User Guide

79
MAP SIZE
✯ If your map has grown to larger than 400 x 400 tiles, you should consider reducing the open space
between areas of your map. Alternatively, you can save two copies of the map and continue developing
two separate maps.
✯ There is a script available called, “Oversize Terrain.” Do not use it. Used mostly for cinematic sequences,
the script allows the camera to display a larger area of the map during pans and tilts. However, it is a
huge hit on the frame rate and is not worth the cost. In the single-player campaigns, the script is no
longer used.
MAP PERIMETER
✯ Before you release your map, check the map perimeter. Click the Border tool in the toolbar. The orange
border marks the play area, and the blue border marks the edge of the workspace. If they do not match,
players may not be able to access all of your map. However, if you change map borders during the
course of the mission, this caution may not apply.
TRIGGER AREA POLYGONS
✯ Don’t have more than five overlapping polygons. The outer ones tend to get forgotten.
SUFFICIENT SPACE
✯ Avoid creating choke points. Too many choke points slows the game, turns it into a slugfest, and kills the
frame rate. Open maps are better in most cases.
✯ If you are creating a choke point, it should be wider than the length of five tanks at a minimum.
✯ Even in urban settings, create as much space as possible. Extremely narrow spaces between buildings can
cause pathfinding problems for the units. If the group is sufficiently large, the units in the rear tend to
twitch as they search for various paths. It slows the game down. Open up your maps where possible.
OBJECT PLACEMENT
✯ Avoid overlapping objects. While you can sometimes produce interesting visual effects, these screen
elements are interactive objects that can result in some strange behaviors in the game.
✯ Did you raise your terrain recently? Some objects may be buried now. Use the Pick Similar command or
the Layers List to find missing objects.
✯ Roads, as objects, are different from regular objects. You can overlap roads of the same type to create
intersections, but you cannot overlap dissimilar roads. For more information,
➤ How to Build a Road on p. 49.