you might not like the idea, but If I were you I would add some cliffs or something similar that can't be scaled, around the map and in places. something like that. this may mean that you go over some parts that already have cool stuff, but if those get moved to the remaining empty spaces then the whole map would be a whole lot better. it is very good though, just saying you might want to add a bit more.
Tactical it is then! I've made a few more changes (names from 'N' to 'North'), but I won't be releasing another version until I'm absolutely sure that I can call it final. I made an attempt at some cliffs, but I'm not happy enough with them to release it. The idea is fine, and I'd love to do it, I just can't seem to do it well. The problem comes in joining the vertical cliff surface back into the horizontal patchwork of displacements that make up the ground. There's no splits in it, so it's impossible to sew them together. It just ends up looking dirty and hacked. Any tips?
Ok, I have a problem with naming it Emp_Tactical. The thing is, the whole gameplay is really more strategically based than tactically. A map like Escort or District is tactical. Tactical combat is generally thought to be between infantry, with tanks being support to them. I think this map is the exact opposite of "Tactical" and therefore should not be called that. I'm sure i'm not the only one who feels this way.
Okay, I only chose the name based on its resemblance to 'tictactoe'. I'm still open to new suggestions. I also just updated it so that towers aren't destroyed when a capture point changes teams (previously, the point becoming neutral would disable all associated buildables. The neutral state is now ignored). This means that as well as capturing a point, you can capture pre-built towers. I have yet to test it, but they should retain all their health values and everything as they change teams.
Emp_strategic just doesn't sound right. Emp_tactical says to someone that this map has many different options available to them and they are free to decide the best course of action. Plus, isn't Empires technically tactical because there are only up to 32 people within about a maximum of a few football fields? (At least until 16x maps arrive)
It has nothing to do with numbers, its all about the perspective. Strategy is big picture, tactics is small picture. An example of tactics would be a sergent telling his men to take cover in a specific firefight. An example of strategy would be a general telling a certain battalian to secure a point or area. This type of map, with its multiple points, requires good strategy. A map like district, which is basically a drawn out firefight is more tactics heavy.
cpugeek is right if you want to be picky about definitions. Thanks for the offer Killx, but I should be able to cope on my own. It would take longer to distribute the map and set up a server than it would to test it.
Nooo! The thread is dying! *CLEAR* Ummm... (Racks brain for something to say so that this post doesn't appear completely offtopic) When are you planning for this map to be completed and what do you still need to do?
Same here. But it should be modified if possible so that 3 in a row gets you a win, like real tic-tac-toe.
That was the original plan, but I soon realised that it was way too easy to get three in a row, and it turned into a race rather than a battle. You could win without having any contact with the other team, which is just wrong. Maybe if I could make it turn-based it would work, but that's a lot of extra work, and something that this map isn't really about anyway. The name will change in the end. I haven't really worked on this much (too busy with non-Empires things) so to answer destroyer; I have no idea. I don't know if it still needs more cover, or more detail. I would like to add cliffs, but that's going to be a radical change to the geometry of the map, and will probably take a long time to get looking good. It may even be faster to just start the ground again from scratch. Would this be worth it?
Maybe you could make it so that you have to build your marker piece by piece before it counts as an X or an O on the map. Maybe break it into 8 pieces, each with a build time that matches fully repairing the CV hull?
