Native OSP Scenes [WARBAND]OTREUMS' MAP PACK (7 Maps)

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Otreum

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DOWNLOAD
FROM MBREPOSITORY:
*UPDATED 10th October 2010 to v1.2*
http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=2292

MODDB DOWNLOAD LINK
*UPDATED 10th October 2010 to v1.2*
http://www.moddb.com/addons/mount-blade-warband-otreums-map-pack

As mentioned on these forums before, I have been working on a map pack and it is now complete.

The reason I made this map pack was because I saw alot of custom maps out there that people were saying "this is a good map" yet the map was a very generic open map with a few ruins plonked down with a few bushes, and to me, that just doesn't excite me, especially when those open maps have next to nothing in the way of cover for infantry against archers or horsemen.
So a little over a week ago I decided to bite the bullet and finally give map making in mount and blade a bit of a crack, with some much appreciated help from a friend "Aleczacool" who guided me through the set up process of python and the module system, aswell as giving me a few tips on how to use the map editor. (Thanks Alec! :smile: ).

My goal was to make a map per day. Which I would say I achieved if it weren't for having 9-5pm shifts at work just about every single day :sad:
Each map initially took about 7 hours to create. Add another 3 hours (give or take) for some minor exploit play testing by Aleczacool and Lord_Callum.

All maps include an AI Mesh, in case you don’t have anybody to play with.

So firstly, let me introduce the maps.

THE MAPS

DRY AS A BONE
Dry as a bone was my first map.
The scenario is basically one team has set up a little hideout in an old dried up pond.
The map was designed in favour of infantry combat, however ranged infantry do have plenty of spots to shoot from, but at the same time risk being ambushed. Horsemen aren’t the best in this map due to the tightly knit nature of the rocks around the map, however a good horseman could really do some damage using a charger to pummel through infantry running between the rocks.
I have made the rocks tightly knit to make combat more interesting, as players will have to watch to see if they are able to swing with their weapon or not. So players must choose their weapons carefully, as 2h weapons most likely will not dominate in certain parts of the map.


ON THE EDGE
After finishing the first map, I wanted to step my game up a little now that I had a good feel of the editor. I wanted to try and push the boundaries a bit more and make something a little more unique than what I’ve currently seen from other maps.
The scenario is that one faction is travelling along a mountain pass and must venture up into the mountain through a forest area, unfortunately there is another faction waiting in ambush after a spy informed them of the venturing faction.
The map is an all round sort of map, but more so orientated around infantry once again.
Archers can still have fun on this map, however it will be difficult to find and hit targets through the thick forest area and shrubbery. They can also easily be ambushed.
Horsemen have a bit more room to move on this map as opposed to the DRY AS A BONE map, however it may be difficult for horsemen to find and attack targets due to the many trees used for cover and hill to slow unit movement down.

The map features a rather long drop off a cliff face, which can be dangerous if fighting around the cliff top area.

NOTE: As entertaining as it may be to see a horseman ride over the edge of a cliff by accident during battle, I have prevented horses from running off the edge of the cliff as horsemen can survive just about any fall.



BATTLE FOR HHARKIN
I decided (and was influenced) to make a town map, and decided to get cracking on one.
Battle for Hharkin was the result. I could have probably added a bit more detail to grass textured areas, and also added a little bit more cover in the open areas, but I got lazy :sad:.

The scenario is that one faction has invaded a city called Hharkin (I know there is no such place in mount and blade....but there damn well should be :razz:). The attackers reach some stables, and a town garrison are forced out of their barracks to come out and try and fend the attackers off, or at least reduce their numbers.

The map is fairly balanced all round. Infantry have plenty of cover to move between, and plenty of different pathways to take to set up ambushes.
Archers will feel a bit more at ease in this map as there is a lot more open ground than previous maps, however horsemen also like open ground, and can just as easily pick off archers.
Horsemen do have plenty of open area to move around in, but most of it is cut off by close combat areas, which horsemen can easily be caught up in by clever infantry.



