Scenario Design

King David's Gallery and Map Techniques

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4: Orc Crop Land

Notice the land around the Orc city - this effect is created by placing some cavern "Pavement" tiles on top of Steppe terrain and AROUND the area where the city will be placed (ie, the area which will become cropland). When the city is placed and given Orc ownership, the cropland around it will yield this effect. Other combinations of terrain and races may be used to give similar effects, though I have not yet discovered how this affects production. Also, be careful of editor errors. I have received various errors, but they don't seem to have any effect in testing. Still, save often. (From a work in progress.)

5: Forest Fire

Combinations of Wasteland Broken-rock tiles, fire, replaceable terrain and "Heavy Storm" (hidden in the woods) were used to give the effect of a forest fire. Stupid Orcs, burning down their forest! (From a work in progress.)

6: Ponds and Wetlands

As with the jetties, many small things can be done to offset the monotony of "tract" terrain; In this case, I was not happy with the large pine forest, and so I broke it up with a pond (which also offers a strategic place to place an item), as well as a wetland, which led to the placement of a reflecting pool and a bend in what was formerly a straight road. Result - less monotony! (From "Race to Death".)

7: Don't Step on the Wrong Square!

Finally, the Editor affords numerous possibilities to the creative mind! Here is an example of how "games" can be built into a map. In this case, a unit may "fall" into the game from above (by a Teleport event). Each square has an event associated with it - there is only one path through the "maze" to reach the prize at the end (those Great Wyrms - they will join you if you can get to them). You can only get there if you... don't step on the wrong square! If you step on the wrong square, you get teleported back out to where you had previously landed in the game. Careful though, one square is known as the "Death Square" and stepping on it will teleport you into another room, where clouds of Black Death shall force the life from your lungs! (From "Race to Death".)

8: Road Tricks

Roads are one of the most common recurring features on maps, yet they are almost always laid out flat and straight, with jagged "triangular", unnatural-looking curves and intersections. For a more natural look to roads, there are a couple of things that can be done. First, I like to use the simple rock tiles, available to each type of terrain, to line the roads. This is done by selecting a simple rock (they come in three sizes - small, medium and large, then clicking on a hex of road. The rocks will automatically be placed on the side of the road, giving a more natural, 'walking path' type feel.

In conjuntion with the rock tool, the "Raise/Lower" terrain tools can be used to increase the aesthetic appeal of roads. The photo at the top shows the use of the "Raise Terrain" tool applied to the road itself. This gives the impression of depth, with the road being higher than the wetland it passes. The lower photo shows the opposite. The "Raise Terrain" tool again was used, but this time on each side of the road, not on the road itself. This also gives the impression of depth, but to the road, so that it appears almost like a mini-valley. (From Elf vs. Elf: Get Neuman and a work in progress.)

Footnote: JamieJME used this road trick to great effect in The Battle of Creation.