8:15 PM 1/12/97
Tips for map creation by westwood.
This was put into a text file by The Mecca.

Tips for building Red Alert Maps





Have a theme in mind when you start your map  

     Is this going to be a water-heavy map? Land-only? What do you want the players to be doing most of the  time?
     Defending? Scouting? Naval combat? Deciding on the theme of the map that you want to create helps  a lot in defining
     its terrain and the placement of players and ore. Always go into a map with an idea in mind,  otherwise your map will
     lose focus, and you wont get what you intended although sometimes that can be  the best thing to happen to your
     map! Many cool maps have arisen from trying something unusual that you  didnt intend in the first place.  

  

     Always try and leave space for units to move freely.  

     Bottlenecks are fine, but try and keep your narrowest areas at least 4 or 5 cells wide. Otherwise, large  amounts of
     units wont be able to get through certain locations, causing them to try and find another way to  the target, which
     usually takes them somewhere you dont want them to go. Use the Passable/Blocked tab to  see where youve got
     bottlenecks and make sure theyre wide enough to accommodate the forces that will  be moving through them.  

  

     Conflict is what its all about.  

     Start the player with a small patch of ore near them, then make them put their ore trucks at risk by moving  larger ore
     patches further and further from their bases. Remember, one goal is to force the players into  conflict over money, and
     if all the nearby ore is in one place, you can be sure there will be a fight for  control of it.  

   

     Bridges are cool, but dont rely on them.  

     Since any bridge can be destroyed, when designing the map make sure that you consider all bridges to be  destroyed
     and thus unusable the minute that the game begins. This way, you wont rely on them for access  to other islands or
     areas of the map. Be sure theres always another way to get around, unless the theme of  the map intentionally calls
     for blocked off areas.  

 

     Use Skirmish as a test-bed.  

     The AI in skirmish builds rapidly and uses a lot of units. Play against the computer on your map several  times, and look for
     places that you or the computer gets slowed down. Sometimes these slow-downs can be  remedied by widening passes,
     removing trees, or changing the starting flag position.  

  

      Balance the map.  

     The coolest maps are those that are balanced, but not symmetrical. The more natural and different each part  of the
     terrain is, the more interesting the map is to play on. Also, consider the placement of the players when  making the
     map. If the player has multiple ways into their base and not a lot of natural defense, give them a  bit more money to
     get started with. If the player is in a position that is easily defensible, make them go  farther (thus putting themselves
     more at risk) for ore and gems.  

   

     Dont fill the map with ore.  

     Unless youre purposely trying to make a map thats just all ore, dont overdo the placement and amount of  ore.
     Remember, you want the game to eventually end! When the money runs out, the only thing left to do is  fight with
     whatever youve got left. Limiting money is a good way to bring a game to closure. Use gems to  your advantage too.
     Since theyre worth twice as much, but dont grow or spread, you can make little  treasure areas for players to fight
     over. Usually, a player will take the risk to go after gems as opposed to  ore, simply because they want more money
     faster.  

       

      Dont overuse trees.  

     Trees can add a lot of character to a map, but dont clump too many of them together or you could see a  performance
     hit when playing the game. Instead, use cliffs, rocks, and other tiles that block the cell. A basic  rule to follow is that if
     you notice the editor slowing down when you scroll over a densely forested section  of the map, youre going to see
     the game suffer the same way.  

   

     Keep the abilities of the sides in mind when creating.  

     Since you know where the players are going to start, you can get a good idea how each side will use the  space you
     provide them to build on. Try to provide multiple strategies for a certain location that the player  can use to defend and
     attack with. For example, even a small water area by a starting location can provide  enough room to allow the Allies
     to build cruisers to use for defense of their base. Even if theyre land- locked, this allows players more opportunities for
     strategy.  

   

     Always have another way in.  

     Although its tactically ideal to have a location with only one way in or out, design flaws into the terrain that  allows
     players multiple ways into each others bases. This makes everyone spread their defenses around  their weak points,
     thus allowing more room for sneak attacks and assaults. It also adds a bit more  uncertainty to where to place
     defenses and critical structures  the enemy could attack from any number of  directions!  

  

     Use shore pieces to advantage.   

     On water-heavy maps, use shore pieces to your advantage  they are the only places that transports can be  loaded
     and unloaded at. Keep this in mind when youre making a map that is primarily islands  players will  have to land in
     certain areas, thus you can design the terrain and place players accordingly.  

  

     Never block off areas completely.   

     If youre making a map of just islands, then you dont need to worry about this, but if the map is primarily  land-based,
     be sure you leave areas for units to get around natural hazards. Never seal a player into an area  that forces them to
     use one certain tactic to get out of what theyre now trapped in.  

  

     Be an artist    

     Although this is more for cosmetic sake, make your cliff lines, shore lines, and rivers actually match up. Pay  attention
     to the shadow lines on the ridge pieces and dont use a piece that isnt intended to be used there.  When using shore
     pieces, sometimes switching to cliff line and back again can solve spacing problems that  may arise from starting a
     shoreline from two different ends at the same time. The amount of time you spend  making the map look as cool as it
     plays does come across to other players. It shows an understanding and  dedication to making the map as cool as
     you possibly could.  

        

     Refine, refine, refine!   

     Chances are, the first time youre done with a map, it wont be perfect. Play with elements of it (ore  placement, cliff
     lines, starting points, etc.) until you get something that will work better. The more time you  spend with a map, the
     more ways for improvement youll see for it.  

