Greetings, companions of Edain!
Today we would like to present a new map for the upcoming patch 4.5. We've already showcased four of those in the Road to Edain 4.5: New Maps) update, but there's quite a few more new and overhauled battlefields you haven't seen yet! We start today with a map for two players.
Andrast
Andrast is an area located in the south-west of Gondor which consists of a long headland. Here end the White Mountains, whose foothills almost reach the coast. North of this area lies the forest of Drúwaith laur, which is inhabited by Drúedain, while the same territory extends up to the east of the long coastal strip of Anfalas.
Lore:
Andrast, also known as Ras Morthil, has always represented a natural barrier against Gondor's numerous enemies thanks to its particular geographical position, as the foothills of the mountains prove immensely difficult to pass through. Although the area belongs to Gondor, it was never the dwelling of Númenóreans, mainly due to its poor accessibility. This made it possible for the local Púkel-men to use the land and the northern Drúwaith laur forest as a safe shelter in order to protect themselves from the persecution that had been going on since the Second Age. Other peaceful settlers have also taken residence here. Even during the troublesome events of the War of the Ring, the area remained relatively quiet.
About the map:
It is a 1vs1 map with 17 settlements, two outposts and camps as initial bases. A special feature is that the camps of each player are quite close to each other. This allows you to torment opponents with spontaneous attacks against which one must be prepared.
Moreover, all outposts are placed so that the player has access to them at any time. Once the Warg creeps are cleansed and destroyed, nothing prevents one from taking possession of an outpost very early.
By the crossing of a mountain pass you can plan to besiege your opponent from behind and experiment with different tactics, like diversion manoeuvres. Skilled players know how to take advantage of the height factor and turn it to their favour.
Even though the players' camps are very close to each other, much of the action takes place on the coast. There are many creeps that should be cleansed as early as possible, most notably a troll cave located exactly between the two camps. You have to judge how far you want to move the battle southward, without making yourself vulnerable to a surprise attack from the northern heights.
For those wondering what those black shapes on the map are: they're obviously the exact locations where settlements and outposts are to be placed.
We hope you enjoyed this brief map update and look forward to your opinions. Stay tuned for more map updates in the future!
New mapS!! Awesome!!
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Good work!
I really like the idea to attack your enemy from behind thanks the crossing of a mountain pass. I like when maps give strategic possibilities thanks to them shapes.
I really enjoy when people see and use the strategic pathways of a map! :)
It's a very cool map. Nice work!
Hey trapper it was some time i didn't see you around here! Welcome back! Very nice strategy about this map, I generally like more 1v1 maps especially like this one, well done! Looking forward vanilla Isengard map too :) are you still working on it?
Thanks, was quite absent because of the final phase of my studies. Nevertheless, this wont be the only new map in near future that is ready for playing. ;)
Im not sure if it was confirmed before, but vanilla isengart will be back for the upcoming version. :)
I understand, I'm in the final phase too :) there was no other official confirmation, so now that you have confirmed it will be in 4.5 it's and amazing news! Excellent job with the maps man :) keep up the great work!
I hope that this map alongside the ,,Last Bridge" will replace the Fords of Isen for multiplayer. I like how all settlements and outpost are placed, great job guys 🤜🤛👌🏼
P.S: could there be some Corsair creeps since this region was mainly raided by them during the TA ?
I thought about adding corsairs, but I wanted this map to be mostly untouched by humans. A tavern in such a natural environment would seem off to me.
and what's about some Druedaincreeps, as the first "good creep"?
Mhm fair enough, I thought that if we conpare this map with those of Third Age and LotR Total War, those were mainly Gondorian settlements and conquering targets for Corsairs ( Harad ). Anyway, looking forward for playing it 😎
Do you plan to bring back Enedwaith map from BFME1 or any other map with starting points being outposts?
If I remember correctly the team said that such maps aren't possible for multiple reasons.
great work Edain Team.. Please continue the good work.. for us fans.. all love and support from Philippines!!!
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yes iam wating to release
Those black shapes are what pops up in the map editor, lemme guess? :P
I do not mean to be pessimistic or negative, but couldn't you release things like new maps in updates/patches of 4.5 after it's released?
I do not mean to be pessimistic or negative, but couldn't you release things like new maps in updates/patches of 4.5 after it's released?
Not that I know a lot of modding, but I'd think you might focus on finishing the armies/races and their units and buildings first. If they are ready, 4.5 could be released, or not?
Again: these are neutral questions! :-) I do not mean to be a whiny brat.
The modding and modelling in 4.5 is not the biggest part, the main goal of 4.5 is to balance both siege and spellbooks in order to improve the balance of the mod. Balancing two key aspects of every faction takes a lot of time, long debates both internally and externally, requiring a lot of testing in game environments.
Things such as new maps or new model are not a factor in balancing the siege and spellbooks. Time taken to work on these isn't time taken away from balancing. They are made by the modellers and mappers during their free time or while waiting on other tasks to be completed.
Finally, I'd like to remind everyone that this is their mod and that what goes in each patch and how many patches/updates they make is entirely up to the team. The team has stated that due to the way that edain works with its launcher and updating system, it is quite tedious to release new version as new files must be uploaded to the server and checked in exchange for a convenient button to update.