Recommended Maps from \'The Org\'

**zitadelle** · 07-10-2002, 18:16

Despite my novice status on this forum, I have been a Shogun player since the game first came out, and it is one of the few that has continued to survive on my hard-drive.

I realized that this site has many custom maps for download, and I would like some of them out. However, there is very little of a descriptive element for the maps, and I don't have the time to download all of them and sort out the ones I am interested in.

My question is, what are the recommended maps? What are everyone's choices in the custom maps?

Particularly, I am looking for attractive maps (no, don't listen to your instincts and start making jokes...), challenging terrain, townscapes, etc....

Thanks!

**Vanya** · 07-10-2002, 20:13

Any of the Vanya maps.

Awesome, baby! Yeah!

**tootee** · 07-10-2002, 23:17

that I agree. But the best are those that start with gf_*

------------------
tootee the goldfish,
headmaster of Shogun-Academy
------------------

Toda Nebuchadnezzar · 07-10-2002, 23:51

If you want top stunning maps...

1) any made by Tosa Inu. I don't know what his prefix is though.

2)Any maps made by Obake. prefix-ob eg. ob_lakeside

Then comes Vanya and Tootee

And right at the bottom Tera's pitiful attempts.

------------------
He is the Messiah
No i'm not the Messiah
Only the true Messiah would deny it.
Alright then I am the Messiah.
HE IS THE MESSIAH HOORAY!!!

**Wavesword** · 07-11-2002, 00:40

Poor Kraellin.

[This message has been edited by Wavesword (edited 07-10-2002).]

**Kraellin** · 07-11-2002, 01:13

bah! the only reason my maps arent played more is that they are so attractive that the soldiers just sit and stare in awe and the poor daimyos cant get them fight

nothing like modesty, eh?

some of my maps are quite playable, others arent. i tend to make the unusual, but the game cant always handle it very well because of the impassable zones which the soldiers trip over. but some are quite playable, like crossroads.

as to which are the best maps, that's a matter of opinion and often times correlates directly to which map you won on and which one you lost on.

if you're looking for really interesting looking maps, then try k's_unzenagain', which is essentially modeled after the unzen volcano....loosely modeled. the twin mountain map is also quite interesting, but a difficult map to play on because of all the impassable areas.

there used to be a web site that posted and rated all the various shogun maps, but i cant recall the url at the moment...ask tosa.

what would be really nice would be to have a separate listing of each map on the .org with a nice sized pic or two of the scenery. then some text telling about it. i wouldnt 'rate' maps, cause that tends to be a bit too subjective, but certainly some descriptions of the scenery and potential play would be good. i suppose one could do a player rating system on them by simply letting the players vote or rate each map, but that tends to get lopsided at times also.

i havent put any new maps out in a while, but every so often i work on a couple that have been in the works for a while. perhaps i'll release another 10 pack one of these days, or maybe just a six pack

edit: and i still have the distinction of making the only map where units could actually fly...for whatever that's worth

and it's ok, wavesword; it never bothers me if someone leaves me out or slights one of my products. i know i make good maps even if no one else does

K.

------------------
The only absolute is that there are no absolutes.

[This message has been edited by Kraellin (edited 07-10-2002).]

**zitadelle** · 07-11-2002, 02:09

Quote Originally posted by Kraellin:
there used to be a web site that posted and rated all the various shogun maps, but i cant recall the url at the moment...ask tosa.

what would be really nice would be to have a separate listing of each map on the .org with a nice sized pic or two of the scenery. then some text telling about it. i wouldnt 'rate' maps, cause that tends to be a bit too subjective, but certainly some descriptions of the scenery and potential play would be good. i suppose one could do a player rating system on them by simply letting the players vote or rate each map, but that tends to get lopsided at times also.

[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the update Kraellin. I agree that such a site or functionality on this site would be advantageous. Before commencing a download it would be great to have a brief explanation of the map- that is what is truly missing from the list here. The other PC game that I play is Combat Mission, and most scenario sites give a brief explanation of the map characteristics. Also, the sites frequently have a review section for the maps/scenarios that players frequently update.

I also understand the problem with making recommendations since map preference is rather subjective. I prefer the hilly and mountainous maps with forests and/or buildings. Although I am open to other battle sites. I imagine that others would prefer river crossings- why, I don't know or understand.

And, thanks for everyone (Toda, Vanya, and Tootee) else's input as well.

Any other opinions?

------------------
"'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here.'"

**james** · 07-12-2002, 17:59

all the maps i have and downloaded are cool!

