Мaps

[zzz1010]

My main problem is getting tiles to match up.

And there already is filled submaps for most used ground types in maps folder to use as base, like grass 10x10, you can just little resize it if you need.

Another guide

Edited December 16, 2012 by zzz1010

[Gauddlike]

Yeah although the large areas of, for example, grass look much better than a single repeating tile they do make it harder to draw an area of ground quickly.

It is also awkward if you want to use them to cover a larger area when the ends of row 9 don't match with the start of row 0.

It isn't too bad when you get used to the numbering of the tiles.

*edit* I was going to draw a quick sketch when I got home but luckily now I don't need to!

[Harmonica]

http://rghost.ru/42287707/image.png

http://rghost.ru/42289283/image.png

Both amazingly useful images, thanks for those. I knew there was a trick to the ground tiles I was missing!

[thothkins]

I've just played through zzz1010's railyard map twice. It's a light scout. There are 10 aliens. Ten of them. And they are waiting for you...

In both missions, I was forced to leapfrog up and across the map, using the available cover. There's a nice variety of cover, placed regularly across the map, but variations provided different levels and amounts of safety. There are numerous gas tanks scattered about, that make this even more hazardous/ rewarding depending on the circumstances.

Both missions were hard fought affairs. I lost a single guy in the first (mainly through me sightseeing across the map). In that one, I was fortunate to have three of the drones right in the first turn. I was able to take out two of them and get the third in the next turn.

I was faced with drones and Caesians for both, the former of the two were using scatter lasers, which plays havoc with any bunching up of Xenonauts.

In the second mission, my soldiers were diving into cover and being suppressed all across the map, as that laser came into play. Lots of wounded resulted and it was a near thing in the end. In fact, had the aliens not blown up two of themselves towards the end I would have lost that one.

The aliens were enjoyably positioned, providing a constant threat throughout each mission. Each map was a very good size for a challenging mission. There were regular chances of being caught in the crossfire of aliens, and I had to be careful about where everyone was at turn end.

The only downside was that there weren't any trains. Possibly the build has moved on since this was made/ possibly it's a file not copied somewhere. I'll have to have another look. It would be interesting to see how such a big part of the map would help/ hinder cover.

Thanks for taking the time zzz1010. Very enjoyable.

Edited December 18, 2012 by thothkins

[zzz1010]

The only downside was that there weren't any trains.

Did you download Raakku's trains (http://www.mediafire.com/?e6ym9u01w9shk)? I warned you about need it.

Edited December 18, 2012 by zzz1010

[thothkins]

Did I download Raakku's trains?

I sure did download Raakku's trains.

Did I put the files in the correct folder?

I sure didn't

[thothkins]

Firstly, the train carriages look lovely. There are ways on and off them, marked with nicely subtle arrows. A highlight was reaction fire from a drone as my Xenonaut raced past each carriage window. Would he get to the end intact? Yes, he would thanks for asking. He got shot stepping out the end in the following turn by another alien.

Although you can cut through the carriages, they are staggered so there’s no quick way across the full map.

Considering there are 10 aliens here, you can often stumble into trouble and sometime the carriages are best used for gaining position around the map. Unfortunately, this seems to be what some of the Caesians are doing too. It’s nice to have some obstacle against the scatter lasers of the drones. It’s less fun walking out of a carriage straight into a hail of projectiles.

So again, you learn some lessons about moving into cover. It’s not a map that takes prisoners. The Caesians continue to be effective and the drone barrages mean that you really have to be careful how you advance. I lost one poor guy in a crossfire, trying to find any position not visible to the enemy.

It did take a while for me to realise some of the obstacles that the Ferret could go through. The utter lack of cover offered by a van also killed off poor Chris England, who had been saving the squad’s bacon up until that point. But these aren’t issues with the map itself.

Overall, I preferred the cover and approach of the map without the rolling stock, as per my previous post. That’s personal choice though, and more to do with finding obstacles such as carriages a bit frustrating. However, there’s no doubt that this is a good map and there’s a lot more fun to be had getting used to moving through the trains to your advantage.

[thothkins]

Going through maps in Alpha may have a tendency to make you feel comfortable, with the same surroundings. It can lead to overextending your squad and other bad habits, as you take advantage of the familiar terrain.