KNEE DEEP IN DEATH
Probably my favourite map because while it is open, it is also very closed.
What I mean is that there is no real physical cover, however there is plenty of grass to hide in which can allow players to sneak up to one another, and evade attack from other players.
Unfortunately this map took a bit longer than it should have due to a strange graphics limitation which seems to only affect Nvidia card users. What happened was the map was larger than it is now, and had smaller grass areas that were more thick and detailed. But for some reason on Nvidia graphics cards, the last 40% (give or take) of the grass in the map was culled out, yet ATI users could see ALL the grass perfectly fine.
This resulted in having to delete all the grass, reduce the size of the map, and make the grass objects bigger and crappier looking....but it’s a necessary sacrifice.

The scenario is there are two factions who just happen to come across one another in some swampland, and now are battling it out.

This map is an all round style of map, regardless of its’ openness.
Infantry may be exposed to ranged weapons and horsemen, however they can easily run and hide in a matter of a second or two, melee combat is both fun and difficult, due to the thick grass around the swamp which can block a players view and allow other players to make surprise attacks.
Archers are surprisingly not very dominant on this map (unless they are AI archers which can see through bushes perfectly) due to the large amount of cover for infantry and other archers to hide in.
Archers will need to keep a keen eye out for infantry popping out of cover otherwise they can easily be snuck upon.
Horsemen will find this map a little more fun, however infantry can very easily ambush horsemen from the grass, so horsemen need to be extremely alert.

NOTE: During play testing, a game mode was created called “Swamp Monster” (I know...how original huh?), where one player would be kitted out will full armor and whatever melee weaponry he/she wanted. The other players have to run around with no armor and just 1 set of javelins in first person mode.
The hunters (naked people with javs), must try to survive and kill the swamp monster either by throwing their javelins or using their javelins in melee combat.
Just for fun, all players should jump on a voip program, and the swamp monster should make whatever swamp monster noises they deem fit their swamp monster character :razz:

NOTE 2: I am in the process of creation a separate “Monster hunter” style module, because of this idea. However all details will come upon release.



SMUGGLERS COVE
I blame the “You are a pirate” song by Crazy Town for this map -_-
I had the “You are a pirate” song in my head (urgh!) , and so all I could think of was some sort of pirate cave.
There is not much more I can say about making this map other than the fact that it started with a big idea, was cut down so that AI could easily navigate the map, and then after playtesting, the map was opened up larger again with an AI mesh that AI could easily navigate.
So in the end, it worked out quite well.

The scenario is one faction have found a smugglers cove while on a campaign, so they move in to investigate with an army, only to have a nasty greeting by smugglers/deserters of another faction.
This map is very infantry and archer based.
The map doesn’t have the openness that other maps have, it is fairly straight forward, however there are 2 routes to attack the enemy from.  There is the one main route, and another side route that can be used for cutoff or ambush tactics by infantry. There is cover for infantry against archers, but not a great deal, however most of the map is indoors and will give infantry opportunities to slip into cover away from ranged weapons.
Archers will have a bit of an advantage on this map over infantry and especially over horsemen, but infantry can just as easily dominate archers provided they use common sense and tactics.
It is not advisable to be a horseman on this map as it is semi close quarters, and has plenty of sections where horsemen may find themselves feeling a bit slow and stuck. In saying that, smart horsemen can certainly help distract archers while infantry move in for the kill.



HEATED BATTLE ***UPDATED 10th October***

Ok....well.....I wanted to make a map that nobody else had seen in the Native module, and I figured “Why not create a volcano”...
I also really badly wanted to make a map where players would need to fit on a bridge or two over a huge drop...or in this case, lava, fire and smoke :smile:.
So yes...this map is a fight on some bridges and cliffy areas inside of a volcano.

The scenario is pretty straight forward; There is no scenario. This is just 2 factions who one day decide it would be cool to fight on bridges over firey smokey lava :smile: .

