From Star Trek Game Information
This interview with Matthew "theNord" Nordhaus of Mad Doc Software took place on the 7th April 2002.
Armada Universe: What was the major difficulty creating the single player and multiplayer maps?
theNord: SP Missions: keeping maps consistent across missions. We had several maps which spanned several missions. Changing one of them would mean we had to change them all, making sure planets were named properly etc.
MP Missions: making sure the maps were balanced not only for resource purposes, but also making sure the offensive/defensive positions of each player were equivalent.
Armada Universe: If you had to, what is one thing you would add to the map editor, if you could?
theNord: Being able to edit the size of a map without having it rescale would be great. Also better height control would be nice. Often I find objects behave badly when you are trying to move them up and down on the map. Related to that, it would be nice to be able to sort objects by height in the All Objects dialog, so that you could find objects which accidentally got put way too high or too low, or far off the edges of the map.
Armada Universe: What is the most important improvement you have seen in the A2 map editor, compared to the original?
theNord: Pinpoint position of objects and path points made scripting the cinematics MUCH easier than in A1. Also cut and paste of objects was a great feature that saved a lot of time. But probably the best new thing is the way asteroid belts are handled now. There are no more "secret passages" through asteroid belts that move because you accidentally deleted one of the asteroids on a path.
Armada Universe: What is your favourite map, one that you made and didn't make?
theNord: I really like playing on Fat City without infinite resources. There's enough resources you can climb the tech tree, but you still have to manage resources and defend yourself.
Armada Universe: In your opinion what is your favourite or most useful nebula?
theNord: I like mixing Yellow and Red nebulas as a "Death Zone".
Armada Universe: What maps did you make and how many were not used in the game?
theNord: Dozens and dozens that didn't make it into the game. Many were test maps that we used while developing. Others simply weren't fun.
Armada Universe: If you had to play on only one of your maps for all of Armada what would it be?
theNord: Probably Fat City.
Armada Universe: What Armada 1 maps made by the community was your favourite?
theNord: I can't remember the names. Many times I simply joined a game and downloaded the new map without knowing who made it or what it was called.
Armada Universe: What is the best advice you can give to a new map maker?
theNord: Be patient, and change RTS_CFG.h so you can zoom way out.
Armada Universe: What troubles do you think people may run into in the map editor and can you tell them how to avoid it.
theNord: Technically the only thing that I can think of is objects jumping up above the camera so they become invisible. When it starts to happen stop moving the object RIGHT AWAY, and carefully select and delete it.
Armada Universe: What do you consider to be a fair map and an unfair map?
theNord: I think fairness revolves around access to resources. I think if everyone has the same access, even if it's difficult, that's fair.
Armada Universe: Would you consider maps with derelicts or active ships on them good?
theNord: Sure, if they are well done. But of course 8472 can't board ships, so that puts them at a disadvantage if there are lots of derelicts.
Armada Universe: What is the most difficult part of the map editor in your opinion?
theNord: Finding objects that you accidentally place way off the map.
Armada Universe: What do you look forward to seeing the map community make?
theNord: I always enjoy playing just about any new community map.
Armada Universe: What would be the best use of the wormhole link you think can be made?
theNord: How about a map where you only get X number of attacks on your enemy? How about a map where you have to go through the enemy to get to your ally? How about a map with only wormholes for one side...could you balance that?
Armada Universe: Did you use any software to help you create the maps? Other than the map editor itself.
theNord: Nope.
Armada Universe: What is the favourite map, or the one you believe to be the favourite map, of the Armada II staff?
theNord: We tried to play them all, but we generally focused on Warzone, because we were testing ship balancing and so forth.
Armada Universe: How long did you work on the single player and multiplayer maps?
theNord: The SP maps were done over the course of several weeks or months. They didn't take that much longer, but we kept having to tweak them to maintain the mission balance. Most of the MP maps that I did took about a day each. I would build, test, tweak, and repeat until I thought the map was done or I couldn't stand to look at it any more. Then we would play MP on it a couple times, and the process would repeat.
Armada Universe: Do you have any ideas for new maps?
theNord: Oh my yes, I always have ideas. But I am a busy boy right now.
Armada Universe: Finally, are you planning on releasing any map packs or extensions?
theNord: No comment.
Armada Universe: Thank you Matthew "theNord" Nordhaus for taking the time to answer these questions, for helping out the map community with your Map Faq, and creating all those wonderful Armada II maps.
