Company of Heroes: Eastern Front

Eastern Front Mod (Read-Only) => Mapping => Topic started by: Mystic-Car on July 03, 2011, 03:39:02 PM

Title: Map Rules! (New Rules!)
Post by: Mystic-Car on July 03, 2011, 03:39:02 PM
- To ensure balance, no weapons or functional gun emplacements on the map.

- Ingame name must be in the format of [EF] Moscow (2), replacing Moscow with capitalised map name without unnecessary prepositions (no The for eg.) and 2 with number of players. Filename must have proper designations (Example: "2p_moscowmap").

- All maps must have a map description.

- There must not be any functional and/or capturable weapons on the map. For example, weapons like Flak 88s are still allowed but must not be crewable by any side.

- Destroyed bridges are allowed, if the map offers minimum of two alternative paths. All maps must contain at least two indestructible path between each teams' bases.

- All maps must have proper designations (Example: "2p_fantasymap")

- All maps must be of high visual quality without overuse of splats and textures to degrade performance. Place objects and textures where they will have the greatest visual impact. Less attention needs to be had around base areas - focus on the middle 50-75% of the map where all the fighting will be had. A few iconic areas in highly contested areas are a good idea to make the map interesting, while also indicating to players the importance of these areas. Large, special buildings and shot blocking objects also offer tactical advantages.

- Map size must be appropriate for the number of players.

- Number of Victory Points must always be odd to prevent stalemates (3, 5 etc.)

- Map resources must contain between 45-80 munitions and 30-60 fuel in total. Resources must be balanced (not necessarily even or mirrored) for both teams. No team can have a clear advantage in resources based on map position.

- Resources must be laid out in a competitive arrangement. That is, many resource points need to be harrassable and in several places around the map. Clusters of high points together or next to base sectors are unacceptable. Filling the center of the map with strategic points is unacceptable. Both sides must fight over the resource points for a map to be considered. Medium and high fuel points especially must be accessible by both teams.

- There must not be unwarranted spam of low resource points or strategic points "just to fill space". Similarly, there cannot be spam of only high points with strategic points between them. A mix of strategic, low, medium and/or high points are required.

- Sector layout should have some sort of obvious cutoff that separates base sectors from medium or high fuel points. This should be in the form of strategic or low resource points. There does not have to be a single main one. Two or three can also do the job.

- Separation of zones: Use hedges, fences, water and shot-blocking objects to create distinctly separate areas to fight in. Create a few chokepoint areas (gaps in hedges etc.) that allow for good tactical play. There must be alternative paths to the area though. A map can/should contain at least two separate zones, though it will depend on map size as well. Resources should be smartly arranged within these zones to not allow a camping player to hold ALL of the resources.

- There should not be an overcentralisation to the map. Combat should take place not just in the middle but on the sides of a map as well. Place good resource points and victory points in separate locations to achieve this. While the goal is that combat is fierce in the middle of the map, it is not necessary to completely focus it at the exact center. Combat could be equally fierce at the midpoint of each side as well.

- The maximum resource amount allowed to be directly connected to a base without an obvious cutoff is 15MU and 10FU. Ideally, it will be 5-10MU and 5FU.

- There cannot be unnecessary spam of buildings. Building placement should be considered carefully and very few should be placed on most maps. In particularly urban maps, many buildings will have to be ungarrisonable or destroyed/damaged to balance the number of buildings. Also, window facings must be carefully considered to allow for flank opportunities in dense conditions. A single strong building with slightly limited visibility/line of sight should be favoured over a large number of small ones. When considering where to place buildings, put shot blocking cover nearby to allow for flanking options.

- Streets and pathways must be relatively clear and easy to navigate. A halftrack should be able to travel down your street with relatively little difficulty. Streets should be placed in positions that allow for fast navigation of the map, either toward the enemy base or between important resource points or zones. Streets, and maps in general, must not have an overuse of craters or other cover types as this makes vehicle pathing too difficult. Even in infantry focused maps, there should be designated "vehicle zones" where vehicles will not have too much trouble moving and pathing. Streets must not be too narrow.

- Cover must be present on the map in healthy amounts but not overused. Cover should be of varying types and negative (red) cover should also be present in the form of roads, crossable water and/or open areas.

- If you have updated your Map then add the new downloadlink to your mainpost in your Thread and inform Mystic-Car (Send Message (http://easternfront.org/forums/index.php?action=pm;sa=send;u=566)) or MaxiKing6 (Send Message (http://easternfront.org/forums/index.php?action=pm;sa=send;u=3671)).


Please STICK to these rules or there is no way your map will be included.
Also, your map has to be of some visual quality, we don't care if it is your first map - if its bare, crowded or lacks in design, it will not be included.
Title: Re: Map Rules! (New Rules!)
Post by: Walentin 'Walki' L. on March 02, 2012, 06:08:58 PM
Rules were updated by MaxiKing6! To all mappers!!! Read them please and if needed adapt your map in order to get it into EF.