Includes 6 maps, 5 for HD (Hourglass is excluded). You can download them here. Download included HD versions where applicable.
This coastal area, spanning current day Dutch and German coasts, is surrounded by islands connected to land by shallow wads. These small islands contain resources that will quickly become scarce on the mainland. If early agressive strategies fail, the game will see sea brawls with both naval and ground units on the team-shared coasts of the main land, while shallow rivers allow for some diversity in tactics. During winters rivers suspiciously become exactly as wide as two docks and the lack of berries lures deer to your TC, very convenient.
The islands are small and can easily be reached with upgraded War Galleys. However they do make for good towerable water choke points.
Dolphins? Yes, many roamed the Frisian seas!
Starting Resources: 8 Cows, 6 Berry bushes (summer) or 4 Deer (winter), 4 Deer (always), 2 Boar, 7 Gold, 6 Stone, Fish, Enough Wood to conquer the entire North Sea. Extra Resources: 5 Relics, little extra Gold and Stone on land, a lot of extra Gold and Stone on Islands.
Technical Details: direct_placement forcing teams to share a single coast. Custom Wad texture.
The Red Desert (WY) is connected to a large basin, where minerals were left behind after lakes dried up. Only wild animals can be found near pools left by the summer rains. However these pools are unable to sustain large forests. Most gold has washed away into the basin, leaving several stone rocks behind. You have to get to the low basin for your Wood and Gold, but the lack of buildable ground makes this lower area even harder to defend.
A classical historic Britons vs Franks situation arises.
Starting Resources: 16 Deer, 2 Boar, 9 Gold, 8 Stone, little Wood. Extra Resources: 5 Relics, Stone in Desert, Gold in Basin, Lots of Wood in basin
Technical Details: Custom Red desert textures.
The first Hourglasses can be traced back to Babylon, in the Middle-East. The map is designed in a Hourglass shape. A big choke point in the center of the map. In addition to this main unwallable choke, there are two extra chokes on the middle borders of the map, where a lot of extra resources are centered. Around the Hourglass are two oases, both surrounded by a thin woodline, allowing you to dock, and control half of the fish, relics and a quarter of the wood on the map. Due to the layout of the map the forward player and both flanks can expect early attacks. A 4th team member is rather save though. In 1v1s you will have to scout which oasis your opponent is taking, and act accordingly.
Time is running out, get your priorities straight.
Starting Resources: Standard, with second stone and third gold back. Extra Resources: 5 Relics in the oases, extra Gold and Stone on each side, fish.
Technical Details: direct_placement forcing teams in an aggressive formation. Quicksand texture (AK)
A game designer's attempt at a Baobab "Nothing" map, but turned out to be a highly technical map. On this map forests, gold and stone are scattered so placing your camps will take some getting used to. Even Farms will be hard to place due to the lack of space. The forest will force you to place buildings quite far from your TC. Luckily there is plenty of food and even some extra elephants that can be lured to your TC with your scout. An additional horse is added for exploring while doing that.
Make sure your micro isn't rusty.
Starting Resources: 6 Berries, 4 Zebra, 8 Goats, 1 Rhino, several scout-lurable Elephants. 9 gold, 8 Stone. Exploration Horse. Extra Resources: A ton of Baobab trees, extra gold and stone in the center and each corner.
Technical Details: Some AK textures.
For centuries the border between India and China is being disputed. The Himalayas have been an interesting obstacle due to its inhospitable nature. Even these two mighty civilisations could not conquer it. This map will give you a shot at doing so. It's gonna be hard, but if you manage to move the frontline over it, you'll have the advantage. It's easy to know you made it: You will notice the climate change when you managed to cross the Ridge, into dry China or wet India.
Good luck protecting you trade.
Starting Resources: Standard Extra Resources: There's some extra gold and stone and a few relics on top of the ridge.
Technical Details: Jungle Grass and Recoloured cliff texture.
During wars over the many islands found in the Pacific, often crews of rivalling nations would find themselves on the same island. They tried to keep stay alive on tropic islands, while keeping an eye on the enemy. You start with a very tiny palisade fort, with some outposts. All your resources are in the back. Your task is to wall off access to islands in the back, from both sea and land, so you can utilise them while fending off your bad neighbours.
It's actually surprisingly fun. :O
Starting Resources: 6 Berries, 5 Buffalos, 5 Gold, 4 Stone, 2 Elephants, all in the back. You'll have to share your wood. Extra Resources: A lot of extra gold, stone, relics and wood on the islands.
Technical Details: RoR textures added.
If you want to modify the maps you will have to (optionally) repack them with 7zip. E.g.:
&("C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe") a -mx0 -tzip "[email protected]" '.\Marooned.rms' .\15001.slp .\15004.slp .\15005.slp .\15008.slp .\15009.slp .\15010.slp .\15011.slp .\15012.slp .\15017.slp .\15021.slp .\15022.slp .\15023.slp
If you renamed the files from AwesomeMap.rms to AwesomeMap.rms2 they should work in HD too. It will however lack textures and in some cases have weird player placement. Hourglass is implemented as Custom Map for HD.