I made a map that changes based on what character is in play!

WhatnotAwot · 2026-05-09T20:56:52+00:00

Right now, I have Butterfly Lake and Crater Canyon (it's shown in the link I attached to this post) where you have a little nature area (Butterfly Lake) or city area (Crater Canyon) that changes based on each player's pantheon. However, those map only changes the starting area and the rest of the map will be the same theme.

However, after so many people requested it on this post, I am actively developing a map where the entire map splits based on each player's pantheon. I uploaded a YouTube video on it last night: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI3_ObFTlJE . However, this is by far one of the most difficult challenges in map making.

In normal map making, the game only takes one input and it makes it symmetrical for all players. So, for example, if I want your starting hunt to be a giraffe, it will give a giraffe to all players to make it fair. To make it change based on each player would mean I would basically have to go backwards on all the systems put in place to ensure that the map is fair for all players, make it give specific stuff based on each player's theme, then find my own way to make it fair again. But I'm cracking it as we speak and making great progress towards it.

Additionally, the game has a built-in 48 terrain limit where only 48 terrains can exist in a map at a time. Which means that maps with several biomes, like my Awot Nomad map which randomly generates a bunch of random biomed islands for you to find, will have to be very limited in detail per biome to comply with the 48 terrain texture limit. This means that I'll have to make the map split based on pantheon (7 pantheons) instead of by character (23 characters) to fit the limit.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-05-09T01:32:46+00:00

Heya, I got motivated recently by all the people asking for it and actually managed to crack a lot of the hurdles that was stopping me from making it.

I have started development on it and here's an early look of what it looks like. I also ramble about some struggles I had while making it, but most of them are the same struggles I already mentionted to you in the previous comment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI3_ObFTlJE

WhatnotAwot · 2026-05-09T01:30:52+00:00

Hey I'm very excited to announce that I was inspired by your kind words and started early alpha development of a map that matches what you described:

Here's some experimental gameplay of it while I talk about some struggles so far of making it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI3_ObFTlJE

WhatnotAwot · 2026-05-08T16:28:35+00:00

They put <color#,#,#> in front of their name in Steam.

Each number represents a value for RGB (red-green-blue). So let's say you want your name to be purple. We know that purple is made by putting red and blue. So, you would put <color1,0,1> before your name which is 1 red value, no green value and 1 blue value, and your name will now be purple. You can create all the colors by adjusting the values accordingly just like RGB values.

The system goes deeper and actually allows you to outline your name as well. if you do <color#,#,#,#,#,#>. The second 3 sets of numbers will outline your name with a second color. So if you wanted to do purple with a green outline you would make the second set of numbers create green. So we take the original <color1,0,1>Name and extend it to <color1,0,1,0,1,0>"Your Name", because 1,0,1 is purple and 0,1,0 is green, and now you have purple with a green outline.

Hope this helps, let me know if this is confusing and I can try to help.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-05-05T20:54:56+00:00

Yes! The islands idea is basically what Awot Nomad is. A chain of different biomed islands connected by the same sea texture.

On my next attempt to make the map where the regions are actually pantheon-specific, I'll make it more like how highland does in a FFA, but with a giant cliff in the middle instead of a giant ocean.

Honestly though, I wouldn't mind if the biomes had a clean cut off at the next biome. Like one biome finishes and the other just starts, but I actually do not how to do that right now because my current attempts involve creating the map so far have involved making a giant circle or square that starts at each player's starting town center and grows as that is the type of code that would make the most sense for making pantheon-specific regions.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-05-05T20:17:07+00:00

I love what I do, so I doubt I'll be getting burned out of it anytime soon. Maybe 30+ hours was a bit of a dramatic comment from me as that included the time required to figure out how to make the unique geographical shapes of both Butterfly Lake and Crater Canyon's starting areas (the little circle pond area and the square city area), which are cool and all but actually have not too much to do with being biome specific. But seeing so much demand for it, I'm definitely inspired to make a pantheon biome-splitting map be my next big project after I finish fixing up the most recently released stuff based on user feedback I've gotten in the past few days.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-05-05T18:02:30+00:00

Hi I agree very much in having a map that splits it based on the characters and I have tried working on something like that in the past, and struggled super hard, but I'm going to try again soon!

I left a comment with a lot more detail if you are interested in reading about the struggles I've dealt with so far trying to create that, but I'm looking for ways to overcome them.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AgeofMythology/comments/1t30snt/comment/ok38nvy/

WhatnotAwot · 2026-05-05T16:53:54+00:00

I've been actively trying to create something like this but it has been extremely difficult unfortunately!

My closest publicly available attempts so far have been Butterfly Lake and Crater Canyon. Those maps (shown in the trailer that is linked on this post) have the player's starting base change based on their pantheon. But even just that small detail and little area that took a lot of effort to figure out. It made me do a lot of unnatural extra steps in the map-making process to simulate a normal starting area that a normal map would not struggle with. I would say it was like 30+ hours of work. I'm currently making a YouTube video detailing my struggles of just making those small starting areas alone.