The map is balanced depending on the area of combat.
Infantry will definitely need to use shields on this map (unless they’re a naked suicidal maniac like me) to protect themselves against archer fire, or they can camp out and hide in cover, using their own teams’ archers for cover fire.
Archers will have fun on this map, however they too will not have much cover and will need to watch out for enemy archers.
Horsemen can do a great deal of damage on this map, especially if a charger goes across a bridge while infantry are crossing it. The horse will knock the infantry off the bridge and get a kill for each player that falls to their death. But horsemen may find it difficult to make such an attack and time it properly without being stopped mid charge, so archers need to keep infantry on the bridge distracted.
As seen in the screenshots below, there is an upper bridge and a lower bridge to come under and around behind the enemy, so tactics using infantry, archers and horsemen will determine who wins this match.

NOTE: Barriers are in place to stop horses jumping off the edge.


WATCH YOUR STEP

I was about to release the map pack because I simply was exhausted from both map making and my real life job, but I wasn’t happy with releasing the map pack with just 6 maps, and I had more ideas that I wanted to create, so I worked on one last map for the time being, just to get it done!
I wanted to create something that gave a feeling of vertigo, so I had the idea of fighting right on the edge of a cliff with nothing but a meter or so of footing to fight on, and so this map was born.
Initially the map was ALL going to be vertical, fighting on wooden scaffolding, but after looking at what objects I could use, I found myself limited to only using objects that had supports coming out of the right side of them, so I could not make stairs that zig-zagged upwards.
I ended up just making a map that curved around the outside of a cliff top area instead.

The scenario is that there is a castle on the edge of this massive sea cliff, with a secret passageway built into the cliff below it from many centuries ago. This castle has been a real nuisance for enemy factions due to the trebuchet on top firing on invading and passing boats, but now the enemy has finally cleared the secret passageway up to the cliff top to take over the castle from its’ weakest point.
The map is very infantry orientated, but also gives plenty of advantages to archers depending on the areas fought it.
Infantry have a large advantage along the cliff areas, however archers have an advantage on raised areas. At the same time though, there are several ways that Infantry can sneak up on archers and give enough time from distraction to allow other infantry to move up.
This map is definitely not for horsemen, however there are areas where the charger can do huge amount of damage by knocking players off the edge.

NOTE: Horses once again cannot jump off the edge.


INSTALLATION AND WHAT YOU NEED

- You will need to download and set up Python and the Module System.
You can download the Module system here:
http://173.192.225.169/mb_warband_module_system_1131.zip

You can download Python from here:
http://www.python.org/download/

To set up the module system and Python, go to this forum thread here for a guide:
(NOTE: When you get to step  1.5 where you need to change the compile path for the module, make sure that it links to your “Native” Module since you are not creating a brand new module.
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,5408.0.html

If you have problems with python or the module system, there is a “modopedia 2” thread created by Annynduir which is very helpful and a great resource for helpful links.
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,113991.0.html

This map pack is designed for those who are hosting their own servers and want to put custom maps on, so I assume that those who host custom maps on their server have the knowledge and skills to set up maps on their server for themselves, however, I have included instructions with my download to help with the set up.
Unfortunately getting custom maps set up on mount and blade is no easy task; it’s not as simple as downloading, whacking in a folder and loading in game. So you will need to have a clear head before following my instructions.
I also think I could have written the instructions a bit better. Usually I am very picky with tutorials, but I have written what I could without going completely insane and I am settling with those instructions :razz:

There are other instructions for setting maps up for download on your server, that can be found here: (Thankyou SonKidd for pointing this out, this is very helpful)
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,120148.0.html

For those who wish to download my map pack, here are the links you can download it from :smile:
http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=2292

DISCLAIMER:
I GIVE PERMISSION TO ALL SERVER HOSTS TO HOST THESE MAPS.
HOWEVER, IF THESE MAPS ARE GOING TO BE USED IN YOUR MOD, YOU WILL NEED TO ASK FOR MY PERMISSION FIRSTLY, AS I WILL ALSO BE USING SOME OF THE MAPS IN MY OWN MOD.
IF YOU WISH TO EDIT THE MAPS, YOU CAN IF THEY ARE BEING EDITED "FOR" A MOD, BUT I DO NOT GIVE PERMISSION TO EDIT MY MAPS AND REDISTRIBUTE IN YOUR OWN MAP PACK, I FIND THAT VERY INSULTING.
I WILL ACCEPT SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RELEASES THOUGH.

