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Rush For Castle
The attached map was submitted with the following information:
Author: vlado32
Max. Players: 2
Game: C&C Generals: Zero Hour
Type of Map: Skirmish
Description: this is my second map, first player have 9 Oil Derricks so he have a lot of many and second player have just 3 Oil Dericks but he have a lot Artilery Platforms to capture so he have advantage for base defence.
Mini-map:
Hello vlado32,
Welcome to CNCLabs!
What a cool little map you've made! Very nice.
As the map reviewer, it's my job to ensure that maps being represented on our site meet a level of quality for our visitors. Rush For Castle is a great looking map and you've done a nice job in making things interesting with your top vs. bottom, oil vs. artillery setup. Well done.
What we need to work out are some little issues that I have listed below. Please make these changes as soon as you can and send the revised version to me directly at drummin@cnclabs. I'd love to add this map to our site!
Resize Water
Hey that was easy. It just makes the map look more professional.
Base Areas and Pathways
These are two different things yet related in their function.
~Pathways~
The pathways need be replaced so they go from the combat zone into the inner perimeter of the base. You were consistent in the direction of your pathway placement, which at least means you're paying attention... you just got them backwards. Look closely at the arrows. Remember these pathways tell the AI player which way to attack the enemy and where these pathways cross their own inner base perimeter, this tells the player, OK, this is where I need to build my defenses. These paths not only need to go in the right direction, but they need to be labeled correctly for the AI to recognize them. It looks to me like you know how to label your pathways, though the center pathway label is missing. This often happens when an unlabeled path connects to a path that was already labeled. See in the image below how the two paths joined together. There is also that extra waypoint that should be removed as well. Again, see image.
Remember we're looking for a pathway going from the combat zone into the inner perimeter of the base and you'll label them Center#, Flank# or Backdoor#. Another simple fix really.
~ Areas ~
(Consideration)
The outer perimeter of the base is where the player will build its defenses. But what's almost more important is that this area triggers a counter attack when the enemy's approaching. As it stands now, the lower player could send a group of units and be attacking those artillery platforms, and the units in the base wouldn't do anything about it. Sure you might get some action because a unit is under attack but it doesn't trigger the "Invasion alert" scripts, which would tell units to protect their base.
What I'd suggest you do is stretch-out or move the lower part of OuterPerimeter2 so that it goes across the map, maybe about one-third of the way down those ramps. You would need to lower the upper section of the CombatZone to just outside this new line position.
I'd adjust the lower base area as well so that the supply docks are within the outer perimeter of base one and would be defended should the enemy approach. I would adjust these areas before redoing any pathways as things would be positioned differently.
ADD SkirmishWorld Area
Around your whole map, make a new area and name it SkirmishWorld. Be sure to stay outside any base areas. Hey, another easy fix.
Just my thoughts
You know those rock ramps look a lot like glaciers that have been scooping up rocks along the way. If you textured the upper area in the same way it would really give that impression and you could add that theme to your map description. You could even rename the map "Rush For Ice Castle". Hey, just a thought.
The Map
So really your map is pretty much good to go. Just fix a few areas and pathways.
Map Description and Readme file Your map folder should also contain a Readme file that would have your name, email, map type and description. The information supplied when submitting your map was as follows.
Map Name: Rush For Castle
Author Name: vlado32
Author Email: (Removed)
Author Website:
Max. Players: 2
Game: C&C Generals: Zero Hour
Type of Map: Skirmish
Description: this is my second map, first player have 9 Oil Derricks so he have a lot of many and second player have just 3 Oil Dericks but he have a lot Artilery Platforms to capture so he have advantage for base defence.
By doing a spelling and partial grammar check we'd have this.
Description: This is my second map. The first player has 9 Oil Derricks so he has a lot of money and second player has just 3 Oil Derricks but he has a lot of Artillery Platforms to capture so he has the advantage for base defense.
Enhanced a bit.
Description: My second map, Rush For Castle gives you two very distinct player positions. The first player located on the valley floor is in a more venerable position. With his supplies located at the front of his base and the wide-open area, he'll need to stay sharp to keep his base secure. He does have the advantage of having 9 Oil Derricks so money's not a problem. The second player, located on top of the hill has only 3 Oil Derricks but he has a huge array of Artillery Platforms to be captured. Plus, with easily defendable base entry points, he has the clear advantage for base defense.
If you change the hill to a glacier, you could go for something like this.
Description: My second map, Rush For Ice Castle gives you two very distinct player positions. The first player located on the glacier floor is in a more venerable position. With his supplies located at the front of his base and the wide-open area, he'll need to stay sharp to keep his base secure. He does have the advantage of having 9 Oil Derricks so money's not a problem. The second player, located on top of the glacier has only 3 Oil Derricks but he has a huge array of Artillery Platforms to be captured. Plus, with easily defendable base entry points, he has the clear advantage for base defense.
OK. So make a readme file with your new map description that looks something like the one below. Put this file inside your map folder. I like this version but you can write what you want. Just be sure to check your spelling and use proper punctuation.
Map Name: Rush For Castle
Author Name: vlado32
Author Email: (Removed)
Author Website:
Max. Players: 2
Game: C&C Generals: Zero Hour
Type of Map: Skirmish
Description: My second map, Rush For Castle gives you two very distinct player positions. The first player located on the valley floor is in a more venerable position. With his supplies located at the front of his base and the wide-open area, he'll need to stay sharp to keep his base secure. He does have the advantage of having 9 Oil Derricks so money's not a problem. The second player, located on top of the hill has only 3 Oil Derricks but he has a huge array of Artillery Platforms to be captured. Plus, with easily defendable base entry points, he has the clear advantage for base defense.
Hopefully you can make these changes soon a get your map back to me. Please just send your map folder without any extra folders. Locate you map in your "Maps" folder. Right-click and select "Send To" then "Compressed (Zipped) folder". Send this back directly to drummin@cnclabs.
Again, thanks for a cool little map.
Warm Regards,
Drummin
Reviewer Comments: This is a classic example of a map review gone well. The map had only a few minor errors and so I sent him this review. Within a very short time, the map was sent back to me with everything fixed. Though it was just a suggestion, he also liked the idea of changing the upper base to a glacier and did a great job making that transition. The map is now added to our site as "Rush For Ice Castle" and it's doing very well.
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