work in progress CNC Isle of War

[Kunus]

I decided to create a map loosely based on Red Alert 2 skirmish map Isle of War. Right now it's in playable state and bots can navigate it relatively easily but I think it's still a bit to early to test it with players. It's my first time using anything related to UDK so some solutions I used are probably not the most optimal. Right now the overall layout of routes is mostly complete but the map is still atrocious and lacks detail (and for now doesn't have any custom assets), but hopefully it will change soon.

Some pictures from the editor:

Top view:

 

City:

Bridge in the middle of vehicle route:

View of infantry route through valley and under the bridge:

View from GDI base:

View from Nod base:

The map was designed with shorter and more intense games in mind. The vehicle route is very simple and short, with the middle bridge being the point both teams are gonna want to control. The bridge goes over a valley which is the main infantry route which connects the bases directly. Additionally, big portion of both of the 'towns' are blocked for vehicles. This can allow infantry to prevent enemy team from controlling the bridge for too long, by jumping from behind the buildings, outside of vehicles reach. Small infantry tunnel was added for each side, allowing for quick access to the town for the infantry (or for SBH to get on the back of GDI base if it's left undefended; the tunnels are also near the tiberium fields, which allows for harvester harassing).

My goal was to make the map in a way that if one area is dominated by one team, there are at least two ways for the second team to regain control.

Bases are in enough distance from each other to prevent the artillery from shooting base-to-base - in order to get in range you have to get close to the bridge in the middle making you vulnerable for attack. Each base has a small bunker placed in a way that allows you to see and guard infantry route, entrance to vehicle route and the infantry tunnel. The buildings on the hills cover the view of the enemy base and require you to get closer - in range for enemy retaliation. The roads are big enough to fit 2 mammoth tanks with a little breathing room.

I'm still contemplating adding advanced base defenses but I don't want it to cause the games to be slower because of it, especially since it's hard to take cover from their attacks. I was also thinking about adding flying vehicles to the map but I'm not sure how to counter people getting on the buildings and sniping the enemy base, without adding the map barriers.

Overall the map is relatively small and simple, but because it's pretty open it seems and plays like it's much bigger. I am open to all your suggestions and tips, especially since I'm a beginner to map making.

Edited February 5, 2022 by Kunus

[NodSaibot]

Any download?

 

[Kunus]

I cleaned up the more messy parts of the map and moved things a bit to improve the balance a little. I added new lightning, grass and some details but the map still looks bland around the bases. I only played it with bots which isn't telling much, but it seems like controlling the bridge is the key to victory, but it's easy to regain control of it thanks to infantry routes. Overall it definitely is a map for shorter games, since, due to more open layout, it's impossible to base camp for a long time. There's still a lot to do to but I'm uploading the map already if someone wants to check it out.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by Kunus

[Fffreak9999]

You should consider uploading it in the Downloads -> Levels category.

https://ren-x.com/files/category/4-levels/

 

[roweboat]

Heck yeah! We love seeing new maps!!

[Madkill40]

You can B2B rockets the ref and possibly the PowerPlant and HoN/WF. 

Fog is a bit too dense, toy around with it because it's nice to be able to see the water material.

Not sure how easy you want a rocket-rush to be able to destroy and entire enemy base but that's doable from one of the corners of the map (outside the bases)

I like the infantry route through the middle under the bridge, you can also use the fog to play about with how the colours/lighting a tad as well. A colour offsetting from 'white' [as in a very, very, very pale version of a colour] can make the lighting less bland. 
If you want the map to be overcast, 'bland' is how it will appear. There is also a way to alter the highlights, midtones and shadows in the map global properties <- Which will definitely give you a bit more breathing room to make colours seem sharper and improve their contrast.

It's a nice arena, you could also always replace the PowerPlant with the Repair Facility if there's not going to be an AGT/Obby. It would be interesting if this was a flying map which could also be an alternative from the PowerPlant, so long as the maximum height for aircraft doesn't go above the height of the tallest city building your map could manage quite well as a flying map. If you've not considered this, could be worth playing about with the idea.

The layout is nice, just be aware that rockets have a practically infinite range, so try to obstruct the view of the bases from one another as best you can.

[Kunus]

Okay, so I added more buildings and it should be impossible to b2b. Now in order to see the enemy base you need to get close to the bridge. Map lost a bit of it's open feel but because vehicle route is just a straight line it should still be hard to base lock enemy team.

I also added walls to the opposite sides of both hills and increased their size making it harder for rockets/gunners to attack buildings, with only ref and hon/wf being easy to target from infantry side.

I kept the Power Plant but added Repair Pads. I was trying to figure out how to properly add aircraft but I see big problem with it. Loosing wf/air would mean losing the game as without aircraft you wouldn't be able to reach the buildings and, unlike for example Walls, there's no way to get to the highest points any other way.

Finally I went easy with the fog, but I still have troubles figuring out the lightning.

Link to the new version (with new pictures of the map):

 

[NodSaibot]

Getting the lighting/overall visual appearance of a map can be difficult. There are many factors, obviously first being the lights themselves in the map. Post process settings and lightmass settings in the world info are also important, specifically these can help fine tweaking contrasting/shadows, which can help a map feel less bland. Something that I find fun, is to open other maps and see what it looks like on your map if you copy over post processing/lightmass/lighting/fog settings. You can then tweak it further to fit your map specifically.

This can be easily achieved by literally just opening another map, finding the main light(s) and copying them, then just pasting into your map. For the post processing/lightmass settings, you can right click the top of the section and copy the settings, paste it into a notepad, open up your map then right click and paste the same section on your map's world info.

 

Besides the map itself, you can also change some material parameters to make specific assets look better on your map.

 

Disclaimer: I'm not a mapper nor an artist. That being said, I have done a fair amount in the map editor, so this is really just what I picked up over that time.

[Handepsilon]

Hmm Urban map before City? I assume this has yet to allow interior though. Still, urban buildings are exciting

Btw, on top of post processing, you can also change the dominantdirectionallight actor itself. The sky sphere material can also be changed for different feel of the map

[Kunus]

Thank you for your help! I played with lightning settings and the map feels a lot nicer.

I also lit infantry route and bridge huts so they are not pitch black anymore and I added ladders on base bunkers among other small changes. The new version is uploaded in Download section.

[NodSaibot]

Shaping up nicely!

[kira]

looking good by the images i seen here, the lighting perfect and the buildings seems good fit to the environment,
you want to test it with some players?

[Kunus]

A bit of a late reply, but I would want to finish the map and testing it with real players would be helpful. Though I have troubles setting up the server for testing.

 

[NodSaibot]

We can host it for you, don't worry about that part.

[kira]

Same goes here on FPI, 

We already up to some testing, can add your map to rotation if that's ok. 

[Odanert]

I'd like to play new maps. this one looks great!!

[Kunus]

After first portion of feedback I added some small but important changes. I'm all for testing the map with more players now and I'll be grateful if you add to your servers!