Map Proposal: Macroing King of the Hill

Introduction

I like to consider this map to be a 'macro-wars' style map, in contrast to the popular micro-wars maps currently available. In this map, players will have access to a cluster of bases for building their economy and training units. They will also have the option to give their units as tributes to fight for domination of the arena, earning favor as they fight. Players cannot attack each other, or control the units that fight in their honor. The game is won by a player reaching a specific level of favor.

Gameplay

Map

The design of the map will be such that each player has the same amount of space and access to minerals and gas. I am envisioning a ring of bases surrounding a central circle. These bases will be isolated from each other such that nobody can leave their own island. This will include no-fly zones surrounding the island to prevent people from attacking their neighbors directly. There will be a path between each players bases and the main battle ground. In keeping with the 'King of the Hill' mentality, I plan to have the tributes climb a hill to enter combat. This will give defenders an advantage.

Players

I am hoping for 8 human players and 8 computer players. The idea is that the computer players will handle the micro intense battle on the hill allowing the players to concentrate on building a larger economy and producing more troops to fight for their fame. I fear that I will only be able to have 7 players, as one computer is reserved for neutral objects (mineral patches, etc.). The computer and human combo will be allied with shared vision, shared supply, and shared upgrades. 

Score and Victory

I plan to use triggers to keep track of the amount of units a player/computer team has fighting on the hill. The sum of minerals and gas cost of all units on the hill will be used to determine the current popularity of the player. The value of the popularity compared to the popularity of all other players will be used to increase or decrease the players fame. Therefore, the player with the most valuable army controlling the hill for the longest time will become the winner, as that player will be the first to reach the amount of fame required to win.

Programming

Map

The map should be relatively straightforward to design. I will likely just use the 8-fold rotational symmetry and see how the bases come out. I suspect the difference between the corner and side bases will need some cleaning up after the basic layout is established. Then I'll use two circular regions, one for the hill and one for the computer control. The hill region I'll just make as the highest point in the map, and have it one large flat circular platform. The computer control region will extend along wide paths to the mouth of the players base. The point where tributes are changed from player control to computer control will be marked by some vision blocking doodad, like tall grass or a smoke screen. I think I'll start with 4 bases available on each island, and maybe block one or two with destructible rocks.

Data

I don't anticipate any major changes to the data. There is the question of scouting which needs to be answered, but I do not yet know if that will be done with triggers or data.1

Triggers

This is where I anticipate spending most of my time. We will need triggers for changing ownership of the units from the player to the computer, keeping track of and calculating popularity and fame, ensuring the proper supply count for the player, giving upgrades that the player researches to the tributes, and assigning a victor.

Closing Remarks

At the time of writing this proposal, I am about 1-2 weeks into the design and programming of this map. I will be posting my progress as if it is recent until I catch up here with my actual work. At that point, my posts will be closely in line with my progress. I have had a lot of fun working on this map so far (which is why I'm determined to make more, and want to share my experiences on this blog), and I look forward to writing my story, sharing my difficulties and the tricks I use to overcome them, and most of all the play-testing and seeing my ideas come to life!