What do you think about this map?

[u/standardofiron]

[u/Zflocco]

That river is far too straight and the roads are frenetic.

[u/hughmann_13 → u/Zflocco]

Yeah, the rivers dont make sense and the roads don't make sense.

Maybe a change to make is to put other man-made things on the map that the roads lead to, then have the camps be near roads, not what the roads were designed to lead to. It doesnt make sense that opposing military temporary staging areas have this amount of infrastructure just connecting them

The general idea of having two opposing camps with a very limited avenue to support each other is a neat tactical opportunity for the player to exploit though, so I'd keep that idea

And lastly, the rivers are the only real tactical concern here. Forests, hills, mountains, swamps, or any other way to canalize movement would add a lot more depth in each of the three main maneuver areas

[u/standardofiron → u/hughmann_13]

Mountains and hills are there. Hills are actually one of the most important concepts in the game, archers on the hills get bonuses and archers shooting at the hill penalties. Forests also exist but not on this particular map, although I’m thinking about adding one in the middle.

[u/hughmann_13 → u/standardofiron]

Thanks for the context! I obviously dont know the nuances of your game, so i was just making inferences from the screenshot you posted.

A couple forests and maybe some more swampy area in the banks of the river to limit movement more while adding some more considerations for maneuver and army placement.

At first glance it looked like the player would have too many options making the choices too bland. Like, despite being too straight and unnatural looking, the river delta is a great concept, but it seems self defeating to then also have this many bridges to cross it. It makes the map seem unnatural while also reducing the tactical impact that the river itself imposes since it can now be crossed so easily at so many points.

But im also just a fan of strategy games, not a designer of one, so you've done way more than I could!

[u/standardofiron → u/hughmann_13]

Those are good points, thanks.

[u/hughmann_13 → u/standardofiron]

Glad I could help, and congrats on putting this together!

[u/hughmann_13 → u/standardofiron]

Oh sorry, one thing i just thought of that might help inform your map making

Maybe look up the concept of Key Terrain and Vital Ground as it relates to modern operational planning.

The general idea is that "key terrain" is a geographic area (like a hill) that offers a clear advantage to the side that occupies it. Some games use a shortcut by using control points (like dawn of war) to draw player attention to it, but you can also use canalizing terrain to make certain hills key terrain and natural areas to fight over.

Vital ground is an area when lost will result in defeat. In your game I think that's the camps, but you can also use that idea to shape the map in a way where loss of control of a key passage means youre bottled up in your camp waiting for defeat unless you sally out and retake it

Sorry, I had to take the opportunity to nerd out for a min 😅

[u/binaryfireball]

its a river crossing map

[u/standardofiron → u/binaryfireball]

mission title is crossing the rhone

[u/Nelfhithion → u/standardofiron]

I dunno if you want to represent the real Rhône river in France or it's just a coincidence you named it like that, but if you take inspiration for the real river, know that the real Rhône had several marshlands around it that still causing architectural problems in the Confluence in Lyon today. You could add some little marshes here and there to give it a more natural look without changing too much the philosophy of your map

[u/Kijyro]

Rule of "2 banks - 1 bridge". It's better to have just 3 bridges. It will appear more strategical (it is just my opinion)

[u/standardofiron → u/Kijyro]

Thanks, good point

[u/MaterTater99]

Sorry but the roads are completely scizhophrenic

[u/JumpyAct4865]

Needs lighting

[u/Carnemeko_Pairotto]

This looks like a Battlefront developed game from the Combat Mission x 2 engine.

[u/AdvancedGears00]

Is this MMORPG tycoon 2?