Here's a new map that I've been working on over the last few days. It's just a quick one so I don't get burnt out on a much bigger map that's in the works. ;D
Flags and tanks only spawn in the squares where the chessmen are when you begin a game. Although it would be impossible to enforce, it would be nice if people would keep the flag they spawned on until they got to the enemy side where they could exchange it for a better one if they wanted. Basically, no flag shopping on the side of the map you spawned on.
All were hand coded
I tried to pick flags that have some resemblance to the chessman they represent:
King - SW
The shockwave only covers the four adjacent squares, and half the diagonal squares. It has a fairly fast reload time to help make up for it's limited reach.
Queen - L
Probably the most powerful flag, it can reach anywhere on the map. To offset this, it has a very long reload time.
Bishop - WG
Wings makes the tank more maneuverable, and really helps if the holder is trying to get the Geno flag on this map.
Knight - GM
Guided Missile is the only flag where shots can curve, so I thought it was a fitting flag for the piece.
Rook - F
I was kinda running low on ideas for a castle, so I gave this player a flag that would be good for defense. The shots and reload time are fast, but the range is limited.
Pawn - SH, CL, ST, SE
The peons of the battlefield. Four flags spawn in each pawn square, and tanks have a choice of Shield, Cloaking, Stealth, and Seer. These flags are all good at eliminating the more powerful superflags.
The squares are surrounded by a low grid that must be jumped over to get to the other squares. The top face has death physics on it, so accurate jumping is required. I tried having physics make you slide into an adjacent square if you landed on the grid, but it didn't work too well. Besides, the general idea is that your tank is confined to a square, unless you want to take a chance and go for a better position. The death physics will hopefully make people question the need to move a little harder.
Checkmate
Checkmate Version Two (July 9th, 2008)
The first version was pretty small and the death physics on the grid was more annoying than I suspected. This version is CTF which should give the players a goal to reach instead of mindless killing. The map is also a little bigger, so maybe it will be more playable. I also reworked the grid so where you spawn determines how you can move. This is accomplished by differently sized holes in the sides and corners of the grid. This is also my first map not to include jumping.
Detail of the grid
Oscillation Overthruster allows the tank to drive through walls, so the tank can go anywhere. There is death physics in the pieces though, so that prevents camping.
Queen - N
The Queen uses the narrow flag, so it can drive through the large openings in the sides of the grid and the small openings in the corners.
Bishop - BU
Tanks are burrowed and drive under an overhang in the corners. There's a very short block at the edges of squares that other tanks can drive over, but it prevents the burrowed tank from driving forward like a pawn.
Knight - WG
This is the only piece that can jump, and I made the range long enough so it can get to any square a real Knight on a chessboard could get to. If it lands on the grid it is pushed sideways into a square.
Rook - T
The Rook uses the tiny flag, so it is too wide to fit through the corners like the Queen. It can go sideways through two small openings in the grid.
Pawn - SH
Pawns are wider than anything else, so they can only go straight. I gave pawns a shield to give them a second chance at the fight.
Checkmate Version Two
This map is currently on my rotation server at bzbattleground.com:9000.
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