OTHERWISE....ENJOY! :grin:


 
Thankyou :smile:

There is now a download link for everyone to download from at:
http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=2292
 
Zimke Zlovoljni said:
Very, very nice. It must have been so time consuming to make this but it's worth every minute :wink:

Hehe, yeah, it took around 7 hours per map to get the geometry and then AI mesh completed, aswell as me jumping off the cliff drops god knows how many ways just to test exploitations that might occur on the maps. Then another few hours with Aleczacool, Lord_Callum and some others to test exploits, but there were only very few found.
It was somewhat fun though, it has to be fun to sit down for that long and create a map :razz:

I did plan on doing 10 maps, but by time I reached map number 6 I was pretty drained from my real life job and then working on maps (non stop working), so I really JUST squeezed the 7th map out. Maybe later after a bit of a rest i'll work on a couple more. (I have plenty of ideas that i'd like to make)

Also i'm not sure if anybody noticed but the main post was updated with a little disclaimer, and the moddb download link is now up for those who don't wish to download from mbrepository.
 
Awesome, because it's not up on Australian servers yet, it'd be really great to see a youtube video of the Euro servers. So if you could record some footage and youtube it, that'd be great! :smile:

UPDATE:

I will need to do a few minor fixes to the maps. One area on the "On the edge" map, horsemen can ride off the cliff, which could really break the game  so i'll get that fixed up tomorrow sometime and upload a newer version of the pack
 
***UPDATE 6th October 2010***

DOWNLOAD
http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=2292

FIXES

ON THE EDGE

- Due to some further playtesting, I found that the 2nd map I made "On the Edge" had AI barriers that were too small and horses could jump over them, thus being able to jump off the cliff and the player surviving (resulting in a ruined match)

- Fixed up some other AI barriers along rock areas to make sure for certain that players could not access areas they should not be able to access

BATTLE FOR HHARKIN

- Moves a rock that was floating above the ground a little, and players could see under it. This was nothing major but kept bugging me and I would keep forgetting to change it....until now :smile:

HEATED BATTLE

-Fixed up some AI barriers to make sure for certain that nobody could use a horse to jump into the volcano.


ADDITIONS AND CHANGES

BATTLE FOR HHARKIN

- Now that I understand the engines capabilities, I put a bit more detail into some of the areas that I thought were pretty bland looking. (Green grass areas that had no bushes and so on)

HEATED BATTLE

- Before there were only 2 ways across the lava pit...and that was across the 2 bridges. There is now a 3rd way along the rockwall so team 1 infantry can make a quick attack up to the rock platform. There is also some cover in the little cave area on the left of the screenshot below (See screenshot below)


SOME NEWS ABOUT CRPG

These maps were not designed for cRPG and most likely won't be. They were primarily designed for Battle in the Native module.
Any problems such as high level (high hp) players jumping off cliffs and surviving is not going to be fixed by myself, nor are ladders accessing areas that should not be accessed. There are far too many variables to consider to stop cRPG players exploiting these maps, and I simply do not have the time nor patience to alter the maps in favour of cRPG.

If anybody wishes to edit the maps for cRPG, you have my permission to do so.

ENJOY! :smile:
 
It was good fun playing them on the Aussie cRPG server, thanks Akk for putting them on.

Now that i've had a bit of a break, I will be working on a whole bunch of new maps, probably another 10 or so.

Firstly I want to try and do an arena pack with various types and styles of arena's, then after that I'll be working on a few new maps including an underwater ruins map.

