Developer Blog #1 - Map Enhancements

[Darkstar]

Developer Blog #1 - Map Enhancements

Creating maps in Medieval 2: Total War is an art-form. The beautiful work of some of the contributors in the modding community are extremely impressive. We won't pretend to live up to their standards, but we hope the changes we've made to the Westeros map will improve Westeros: Total War for players both visually and in terms of game play. The map and strat map models aren't fully completed yet but here is a preview of a few new things you can expect to see in v1.0:

Graphical Enhancements

* Integrated v1.7 of the map texture mod created by Charge. This mod implements new map textures which greatly improves the appearance when compared to a vanilla map. Here are a few screenshots from Charge's thread:
Attachment 88690 Attachment 88691

* Integrated v1.0 of the Cities Strat Map Model mod created by Agart. This mod replaces the vanilla city and castles with much more detailed and attractive models. Here are two examples from the Westeros map:
Attachment 88685 Attachment 88687

* Smoothed coastlines. Using some of the techniques discussed in the mod workshop we were able to smooth out the coastlines which makes for a much more visually appealing map than you saw in the v0.51 Alpha release. Here are some before and after shots:
Attachment 88684 Attachment 88683

New Regions and Settlements

* Added Lordsport to the Iron Islands. As you can see from the previous screenshot, the Iron Islands have a new settlement. We felt it was important to add Lordsport in order to give the Greyjoy faction a city at the beginning of the campaign rather than all castles.
Attachment 88683

* Added Nightsong to the Stormlands. Nightsong, the seat of House Caron, is an important strategic choke-point in the Dornish Marches. It guards the Prince's Pass which is one of three routes between Dorne and the rest of Westeros. Bryce Caron, the Lord of the Marches, has also been added to the campaign as one of Renly's bannermen.
Attachment 88686

* Added a second castle to The Twins settlement. The Twins were originally represented by a single castle but as the name suggests, it is actually a pair of heavily fortified castles that sit on either bank of the Green Fork of the Trident.
Attachment 88688

* Added the Bloody Gate to the Vale of Arryn. The Bloody Gate guards the mountain road into the Vale of Arryn. This important choke-point would have been the first obstacle for any army marching against the Arryn's. Because the Bloody Gate is not a settlement in the traditional sense, we decided to represent it in Westeros: Total War as a permanent stone fort.
Attachment 88689

[smthhappy]

Great work I'm waiting for the official release

[toluas]

Great!

[MagUidir]

looks awesome! keep it up!

[Orian1020]

This mod is about to go places! And I mean good places.

[LordKasal]

Is there going to be regions on the other side of the Narrow Sea?

[Darkstar]

Is there going to be regions on the other side of the Narrow Sea?

Not at this point. We've decided to hold off on adding the regions across the narrow sea until there is a canon map. It is supposed to be included in A Dance with Dragons.

[Hallow]

Not at this point. We've decided to hold off on adding the regions across the narrow sea until there is a canon map. It is supposed to be included in A Dance with Dragons.

One of the things I'm looking most forward to in DWD is just that (I love maps )

[Lordinquisitor]

No. Not yet, not in the next version.

Oh, certainly, we would love to include the free cities. But we already have enough work to do- And we all want the new release sooner than later, or?

So, atm we focus on the continent of Westeros to make it as good as possible.

Later, though, we might work on the free cities.

[MagUidir]

will house targaryen be in there?

[stormbringer951]

Not for the v1.0 release. We haven't figured out dragons yet, for one, and we're not sure what Dany's army will look like (exactly). On that, we're largely waiting till everything else is complete and aDwD comes out.

[toluas]

On that, we're largely waiting till everything else is complete and aDwD comes out.

Should be pretty soon...

[Sexy Rainbow Pigeon]

From A Feast with Crows it should be obvious Dany's army will be largely constructed of Unsullied (gonna have to figure those units out tho :S) Not sure about Generals tho since most of her people are always close to her. Maybe have each of her Blood riders be a general, or maybe Mormont?

[stormbringer951]

We haven't even implemented her as a faction yet, and we won't until aDwD comes out.

[Sexy Rainbow Pigeon]

I know. I was just giving some suggestions for the FAR future (Although hopefully not TOO far )

As for dragons, could they not simply be ancillaries? You wouldn't want them to give her TOO much of an advantage Although maybe this belongs in the suggestions category :S

[.Doge.]

Really cool.
+rep

[Gigantus]

Looking at the shot from the Iron Islands, I think your water_surface.tga needs to be worked on.

Use the map_heights file, reduce to 256*256. Fill the landmass with light blue, from the shoreline onward go darker on the blue. Sample work here:
Creating a World - Gig's Map Collection

[TXTwilight]

Great to see the progress. Keep it on
About Targaryen, if you find the time, after 1.0, you can make a scenario, which is set in time of Robert´s rebellion. So you dont need any dragons und just change some familytrees und turn house Joffrey into a Targaryen faction.

[Lordinquisitor]

Actually that`s a very good idea.

[stormbringer951]

I've got design docs for that sitting about five pages back in the dev forum. I'll try digging them up sometime.