2p Ozymandias (version 2.5)

[Ira Aduro]

Map Technical Info
Map name: Ozymandias
File name: 2p_Ozymandias_v2
Current Version: 2.5
Creator: Ira Aduro
Size 256x256
Link: Attached to this post
2.5 Download link

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Change log for 2.5
-Moved left side VPs farther away from base.
-Various tweaks to improve pathing and playability
-Fixed problem where walkable grates kept generators from being built.
-Added two more garrison buildings

Change log for 2.0
- Moved HQs to opposing sides of map instead of near eachother. This should help with the problem of retreating units running past enemy base sometimes. Also will allow me toutilize the map space better.
- Repositioned Req/Power/HQ. The left side of the map is VP heavy with two VPs nearby and one power node. The right side of the map only has one VP but has three Req points and three power points.

Version 2.5's Mini Map



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About the Map
The map name is an homage to the poem Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley. So no, the map is not named Ozymandias after the Watchmen character. The theme of the poem is the fleeting nature of man and his works. Along those lines here is the map description.

In the jungle of this map lie Eldar ruins, withered testaments to the glory the Eldar held. The Imperium built a grand presence here with many gilded eagles and hanging banners. A testament to their present glory. But now it is the Imperium's turn to face it's own mortality, for in the shadows of the trees a dark terror creeps ever closer.

Besides making philosophical statements on the vanity of men's actions the purpose of the map is also to give a nice mix of jungle and city fighting. Tight corridor city fighting is great. Jungle fighting and fighting on a more open playing field is great. Put them together with some common sense and it's like chocolate covered bacon, only more delicious. I've never had chocolate covered bacon actually but I hear it's really good.

Another less philosophical goal of the map is to encourage battling over resources. I've paid careful attention to resource layout and hopefully the goal I was shooting for has been achieved. If I've reached that goal then two competent players should enjoy some hectic, fast paced resource dueling. If not, well then I fail. Hopefully I wont.

Well, while I'm at it, here's the poem. Enjoy.

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
- Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Thanks Section
Thanks to Relic for DoW2 and the map editor.

Thanks my wife for letting me spend all Saturday mapping. I'll be doing the dishes as payment for months to come.

Thanks to the following people for testing the map:
greatnev
Maktaka
Deadly Shoe
Sporty
Meatkin

Thanks to LordDuncan and Deionarra for getting action scripts to work.

Thanks to the following people for various technical help:
greatnev
ValKor01
smeckma
Sporty

Thanks to Mirage Knight and all the guys in the Firestorm over Kronus mod (DoW1) for getting me interested in DoW and map making.

Thanks to Earl Gray Tea and Green Day (21st Century Breakdown) for helping me stay up late.

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I hate Section
I now officially hate the measurement tool as I've taken so many freaking measurements from so many freaking angles I freaking hate measuring.

That's all.

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Images

old post

Hey guys, I need some play testers literally for just today. This is a map I'm working on for the Game Replay DoW2 mapping competition. The map is playable but half of it still needs a face lift. They key thing I'm interested in is balance and fun factor. So if you don't mind, give it a download and let me know what you think as soon as you can.

thanks

[Ira Aduro]

Wow that was fast. THanks so much. That's the kind of things I'm looking for. If you have a chance could you take a screenshot of the particular wall section? Or is it all the walls?

thanks.

[Ira Aduro]

I'm not sure what to do about the grate. That sounds like a game bug. I'll check it out.

Is this the big concrete wall you were talking about?

[Ira Aduro]

Ok, thanks. I forgot to the do the camera mesh. Doh! But also I will drop it down some. It's hard to tell how much the camera will see in-game. Surely there is a way to simulate the game camera in the map editor?

[ValKor01]

I thought the editor did that already...

I always hit my backspace key in the editor and it does exactly the same thing in the editor as it does ingame, although its more tied to the ground you would be looking at than the camera being tied to the mesh like it is ingame.

You have to be carefull though, if you hit backspace and the piece of ground you would be looking at is some spot miles down in some hole youve made, the camera will zoom all the way down to that spot.

once you have it set just move around with the arrow keys.

