[2.2] Which custom maps should be official

...sigh...i highly doubt any of these maps are ACTUALY ready and optimized to be included in 2.2

how about the dev's consider adding a community map pack IN THE INSTALLER FILE and we find a clear way to label said maps (perhaps on the minimaps) that they are custom maps and/or community maps.

This way we include a lot of them (even those we deem 75% done) and we wont kill all the servers (and the playerbase) when we play them .

?

 

I can make Shadows ready for 2.2 right now.
I can already run Shadows in 2.2, and it won't be that hard to fix any errors I spot. It already runs.

This porting shouldn't be hard for most maps.

 

To be fair, the only map that has any chance of getting into an official release would be arid, but even arid needs some changes here and there.
Midbridge is a great map, but the resources need to be changed and needs some good choke point playtesting. It's harsh but the layout needs to be changed for it to be a really great map to play on.

 

well as long as there is one new map packaged into 2.2 i'll be fine with only Arid. It's an awesome map anyways.

 

Midbridge is pretty good as is, even though the resource rate turns it into a green money...

... most of the rest of the maps suggested could be, as bitchslap rightly suggested, thrown in as a community map pack, with disclaimers and warnings plastered all over them :p

 

What is a community map pack?
I understand what it is, but how is it any different than going to the forums and downloading them?

 

They go on the wiki list?

 

Its the difference between shopping at 10 different stores for the same items you can get at one store. If you make a community map pack thats either included in the Empires installer or on the same page, then more people are going to have them.

This also encourages/showcases Empire's mapping community and allows for greater testing of maps (because more people have them). A regular (once a month) update of new/revised maps would be a great addition to Empires for minimal work. Empires has a great mapping community that helps break the monotony between versions (you can only play escort/slaughtered/isle/etc so many times before your bored to tears).

 

I bolded the part that makes me lol.

Anyways. People can just do this as it is all in one place. Empires Mapping Forum.
Besides, server admins control who plays what mostly.

 

You wouldn't believe how many people are too lazy to trawl through a mapping forum (or even a single thread )to download a few maps... or too impatient to download from the server...

... honestly, a community mappack can only be a good thing.

 

You think Empires doesn't have a good mapping community?

 

I have an rc4 ready for arid since a few months, with some improvements (thought not all might agree with it).

Changes:
- A screen at the middle building door buttons shows if the door it controls is open, closed or moving.
- NF side has gained an extra bunker
- Added a ladder going from the vehicle bridge to the top (if vehicles get stuck between two closed doors, the drivers/passengers can exit the vehicles, climb up and try to open the doors)
- More build space on BE side (and a little more on NF side)
- Decreased resources at start from 500 to 150
- Placed one refinery for each team at map start
- The NF base has a forward defensive position with an ammo and health box as well this time
- The NF skybox base has been changed to look more normal
- Changed the sign "Danger - Explosives" to "Danger - Mines"
- New minimap
- Base defensive lvl2 turrets: 3 ML + 3 MG per team
- Several smaller optimizations

What i can't fix are the shadows where hills meet the skybox.

The latest release might be less confusing for the players. The minimap still shows questionmarks, but the locations of activated resource spots are now visible in the real map: smoke. So engineers now know where to go to build a ref, at least once they are in a certain area and can look around to see where there is smoke.

EDIT:
Screens from emp_arid_ob
http://users.telenet.be/samhannes/mapping/emp_arid/ob/

 

Yeh the new version is win, I wish that people couldn't spec for the first few minutes so that it ruins the random part of it. To be honest, if the bugs get fixed, a lot of custom maps could go in the final release.

Bumgravy's line of maps are all good. Shadows is really good. As are Silk's lines of maps (except frost).

 

the nice thing about the 'custom maps' being included in the download is that no one really cares about the overall filzesize of their download these days. If emp2.2 is 600Mb or 500MB its not going to matter to more than 4% of the gamers with their limited connection speeds (sorry nairbeht)

Including the popular ones also sends a msg from the developers to the gamers (new and old) that they support us and want us to enjoy the game and not get bored with the same ol maps.

 

that's the same for all the current empires maps, apart from district, escort and money.

 

A mapping section on the official forum, where you can find the latest custom maps with pics and an explanation, could be better than adding too many questionable maps to the game.

Have the server install open the mapping section upon completion, so server owners get to see the custom maps.

Or something like that.

What do you think?

 

we should just include it and after empires installation ask the user if they want to launch the 'community custom maps' installer.

simple no? who's really going to select 'no' when they see that.
trust me, this is VERY good for empires.

 

Or you just include them?
The less download time on the servers: the less pain.

 

http://rapidshare.com/files/154251644/3_maps.rar

Includes emp_arid_ob, emp_bush_ob and emp_vehicletraining_ob
75 MB in total when unzipped, only 30 MB in total for all 3 maps when zipped.

Haven't really tested them, so there's probably some files missing etc

Changelog is also included.

EDIT: i only included VT because it's compiled for ob now as well, and after the release of 2.2 i plan on releasing them all 3 together. Since it's only an extra 10 MB i decided to not put a second one online with only arid, or only arid and bush.

 

Silk, put it in the Sticky up top