What do you look for in a custom map?

Conan Exiles General Discussion Creative Corner
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For those who enjoy playing on modded custom maps, what is it that you look for? What makes a custom map “good and enjoyable”?.

Plenty of building spaces?
Scenic views?
Points of interests?
Dungeons and exploration?
Lore or npcs?

Looking for feedback on this while i build my map. Thanks.

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I don’t know if I can answer what makes them good as such, but I can think of a few things that have put me off in the past.

One big one was poorly thought out travel routes across the map - often feeling like everywhere I wanted to go there was yet another mountain range in the way forcing me into constant detours. (Rivers can be a good solution to this - on the Exiled Lands they can act a bit like highways, providing realtively shorter routes connecting many key places - by comparison, on some custom maps they are embedded in deep gorges with very few on/off ramps making things far more incomvenient.)

Another one that put me off a particular map was large areas of ‘cut and paste’ terrain along an early part of the map - the same tree and couple of bushes, at the same angles repeated over and over - it might have got better elsewhere on the map but I didn’t stick around to try.

A third one was poorly implemented inclusion of the ‘wild surges’ from Siptah - random enemies would suddenly fall from the sky, and then die on impact with the ground - basically a ‘free loot delivery system’ that made it all feel a bit like a waste of time…

Just some thoughts of a few things to watch out for. Hopefully that’s of some value - but, ultimately, you need to do what you feel works best for you - trying to please too many people could also just wind up with something that feels either too generic or too complicated. Whatever you opt to do, good luck with it :slight_smile:

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That was actually really helpful, especially since i too have noticed the issues with travel and huge mountain ranges but i would’t have remembered that if not for your comment. I will definitely make clear travel plans.

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“We got the cliffs to the north, mountains to the east and the west. That’s why Heather and me settled here in the first place. Geographic isolation.” Burt Gummer

Imagine if in order to get out of the desert lands you need to unlock the climbing gear?

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Although i probably never have the honor of playing in a Custom map, what i would really like to see would be best possible performance. Things can really be annoying if performance is not correct for starters.

Now some more suggestions!

  1. The map needs plains, big plains so people can have proper purge bases and enjoy this part of the game the best possible. Although i do understand how mountains and canyons can give a complexity and beauty to the landscape, people need to ride horses and enjoy purges.
  2. The beach around should have plenty shallow waters. People adore to build on shallow waters their main base, or build docks and ships.
  3. Cities like Sepermeru with traders that sell really useful items, eggs for example. If possible markets that sell or trade legendary weapons with gold would be more than awesome. Or crafters that create armor or weapons in exchange of gold
  4. The Siptah surge system, it’s simply amazing.
  5. multi-player area or dungeon where people can have fun together but not with loot that you cannot find anyway in other dunheons or activities. But more wealthy area in the terms of loot so people would find reason to play together even from different clans.
  6. Less rng possible!!! Let me give an example here please. Let’s take the wine cellar for example. Each time you kill Thag you gain a key that opens the chest you wish to loot and know somehow what you’re going to get.
    While killing the skeletons you gain 4 key fragments to create a key to open a chest of your desirable pristine weapon with a decent number khari steel. Lessen the rng, to lessen the frustration of unspeakable grinding for literally nothing special.
  7. Public teleport system to discourage unnecessary land claim for maprooms and transportory stones all around.
  8. Unnamed city!!! I play this game all these years and i still enjoy doing rounds in this city, it’s by far one of their best in this game.

I don’t know if i helped or not, but i really wish i did.

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I played on all the maps I could find in the Steam Workshop. They were all made to varying degrees well and even excellently, and I admired their creators. But I can say what irritates me most in maps. This is the alternation of flat areas and sky-high mountain ranges. Well, this does not happen in real earthly geography! If the terrain is flat, then it is flat, there may be hills, etc., but mountains cannot suddenly appear on it and just as suddenly end.
It is very annoying when in front of you there is a path limited on both sides by steep slopes or a cliff.
The fewer trodden paths - the better!
The ideal map for me is a true open world. When I can go in all four directions, and in each direction adventures and dangers await me.

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New lands are, as such, a welcome sight to me. I like exploring: What’s behind the next mountain range?

