KodakKid3Join Date: 2008-12-25
Post Count: 2860 |
This guide will explain how to create a map for Territory Conquest, and the below model has all of the parts you will need.
Territory Conquest Map Making Model: http://www.roblox.com/TC-Map-Making-item?id=129848713
After the map is complete, make it a model and PM me the link to the model. I will check out the map and give you advice on map making and anything that needs to be changed. If it's a good enough map, I'll refine it a bit myself and add it to TC.
NOTE: Once you become a more experienced map maker, you'll be able to skip some of these steps.
Step 1: Map Choice
You always want to make sure you choose a good map before you make it. Many well made maps have been made, but not accepted due to poor map choice. You don't want to pick an area that is square-ish(France, Angola). You want variety. A perfect example of a place to make a map is Europe. Europe has a lot of variety – peninsulas, lakes, islands, everything.
NOTE: You can always PM me if you're wondering whether your map is a good choice to make. Also, I will occasionally post map requests on a TCL shout, but don't rely on that.
Step 2: Map Template.
You'll start your map with a template of the map. To create the template, you need an image of your map. Make sure to get a clear one. Images can be found easily through Google Images. Create a decal of the image, and place it on a brick. Make sure to make the brick exactly proportional to the size of the image (So that the image does not look stretched or squeezed, distorting the map) and began adding parts over the image, covering up the land on it. Leave an empty space where there is no land (Ocean, large lake, etc,), or you can use a water TerrainPart for lakes and such. The template should be all one color, just to outline your map.
NOTE: Make sure to be using Symmetric FormFactor parts. If you don't know what this is, just use the TerritoryPart in my map making model to make the map. Also, don't rotate the parts past 90 degree rotations (90 degrees is the normal amount of rotation when pressing R in Studio).
Step 3: Adding Map Regions.
Map regions are the subdivisions of your map; the different colored places. In a map of Europe, your regions will be the different countries, while in a map of the US, your regions will be the different states. Your next step is to go and, in different colors for each, add the different map regions over the template of your map. If some regions of the map are too big, you may want to split them up. Regions can be split up into cardinal directions (As in, if Ukraine is too big, splitting it into two different regions. East Ukraine and West Ukraine).
Or, generally when a a region is just massive (Like Brazil in South America) it can be split up into actual Brazilian regions, like Norte, Sudeste, and Sul (Regions of Brazil) rather than just East Brazil and West Brazil.
Step 4: Modifying Territories.
By this time, you should have a full map, with all of the regions on it. It is probably not yet ready to be played on. You should try to have each territory in a region be at least 2 x 2 studs; try not to have any territories be x 1, or very long one way and short the other way. Also try not to have too many large territories. It's best to keep them from 2 x 2 - 8 x 8. If you need to have small territories though, for accuracy, change the name of that Part from TerritoryPart to TerrainPart, showing that it is just for detail, and won't be a part of gameplay. Try to adjust the territories to sizes/proportions you think would be fun to play on.
Step 5 Major Cities.
Adding Major Cities to your map is probably the easiest part. Wikipedia will always have a list of the largest cities in the area of your map. For the Europe example, I would look up "Largest Cities in Europe Wikipedia" and it would give me a list of all of it's largest cities. You then add most of these cities to the map. Try not to have too many (More than one major city per region is rare) and try to space them out. Get the very, very largest of these cities and have them be massive Cities (The golden ones). In Europe, Istanbul, Moscow, and London would be my Massive Cities.
However, be fair to the little countries; even though Stockholm Sweden has a smaller population compared to other European countries, it has a large population compared to its area in Scandinavia, so I would add Stockholm as a major city in Sweden.
NOTE: Although major cities are generally based on population, you can also base them off of other factors; some cities may have smaller populations, but be vital industrial, military, or political areas worthy of a major city.
NOTE: 1 major city (Dark gray) is equivalent to 2 normal cities (Light gray), and 1 massive city (Gold) is equivalent to 4 normal cities.
Step 6: Cities.
You'll now add normal cities to your map. Cities are the map's population. The more cities in a territory, the more troops it generates. I would suggest looking up a population map of your area on Google Images, then using it to base the city placement. On average, most territories should have one city, besides less populated regions, where territories may be void of cities. In more populated areas, or simply in larger territories, there may be more than 1 city.
NOTE: Two cities in a territory (Or a Major/Massive City) makes that territory an eligible spawn for someone, so place spawns strategically. Generally, each region should have 1 spawn in it, but in regions that would make hard/unfair spawns you don't need to do this. Some larger or more populated regions may have multiple spawns.
NOTE: Often areas are much more populated on the coast; remember to have the cities near the coast, when they should be. In arctic areas (Such as Canada, Greenland, Russia) more cities will be in the south, where it's less cold, so do this for accuracy.
Step 7: Territory Connections.
Territory Connections (AKA Landbridges) are the path that you travel across over water, to get from one territory to another. Whenever you have any islands in your map, you must connect them all to more land. You may add your own Territory Connections, but these will really only be suggestions, as I will ultimately add them in.
Step 8: Grouping.
Make sure to group the territories of each region together, and name the model the name of the region. Group all of the cities in one model called Cities (Excluding the Major/Massive Cities). Then group everything (The regions, the Major/Massive Cities, The Cities model, and the Territory Connections as they are) into one model, and name that model the name of your map. You can go to File>Publish Selection to Roblox and turn it into the model. Title the model the title of the map. Then make it a free model, and link it to KodakKid3 via PM.
NOTE: You do not need to count all of the territories in the map, I have a script that does this for me.
And remember, don't get down if your first map isn't accepted – no one's is, it takes multiple maps and effort.
Thanks for your contribution to Territory Conquest, and PM me if you have any questions! |