This is what my two survivors discussed as they fled back to the Chinook, with the tank, for an abort. The Drone fire, as in the trainyard map, proved to be particularly menacing. Here, it was fatal.

The second attempt went much better, but again was a tough map to win.

Firstly, Gauddlike Industries is a very large map. Be prepared for a long mission. It’s roomy nature reflects a derelict warehouse complex very well, and not just in appearance. The buildings, plant equipment and stock are well laid out. The map creates an effective atmosphere of a run down factory. This provides numerous tense moments of searching, as well as cover to hide behind/ get shot from. There’s variation of height in the cover too, to keep it very interesting. It’s something I’ll remember for my own maps.

There were 10 aliens to fight from a Light Scout (not that this is a flaw, just that it’s only 1 of two ships the map works with as it’s alpha). The Caesians and Drones used hit and run tactics throughout. With my rather aggressive style, this led to a large number of skirmishes across the map. You can’t compliment a map more than to say it made you change your tactics to win it. The map didn’t feel overly large considering the number of aliens in it.

There were fuel tanks scattered throughout, but the pesky aliens refused to go anywhere near them, so I was more scared for my own troops.

The final drone had to be chased right round the map. This did take a while, but they had been pretty brutal to the squad, so I wasn’t taking any chances. My attempts at cornering it failed twice too. They have more AP than I had anticipated.

This is a nice alternative to the standard industrial maps we have seen so far. It’s too large to have frequently, early in the game (unless there’s a good reason to have so many opponents). If it’s working at a Corsair stage of the game, then it could be more common.

[flyingdisc]

Thanks Thothkins for the map reports. I've sworn off xenonauts now, until release, as I want to save the surprises. I'm really impressed with zzz1010's visuals, so it is great to read a write up of how they play.

zzz1010, I am curious about your avatar image. Who is she?

[thothkins]

Looks like Natalia Meklin to me.

[zzz1010]

I can't believe you actually know this, sure it was google picture search, I will be amazed(may be because of lack of personal erudition) if I'm wrong

For me this picture was vintage army woman with interesting glance and was found accidentally, and as avatar it's more like small provocation, and intended to be removed after a while, but yes, she is one of "Night Witches"(impressing story by itself)

"Night Witches" is the English translation of Nachthexen, a World War II German nickname (Russian Ночные ведьмы), for the female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment

It flew over 23,000 sorties and is said to have dropped 3,000 tons of bombs. It was the most highly-decorated female unit in the Soviet Air Force, each pilot having flown over 1,000 missions by the end of the war and twenty-three having been awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union title.

The top speed of the Po-2 biplane was 94 mph ((82 knots). This is slower than even most World War I fighters and left them very vulnerable to enemy night fighters. But the Night Witches learned their craft well. The Po-2 was very slow, but it was also extremely maneuverable. When a German Me-109 tried to intercept it, the Night Witches would throw their Po-2 biplanes into a tight turn at an airspeed that was below the stalling speed of the Me-109. This forced the German pilot to make a wider circle and come back for another try, only to be met by the same tactic, time after time. Many of the Witches flew so low to the ground that they were hidden by hedgerows! Completely frustrated, the German pilots would finally simply give up and leave the Po-2 biplanes alone. German pilots were promised an Iron Cross for shooting down a Po-2!

The Witches developed the technique of flying close to their intended targets, then cutting their engines. Silently they would glide to their targets and release their bombs. Then they would restart their engines and fly away. The first warning the Germans had of an impending raid was the sound of the wind whistling against the wing bracing wires of the Po-2s, and by then it was too late.

, wwII bomber pilot, Natalia Meklin.

Intresting, and nice, to see just in itself such detailed review to things what i did. What I want to notice - amount, placing of covers and especially amount of exposives, it's usually more random thing instead of some plan.

Edited December 20, 2012 by zzz1010

[thothkins]

Synchronicity at work. I'd been reading about the night witches (it is a good story) a while ago when looking up female war stories and remembered the picture when I saw your avatar.