Experienced CE players will know how the system works and will be able to game it to a certain degree. But if even some resources are not where you expect, that adds a lot of challenge to conquering a new map. For example, I searched my ass for Brimstone on one map, which seriously hindered all crafting efforts.

Always nice are “new” enemies, which does include just using the Siptah Surge Mobs such as Aquilonian army or Amazons - just stuff that isn’t really used so far.

Personally, I don’t like maps that look to artificial or unrealistic. Different biomes are much too close in the Exiled Lands for a non-fantasy, non-Giant-King-terraformed reality. But they’re still somewhat consistent: There is, for example, a mountain range between the jungle and the north which could at least to some degree explain differences in climate.
Islands should be exact squares. Rivers should have bents and some ocean they connect to. There should be some free space between settlements, ruins and other landmarks: People may settle in a ruined city, or in some distance, but not right next door to a lost city filled with undead, for example.

In a new map, biomes should also be somewhot logically placed, e. g. no snow biome just next to a jungle. That’s well done in most maps, but there’s a range of degrees in believability among them.

Too much darkness puts me off. Don’t know if that’s due to a personal phenomenon, but some maps or dungeons are very hard to play for me because they’re so god-damn dark, even with a torch in hand.
A play of light and darkness can be very atmospheric, but there’s more to that than just blinding the player with a blanket of shadow.

Several maps are a tiny bit derivative, i. e. re-imaginings of the Exiled Land. That’s fine and be fun to play, such as Savage Wilds has shown. But if one invests the time to create a new map, I think one could also try to not re-create the Exiled Lands, but invent a new story or tranlsate one from the many sources in Conan Lore into a video game map.

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It being finished.. like not 95% we almost done, just tweaking things!

But finished. So many maps over several games… Team moves on, and spawns are still iffy, holes in map, dead or half finished areas.
I’m not expecting alot from a 1-2 person team. When years go by… and updates are not there. =/
Its alot of work to make a map (I’ve tried myself..even with good planning) Alot of them just don’t get updates.

Most of map extensions for Exiles lands have been nice. One of them extended wastes abit, but green wall mod went defunt kinda ruining part of it.

I look for those mostly. Plently of room about map to add, adjust green wall, I got an SSD. Extra load time isn’t bothering me.

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Bump

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Never really thought about it. Play new maps just because they’re new and I don’t know where everything is. Some even work in new mechanics which can be a plus.

All that said, from the outside looking in the CE engine seems to be rather limited and we’ve already hit that limit. I’d ask myself if I really wanted to put that much time and effort into a ship that’s already sailed, so to speak. Your choice of course.

Possibly some inspiration here:

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Amaryllis
Amaryllis1024×1024 38.6 KB

Just thought I’d throw this down.
This represents a total area of 6 square miles. (15.49 Km Sq).
4 would be the equivalent of the Exiles map.

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I don’t like playing mods but I want to share.

-The directions that can be learned on the map are very attractive. I mean food recipes. or weapon recipes. or clothing recipes.
-It gives me pleasure in things that will develop my character. That is, obeliks
-The views are beautiful but the hidden underground areas are magnificent, like under the waterfall inside the cave.
-Create special places for people to build their nests. I mean special places. Under waterfalls. Or under lakes. There was an underground place in “Ark Survivor” “The Center” map. It was a great feeling to go there and make a base.
-flying island flying islands that can only be reached with the wizard’s bat :wink:
-or a secret base area that can be reached by passing under a shipwreck at a deep point in a huge sea. or treasure
-Very powerful fighters that can only be reached from a special location. On top of a very high mountain. In a place that is hard to reach, the most powerful and obtainable thrall in the game. It will always be a good feeling to achieve.
-A very special weapon from a very special and difficult place. Like the trident of the sea god.
-Locations where mine resources are found together. In other words, special places. There is a lot of coal there. There is a lot of iron in another place. Of course, it should be scattered. But special locations that are together bring about a very enjoyable journey memory of going there with caravans.

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I appreciate the suggestions guys, sorry I am not addressing every single one but I am keeping this thread bookmarked for my development!

edit: I hope to respond in depth to each comment soon, i’m just stopping in for a drive by check in atm. peace to you all.

