Tileset Type: Aramon TAK--> TA Tileset Conversion

Size: 18 x 18 (20 meg download)

Players: 2-8

AI: profile set to hover

Notes:

This map was done up as a demo map for the just released Aramon TAK to TA tileset conversion. The tileset conversion was begun by Wotan (author of Creon and Zhon Tileset conversion and a number of TA maps) and completed recently by Chinahook (author of Green Completion tileset and a number of maps which can be seen at TA Power and Tamec). Map requires both tamec2004 and tak2004 feature sets to work.

The Aramon tileset is graphically very attractive. IMHO, the best looking parts are the granite cliffs, the variety of sinkholes, and a set of very stunning looking high mountains. Mechanically it works well, with the existing part I of the tileset offering a stupendous variety of rivers and sinkholes (both low and high) to play with. Another interesting piece is the way the coast transitions work, allowing easy transistions between shallow and cliff-like coastal sections. The largest bit missing is obviously some kind of towns (which shows up in all other TAK-->TA conversions) and also the cliffs and hillsides are somewhat limited in their variety. Still, there is more to come as Chinahook continues to work on conversion of other Aramon pieces.

The demo map was built to show off the best parts of the Aramon tileset, and thus the name... "Soggy Bottom". This landscape is littered with streams and rivers, and a variety of boggy sinkholes. There are a fair number of shallow river crossings and also a few larger lakes to hide in if you're so inclined.

The only uncertainty I have is the type of trees I've used... the creon trees look great, but take far too much damage to destroy. They almost act like a barrier in their own way, at least for a while. If this bugs you, reclaim the forest around your defenses to get a clearer firing field. Perhaps this problem will inspire me to get the TAK2004 features fixed up to correct this.

The ai is actually a custom ai hover/air ai written by Chinahook specifically for this map. You can see the included text file and opening for some notes at the top on how the ai works and what it is capable of. I've changed the name to hover, and included it inside the map ufo so that it works for Mac TA users and also allows for the ai to be overwridden by Mac users of THE PACK without having to unpack/repack the map ufo. The ai works surprisingly well on this kind of terrain, and seems to have no difficulty finding it's way across the the many river crossings.

Thanks to Chinahook for completing and releasing this chunk of the Aramon tileset conversion. Great working with this guy to make maps like this.

The map supports 8 start positions, with positions 1 thru 4 starting in rough corners, with the possiblity of using odds and evens as teams for the first 6 positions (odds across the top, evens across the bottom). Positions  7 and 8 start on hilltops near the center and are far more difficult to defend if you want a tougher ai game.

Greybeard