[Strategy / Risk] Lords at War

[Demonex]

Hi all, i'm creating a new map call Lords at War.

In this Strategic Game, you have to conquer other players, make alliances, all this to finally be the last one on the throne at the end of the game.
You start with a single unit unkillable and invisible that allow you to choose your city by entering in a circle.
You can only have one city.

You can choose your city between different factions :
-The Empire ,that have heavy infantry and best fortifications.
http://www.noelshack.com/2013-25-1371731981-empire.png

-The Barbarians ,based in light infantry able to plundering buildings.
http://www.noelshack.com/2013-25-1371731936-barbarians.png

-And finally, the Freebooters based in a balanced army able to plunder and to use the best fleet.
http://www.noelshack.com/2013-25-1371731971-freebooters.png

You can improve your income by capturing neutral towns and by building houses.
Ships and Elite units are limited, as Houses.
When you lost your capital city, you lost the game.
Map's size is 480 x 480.

What do you have to do to become king ?
Honestly, I don't know exactly what I will do to allow players to have a king.
I think, the most logic will be that the last player alive will be king, but I can also use a vote system or, why note, A random player (or just player 1 : red) who start as a king while others are logically lords.

On what kind of system is the gameplay based on ?
The millitary gameplay is mostly a classic melee map with massive battles, later I will add the possibility to own one heros and to recruit mercenaries.
The economic gameplay is a mix between an economy based in houses and in capturable towns : You can build up to 30 houses after to be forced to conquer minor towns that are relatively well protected.
Finally, the game allow you to change your name, your color and to zoom, all this with commands.

Is it a risk with spawns ?
No, it is not.
You have to build barracks to train your army and the game is also based on the economy.

Map Preview

http://www.noelshack.com/2013-28-1373572055-image-5.png

 

[konyvfalovb]

HOw the hell could you create a 480x480 size map? In WE the biggest is 256x256.

 

[Daffa]

Use JNGP

 

[Demonex]

To Konyvfalovb : I use an unofficial editor that allow me to pass trought the limit. I write in my phone
so I don't remember its name but I think this is something like "WE new gen".

To Daffa the mage : I can do it, but why ?

 

[Awsan]

JNGP is short for Jass NewGen, and it is the same thing as WE new gen. Nice map idea by the way, but are there only human races? no orcs or something?

 

[Demonex]

Awsan : Oh, thanks, I first thought this it a picture file abreviation, I now understand he answered Kony
I think it will be only human races playable but you can find other races in Colony that I will add in future or in events if I find bravery to do a system !

 

[purparisien]

Does this map look like the rise and the fall of Demonex ?

 

[Demonex]

I don't Know.
I'm asking my tamed bonobo.

 

[konyvfalovb]

Why do everyone thinks that my name's short form is kony? It's konyv.
In my language, Hungarian, "könyv" means "book", any my whole name means "bookworm World Champion", VB is a short form.
Anyway thanks.

But, demonex, I think that you should create a more detailed terrain. This looks too... simple. Create a forest near the Empire, and use a lot more custom imported models for the races. I think that you should use "plated footman" or "footman revised" for the basic melee unit and there must be some elven warriors, as I remember, High Elven Army, you could use them.

EDIT: not blood elf but High ELven Army, like this, this or this model.

 

[Demonex]

What did you mean by "too simple terrain" ?
You want more textures in the ground ? More doodads ?
I will upgrade both.

I think using elven army don't really match with the Empire that is mainly composed by Humans.

EDIT : Plated footman can be usefull as a Empire's tier 2 mainly unit.
A forest still exist but I will extend it.

 

[purparisien]

I agree with the Hungarian. Your terrain sucks, but the rest is cool

 

[konyvfalovb]

I didn't take any look on the doodads, I simply closed the window after I seen the ground textures. They are too simple. Look at the Empire's: it's mostly dirt with some grass. Why don'T you use grassy dirt, rough dirt, and import the Leaves texture from Ashenvale.
After this, we can speak about a bit of detailed terrain.
And about the elves: what about creating a fourth, Elven army which prefer magics and ranged combat, they would be adept at magics but weak at siege, and they would be (mostly) slow and weak?

 

[Demonex]

Do you think I have to set a city ground texture in town areas ?
I've done an example.

http://www.noelshack.com/2013-25-1371811432-town-example.png

 

[GolluM_KoMe]

Just a few questions

What do you have to do to become king ?
On what kind of system is the gameplay based on ?
Is it a risk with spawns ?

 

[Demonex]

What do you have to do to become king ?
Honestly, I don't know exactly what I will do to allow players to have a king.
I think, the most logic will be that the last player alive will be king, but I can also use a vote system or, why note, A random player (or just player 1 : red) who start as a king while others are logically lords.

On what kind of system is the gameplay based on ?
The millitary gameplay is mostly a classic melee map with massive battles, later I will add the possibility to own one heros and to recruit mercenaries.
The economic gameplay is a mix between an economy based in houses and in capturable towns : You can build up to 30 houses after to be forced to conquer minor towns that are relatively well protected.
Finally, the game allow you to change your name, your color and to zoom, all this with commands.