Eidt: posted above just as I was leaving. Here's a further link to the Night Witches - the all female Soviet bomber unit in WWII

Edited December 21, 2012 by thothkins
link added

[thothkins]

"El Diablo cazador de hombres." Only in the hottest years this happens. And this year, it grows hot. We begin finding our men. We found them sometimes without their skins... and sometimes much, much worse. "El cazador trofeo de los hombres" means the demon who makes trophies of men. – Predator

Having seen the image for this one, I made sure to put my base in Cambodia, just to add to the feel of the quick mission to come.

The jungle is lush, dense with foliage, all with something to offer the Battlescape. From bushes providing half cover, to giant trees you have to jump over the roots of, this certainly has plenty of variety.

You can see the full trees by going up the levels, and they are very nice indeed, not obstructing the flow of the mission in any way. The shafts of sunlight breaking through the canopy is also a very nice touch.

There’s also the impassable clumps, much like XCOM1994 had, which also added to the flavour. If anything, there’s actually a bit more space to move around in on this map than the old 1994 ones. Having moaned about my issues with such things in the Railyards, I’m not making a fuss about it here.

But not to worry, the space gives all sides plenty of things to hide behind. Like the other zzz1010 maps, this was a cagey affair due to the aliens tactics. In the first mission, my usual slightly aggressive tactics, although less than before, still played into the enemies hands.

The drones managed to take out half my squad through the first mission, wearing them down with the slightest opening. They even took out the medic and patient moments after a life saving run to give treatment. Those who have seen Full Metal Jacket will shed a tear there.

My second attempt used patience and leapfrogging across the map, allowing the aliens to fall back. Even then, the final three aliens became something of a bug hunt into the corners, so the mission took far longer than it should have.

Still, that’s the AI and not the map. It’s again a good size for the several aliens present. It gave a feeling of being much larger due to the pressure the squad was under, and number of small moves made each turn on occasion.

There’s a level of uncertainty in working out if you’re going to have enough cover. The aliens could be behind practically anything that will get you into trouble. My two casualties in the second mission, both came form walking straight into drones (one survived the rocket launcher at point blank post mission).

There are a few large, old stones that provide additional cover, as well as providing. There’s also something that could be the outer walls of an old ruin on the left hand side of the map. I’d like to see more of that. My troops were certainly drawn in that direction initially.

But the main draw has to be the trees. Xenonauts wasn’t supposed to have them, but on this showing it would really be a shame if they didn’t get added in. Now picture "really be a shame" in gigantic font, yet pleading at the same time.

As to the Predator intro, the Sebillians don’t really close for melee combat at all. It’s a bit of a shame considering there’s now a map crying out for it.

[thothkins]

What could be better than spending Christmas with your loved ones in a cosy wintry retreat in the mountains. An attack by aliens!

I ran three missions on the pine tree map, and there were clear differences between the map of the first mission and those of the second and third.

The first mission was an Arctic approach to the UFO, using large rock outcroppings for cover, as well as an ice cabin. A fun, straightforward affair dodging those drones and forcing the aliens back up the map. The big rocks have appeared in other maps, and it’s possibly simple chance, but in this mission they actually played a significant tactical part in the mission.

The second and third missions were the pine trees of the teaser image. Like the lush jungle, these should really see their way into a final release. There are varying sizes of tree and groupings allowing for different approaches to be taken. As the UFO takes up a relatively large part of this smaller map, you may find that the forest sweeps round it. This provides some tense moments flanking the alien craft.

There would be even more tense moments, if the aliens didn’t retreat following contact all the time. Much time was spent edging closer to aliens spotted in the first couple of turns, only to find that they had all ran off to the other side of the map ages ago in full retreat.

The AI let the map down here, with missions two and three ending as aborts due to the last alien remaining hidden for endless turns. Other issues were that the aliens became very, very difficult to target when behind trees, and the suspicion that the drones would occasionally be invisible.

Those of you familiar with the Evil Dead or Japanese horror movies, will be familiar with attacking trees. Having one of my troops stuck in a large pine tree for the entire third mission was like that. She was captured by it on the very first turn. In the second mission, I had a soldier trapped in the bottom corner behind an almost impassable clump of pines. He couldn’t get back out of the corner.

