Tribes Map Design
Map Development
Big thanks to HirezKate, read her blog on Tibes Ascend Mapping here.
Hill Design
Generally, hills near a base/spawn point should have more of an incline than hills around the edges of the map. This is an effective way for players to build up speed and assist with momentum, maintaining it at the far edges. Katabatic is one of the most enjoyable maps for a player to cap on. This can be an effective way to guide players towards certain locations such as towards their own base or towards certain hills/battle areas/enemy stands/cap routes.
The battleground is generally the location in which players meet after spawn. To make a map that syncs up well in a competitive format, you should have cappers which come in around 10-20 seconds after the offensive players can get there. Adjusting these speeds can be achieved through the use of hills. For example in the center of the map Terminus the hill can make the player feel like it takes a lot longer to get to the stand, yet is close to the same size as Arx Novena which has more of a bowl shape. Players also can use hills to band together before attempting to raid the enemy base or as a spotting platform to search for enemy targets or cappers.
As much as some players disagree with it, a good way to encourage players to move around the field is to create a bowl that encourages movement to and from either stand. This also assists a freedom of movement type of map allowing players to gain speed to get to the highly contested areas.
Play Area Size for maps
DD: 65,600 uu x 65,000 uu
Terminus: 66,000 uu x 79,000 uu
Arx: 82,000 uu x 65,500 uu
Kata: 90,000 uu x 73,700 uu
CCR: 115,000 uu x 78,000 uu
BlueShift: 131,000 uu diameter
TDM maps(On Average): 45,000 uu x 45,000 uu
Air Arena: 8,000 uu x 8,000 uu
Walled In: 14,300 uu x 12,300 uu
Distance Between Flag Stands
DD: 35,000 uu
Terminus: 47,000 uu
Arx: 35,500 uu
Kata: 46,000 uu
CCR: 46,000 uu
BlueShift: 53,200 uu