**zitadelle** · 07-12-2002, 19:26

Quote Originally posted by james:
all the maps i have and downloaded are cool![/QUOTE]

Uhh, thanks I think. But, let me make a similar value statement for you regarding my recommendations on a particular beverage:

"All the beer I've drunk is tasty."

I hope you find my recommendations useful for deciding upon your next beer purchase. I would appreciate a little more detail on the maps that you have downloaded that are cool.

Edit (and after the fact): I apologize if this seems a little harsh. Call me a 'Grog.'

------------------
"'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here.'"

[This message has been edited by zitadelle (edited 07-12-2002).]

**Wavesword** · 07-12-2002, 23:42

Sadly Kraellin your maps often push the envelope so much that the AI gets stcuk, so I find them fascinating but not always playable. Which one can units fly on? Is there an invisible bridge?

[This message has been edited by Wavesword (edited 07-12-2002).]

**Kraellin** · 07-13-2002, 01:30

wavesword,

yup. i readily admit that. i'll often have strange features in my maps that the ai just cant deal with. not all though. i forget what the final version of the flying horses map was; maybe k's_pegasusX or k's_flying horsesx, where x is the version number.

no, to get them to 'fly' i made a land bridge, which is normally impossible with the editor and is impossible with the we/mi editor. i made it with the original demo game editor where you could 'stretch' land tiles. i just stretched them a bit further than i'm sure the dev guys ever intended ;) it's the only map i ever sent to CA to have a look at and may be why that feature is no longer in the we/mi editor ;)

effectively, what that did to units was to make them take rather oddball routes, which in some cases resulted in the walking straight up or straight down thus giving them the appearance of flying. quite cute, but very impractical for game play.

if you want to see an unusual, but very playable map of mine, try 'k's_the swampx'. this one is fairly flat and half covered in water, but the water is shallow and not impassable, so the ai can even handle it. you'll see your units up their hips in water at times, but not underwater. that one took a lot of time to tweak to make sure we didnt get samurai frogmen ;) but it does work, is quite playable and the ai doesnt have any problem with it.

i figure most anyone can make a nice flat or rolling terrain type map, slap some trees on it, a shrine or two, and maybe a road, but what i want to see are the unusual ones. what can the editor do? what are the limits? how could we improve the thing? and if i do this will CA notice and see that something needs improvement?

i also hate playing on maps like ironing board. a general shld be able to handle any terrain, any weather and any conditions. variety is the spice of life, as they say. so all i'm doing is adding a little spice here and there for those that are interested. we recently played a 4v4 on my 'rugged' map. this is NOT an easy map to play on. as the map suggests it is very rugged territory. very large hills and valleys and lots of trees to contend with. it was a fun game and lasted quite a while. and while it's a fairly small map, i rarely even saw some of my allies and enemies as the hills and tree cover obscure so much of one's vision.

i consider each map a puzzle. a map like green or ironing board are very simple puzzles and in fact, really no puzzle at all, but take a map like unzen or mountain pass or rugged and you've not only got the enemy to figure out, you've also got the terrain to figure out. to me, this is much more of a challenge, and therefore fun.

one other map i'll mention here is 'terrauppadabums'. this map was suggested to me by our own tera here in the .org. he sent me an email design of a map he wanted to see made and i made it, adding in a few tweaks of my own. this turned out to be a very good map to play on, receiving one of the highest ratings on that site i mentioned earlier that was rating these things. it was a fun map to make and a fun map to play on because of the variety involved.

too often folks are looking for easy wins so they'll play a map where they think they have an advantage, or, the other side of it is that folks are looking for something where no one has the advantage. the really good players could care squat where they play because they can handle anything and are up for the challenge. so, you might say my maps are somewhat tailored to those players, damn the torpedos, full speed ahead.

i do make playable maps and even balanced maps, but yes, i'm prolly more known for my weird maps :)

and as an aside, you can still make maps on the old demo game editor and import them into we/mi. i believe this still works, so if you ever get the hankering to make stretched land, the capability is still there ;)

K.

------------------
The only absolute is that there are no absolutes.

**james** · 07-13-2002, 01:49

Quote Originally posted by zitadelle:

"All the beer I've drunk is tasty."

[/QUOTE]

ROFLMAO

**Wavesword** · 07-13-2002, 04:31

Thanks Kraellin, looking at the swamp map's overview I thought it was unplayable! And now having lost on it I can confirm that it is the human mind that while tweaking the camera and searching for reflections is unable to cope with it!

**LittleGrizzly** · 07-13-2002, 13:14

lol (all beer ive drunk is tasty)

btw u can download a lot of the maps in 5 zip packages which contain over 200 maps in em.

is this just for single play or for online play aswell ?

id also recomend Bachs_gambit great map