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The most important element in map-making is answering the question: Is it fun?

World Design & Environment

  • Diverse biomes (e.g., forests, deserts, mountains, steppes/plains, swamps, tundras) – there are multiple types of these different biomes like sand deserts and rock deserts, boreal, temperate, and tropical forests, and so on).
  • Dynamic weather systems (rain, snow, sandstorms, fog) – changing weather conditions so its not static or the same all the time
  • Natural disaster systems (floods, blizzards, quicksand, quick mud, mudslides, forest fires, poisonous fog, lightning storms, gentle volcanic eruption) – changing weather conditions so its not static or the same all the time
  • Day-night cycle affecting visibility and creature behavior – some predators prefer to hunt at night
  • Hidden areas and secrets (caves, ruins, shipwrecks, bunkers, hideaways/stashes)
  • Verticality and traversal (cliffs, waterfalls, rope bridges, ladders) – but not so tall as to “force” players to travel in one or two directions for a long time (let players have options)
  • Resource-rich zones balanced with high danger– high risk = high reward
  • Safe zones/shelters with strategic importance – sometimes players venture into areas where too much danger awaits; let them have a few places to retreat to in case of major trouble (but not too much so that they ‘do’ learn from the experience)
  • Visually distinct landmarks for navigation – if everything looks the same, its bland.
  • Environmental storytelling (abandoned camps, skeletal remains, journals, the occasional weapon stuck in a tree, etc)
  • Seasonal changes affecting survival and resource gathering – plants especially, but let there be an ebb and flow to the harvesting of resources

Resource Management

  • Scattered and varied resources (food, water, wood, stone, metal) – let there be multiple places to gather needed resources; one source of frustration is a map that has too few resource locations when its vital for character progression
  • Renewable vs. finite resource balancing – renewable resources should be available for character progression (such as bases and tools) while finite resources should be more rare for high end rewards (special recipes)
  • Rare high-tier resources in risky areas – whether enemy camps, wildlife, or natural disasters (or a combination)
  • Hunting and foraging opportunities (animals, herbs, mushrooms, fruit, water sources)
  • Fishing spots and water sources – many civilizations develop along rivers and lakes for easy access to water and food, so make sure the map has plenty of both for potential player base locations
  • Crafting stations or ancient forges hidden in the world – special places for making special weapons or special armor (like the Well of Skelos for composite obsidian weapons)

Threats & Challenges

  • AI wildlife with different aggression levels (passive, defensive, predatory) – make sure there’s enough of a food supply for your ecology (passive eat plants, aggressive animals eat passive animals)
  • Territorial creatures or boss monsters – if you can, include animals that ‘roam a territory’ or hunt in packs (like wolves); roaming ‘boss monsters’ are also good for random encounters that keep your map from being stale and static; never let your ‘map directions’ include stationary animals (‘like turn right at the second alligator’)
  • Enemy factions, raiders, or corrupted survivors – maps need both enemy camps and enemy hunting parties; human encounters are often more challenging than animals (adds to the fun)
  • Diseases or infection zones – if you’re feeling up to it, you can include areas where disease can spread (and need treatment); this is an area Conan Exiles never really explored, but it could probably be done
  • Poisonous plants or insects – same as disease, just from a different source
  • Temperature extremes requiring gear or shelter – actually adding a true temperature system to the map
  • NPC raids or attacks on bases – bring back the old purge and let enemy camps invade each other for dynamic control of the map. Let Darfari raid Exile camps for “food”. Let Nords raid for supplies. Encountering groups fighting each other can make a map feel “alive.”

Progression & Exploration

  • Exploration incentives (loot, lore, upgrades) – give players a reason to see the whole map and not just settle down in one location; no location should “have it all”
  • Unlockable fast travel points – Obelisks are good for this; maybe a major city has developed around one?
  • Progression-based access (e.g., gear/skills needed to reach new zones) – make sure players have access to the resources needed to gear up for the next zone
  • Mysteries and puzzles (ancient mechanisms, coded doors) – good for new dungeons like the puzzle in the Dregs
  • Map zones with increasing difficulty – players should sense a new challenge when entering a new biome or area of the map
  • Dynamic events (meteor crashes, caravan spawns, lost survivor rescues) – adds to the “living” feeling that your map is alive (random encounters should help that)
  • Artifact or relic hunting – legendary weapons or legendary armor sets ought to be among the goals of exploring a map
  • Building claim areas with strategic value – design places for players to build that have defensive capability and good location to key resources (especially water); ask yourself, if you were to build in this biome, where would you put your base(s)? Think of your map from the player’s perspective
  • NPC vendors or quest-givers – include NPCs for players to get more rare resources through other means (such as finding gold, turning it into coin, and using coin to make valuable purchases)

So, that’s just a partial list of what comes to mind. Hope that helps!

