Strategus City Improvement Project

[Warcat]

Very good looking maps, but I have worries about their performance.
Especially Suno, it's a very good looking map, but all those details (thousands small items in shops, market etc) eat up the performance and add not much to the gameplay value (still nice to look at in screenshots, though). Also that lower city only for decoration, it just eats performance and will only rarely be seen after all, I suggest using the fake buildings to cut it off. Else I fear it will be unplayable in the end for most of the playerbase/chadz.

From what I can tell, all of those buildings in lower Suno are the low res fake ones. You do make a good point about the small items, the first thing I do before making any changes to the map, is go to the list and delete most of the grass from the map. There's a seemingly endless amount of grass props that don't serve a big purpose in most places since the ground still doesn't look photo-realistic with it. As far as the outdoor shop and market areas, I try to deal with the massive list of items issue by aiming for a quick evacuation style of look to it. There are a few knocked over chairs or tables, one or two pieces of corn left behind, but most of the area has been evacuated to a safer part of town away from the initial invasion. The other good way of dealing with it is to just make the market areas inside and put up a sign by the door, that's what I'm doing for this city.

[Jacko]

All the houses on the sides are fake and fake low-res (even worse), so that shouldn't be a problem. I am well aware of that big maps might bog down slower systems. as I said in a previous message, I went a bit overboard with Suno. But in all honesty, I think it looks like more stuff then it is, most of the streets are fairly desolate, only populated by the ever present carts. If it turns out to be a problem I'll just remove most of the stuff (I usually do what Warcat suggested).
Would be great if we could get someone with a low end system to take em out for a spin... And eventually try em out with real players instead of just me trying to get bots into the back streets.

"Final" 1.1 (besides gameplay and performance tweaks *cough*) version http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=3153

[Moncho]

About the towns, this might have been suggested before, but fast reading over the topic i didnt find it (if it is somewhere, sorry).
But I think a good way to avoid attackers from just razing the walls with catapults would be to add a cost to repair them afterwards. With the models that are in http://forum.c-rpg.net/index.php/topic,2869.msg192025/boardseen.html#new , as in each level you destroy it a cost of x to repair it afterwards (and maybe a period of time to do the rebuilding. This would make the attackers really have to plan and think about other ways to attack, making it harder for them.

[Warcat]

Not a bad idea, but I'm not sure if there's a way for them to save the scene at the end of the battle. However another way to stop attacking catapults, is to fire at them with catapults of your own. If you have trained catapult operators and a spotter on the walls, you can fire back at a high arc to avoid hitting your own walls, it only takes one hit to take out an enemy catapult and all the crew operating it. Also as I found not too long ago while trying out catapults with some other Fallens, stones from a good height can do decent damage to catapults and their crews. Consider having your infantry take 2 to 3 stacks of stones as an additional annoyance to the attackers that is very cheap.

[Warcat]

Finished with Barriyye and updated the op, this should make for a fun battle, the first level should be relatively easy to get in and establish a foothold, can't exactly say the same about the other six levels.
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Overhead Viewvisitors can't see pics , please register or login

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View from main attacker spawn point, I added a pleasant reminder of what the fate of those who fail may be.visitors can't see pics , please register or login

From atop the walls on the left sidevisitors can't see pics , please register or login

From the highest level before the main keepvisitors can't see pics , please register or login

Left side tower overlooking the main wallvisitors can't see pics , please register or login

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The far right side of the city.visitors can't see pics , please register or login

The keep areavisitors can't see pics , please register or login

Have Fun!

Won't be able to spend as much time working on these in the coming months, but I'll still spend some time working on them. I'll take a look soon at which city I want to do next.

[Camaris]

This one looks very nice ;) Would be cool if Warband allowed 300-500+ Players without lag ;)

[Olwen]

even if there wasn't lag problems there would be computer problems :x

nice looking maps

[Warcat]

Next one I do is going to be #5 Jelkala, it's a clone of #15 Yalen. The main distinguishing feature of this one is the stream that flows in front of the walls, otherwise it's a pretty normal Rhodok city.

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[Civilian]

Next one I do is going to be #5 Jelkala, it's a clone of #15 Yalen. The main distinguishing feature of this one is the stream that flows in front of the walls, otherwise it's a pretty normal Rhodok city.

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I demand a memorial for those who bravely charged up the middle ladder for 4+ hours during the siege of Jelkala in the old strategus. (Someone canceled the attack and re-attacked without enough ladders)

The Disaster at Jelkala.

It was horrible. Bloody, long, and disheartening. We had planned so carefully. We had stores and stores of armor, racks and racks of weapons. We had arrows by the tonne, and had been careful in our recruiting, only the best and brightest warriors and nobles were accepted. Our engineers had carefully planned what we we need for the attack, so we thought we were ready.

A miscalculation somewhere resulted in only 50 ladders being brought for the siege of the walls, instead of 500. With the sturdy ramp we built that could not be destroyed, we pushed well until the stores of ladders ran low, then it became a blood bath. Their archers stood upon the ramparts, hooting with derision as they launched flight after flight of arrows at our ranks, felling warriors with every volley. They laughed at our misfortune, and thought themselves safe. But they were wrong.

Hours dragged by as the defenders demeanor changed. From laughing, to grudging admiration for our tenacity, to horror when their stores of arrows began running low. Our stalwart allies and mercenaries stuck with us, and stayed the course through the slaughter. When the defenders had fired the last of their arrows, we marched up the only ramp, and slaughtered them to the man in bloody hand to hand fighting through the streets. It was a dark time, but much glory was won, and friendships were made that would endure for ages.

[Warcat]

I might do that, perhaps put the perma ladder half buried in the ground with a skeleton in it. Was already thinking of having some ruins in the map since they're the same stone type as the Rhodok buildings.

[Warcat]

Finished with Jelkala, it's a much simpler city that others that I've made, but I think it still works well. Partly is the way it is because the city on this map was far less centered than many other maps, so there wasn't a ton of room anyway. I'm somewhat interested to see if the battle will mostly take place at the walls or in the narrow streets. For now the gate is open-able, but that can be changed.

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And as was requested, a little memorial.
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[Jacko]

Damn your a machine, keep up the good work man!

[Warcat]

Next stop, Rivacheg visitors can't see pics , please register or login

[Jacko]

< Khudan

[Warcat]

Due to a current collision problem with the vaegir house prop collisions, I'm putting Rivacheg on hold. Going to work on Curaw
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