King of the hill - updated

[telex4]

I think the game needs far more good multiplayer maps by default (random maps are good, but not as interesting as carefully designed maps). I've been playing around with the map editor and randomly generated maps (from the multiplayer screen in-game) to try and quickly make something good.

Attached is a map I've wanted to make for a while, based on a map that used to be in Total Annihilation - King of the Hill.

The idea is that you have four castles inhabited by players, one in each corner, and an uninhabited fifth one in the middle, with a reasonably high number of villages around it. Players can either choose to fight from their castle, or make a dash for the hill in the middle, from where they should be able to hold the other players off, especially if you work in teams.

It's especially fun with fog of war, since you don't know whether the other players are going for the hill

I'm only just playtesting it now, so comments and revisions (especially with village positioning) are very welcome

[telex4]

Update... I've worked on the map a little to redistribute villages, and tidy up the tiles so it looks more consistent, and less like a random map

Give it a go!

[telex4]

Oops.. bugfix (one player started on a mysteriously empty castle!)

[AT]

Anyone have any comments? I'm testing it now.

[Insinuator]

Afraid I've only played the first one, but I found it to be interesting. My brothers are crazed multiplayers, and I had them test it with me. Had Undead, Knalgan Alliance, Rebels, and Northerners. Each player has a relatively equal chance of reaching it except the NW player, they are behind a bit. It was most easily defended by the elves. My 9-year old brother took control of it, and built three woses around the parameter. These held pretty well, while he controlled the villages. Eventually I overpowered him, but I think if the Dwarves had taken it, it would have been even more defensible. All in all, a good multiplayer scenario.

[Dave]

I played it with my wife against some AIs last night. I usually play random map games with low village counts and 2 gpv. I set this to 2 gpv...and soon found that that was a mistake I guess it was designed for 1 gpv, which is fine, I guess I should have realized that

We didn't actually finish our game because the huge incomes 2gpv gave us made it get somewhat out of hand.

One thing that struck me is for a 'King of the Hill' type scenario, there really aren't that many villages in the middle -- to me there are really villages all over the map, including in the middle.

I did think it looked like a nicely designed map overall though.

David

[telex4]

Yes, I did put more villages in the middle at first, but then found it so absurdly easy against the AI, unless they were all allied, that I took some back out.

Now it's not so much that you get lots of gold for being in the middle, but that, if you can hold the hill, you're in the best position to strike the enemy.

[Dave]

Yes, I did put more villages in the middle at first, but then found it so absurdly easy against the AI, unless they were all allied, that I took some back out.

It would be cool to have an AI that can be told to try to move its AI to another castle under certain conditions

This wouldn't be easy to do...but it would be cool to have

David

[telex4]

It would be cool to have an AI that can be told to try to move its AI to another castle under certain conditions

This wouldn't be easy to do...but it would be cool to have

That it would. The AI would need to take into consideration the risk in each turn though, according to:

- The balance of units between castles
- The number of villages the enemies have (i.e. how many will they recruit during the move)
- The urgency (i.e. how many turns are left, how many turns will it take to reach the new castle, how many turns will the AI need after it arrives)

And to be really good at it, the AI would need to move its units to prepare for the move, to try and eliminate units in between the castles, and hold the new castle rather than venturing off and getting killed.

[telex4]

Since people seemed to like this scenario, will it go into CVS? (Apparently I need a definite 'yes' from a developer)

If there are any tweaks needed, I can make them first.

[Dave]

Yes, I will ask Cedric to add it to the CVS.

Thanks for your contribution!

David

[cedric]

Since people seemed to like this scenario, will it go into CVS?

King of the Hill will be in the (soon to come) next release.

--
Cedric

[telex4]

Bump!

An update on the map... mostly moving villages around to encourage players (especially the AI) to move into the center of the map, and to make it a little easier to hold the hill.

[telex4]

(can someone commit this new version to CVS?)