Today though, due to some testing on the Aussie cRPG server, I will be making some changes to different maps based off suggestions and what i've seen in terms of gameplay flow and balance.

The Volcano map is probably going to be the map that gets changed the most as I will be taking away some of the fire at the bottom of the map, aswell as smoke since this caused performance issues for those playing on a foggy cRPG setting. I will also be adding a cave pathway around to the rock platform that the bridges connect to, so that both teams can have some indoor cover from archers, to go up and around the top area.
I wanted to do this previously but when you've worked on a map for 7 hours straight, plus a few more for testing, it gets kind of draining. So now i've got the energy I'll be fixing that up today.

Other than that, I'll keep everyone posted on the next map pack release.
 
sounds good, keep up the good work.

Also, you don't need to remove the fire completely just reduce it, around 7-12 instances of the fire will be fine imo.
 
***UPDATE 10th October***
DOWNLOAD
http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=2292

ADDITIONS AND CHANGES
Knee Deep In Death

- Some trees outside the playable area were hovering above the ground, so I have now moved them back down to the ground

Heated Battle

- Added one huge thin bridge that crosses directly over the center of the volcano to try and give some more variety of approach.

- Removed about 1/3 of the fire from the lava pit below, and half the smoke objects to improve map performance.

- Removed an AI barrier from the higher bridge to allow horse riders to jump down from the top bridge to the bottom bridge, also added some ai barriers to stop those horse riders from jumping into the volcano below from that same spot.

- Added a cave tunnel to give more variety of approach for both teams, so that either team can avoid being exposed to archer fire. Depending on Tactics, either team will find this useful.
See screenshots below.



Next update will hopefully just be a new thread with my second map pack.
 
I'd like to see an edited version of the swamp map.


- Spawn on road
- less shrubs under the bridge.
- a small ladder so people can access the bridge from  the sides
- detail, such as turned over wagons, with the goods falling out ect.

ALSO, the map size is very large.

overall the map pack is a success my favorites are; village, smugglers cave and volcano map.
 
Phallas said:
I'd like to see an edited version of the swamp map.


- Spawn on road
- less shrubs under the bridge.
- a small ladder so people can access the bridge from  the sides
- detail, such as turned over wagons, with the goods falling out ect.

ALSO, the map size is very large.

overall the map pack is a success my favorites are; village, smugglers cave and volcano map.


Putting spawns on the road will result in people shooting from one spawn to the other, and players who are not ready will most likely get killed by an archer before they even get to move around, this happens alot in the Ruins map for me anyway, and it's so frustrating when there are 30 people in a battle, you've just waited the whole round, then when you spawn, you get shot by an archer because the map is so open at the spawns. I put the spawns in the swamp itself, because it gives players the opportunity to quickly spread out, without the worry of being nabbed by some annoying archer.
The spawns will remain where they are.

The shrubs under the bridge will remain where they are. I don't see any reason why I should move them. Could you elaborate on your suggestion?

A ladder in the swamp would look well out of place, and the bridge is so small that you'd have less chance of dying when approaching the bridge from the ends than on a ladder. There won't be a ladder.

I did and sort of still do want to put the wagons into the map, however the reason I didn't put them in to begin with is because I didn't want to give archers any cover to just camp out on, since that is all archers do. I will still give it a try in my next update anyway because the map really isn't much of an archer map anyway.

The actual map size is quite small in terms of terrain, but as for the download size, it IS about 560kb which yes, is a bit big, however, this is a map with alot of objects on it, and since it is a swamp with lots of grass/reeds, it's very difficult to reduce that even further than what I have without destroying the whole idea of using the grass in the first place; concealment.
And I'd rather download 1 really good 560kb map than 10, 20kb maps that are either really bad, or just really boring.

Thankyou for your feedback.

One more thing I have to do to that swamp map is smooth some terrain out for horses, and also fix up a little texture problem, as I have some shiney water surface on the edge of the road which just looks odd.
 
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