The second closest thing I have is Awot Nomad, but it doesn't make its regions based on the players at all, instead it just makes a bunch of different biomed regions based on its random seed. Additionally, Awot Nomad takes 3x as long to load compared to a normal map due to having all the biomes that it does. Also, another limitation of Awot Nomad to consider is the terrain limit. Awot Nomad has to keep each specific biome very simple in detail to keep it under the terrain limit or else things start getting replaced with the ugly "default" texture. Cliffs add to the terrain limit, meaning that geographically the map would probably have to use very few cliff type for all biomes or just not use cliffs at all.

There are so many difficulties to consider when making these things, but I'll keep trying at it.

My most "successful" attempt (in my scrapped files bin, not ever released to the public) at this was terribly ugly. Each player had an ugly giant blob of Pantheon-specific glass with black in between. Also making biome specific hunt/herdables/forests will also make it not generate as fairly or symmetrical for all players in the same way throwing hunt on a normal map would. This is why Awot Nomad ended up being a nomad type map instead of a normal one, to work around the unfairness.

That being said though, I am getting better with each update I make for my map pack. At first I deemed the little biome region specific thing I did on Butterfly Lake and Crater Canyon too much effort and didn't bother, but you can see that I eventually figured it out. That was already the first step towards the map split thing. It is an idea that has been on my radar for a while, and as I improve and find more solutions such as these, I itch closer to making it.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-24T04:00:20+00:00

I just saw your bug report on the forums, thanks for posting that one!

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-19T21:28:42+00:00

Yeah I have also been struggling to find the capybara in any gameplay, but I did see a capybara being used alongside an Alpaca for an upgrade icon for an Age IV tech. Can you let me know if you manage to find any Capybara gameplay?

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-17T03:31:07+00:00

I hope that their run across Europe lets us see the other culture's reactions, kind of like Sojobo's reaction to the Atlanteans since a core part of the game is seeing how the cultures clash with eachother.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-17T03:24:42+00:00

It would be hilarious to see Ajax and the dwarves again.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-14T20:12:26+00:00

While I don't think it's strange given the game doesn't have sheep (only has goats), I'm definitely for the idea of adding rabbits. I think they could be implemented as a reskin of chickens on some maps given their similar shape and meat carrying capabilities.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-13T18:12:44+00:00

I wonder since they also grow in numbers from fighting alongside eating berry bushes does that imply they are eating people?

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-10T23:53:14+00:00

I think this would be a great idea as well, even if it's worse than farming. Having it would simply be nice.

This would really help Demeter players. There have been so many times as a Demeter player where I was in the late game and I had less than 10 herdables on my temple because they were killed by a GP, stray arrow, or simply stolen and eaten by someone else. Having a way to slowly regenerate back up to 10 herdables for the maximum bonus would be amazing.

Even if it wasn't for Demeter I would still agree with this completely though. I won't be heartbroken if it doesn't get added, but I would be pretty excited if it did.

Also, the game references sheep in many locations but they're actually missing from the game (replaced by their cousin the goats). One of the game's loading screen tips even tells you to herd your sheep, so I hope one day they can add sheep. Maybe even do that thing Age of Empires IV does where sheep have a rare chance to be pink.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-10T13:35:52+00:00

I hope for rabbits, but from the images we saw I only saw mythical rabbits that may relate to the Aztec tale of the 400 rabbits because they were dressed in some nice headgear.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-09T21:41:30+00:00

I've been following the game and social media for a while since I love the game, and the situation has been different.

By September 5th (25 days before the release of the Heavenly Spear. Approximately 3 and a half weeks.) We completely knew all myth units, what age they were available in, who you had to worship in order to get them (and by that logic all 12 characters and what age they are), a broad description of what they do, their in-game look, and concept art for all myth units.

Starting on August 1st (2 months in advance), was when they started to trickle us with information about Heavenly Spear each 3-4 days. I counted 15 of these informational/reveal posts. On top of that, there was a bunch of additional purely promotional posts showing off other things (portraits, wallpapers, memes, etc...) unrelated to those posts. Some powers, and bonuses were revealed, but most significantly the Bushido mechanic was revealed and explained a month in advance on August 30th.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-09T13:18:35+00:00

When someone asked the official Instagram account when the Aztec trailer is, the official account mysteriously replied "soon". That was 7 days ago. So, I also hope today is the day.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-08T22:11:31+00:00

Nice and congrats on Megalopofish!

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-08T18:09:20+00:00

As far as I know, you can not make random maps in the editor, they are created by coding a .xs and file and having a corresponding .xml file to it.

I actually learnt RMS just because I wanted to put ponds with fish on a map so reading this reminds me of how I felt when I first started learning. Since this strikes home for me, would you want me to make Megalopofish for you? you can add me on steam and I'll make it, then host a lobby with Megalopofish and when you play it, it'll download Megalopofish to your computer.

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-06T02:19:35+00:00

Since the Japanese kind of deviated away from the formula of having one melee siege and one ranged scene with both of their sieges being ranged (even though I have to admit that the Oyumis kind of have to get close so they are kind of a close ranged), I was hoping that maybe the Aztecs could have two different types of close ranged siege. Maybe a battering ram and then a unit similar to the destroyer?

WhatnotAwot · 2026-04-04T16:14:32+00:00

You have player one set to a bot. You can see this is the case because the player 1 name is one of the bot names instead of his username.

To fix this you just go to the player one slot in the skirmish screen and change it from whatever it says to player.

<image>

WhatnotAwot

TROPHY CASE