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Here is something I don’t see mentioned so far, which I always look for as a prized quality: the custom map does not have the feeling of being a “custom map”!

I’m not much of a modder for CE, other than some messing around with the devkit, and a couple small unlisted mods I made for my server I didn’t think were worth publically releasing. But whenever I mod a game myself, my #1 goal is to make something fit in, and I aim ideally (even when I may not live up to it) to have something feel as professional as the vanilla game content; to not have the feeling of it being a mod.

The exception, of course, is when something must be otherwise out of design necessity (engine restraints, etc), or when you can do even better than the way something originally was and have it stand out like that.

In my experience making maps, subtlety is key. Especially when reusing assets that may be recognisable. I try to adapt them in a new way, so it doesn’t just feel like I’m retreading something the game already did. You can make something feel very new and original at times using assets and features in new, unexpected ways. Best is when they just blend in to the game and don’t stand out!

Hopefully, it’s clear what I mean. Sometimes games can themselves not follow the above, when something in e.g an update or expansion feels like it doesn’t fit in and is part of ‘something else’ somehow. So it’s not a ‘mod’ thing in itself, just in mods it can be especially noticeable when things don’t blend in immersively.

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I could see that adding to the survivability aspect.

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This was on my mind already, as an avid builder. Not only is some wide open spaces for castles and cities on my list, but also for wildlife like herds of bison, horses ect making use of these areas in a natural habitat sort of way.

One of my gripes with Siptah was this exact thing, the shores were mostly bumpy and littered with wrecked ships - which I understand the lore of the island but as a builder it was hard to work with.

I’m very open to merchant and trader ideas, if you or anyone else has more info or ideas on player economy I’d really love to know - i struggle there.

Agreed, however as I am aware, the modders do not have access to the Surge system from Siptah, same with the Encounters (formally Events) system. kicks rock

OOOH high reward dungeon with multiplayer. Do you mean they players need to work together to finish the dungeon and without help, it’s much harder? Can you elaborate a bit more for me?

I hate RNG. I won’t do it.

I’m totally on board with this, if I can figure out the mechanics of it. I’ll consult the modders discord as I approach this phase. If I can make it so travel is easy then people only need teleports to go from their own personal bases and the map is cleaner.

I will think on doing my own spin on an Undead city, I’d like to not copy already existing dev work from EL and make my map unique as possible, but I hear ya on loving certain areas of the game for sure.

Thanks Stelagel!

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Oh my Crom, I’m with you there. I’ve been watching lots of 40min docu spots on places around the globe - Scotland, Brazil, the middle east, and the US to get a good sense of mountain ranges and how to build to them. I’ve learned too many facts and my 11yr old is tired of me saying, “hey, did you know..”.

Hmm, by this to mean that you don’t want paths leading you to an area and you want to discover them yourself? If you can clarify that’d be great, Teng, thanks a ton!

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I’m not quite there yet, but I will be learning Blender so that I can change the look of some creatures to give them a facelift and make this fit the map - hopefully I have no hiccups.

This comment has made me look into a video series on “fantasy map making” and learning exactly how land masses are formed and this goes over climates as well. If anything, I’m learning more than I would have if I had not started modding.

Careful there, Khale, you’re getting too logical in a fantasy game…I’m just kidding lol. I agree!

As a glasses wearer I intend to only use light changes when it makes the most sense for the location, my eyesight aint getting any better.

Exactly, I didn’t want to copy what already exist but rather make something different that seems to somewhat believably fit into the world. I’m glad we’re on the same page. Thanks man!

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I’ll reply to more soon, I got to get back to work. Have a great day.

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