So, in summary, the trees are lovely, there’s the usual nice amounts of cover spaced judiciously throughout, but the current AI makes this one a pain. Alien-possessed trees may be something to address too.

[thothkins]

Intresting, and nice, to see just in itself such detailed review to things what i did. What I want to notice - amount, placing of covers and especially amount of explosives, it's usually more random thing instead of some plan.

I was wondering about that. As I haven;t looked through submap options with the maps really, I wasn't sure just how random things would turn out to be.

An example would be the first rail yard mission (without the trains). There were regularly placed explosive cannisters over a fairly wide section. Now that makes sense in that, as the owner of the place, you wouldn't want them all to blow up together if one went up. So, was that designed in or random?

From the mission perspective, it meant that you had to be really careful where you went on the map as one large part was a potential death trap. Very good to play through.

On another note, I should really point out the flammability of the forests. It's decent already, but it's another plus point in the favour of getting a Flamethrower into the game.

[zzz1010]

I was wondering about that. As I haven;t looked through submap options with the maps really, I wasn't sure just how random things would turn out to be.

An example would be the first rail yard mission (without the trains). There were regularly placed explosive cannisters over a fairly wide section. Now that makes sense in that, as the owner of the place, you wouldn't want them all to blow up together if one went up. So, was that designed in or random?

From the mission perspective, it meant that you had to be really careful where you went on the map as one large part was a potential death trap. Very good to play through.

On another note, I should really point out the flammability of the forests. It's decent already, but it's another plus point in the favour of getting a Flamethrower into the game.

It's some times hard to undrestend for me is something criticism or compliment.(not because you not clearly express but because it's in english )

At the trains map there lot of square parts and any have around 10% to be an explosive tank and 10% to be plain grass, other 80% is different boxes and such. RNG is sometimes put lot of same submap everywhere, especially in quick battle, but it still usually viable - I'm like unpredictability and if this time battleground is explosive deathtrap, as you call it, If you afraid to walk in it you can just detonate it. - it's just what you need to deal with or use,

I usually play 10-15 times to see how it can be and change if something goes too wrong or messy.

Can't understand, I mean translate, the last note - is a forest must be more flamable or less? It's already flamable, I actually tone down it little because it was little too much. If you think it's too flamable I can agree but such forest fires it's just something special in this map type, it's can be very closed space but you can just burn large areas because flame is extends and this also can make some dynamic situations. Real walls can't be destroyed by rifle bullets, this is similar thing.

Edited December 22, 2012 by zzz1010

[thothkins]

is explosive deathtrap, as you call it, If you afraid to walk in it you can just detonate it. - it's just what you need to deal with or use,

I did type "Very good to play through." right after that bit, so that was clearly one of those compliment things I still recall my reaction to seeing a line of gas cannisters "Uh oh. This could be tricky"

10% or so sound about what I saw. Sometimes people can design a map and throw everything in randomly. With yours I see groupings of elements that build together pretty well. 10% of one thing and 10% of something else adds a bit of consistency to what people will see.

"Can't understand, I mean translate, the last note - is a forest must be more flamable or less? It's already flamable, I actually tone down it little because it was little too much."

It looks quite good at present. it was a nice surprise seeing the amount of fires that started out and spread. I thought it worth mentioning out of the review because it was a feature worth mentioning. That was what I meant by the use of a flame thrower. A weapon that will actually take advantage of the present flammability of the terrain could be a tactical advantage against the aliens.

"I usually play 10-15 times to see how it can be and change if something goes too wrong or messy. "

I agree. My capsule reviews are simply first reactions to the maps you've made, rather than anything particularly in depth. Still, I hope that they capture the feeling of playing the game, and attract other players to try them out to share their own thoughts.

Off to play the apartment block...

[thothkins]

“Pvt Gabriel was thrown against the wall from the blast. Dazed, he realised that Washington had unloaded his rocket launcher from point blank against the warehouse entrance.

Through the smoke, he could make out his friend’s charred remains, and those of something else. Something that must have leapt on him through the opening. Something fast.

Every sluggish thought was edged with pain, as Gabriel tried to fight the shock. He tried to warn the others, before they went in. He tried. His deafened ears didn’t pick up the first of the screams from inside.”

