Grimmers Cidine WIP, It's been a while.. Options

[Warlord]

It's been a while since my last map Crucias Nevas. (<-- i will always underline my text to indicate it is a link)
So i decided it was time for a new map, i've actually been working on this for a while.
I intended it to be a new years present but i didn't have enough time to complete it.
And now, well i just had an uncontrollable urge for days to post it. And well.. I gave up to the urge.

Here are some screens of my new map:




..And this one i WILL finish.

This post has been edited by Warlord: Jan 19 2008, 04:15 PM

[Yoshi]

Complex maps, in terms of detail, for multiplayer aren't all that great in my opinion. The more complex in terms of detail and eye-candy the map has, the more chances that lag may occur to those with slower machines (believe me, there's still some out there). Even faster machines and decent ones (like mine) can slowdown when it comes to a complex map.
That's why, in my opinion, Westwood and EA made their multiplayer maps a lot more simpler than the ones that we output day-by-day. It's to prevent lag from occurring on all machines connected so that the "fast-paced" action can be further maintained. The more lighting and detail that a terrain contains, the more resources are needed to support dynamic changes in the map (i.e. lighting changes in certain areas, destructable objects like terrain and buildings, etc.). Even on a blazing fast machine would start to lag due to this (due to the engine not being able to handle everything accordingly. Need clarification to those with a blazing fast box).

But anyway, back on topic.
The map design looks fairly well. However, I think the player on the top is receiving too little build space (with a city being near the base), forcing the player to waste a little of his time by having his or her forces level the city in order to create larger expansion of his or her base. The cliff designs are very spontaneous and helps portray a non-man-made look. I like that. To make a lazy version of Ixith's idea about the water, perhaps using water caves could help the issue. Since you have water cliffs, water caves can be an option for you. If you want to help make it look a little more realistic, you can also bend your water cliffs a little to help make it look like the water is turning into the cave, as well as raise the terrain in the middle.

Other than that,
Good luck with your mapping.