Is it a risk with spawns ?
No, it is not.
You have to build barracks to train your army and the game is also based on the economy.

 

[konyvfalovb]

Terrain is a bit better, but keep in mind that you would need a MUCH BIGGER city (I think), and that in a city there are a few curves, the path made of round stone or something looks terrible. Build a harbor for the city, and don't be afraid to try something different that would result as a mich more realistic city.
Take a look on Stratholme in RoC's Human campaign (chapter 6: the culling). Build a harbor, more space to build to INSIDE the city, make buildable walls and a main building (or complex) for the basic command center (not unit production, I think you should create a system that is based on the real world: having 5 houses means you have 5 men to command, then every tine you build a house then after some time a family appears.
Tip: don't use farm-style buildings in a city and don't use city buildings in villages because the roofs aren't realistic enough, I don't know the InGame farm's roof's name, but I doubt that there would be such roofs in a city.
I think that you should restart the whole city, or at least delete the walls from the coastline, and improve the coast a bit minimum.

 

[Demonex]

I don't think I can do bigger city because the terrain don't give enough place
I think your house is systeme is really original, so I added it to my map, I'm also thinking about a "Menpower system"
Sorry, I will not create back my towns, the most I will do is upgrade them.

 

[GolluM_KoMe]

Honestly, I don't know exactly what I will do to allow players to have a king.

How about a big city in the middle, highly guarded by neutral hostile ? Or 3 rather big cities for each race and 1 Huge city in the middle which you can only take if you own one of the three other big ones. Thus you would have to thrive in your continent/region before taking true control on it before being able to claim the whole kingdom

 

[Demonex]

This is really a good idea, I will try to add it in the game.

 

[konyvfalovb]

Well, I would suggest Gollum's idea, because in the feludal (or feudal?) systems worked like this. You would need to gain ownership of a big city in some way, via politics or concuer it simply with soldiers. I would recommend to make the players start as a militiary commander in their region, like there would be three sergeants, one of them is a player and the others are stronger (they would not exist really in the game but they would have armies to defeat) and after you defeated them all (you might meet new rivals also during the gameplay) you would be able to own the city by your own, however, you would need to build up your defences, and organize your resource-production, which uses taxes instead of gold mines ,or you could use both, and forests would regrow after some time, or an even better method, make 5 "stages" of trees, the first is the smallest, only a few years old, the second is older and so on, and they would yield more and more lumber when harvested (trees must be cut down in 1 hit, this is more realistic), and you could build "treefarms" which can be "harvested" (buying items from them for no cost which are modified lumber packs) or they can be paid to harvest themselves (~10 gold for each autoharvest), and when you got enough resources, trained enough soldiers (increase the max population limit to ~500), or simply manuevering with the remaining soldiers if you want to risk, defeat your enemies, or try to become a king and use its advantages for your own.
This is a complex system for an RPG, I will use this on my own map also.

 

[Xonok]

(increase the max population limit to ~500)

The maximum food limit is 300 btw.

 

[Demonex]

By using triggers, I think we can pass trought.
But I think I will add a upkeep system. (You have to pay your army or it will return against you)

 

[konyvfalovb]

About upkeep: for first, go in Gameplay Constants, and set all the upkeep intergers in the table to 100. Then you can think about an upkeep system, but if you want it so complicated, then make the rulers able to change the tax amount, increasing/decreasing happiness, so having more houses won't pay more unless you can keep the happiness. But I have an even better idea for food.
The maximum amount shows the currently useable men, and the current shows the used men. So if you assign a worker to a farm for food (food would be stored in an interger and it would be needed to feed the current population, which is me current food) or mine gold, it will cost you food, but if you keep it, then it will pay more tax (~5 gold/worker, ~15 gold/citizen or unused man and -20 gold/soldier, or soldiers can be paid differently, so a war mage costs more than a swordsman), but it won't generate resources.

 

[Demonex]

In fact, I don't think I will use 'Food' ressource.
When I spoke about Upkeep, I said that each soldier needs a certain amount of gold.

 

[konyvfalovb]

It's your choice what you do, I just gave an idea.

 

[Wazzz]

barbarians, empires and pirates
you know all the things i like

 

[Demonex]

I've done an Evolution System.

Example : You take a Town situated in the Empire.
You can choose Feudal System or Merchand Union.

Feudal System allows you to train better knights and heavy infantry while Merchand Union make you able to build 5 more houses, to train Milliciamen and to build 6 Ballista.

Each evolution make you able to do again a choice between 2 technology.

Example : If you chose Merchand Union, you will be able to search "Taylorism", that will allow you to build Factories and to train Riflemen while Exploration will allows you to build Counters and to recruit Mercenaries.

 

[Demonex]

Hi all, I've uploaded the first version of my map.
I have lost a lot of data, so some systems has been lost.

http://www.epicwar.com/maps/237403/