That was a report from the front line folks, as the Xenonauts came up against the first of a new, terrifying alien threat: The Creepers.

The new aliens had been located in Gauddlike Industries and the squad was sent out to make first contact.

Only a light scout was found, leading to speculation that local forces may have encountered the aliens and been impregnated by them.

As previously reported, Gauddlike Industries is a sprawling complex, full of hiding places, making it ideal for an ambush.

Having watched Aliens frequently, there’s something inherently captivating/apprehensive about seeing them here.

While the warehouse doesn’t give them the chance to attack en masse, they certainly managed to wear down your troops as the mission proceeds. Think Alien, rather than Aliens at present.

The limited AI takes most of the edge off of their aggression, but that will change, making this an even bigger threat.

The creatures come in some nicely familiar flavours for those who like the films. Each has its strength. There is also a very nice trick that they do, that I’m certainly not going to spoil here. Well, it’s not a special ability as such, but…

A rather open distribution of Xenonauts, mainly due to trying to quickly cover the map size, led to a number of casualties in this mission.

For the second attempt, the number of Creepers was increased form 14 to 21. Again the AI led to the aliens falling back after initial encounters. However, the mission really picked up when they had no where else to run. What seemed to be going well, resulted in the loss of half a squad within three rounds. Good marksmanship by the survivors took care of the threat though.

Looking forward to trying them out on different maps, and really looking forward to seeing them once the AI is enhanced.

Highlights:-

-The Creepers taking out my first Xenonaut in a novel way for the game.

-A Xenonaut being taken out in one bite by one of the aliens.

-Blowing up fuel tanks to save some troops.

-Losing a Xenonaut in a moment taken out of Jurassic Park. “Clever Girl.”

-“Gorman” using a pistol to finish off one of the Creepers.

-Seeing each of the Creeper types for the first time.

-Then seeing them move.

*if you're out of earshot of everyone.

Edited December 28, 2012 by thothkins

[thothkins]

I tweaked zzz1010's quickbattle setup, to increase the number of aliens once again - to the 21 plus the new additions. I wanted to give the feeling of very superior alien numbers, but also give the Xenonauts a chance (and enough ammo). I had two queens in there, so I reduced that to 1 - which I felt was more in keeping with the films.

I also kept the map as Gauddlike Industries - so I knew this was going to be one very tough mission. As per previous mini-review, this is a large warehouse complex, with plenty of buildings, cover and ambush potential.

The first surprise was definitely the egg. Yes it's in the teaser pic that zzz1010 put up, but seeing it on the map gives a little ominous feeling.

Having learned over the fallen bodies in previous missions, I departed the Chinook area a bit more cautiously.

Then, in the Hidden Movement - a strange, terrible cry! a scurry of movement! something attacking the tank? but what?

Another, not in teaser alien surprise later, and I knew my mission had just got a lot worse.

Also, strange gas appeared around the vehicle. Something related? Not something else, surely ?

The place was crawling with aliens. Every movement was tense. The amount of movement that some of these things have reminds me of the brainsuckers in Apocalypse. Be very warned.

Snipers are your friends. Guard them well. Shotguns are also very useful, but getting close enough can be tricky.

Later on, the game did hang up as the tank prompted reaction fire from one of the new surprises. But here are two screenshots to illustrate just how much fun I was having.

"I like to keep this handy... for close encounters."

Mr Cronin about to enter the dark, foreboding warehouse (his partner is killed in the next turn)

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. "

As if the number of normal aliens spotted wasn't enough...

[zzz1010]

Glad you tried it.

I had two queens in there, so I reduced that to 1 - which I felt was more in keeping with the films.

To have 2-3 is more "funny" because of "strange gas".

[thothkins]

In my second mission, that strange gas just wiped out two of my guys One of those things is enough for me! Those eggs are blooming lethal as well, resulting in the loss of another two. A Xenonaut disaster that time out. Great stuff.

[Moonfire]

zzz1010, on page 8 of this thread you posted some very helpful graphics regarding mapping orientation and tile numbering. I think these would be an invaluable reference resource in the wiki sections regarding Mapping and the Level Editor.