Suggestions:
http://glestmaps.wikia.com/wiki/Glest_Map_Designturn off fog of war
set full 8 player AI game to ally
Leave the game running for 15/30 minutes and then look at each AI city.
General map design information
Below is a list of guidelines written for users who are new to the Glest map making process.
* Player and Resource Placement:
o At least 10 tiles (cells) of gold, stone and wood (trees) at the player starting point locations, and at least one smaller 5 tile(cells) resource area nearby
o Generic four player maps space player and AI faction starting locations equidistantly
o Multiplayer maps differ from generic maps and place allies closer together, and those allies may also share gold and stone resource sites.
* Road and Trail Systems:
o Roads connect all player start locations
o Roads should be at least five tiles (cells) wide.
o Trails and paths connect to roads and usually lead to resource locations. Paths also provide an easy route through dense forests or across large, nondescript, plains and deserts.
o Trails and paths should be three tiles (cells) wide. Trails through dense forests - with a width of only two tiles(cells) - may trap size3 AI faction units and cause unit stacking and grid-locking.
* Rivers, lakes and oceans:
* Map Objects:
o Place objects where logical. Trees rarely grow in rivers and lakes although a few dead tree objects in a pond can be visually appealing.
o Statue and gallows objects should be used infrequently. Both look good at trail intersection points and on isolated islands.
o Bushes look great in forests and along riverbanks - use them often.
o Small stones look good but use them sparingly and in appropriate locations. IE: player starting locations are an inappropriate stone object placement location
o Mossy Rocks/Big Rocks need to be surrounded with the pink colored invisible blocking 10-C5 object to prevent units from walking inside the rock model(s)
* Surface texture types
o surface 1 is normally light-colored green grass with random flower and weed texture patterns.
o surface 2 is normally dark-colored green grass with no flower and weed texture patterns.
o surface 3 is normally brown dirt or tan sand with random pebble and weed texture patterns.
o surface 4 is normally composed of gray cobblestones, bricks, interlocking stone-tile and rock-gravel texture patterns
o surface texture 5 is normally undefined and is rarely used on maps.
* Surface texture uses:
o surface textures vary greatly between tilesets but in general:
+ surface textures 1 and 2 are used as the primary surface type for meadows, mountains, plains, hills and valleys
+ surface textures 3 and 4 are used for roads, trails, as ocean and lake shorelines and at player starting locations
+ surface texture 5 is normally undefined and is rarely used on maps.
Map making is tedious and boring so don't expect to knock out a map in an hour. Work on a map a few times a week with the ultimate goal of having a completed map ready after 15 days.
* Is there enough room for building expansion at each of the starting locations?
o The ultra AI typically constructs at least 12 buildings around the starting point which may lead to unit movement congestion.
* Resource node location placement?
o Ensure AI units do not become stuck between buildings and nodes while harvesting in large groups.
o Placing blocking objects next to resources nodes may lead to unit stacking
* AI Pathfinding on long routes?
o Can the AI find the hostile base or group of hostiles? or does it get stuck on a path in a forest or around a lake or river?
* Is the pathing at least 3 tiles (cells) wide at chokepoints?
o Entry and exit trails and roads near the player starting points tend to be narrow to accommodate defensive oriented gamers.
* Trails and roads?
o Do roads and trails follow the natural geography of the map?
o Do trails lead to resources or connect to other trails and roads? Please, no dead-end roads and trails.
* Swamps and flooded regions
o Proper height settings will trigger water splash animations and particles. This effect is quite pleasing, use it wisely.
* Topography
o Roads should be a couple units lower than the rest of the map, and only two units above the water, so that the river heights will look natural at road/water crossing points.
o Maps with little change in elevation are uninteresting and require increased object placement to balance the flat, visually unappealing, terrain.
* Game world visual appeal?
o No one enjoys running around in a barren game world - place lots of objects on the map
o Fifteen statues or nine stones in one location makes no sense and looks bad.
o Does the map look good at various locations and from different viewing perspectives?
o Do placed objects enhance the organic feel of the map?
o Do the hills, valley's, mountains appear natural?
o Do Lakes connect with rivers?
o Apply dirt or sand around bodies of water
