DJ_Terrain

Well its time for another topic of discussion here at the Designer Journal. This time around we will be tackling the “playing field”.

The lay of the land has been a challenge and benefit for all wars. From the heights of rocky mountains to the gentle rolling plains of the open country these are factors that will always effect how a war is to be fought. In War Between the States the terrain is one of the most important factors to take in to consideration.

When we first began designing and brainstorming the idea we decided early on that the terrain / playing field had to be extremely large in order for us to create a time factor that is not apparent enough in other RTS games. By creating a larger scaled world supplying troops, planning strategies and synchronizing Units / reinforcements during attacks pushes the User to think several steps ahead and truly plan out what they wish to accomplish.

Now that we have decided on a large scaled world our second order of business was to decide on how to recreate the United States with the most detail possible. Unlike many other games that basically provide a simple random map that has no definite placement in the real world, we realized that this would not work for a historical game based in a very defined location. By using highly detailed images from satellites we have been able to recreate the eastern portion of the United States with an uncanny amount of realism. Every hill, mountain, valley and island on this side of the United States will be just where it is in real life.

How does this add to the game one might ask? By providing the true location of the war it allows for a more realistic reenactment. For instance when the User begins marching troops from one state to another it is quite possible they may run across the Mississippi river. If there is no bridge near by where they marched this presents a problem. It may delay the march and plans if it was not considered before hand. Not that the rivers are uncrossable but this as an example which shows the very apparent hindrances and advantages spread all across the United States. As a side note Players with a vast knowledge of the US will have a bit of an advantage because they will more than likely be able to fore see any issues with planed routs and strategies without even having to look at the game.

In conclusion, the Terrain is by far one of the most important factors in games and for War Between the States it is taken to the next level. In order to provide the most complete set of “tools” for the user to play with, the terrain sets as the foundation for the entire game. And will prove to be your best friend at times and your worst enemy at other times.

Until next time,
Have a good one