User Guide
35
DO
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Do utilize space. Space, space, and more space. Create plenty of open space in your maps. You should
physically lay out a base at the start points to provide ample room for the player or AI.
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Do choose a theme for your map and stick with it. Maps that change direction in the middle of
development are easy to spot. Choose a climate, time of day, and a location (urban or rural) for your
map. You can combine some of these elements; a number of good maps have been placed at the edge of
a big city. Make a choice and stick to it; write down your commitments so that you don’t forget them.
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Do build large areas for your bases. A rule of thumb that some designers have used is to make a base
area the size of 5 x 5 Command Centers. Since they are the largest structures in the game, airfields can
be useful in measuring out space for a base area.
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Do build space at the back of each base area where troops can be dropped for surprise attacks. Most
players build their initial defenses to face the opposition and rarely consider the back of the base. Later
in the game, as the conflicts have heightened, a well-timed attack by infantry units from the back can do
serious damage, change the balance of the game, and make it more enjoyable (for everyone else).
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Do create open space between base areas in a multiplayer map. These areas become combat zones that
often determine who controls which areas of the map. The early and middle games are all about control
of the map, so create the spaces where these battles can be resolved.
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Even in an urban setting, create as much space as possible. Units can have a hard time finding paths
through urban environments if they are too congested. The rule of thumb is to have at least five tank
lengths of width for any choke point.
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Do check to make sure that there are at least three ways to access each base area. There should be two
direct routes, and a third indirect route. Each entrance should be some distance from the other routes.
In single-player games, an effective scripting technique is to have the initial attack come from the front
for Normal and Hard difficulty and to have the first hit to come from the tertiary route on Brutal
difficulty.
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Do create a palette of textures in use. As you use a new texture, it’s a good idea to paint a small swatch
of the texture outside the map perimeter. You can use the swatch to quickly select the texture and to
track the number of textures in use on your map.
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Do give cliffs their own unique texture. It helps to identify them for the player who may be looking ahead
to plan routes into the enemy’s base, only to discover there’s a “hidden” cliff in the way. It is critical to
visually identify impassable areas like cliffs with artwork that is unique from playable terrain.
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Do build visual set pieces such as farms, oases, town squares, and the like. These set pieces give a real
sense of place and add a lot to the atmosphere. Many user-created maps neglect these elements, and
their maps look like arenas instead of environments. To build good-looking set pieces, determine the
geographic setting for your map, build one set piece with which you are satisfied, and then add the other
ones through copy, paste, and edit. If the set piece has no strategic value to the map, keep it small: no
more than six objects.
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Do limit yourself to about 100 objects per player in a multiplayer map. Use your props wisely.