. It can be loaded into the editor but it cannot be opened in 3d view unless it is reduced in size to the appropriate maximum dimensions.

Any body interested in it ?

Heer+combined.jpg

Just remember that 5.6k x 5.6k is the same area as 31 seperate 1k square QB maps. It is very big

P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...