Maps for the World War Armies RTS — a development story
Article written by Sergey Kaplin & edited by Boris Kalmykov
Recently, we’ve introduced a new map, the Lost Stronghold. Our players loved it, and this reaction inspired us to shed light on how we develop maps!
Players always crave new maps, and our mission is to exceed their expectations.
Maps keep the gameplay fresh and let players explore new environments. However, new maps evoke the emotions above, and meeting players’ expectations are critical. For instance, if the game’s audience comprises hardcore players and fans of complex manoeuvres, it would be a big mistake to assume that a straightforward map will be well-received.
Still, there is an exception to every rule. On mobile phones, even with the largest screen size, it would not be easy to control complex multi-level maps with multiple areas branched away from the main zone and resource points. Also, it’s vital to remember that any community has different kinds of players — we want to recognize their interests and expectations! Each player should have the opportunity to enjoy the game.
What do players want?
There are two ways to make the right choice for a new map, and both of them involve close interaction with the game community:
- Internal data. We look into the game statistics to understand which map players play most often and ask our community to share their thoughts on why the majority of players play on this exact map.
- We ask the community which map and settings they want to see in the next release.
Only after completing these steps we go ahead with the development of a new map. When creating a map, the developers keep these factors in mind to balance complex gameplay and follow the platform’s specific conditions. To combine these two needs and to maintain a degree of predictability, the developers usually draw inspiration from existing locations.
How we created the Lost Stronghold map:
Warming up
It’s no secret that our team is a big fan of Company of Heroes (CoH). It would be odd if we didn’t investigate the experience of other game fans and look into the hundreds of maps created by CoH players for multiplayer battles. The level designer had explored every map there before articulating the vision of our new one.
Gameplay
Our studio has many fans of dynamic & fast-paced battles, so upgrading the Coastline (our first, smallest and most popular map) and developing a new map based on it was the next logical step. We used the Coastline as a reference because of its simple tactical design and accessibility to both new and experienced players.
Visual design
In the future, we plan on creating more thematic maps so that each of them has a story to tell. The Lost Stronghold is our first shot! Visual components of the map refer to the battlefields of the Eastern Front. The season had to be winter, and, as for the place of action, we decided on a ruined town, referring to the defence of the Brest Fortress and Pavlov’s house.
We hope that you have enjoyed this article! Join our Discord and take part in creating the best F2P RTS!