[Ira Aduro]

Final version up on GameReplays. Well, final for now. The walkable grate is still letting grenades pass through for some reason. I'll have to fix that tomorrow I guess.

http://www.gamereplays.org/community...0#entry6344968

[ValKor01]

Ira I downloaded your map and it contains 4 maps:

Mapping Competition map
(6p) Heart of Darkness
(2p) Desert Sands
Mapping Competition map (again)

Remember that all files contained in

"...dawn of war 2\GameAssets\Data\maps\pvp"

get packaged into the SGA file, as far as im aware those files in there are only created when you save and bake, they are not the files you load to edit your map. I usually wipe this folder clean then save and bake my new map and if I want other maps in there I save and bake them before I package it into an SGA.

I only say this because the guys doing the competition may get confused as to which one they are meant to look at, esspecially considering that you have 2 of your Competition map in there.

[Deionarra]

I've found a number of bugs with walkable grates and so removed them all from the playable area of my map.

Also each base has a completely undefended entrance to it which would make the map invalid for ranked play.

[Ira Aduro]

Hmm maybe I should remove them as well. What bugs did you find with them.

Am I allowed to put three turrets per HQ? Any other requirements as far as competitive play goes? I'm guessing whatever map Relic chooses they will do some tweaking to it anyway. Optimization and such.

The current edition on GameReplay only has the one map. I accidently included other maps the first edition I uploaded. I'm making some slight tweaks to the map, testing the grates and changing the wall that splits the HQ from the road some. I should have a new version up tonight.

[Ira Aduro]

Updated the first post with the final final final final final version of the map as well as new screen shots. I decreased fog and increased light to make things more visible. Less moody but more playable. Ah the tension of art and craft.

[Octopus Rex]

I'm not sure whether it's intentional or not but I can't see the points in the fog of war. This makes it frustrating to have to go off the minimap and be vague. Sure, it makes sense the first time as the map is "undiscovered" but it becomes annoying fairly quickly.

There's a set of stairs - near the centre, northern side, diagonally descending - that you can't walk down. Might be intentional, though doubt it.

I found that I just camped the centre street by the power point mostly: if affords you easy access to both parts of the map, while your base covers the bottom half and the western req point is ignored (or picked up after a retreat). It also allows you to cover the southern VP pretty well. Sure they can get round the side, but the enemy has to go the long way while you (the camper) can go the quick way.

Looks lush and dense and has lots visual interest. However, this makes it a little hard to play kind of. I love the look of it all, but I'm not sure how much I would enjoy playing on it.

I also think you're mistaken: it's not art and craft you're balancing, it's playability and aesthetics you're balancing, and the Art is in the balancing of those two things!

Apologies for not giving feedback yesterday matey, was in the middle of a major ranked session, and I realise now that yesterday was the last day for the mapping contest. Sorry mate.

[Ira Aduro]

I dont know about the points in fog of war being obscured. Is that a game thing or do they normally show up?

And that kills me about the stairs. I was afraid I'd miss something and it seems like I did.

Well thanks for the feedback anyways.

[Kendallv2000]

I'm not going to say how good it because knowing you its probably good work however if its one thing in going to comment on it would be on atmosphere of the map. You can make a map look pretty but yours just reaks of Depth. (or maybe you can just take a good picture i don't know i haven't been able to play it myself yet).

Best wish on the competition there are only a few maps that i have seen that u may loose to.

[Ira Aduro]

Looking back at my previous maps (DoW1) I do like thick atmospheres. Not sure though if that's a good thing if it obscures players view of units. I did drop back the atmosphere on this map some to help out. Thanks for the complement though. Normally when I make a map I try to tell a story or capture an emotion. Something to make the map memorable.

[Ira Aduro]

Updated the post with version 2.0. Now with completely different HQ and resource layouts.

[Ira Aduro]

Updated to version 2.5. Now should be completely playable without any bugs. I hope.

[Ira Aduro]

Updated download link as the old one was no longer working.

Let me take this moment to point everyone to an excellent tool created by Kresjah and friends. This tool will allow you to "install" maps into DoW2 simply by placing them in a particular folder.
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?t=237967